Plink... plink...
The cold autumn rain enveloped the entire forest. The dark green canopy of trees formed a dome, and mist drifted between the branches, creating a gloomy and oppressive natural atmosphere.
Several black figures flickered on the trunks and branches of the trees in the forest. Rainwater trickled down the folds of their dark black raincoats, leaving winding water marks on the waterproof fabric.
Hyuga Kumo, also wearing a black raincoat, was in the middle of the group, carefully observing the others in the escort team with his peripheral vision.
Among the fifteen people, twelve were Anbu ninjas, which meant three squads of four Anbu each.
This already showed that the matter was being taken very seriously. Otherwise, the Anbu, as the Third Hokage's personal guard, would not be sent out on missions so easily.
As for the remaining three, besides Hyuga Kumo, who was partially a protectee, there were two Konoha Jonin.
One was a Jonin from the Akimichi clan, and the other was a Jonin from the Aburame clan.
The others all wore masks of various shapes and exuded a cold, murderous aura.
It could be said that this escort team had extremely strong combat capabilities and would have almost no safety issues.
However...
"Danger may not come from outside."
Hyuga Kumo's gaze swept over the Jonin from the Aburame clan. He keenly sensed the familiar coldness from him.
A Root (Ne) ninja.
Shimura Danzo really hasn't given up. But that's fine. Our goals are the same.
"Stop."
Hyuga Kumo spoke abruptly. Everyone around him instinctively stopped and turned to look at him.
"Two o'clock direction, one kilometer away, thirteen ninjas are gathered. Their chakra signatures are chaotic. They should be Rogue Ninja."
Hyuga Kumo spoke as he took off his goggles to wipe them, revealing the skin under his eyelids, which had turned pale from the moisture.
"Let's go around," the Akimichi Jonin's voice was distorted by the sound of the rain.
Rogue Ninja, as the name suggests, were mostly unorthodox ninjas who wandered around, not belonging to any ninja village. They moved between countries, stealing ninjutsu from various nations. Most of them only learned the basics, or their techniques were similar in form but lacked substance, so most of them were weak.
Of course, for more than a dozen Rogue Ninja to gather together, it was highly likely that they had been taken in by a rogue ninja from some village.
Their mission was just an escort. The sooner they delivered the body to Kumogakure, the better. It was not advisable to stir up trouble on the way.
"How far is it to the Land of Hot Water?"
The Jonin from the Aburame clan, Aburame Ryoma, suddenly asked.
Hyuga Kumo glanced at the map and replied, "About one hundred and fifty kilometers."
The Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning did not share a border. They were separated by two small countries, the Land of Hot Water and the Land of the Moon. Their destination for this trip was within the Land of Hot Water.
At a ninja's regular speed, without using the Body Flicker Technique, it would take three days and three nights to get from Konoha to Sunagakure. It was a bit shorter from Konoha to the Land of Hot Water, taking one day and one night.
"Senior Todo," Aburame Ryoma turned to the Akimichi Jonin beside him and suggested, "We're still far from our destination. Why don't we rest here for a bit? With the Byakugan in the team, we don't have to worry about any accidents."
"..."
Akimichi Todo's eyes were squeezed into two slits by his chubby face. He tilted his head slightly to look at Hyuga Kumo behind him, secretly approving of the boy's performance throughout the journey.
He was also a veteran Jonin who had participated in the Third Great Ninja War and was once part of the squad led by the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
He had originally thought that having this boy in the team would be a burden, but he hadn't expected the other to be able to keep up with them perfectly. And thanks to the Byakugan, they hadn't encountered any trouble along the way.
This level of perception, this level of stamina, and the calmness he displayed...
"The rumors really can't be trusted."
Akimichi Todo thought to himself. He didn't refuse Aburame Ryoma's suggestion and said, "Then let's rest here for a bit."
With that, he looked at the eight Anbu ninjas from Squad Four and Squad Five. They nodded in understanding and disappeared with the Body Flicker Technique.
Since they had decided to rest here temporarily, they might as well clean up the Rogue Ninja. After all, they were in the Land of Fire, and Rogue Ninja were mostly just troublemakers.
