Starting with the Uchiha clan, they began cultivating demonic arts.

Chapter 156 Byakugan and Sharingan

The Konoha Outer Retreat was built on a large scale. In any case, infrastructure construction was never a difficult task for ninjas, so the entire Outer Retreat consisted of four buildings.

The Hidden Stone Village and the Hidden Cloud Village each occupied a building, and immediately set up barriers and seals upon entering the buildings.

This is quite normal in the ninja world; there has never been any trust between ninja villages.

Ever since the Second Hokage and the Second Raikage signed a ceasefire agreement, only to be wiped out by the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers, even when the leaders of the ninja villages negotiate, both sides have to find a permanently neutral country.

In this situation, negotiators who come to other ninja villages will naturally set up barriers as soon as possible, at least to prevent other ninjas from eavesdropping.

As night quietly fell, the ninjas from both villages, who were currently trapped within the sealing barrier, were all summoned together by their leaders for a secret discussion.

"You are all elites from the Hidden Cloud Village, so this time, I will not hide anything from you."

"Coming to Konoha to sign a peace treaty is only one of our tasks. Our real mission is to incite conflict between Konoha and Iwagakure!"

Coincidentally, at that very moment, the same scene was unfolding in the building of Iwagakure:

"The peace agreement is absolutely unreliable. Konoha is most likely using it as a delaying tactic. To avoid a period of weakness for Iwagakure a few years from now, we must get Konoha to shift its focus to Kumogakure!"

"So although we came to Konoha with the Cloud Ninja, seemingly as one entity, our real purpose is to instigate a war between the Cloud Ninja and Konoha!"

"Lord Firelight, how should we instigate conflict between Konoha and Kumogakure? Are we supposed to impersonate Kumogakure ninja and slaughter the people of Konoha?"

"Are you stupid?! If it were something so simple, would we even need to plot it together?!"

"Given Tsunade's domineering nature, if something like this were to happen during peace negotiations between the three ninja villages, she would absolutely rip our brains out!"

"If you think you can keep the secret thanks to the Yamanaka clan's mental ninjutsu, I can grant you that privilege—let you go out and kill people!"

The ninja who had been speaking shrank back and immediately fell silent. Who in the entire ninja world didn't know how domineering the Yamanaka clan's mental techniques were? Unless a ninja could create a seal in their own mind that could blow their brains to pieces, no ninja could keep their secrets under the Yamanaka clan's mental techniques.

Inside the Cloud Ninja Village building, the Cloud Ninja leader, who appeared to be all muscles during the day, spoke eloquently:

"Directly transforming into Iwa ninja to attack Konoha ninjas would not only be easy to expose, but the effect and method would also be too crude. Given the ninjas' mentality of killing the wrong person and not letting one go, neither of our two ninja villages would benefit in the end."

"Therefore, the target of this attack must be carefully selected. We need to choose a ninja clan that is very closed off and has a distant relationship with Konoha."

"Besides... we can't just launch a direct attack like that. Everyone's not stupid; who would do something that doesn't benefit them? We need at least a pretext, one that can truly bring benefits to the ninja village!"

"Of the three great ninja clans of Konoha, we can't even consider the Senju clan, which Tsunade rebuilt; we definitely can't afford to provoke them."

"Only the Uchiha and Hyuga remain. Comparatively speaking, the Hyuga's Byakugan has a greater strategic value and is more in line with the interests of a group of ninja like Iwagakure!"

"So this time, our target is the Hyuga clan!"

"Boss, are you kidding me? Stealing from the White Eyes' lair... If even one of those cataracts is even slightly wary, we're all doomed! Transformation magic can't fool those cataracts."

"It's alright, I've already inquired. This is Konoha, and to prevent them from seeing anything they shouldn't, the Hyuga clan won't activate their Byakugan here!"

"Perfect timing! We can catch them off guard this time! Once we've collected the Byakugan, we'll secretly deliver it to the Iwagakure delegation. Then, no matter how they explain it, it won't matter!"

The delegation from Iwagakure was also discussing the matter simultaneously:

"Our target this time is the Sharingan of those Uchiha clan members!"

"Think about that Konoha rookie, Uchiha Obito. He was originally just a Chunin, but after his Sharingan evolved to the three-tomoe level, he could even fight against Kage-level powerhouses. Several Jonin have died at his hands."

