Escaping the Mist Ninja starts with backstabbing your teacher.

Konoha, the Hyuga clan.

The main family's residence, located in the core area, is situated within the branch family's territory. At this moment, Hiashi, who is sitting quietly, receives a report of Hizashi and the others' failure.

"Did it fail?"

"The Taketori clan..."

Rizu pondered for a moment. Although the two clans had always had exchanges and friendships, the other party should not know so much about the situation within his own clan.

Even some of the secrets of the Byakugan were known so thoroughly by the other party that Hizashi and the others failed.

"It seems it's time to contact them. After all, he's a traitor to their family, and I need an explanation."

The two failed attempts to capture him finally made Hiashi take this Kirigakure traitor seriously and want to learn more about him.

I initially thought he was just a Chunin, but it turns out he has Jonin-level strength.

The second time, they thought that Hizashi, along with two Jonin from their clan, would be able to ensure success, but they still failed.

The opponent not only has a deep understanding of the secrets of the Byakugan, but also of the Gentle Fist.

All the actions taken were aimed at preparing for the White Eye and the Gentle Fist.

Meanwhile, Hiashi was also concerned about a piece of information: reports from two Jonin who sensed an anomaly in the other's chakra.

Normally, the Gentle Fist technique of the Hyuga clan, which injects chakra into the opponent's body, can directly and permanently damage the opponent's meridians and block the flow of chakra.

One strike could completely eliminate any possibility of the other becoming a ninja, rendering them a cripple with their internal organs in complete disarray, making them unable to survive.

Even bones formed from the Shikotsumyaku bloodline can be shattered internally by injecting enough chakra into them using Gentle Fist.

However, Taketori Izumi is different; the quality of his chakra seems to be different from that of ordinary people.

Not only are their bones incredibly hard, but their chakra is also extremely resilient, comparable to water and rubber compared to that of ordinary ninjas.

Their deliberate defense caused the effects of their Soft Fist to diminish, leaving them to rely solely on physical combat skills.

Similarly, the bone spurs that proliferate on their skin also hinder the efficiency of their Gentle Fist in channeling chakra.

The other party can also heal bones that have not been completely destroyed, or simply discard them and regenerate them.

That battle was very difficult and frustrating for them, and they were unable to fully unleash their potential.

However, since the operation has failed and the enemy's whereabouts have disappeared, we should temporarily halt our actions and wait to gather all the information about the enemy before resuming our plans.

Moreover, now that Konoha and Iwagakure have signed a peace treaty, the Third Hokage feels deeply sorry for the village and is preparing to abdicate.

However, since the war has not yet completely ended, he will continue to command operations as Hokage for the time being and begin preparations to completely end the war.

With the signing of a peace treaty by the Iwa ninja and the withdrawal seemingly due to internal problems, Konoha now only has the Sand ninja and the Cloud ninja fighting on two fronts.

The Sand Village is already showing signs of decline, and it seems that it won't be long before it can no longer sustain itself due to financial problems alone.

On the Cloud Ninja's side, they face off against the Iwa Ninja, whose grudges run deep. The Iwa Ninja are currently focused on fighting the Cloud Ninja, who must also be cautious.

"The war is almost over, and changes are about to occur in all the villages. Hyuga needs to make a careful choice."

We still need to get the white eye back, but that's not our focus right now. Since the other party has such strength, it will be difficult for others to obtain it easily.

As traitors to their allied families, the Hyuga clan was not in too much of a hurry to act and could postpone their actions.

Some of the older members of the clan even have the idea of ​​absorbing others, which is truly incomprehensible.

Hiashi sighed softly. As a large clan, they had many things to consider. If it weren't for the Uchiha clan taking the lead, the Konoha leadership wouldn't have treated them very well.

……

The Land of Wind, Sunagakure Village.

An angry voice emanated from the Kazekage's office inside the Kazekage Building, located within the village.

"What do you mean? The Daimyo feels that our Sand Village has suffered heavy losses in the war without achieving anything, and is therefore preparing to reduce our financial support?"

"You must understand, this is a critical moment in the war. If the Daimyo reduces funding, then the Sand Village will undoubtedly be defeated!"

"If funding is increased, there's still a sliver of hope—at least enough to maintain our dignity. Otherwise, Sunagakure will only become the defeated!"

Faced with Rasa's angry questioning, the envoy of the Daimyo of the Land of Wind ignored him, simply telling him that this was just a notification, not a discussion, and then left.

Luo Sha was left alone in the Kazekage's office, furious and impotent, pounding on the table with a frustrated expression.

If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to obtain the position of the Fourth Kazekage; it's simply not something a human could do.

Now that the Daimyo of the Land of Wind has reduced funding, the Sand Village has no chance of defeating the Leaf Village and may even have to consider surrendering.

Just as Luo Sha was considering what to do, a gentle knock sounded on the door, which made him suppress his anger and calm down.

"Please come in!"

A Sand Ninja walked in; it was Maki in his younger days. Now, he was one of Rasa's most trusted Jonin.

Upon seeing him, Luo Sha frowned and asked softly, "Is there some movement?"

Maki replied respectfully, "Yes, Lord Kazekage!"

Immediately afterwards, he truthfully reported the information he had discovered while monitoring Ye Cang's disciple, Juan.

This made Luo Sha snort coldly. He had nowhere to vent his anger, and the other party just happened to run into him.

"Unfortunately, I can't leave my post right now. Now that they've shown themselves, let's eliminate this potential threat completely."

"Yashamaru!"

Rasa called out, and Yashamaru, a member of the Sunagakure Anbu, appeared beside Baki, waiting to receive his orders.

"I can only entrust Yekura's matter to the two of you!"

"Remember, this matter must not be known to anyone else, especially the two elders; it must be done in secrecy."

"If any unexpected situation arises, do not expose yourself for the time being. Observe carefully. I want to see what Ye Cang, this woman who escaped death, is planning to do."

The two nodded, accepted the order, and quietly left the Wind Shadow's office.

After the two left, Luo Sha's calm expression vanished, replaced by a gloomy look. It was as if misfortune never comes singly; all sorts of things had happened.

One bad piece of news after another made him grit his teeth in anger. His Sand Village shouldn't be like this.

Without the Daimyo's financial support, the village can only rely on itself; it's simply impossible for them to fight against Konoha on their own.

But he couldn't accept the outcome of failure, so it seemed he could only try to find a way to hold on for a while.

Ye Cang also had to deal with this. The appearance of the other party at this critical juncture was not good news for him. He did not want to be purged and replaced by the higher-ups like Ye Cang.