As the dust settled, massive tree trunks emerged, tangled together in a chaotic mess, turning the once-pristine forest into utter devastation.
The forty Hyuga ninja stiffened, their expressions twisting in shock.
Fear spread among them like wildfire.
Wood Release.
For the Leaf Village, it held a special meaning as it was the legendary power wielded by the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.
None of them had ever imagined they would see it again and even experience it firsthand.
For a brief moment, they questioned their senses, wondering if it was an illusion.
But the grip of the wooden tendrils around their bodies left no room for doubt.
This was real.
Hiruko, on the other hand, was anything but silent. His voice tore through the silence of the forest.
"Shit! Lord Danzo's gonna have your head for this!" he yelled, his bloodshot eyes filled with desperation.
He looked like a gambler who had lost everything. He couldn't die here. He wouldn't accept it.
But the chakra draining from his body told him otherwise.
"Danzo?" Hyuga Sosuke's expression shifted when he heard the name. His gaze moved to Haruki, who stood, wearing the Cloud Ninja uniform, his mask hiding any emotion.
With a calm, measured tone, he asked, "What exactly are you after?"
"You're surprisingly level-headed," Haruki remarked, recognizing him instantly.
He was one of the more capable Jonin in the Hyuga clan.
"Hold that thought," Haruki said, turning his attention back to Hiruko. "Your job ends here."
"J-Job? What job? What the hell are you talking about?!" Hiruko thrashed in panic, the loss of chakra leaving him completely defenseless.
"You led the way. That was your job." Haruki pulled out a kunai casually.
Hiruko's eyes widened in horror. "Wait! You wouldn't dare! I worked with Danzo... I'm one of his people! You can't just...! No! Get away from me!"
Haruki idly picked at his ear. "Man, you're loud. You sound like a pig at a slaughterhouse."
Sosuke's breath hitched as he watched both of them disappear from the place. The next second, Haruki appeared again.
"Space-Time Ninjutsu?!" he blurted out. His sharp eyes snapped back to Haruki. "Just who the hell are you?"
Without hesitation, Haruki formed a seal, and with a puff of smoke,now he looked exactly like Hiruko.
"I'm Hiruko," he said smoothly.
Sosuke's eye twitched. "You think I'm blind?"
Haruki glanced at him. "With that white eyes? Sure"
Sosuke's expression blanked.
He had no response to that.
"Alright, enough chit-chat. Let's get to the real deal." Haruki gestured toward the Hyuga ninja trapped in the trees. "With this many of you, I'm guessing you're worth a hefty sum, right?"
"Money?" Sosuke blinked in surprise. "You're after money?"
'Wait a minute… all this trouble, just for cash? If that's the case, he should've just said so earlier. The Hyuga clan has plenty of money to spare.'
"Something like that." Haruki smirked. "I'll let you go back and tell your clan leader my terms."
Sosuke exhaled in relief. If this could be handled with money, then it wasn't a big problem. "How much?"
"A pair of Byakugan."
"Absolutely not!" Sosuke snapped without thinking.
"Is that really up to you?" Haruki chuckled, waving his hand. The wooden branches binding Sosuke unraveled.
Then he deliberately raised his voice so everyone could hear. "Think about it. There are forty branch family members here. You really think the main house would abandon all of you? Just toss you aside like trash?"
Sosuke felt his blood run cold after hearing his words.
"How do I find you again?" Sosuke forced himself to stay calm.
"Follow the river upstream," Haruki replied.
Then, pulling out a kunai, he grinned. "Need a lift?"
Sosuke didn't dare refuse.
Before he could react, his vision blurred, and he felt the sensation of time slipping past him. When he came back to his senses, he found himself staring straight at the enormous stone face of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Hokage Rock…?" His throat went dry.
As a Jonin, he understood a thing or two about space-time ninjutsu.
To move such a long distance in an instant, it meant the caster had a terrifying amount of chakra.
Suppressing his unease, Sosuke turned on his heel and sprinted toward the Hyuga compound.
Meanwhile, Haruki pulled out another kunai and turned to face Sakumo and the others.
"Hiruko?" Sakumo's eyes widened in disbelief.
From a distance, he had already noticed the forest, unmistakably shaped by Wood Release.
Approaching with caution, he was stunned to find Hiruko standing there.
"Sakumo, you're a little late," Haruki said with a shrug. "As you can see, the job's already done."
Sakumo took a deep breath, suppressing the unease creeping up his spine.
"Why?" he asked warily.
"Just following orders," Haruki replied casually.
"Whose orders?"
But before Sakumo could get an answer, Hiruko vanished before his eyes.
Sakumo's expression darkened. 'Since when was Hiruko able to use Wood Release and Space-Time Ninjutsu?'
"This just got complicated…"
The real Haruki, now wearing a solemn expression, stepped up beside him. "The disappearance of forty Hyuga ninja is going to stir up a storm."
"The Hokage has to know about this," Sakumo said, snapping out of his thoughts. "There's no way this stays under wraps. The Sand Village is bound to react. I can't leave... I'll have Anbu deliver the message."
"No." Haruki shook his head. "We don't know the full picture yet. There could be a traitor among us. Let me go instead. I'm undercover, and as a medical ninja, it won't look suspicious if I return to the village to resupply."
Sakumo hesitated.
Before he could voice his concerns, Haruki cut him off. "Look, Hokage-sama will be more likely to believe my report. Besides, you've got enough on your plate here."
Sakumo exhaled slowly, then nodded. "Fine. Just be careful."
"You're the one in real danger," Haruki said, rolling his eyes. "And speaking of the Sand Village… I've got a suggestion for our battle strategy."
Sakumo frowned. "Go on."
"Break the forces into small, scattered units. Ditch the headbands, blend into the terrain, and disguise yourselves as bandits, travelers, civilians, even Cloud or Sand ninja if needed," Haruki explained, watching as confusion flickered across Sakumo's face. "We're at a disadvantage in numbers. We shouldn't be fighting them head-on."
"So… guerilla warfare?" Sakumo murmured, his tactical mind processing the idea.
"Exactly. Hit-and-run tactics. If we can win, we strike. If not, we retreat and regroup. Keep harassing them, make them bleed resources, force them into exhaustion."
Sakumo crossed his arms. "This… this isn't something we've ever done on a large scale."
It sounded more like something the intelligence corps would employ, not frontline fighters.
"Doesn't mean it won't work," Haruki countered. "Or do you want to keep losing comrades fighting them head-on?"
Sakumo clenched his jaw.
He hated to admit it.
But Haruki had a point.
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