"Given the barbaric nature of those Cloud Ninja, it's perfectly normal for them to covet such a powerful bloodline limit!"

"Lord Firelight... the Uchiha are not easy to deal with. Although those envious people are arrogant, their individual strength is undeniable. I'm afraid we might not be able to handle them..."

"Don't worry, I've already gathered the information. The Uchiha clan and Konoha have never really clashed, so their base is a blind spot for Konoha's sensory barrier!"

"Furthermore, those Uchiha didn't even set up a barrier at their base. I really don't know what they were thinking, being so arrogant. Today, we Iwa ninja will teach them a lesson!"

"But Uchiha who have awakened the Sharingan are very difficult to deal with..."

"I've obtained specific information: Itachi Uchiha, the nine-year-old son of the Uchiha clan leader, has awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan!"

"Even if Uchiha Itachi is a genius, what level of strength could he possibly have at the age of nine? At most, he'd be a Special Jonin—when Hatake Kakashi was nine, he was just a regular Chunin!"

"Are we, the elite of Iwagakure, really incapable of dealing with a mere ordinary Chunin?"

The current Konoha ninjas are completely unaware of the thoughts of the delegations from Iwagakure and Kumogakure.

Therefore, after nightfall, the ninjas from the two ninja village delegations left quietly without being discovered by Konoha's ANBU.

Ninjas have a wide variety of ninjutsu techniques. These ninjas selected for the mission are all elites. If they want to hide their secrets, it will be difficult for ordinary Chunin and Anbu to figure them out.

Late at night, in the Hyuga clan's territory, several ninjas wearing Iwagakure headbands quietly entered.

"I'm asking if this will really work? It's just makeup on my face and stuff..."

"Don't worry, the Hyuga gang has cataracts. Because they have the ability to see through chakra, this kind of makeup technique that doesn't use any chakra can actually fool them."

The leader of the Cloud Ninja spoke in a low voice. Of course, if the Hyuga clan really used their Byakugan to its fullest extent and examined things carefully, they would definitely be able to see the clues with their X-ray vision. However, they are usually not as free as the Hyuga. During battle, their focus is always on chakra.

To put it bluntly, this is a problem of blind spots.

"Hopefully, the journey will be smooth sailing, and I won't encounter any adult Hyuga ninjas!"

Perhaps the heavens heard their prayers, for this time their operation went remarkably smoothly, and they quickly located their target.

Under the moonlight, a rather naive-looking three-year-old girl was practicing her cultivation in a childish voice.

Beside the little girl, a short-haired Hyuga female ninja was taking care of her. However, judging from the chakra emanating from her, she should also be an ordinary Chunin.

The Hyuga clan's Byakugan awakens easily, but their combat power is far inferior to that of the Uchiha. The Gentle Fist ninjutsu is only unique, but it can hardly be considered a top-tier inheritance.

Therefore, most of the ninjas in the Hyuga clan are still at the Chunin level, at most because their Byakugan is slightly stronger than that of ordinary Chunin.

"This is Hinata Hyuga, the heir to the main branch of the Hyuga clan!"

"A Chunin from the Hyuga branch family? How lucky..."

The Cloud Ninja had already learned of the departure of the Hyuga couple, otherwise they wouldn't have dared to directly approach the Hyuga Hinata clan. The names of the heads of the three great ninja clans of Konoha were still somewhat intimidating.

Although compared to Fugaku Uchiha and Tsunade Senju, who both possessed the Mangekyou Sharingan, Hiashi Hyuga was undoubtedly a complete fraud, and might not even be able to defeat the few elite Jonin from the Cloud Village who had infiltrated the Hyuga clan.

"Alright, enough with the discussion, let's get started!"

The Cloud Ninja made a few hand gestures, and then without saying a word, several ninjas rushed into the small courtyard!

"Who are you...?"

Before the young Hyuga female ninja could even finish speaking, she felt her feet slip and was pulled to the ground by an Iwa ninja.

"Earth Release: The Decapitation Technique of the Heart!"

Without saying a word, another Cloud Ninja gently pressed down on her head, and the Hyuga clan female ninja's eyes rolled back and she fainted.

"What...what do you want to do? What have you done to Xia?"

Hinata Hyuga, who is only a little over three years old, was shocked to see this scene. However, even though she was trembling with fear, she did not run away immediately, but instead adopted a Gentle Fist stance.