The remaining few found their own places to rest. Only the rustling sound of their dark black raincoats could be heard, like a flock of soaked owls preening their feathers.
Akimichi Todo summoned a hawk, handed it a written scroll, and had it deliver it back to the Third Hokage. They had to maintain communication with the village. If they lost contact, the village would immediately send someone to check on the situation.
Hyuga Kumo also found a place to sit down. Since someone had taken over his watch, he closed his Byakugan to recover his chakra.
However, just as he took out his water bottle and tilted his head back to drink, his eyes moved slightly.
A bug had flown into his sleeve.
The bug was very small and ordinary. Anyone else, even Akimichi Todo, would not have noticed it.
But Hyuga Kumo's perception ability did not rely solely on the Byakugan.
"The Aburame clan's Destruction Bugs?"
Hyuga Kumo put down his water bottle with a calm expression, as if he hadn't noticed anything unusual about the bug.
Destruction Bugs were a type of reconnaissance insect used to gather intelligence. They were not as dangerous as the Parasitic Destruction Insects or the nano-sized venomous insects.
However, they would still have some impact on his upcoming actions.
Just as he was thinking about how to deal with the bug, his eyes suddenly moved slightly, and he looked down at the ground.
"Watch out, under..."
Hyuga Kumo shouted a warning without hesitation, but before he could finish his words, the muddy ground beneath his feet suddenly split open.
Earth Release: Decapitation Technique.
Bang!
Two hands suddenly shot out from underground, holding kunai and slashing at Hyuga Kumo's ankles.
This was an attempt to cripple him, to cripple the "eyes" of this squad.
Not only under Hyuga Kumo's feet, but also under Akimichi Todo's and Aburame Ryoma's feet, a pair of hands also emerged.
But the former simply formed a hand seal, lifted his muscular feet, and stomped down with all his might, while the latter was enveloped by his bugs.
Crack! Splat!
A pool of red and white blood mixed with rainwater spread on the ground. A dense swarm of bugs rushed underground, making a chilling gnawing sound.
The two of them instantly dealt with their enemies and subconsciously turned to look in Hyuga Kumo's direction.
Only to see Hyuga Kumo, after dodging the attack, grab the two hands protruding from the ground and forcibly pull the figure out from underground.
He threw a palm strike, and the immense penetrating force created a huge, transparent hole in the opponent's abdomen. Blood mixed with fragments of internal organs gushed out uncontrollably.
"It's a rogue ninja from Iwagakure," Hyuga Kumo said after glancing at the corpse's forehead. "It should be the group from earlier that discovered us..."
As he spoke, he looked up at Akimichi Todo and the others, only to be met with several pairs of astonished eyes.
It was no wonder that Akimichi Todo and the others looked at him this way. It was just that this brutal method of killing the enemy didn't quite fit their stereotype of the Hyuga clan.
These rogue ninjas were at most at the Chunin level. It wasn't too surprising that Hyuga Kumo could kill them.
But who had ever seen a Hyuga clan member who could shatter someone's stomach with a single palm strike? Weren't your methods a bit too cruel and brutal?
At the same time, Aburame Ryoma's brow furrowed slightly. He felt that his Destruction Bug had died. He subconsciously looked at Hyuga Kumo's sleeve, but only saw a blurry, bloody mess.
Thinking that it was just accidentally killed by Hyuga Kumo just now, he released a few more Destruction Bugs to fly over quietly.
But now, no matter how many he released, it was useless.
Hyuga Kumo's real body had already put on the Shadow Robe and left quietly. The Kumo who remained here, still smiling, was just a Shadow Clone Technique.
He had to go ahead and set the stage.
For his "puppets."
In the dense shadows of the trees, Hyuga Kumo, clad in the Shadow Robe, almost became a black shadow himself. As he moved stealthily, he chanted in his mind: "Manifest - Ōtsutsuki Ruins..."
This time, the target of his deception was no longer a single person, or a few people.
It was everyone in the shinobi world, including Kumogakure and Konoha.
Hyuga Kumo was about to tell a Colossal Lie.