The Cloud Ninja had no time to answer her question. With a snap, Hinata was knocked unconscious. Then, a medical ninja stepped forward, removed her eye, placed it in a test tube, and performed a series of actions to stop Hinata's bleeding, all in one smooth motion.

There was no reason to kill Hyuga Natsumi or treat Hyuga Hinata; it was simply to prevent the smell of blood from escaping. Ninjas who have experienced the battlefield are always very perceptive, and the smell of blood is easily detected once it gets out.

"Operation was a success... Let's get out of here!"

To be honest, the group didn't expect the plan to succeed so easily. They only had to deal with a three-year-old girl and a Hyuga Chunin with little combat experience.

Well, although Hyuga Natsu is a member of the Hyuga clan, she has never been on the battlefield. You can tell from the maid outfit she is wearing that she is not a combat-type ninja.

Don't be fooled by her Gentle Fist training and Byakugan ability; in reality, even seasoned genin veterans can't defeat a Chunin who hasn't drawn blood yet!

Several ninjas left the scene with incredible speed, disappearing without a trace.

Just as these Cloud Ninja had reached the courtyard wall and were about to leave the Hyuga clan's territory, a loud boom came from the distant direction of Konoha!

"What's going on!?"

"An attack has occurred... That's the Uchiha clan! Someone is attacking the Uchiha clan?"

"Are you kidding me? Who would dare mess with those crazed, jealous people? They'd probably start a civil war among themselves!"

"Wait, something's wrong... Hinata-sama is in trouble!!!"

After the explosion, a group of Byakugan ninja from the Hyuga clan activated their Byakugan and scanned the surroundings. They easily spotted the unconscious Hyuga Natsu and the blind Hyuga Hinata.

The Hyuga clan, who had initially been looking forward to watching the Uchiha's misfortune, were now completely enraged!

"Damn it, what on earth happened? Who attacked the Uchiha clan?"

The leader of the Cloud Ninja hurriedly fled the Hyuga clan. Fortunately, they had already reached the edge of the Hyuga clan's territory and left after simply climbing over a wall.

Moreover, the Hyuga clan's attention was drawn to Hinata Hyuga, so they naturally didn't notice the fleeing Cloud Ninja.

only……

"Why have you Iwa ninja come out of my Hyuga clan's territory?!"

A group of Cloud Ninja secretly cursed their bad luck. The ninja in front of them had long, flowing hair and wide-open Byakugan eyes—most importantly, this guy wasn't wearing a headband!

As is well known, the Hyuga clan is divided into the main family and the branch family. To determine whether a Hyuga ninja belongs to the main family or the branch family, all you need to do is look at his head.

Those wearing headbands are most likely branch family ninjas, while those wearing headbands on their waists are 100% Hyuga main family ninjas!

The Hyuga main family ninjas are alright, after all, although they can learn more secret techniques, they basically have no combat experience, and their strength is not necessarily stronger than that of the branch family ninjas.

However, the ninjas of the main Hyuga clan are not necessarily stronger than those of the branch Hyuga clan. But the appearance and attire of this person clearly indicate that he is the head of the Hyuga clan, Hyuga Hiashi!

"We've been exposed—we've already got the Byakugan, everyone scatter and run!"

The Cloud Ninja leader shouted, and several people immediately made a fleeing stance. Upon hearing this, Hiashi Hyuga's eyes widened in surprise:

"What?! You got the eye roll?!... What have you all done?!"

The Hyuga main family has never had many members. To be precise, there are only two or three people per generation, and the total number of Hyuga members across several generations would not exceed ten.

Of these fewer than ten ninjas, the vast majority were adult ninjas. Even if they were slightly weaker, it would be difficult for them to be killed silently. The Byakugan that was easiest to obtain was that of their own daughter, Hinata Hyuga!

Thinking of this, Hiashi Hyuga became extremely anxious. He clasped his hands together, activated his Byakugan, and prepared to grab the leader of the Iwa ninja.

In that instant, a sinister smile appeared on the lips of the leader of the Iwa ninja, and he too formed hand seals:

"Lightning Release: Lightning Illusion Pillar!"

"Oh no!!" Hiashi Hyuga was startled. Just as the veins around his eyes bulged and he opened them, a blinding flash of lightning instantly caused a sharp pain in his eyes, and Hiashi Hyuga screamed in agony.

"No, you are clouds..."

"You know too much!"

(End of this chapter)