Naruto: The Hyuga Mastermind

Chapter 1: Why Don't You Engrave a Caged Bird Seal to Protect Yourself?

"Damn it! Damn it! Why is the Mist Village ambushing us here?"

Hyuga Hisan sprinted through the forest in disarray, his activated Byakugan keeping a close watch on the Mist ninja rapidly closing in from behind. Despair was written all over his face.

As a member of the Hyuga clan's main family, he had grown resentful of the elders' overprotection. Defying their orders, he brought his bodyguards to the battlefield between Konoha and the Mist Village.

At first, things went as he had envisioned. As a Tokubetsu Jonin, he performed spectacularly, showcasing his abilities. The Mist's signature Hidden Mist Jutsu was rendered ineffective before the Byakugan, earning him praise from his peers and satisfying his vanity.

But today, his nightmare began.

He had been assigned a mission to rendezvous with allies.

Upon reaching the location, he didn't find his comrades but was instead met by eleven Mist ninjas, including three Jonin!

These enemies had concealed themselves just outside the Byakugan's field of vision. By the time he detected them, the encirclement was already in place.

If not for the two branch family bodyguards risking their lives to hold back the Jonin, he wouldn't have even had a chance to flee.

Despite being labeled a Tokubetsu Jonin for his Byakugan, Hisan, as a main family member, lacked real combat experience. How could he possibly defeat those battle-hardened elite Mist Chunin chasing him down?

Watching the distance between them gradually shrink, Hyuga Hisan's expression flickered between despair and reluctance.

The Mist ninjas had yet to deal a killing blow. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made it this far. Their objective was painfully obvious to him.

"They want the Byakugan…"

Hisan pulled out a kunai, aiming it at his own eye several times but failing to strike.

Just a little longer, just a little longer—he had already sent a distress signal. Perhaps some nearby Konoha ninja could arrive in time!

When the Mist ninjas closed to within fifty meters, the despairing Hisan finally saw a glimmer of hope. Within his Byakugan's range, he detected a familiar chakra.

"Fuji!"

That chakra dashed hundreds of meters at an incredible speed, arriving on the scene. Seeing Hyuga Fuji intercept the Mist ninjas, Hisan's face lit up with joy.

"Block them now! I am a member of the Hyuga main family—you must protect me with your life!"

For the first time, Hisan felt grateful for his main family status.

The newcomer was a boy of around fourteen or fifteen, possessing the same Byakugan as him. However, their roles were starkly different.

Hisan was from the main family, while Hyuga Fuji belonged to the branch family.

Thus, even though he knew Fuji was also a Tokubetsu Jonin, at this moment, Fuji had no choice but to put his life on the line to protect him.

But in his hope for survival, Hisan overlooked a glaring question—why was a Tokubetsu Jonin from the branch family, possessing a Byakugan, alone in this part of the battlefield without any teammates?

Hyuga Fuji stopped just outside the Mist ninja's attack range. Hearing Hisan's command, a peculiar smile played on his lips. Scanning the area with his Byakugan and confirming no reinforcements within two kilometers, he whispered to himself:

"Eight Gates Release, Fifth Gate: Gate of Limit, Open! Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Air Palms!"

In an instant, a surge of overwhelming chakra erupted from Fuji's palms, transforming into sixty-four waves of force that swept toward the group of Mist ninjas.

The wary Mist ninjas were shocked, unable to dodge in time. All of them coughed blood as they were blasted backward, collapsing lifelessly on the ground.

"Huh?"

Hisan, who had been preparing to flee, froze in place, his expression blank with disbelief.

That… wasn't the standard Eight Trigrams Air Palm. No, it was a fusion of Air Palm and Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!

How was that possible?

Branch family members weren't permitted to learn Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, let alone wield it with such power. And what was that green vapor emanating from Fuji's body…?

"AHHHH!!"

Hisan's thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a sharp, searing pain. Only then did he realize that both his arms were now missing, severed during Fuji's earlier attack.

"To prevent you from activating the Caged Bird Seal, the first thing I did was disable your arms."

Under Hisan's incredulous gaze, Fuji regarded him with the detached curiosity of a scientist examining a lab rat. A chilling smile tugged at his lips.

"Lucky me—those two branch family guards of yours really went all out. I thought I'd have to put in more effort."

"Ever since you stepped onto this battlefield, I've been waiting for this moment."

"You're the first main family test subject—Hyuga Hisan."

…

A few minutes later, three Mist ninjas arrived at the battlefield. They exchanged tense glances, collected the bodies of their fallen comrades, and quickly departed.

Ten minutes after that, a squad of Konoha ninjas finally arrived, including none other than Hyuga Fuji himself.

'The main body succeeded.'

With just a glance at the scene's remnants, Fuji instantly understood what had transpired. Outwardly, he maintained a calm demeanor, reporting in a serious tone:

"Captain, there are traces of Eight Trigrams Air Palm here."

Jonin Uchiha Kotaro frowned, signaling the others to stay alert and search for clues. He then gestured for Fuji to continue.

"Judging by the cracks in the ground caused by the Air Palm, the Hyuga ninja who performed it is far stronger than me. It's likely a Jonin from the clan."

Fuji's shadow clone calmly analyzed the battle damage—cracked earth, shattered trees—left behind by the earlier clash.

"To my knowledge, there are only two Hyuga Jonin stationed on the Mist battlefield."

Jonin, regardless of clan, were elite warriors and not so common as to be casually deployed. If not for Hisan's insistence on coming here, even the two branch family Jonin wouldn't have appeared on this battlefield.

After all…

Fuji glanced at his captain.

Konoha's strongest clan—the Uchiha—had sent many of its ninjas to this battlefield under orders from the higher-ups.

Though having Uchiha, who specialize in Fire Release, fight Mist ninjas adept in Water Release seemed strategically flawed, Konoha's top brass had long been known for their questionable decisions.

The elders of the Hyuga clan certainly weren't keen on drawing attention to themselves by competing with the Uchiha, lest they invite trouble. As such, the Hyuga ninjas deployed here were sufficient in number but far from exceptional in strength.

Uchiha Kotaro's expression darkened.

The two branch family Jonin had been tasked with protecting the main family member. If the Byakugan fell into Mist hands, the consequences would be disastrous!

"Captain, we've found severed limbs belonging to one of our own."

At that moment, a Chunin on perimeter duty called out, holding up two severed arms. One of the hands was still clutching a kunai tightly.

Fuji and Kotaro instantly teleported to the location to inspect. Kotaro examined the wounds, his face grim.

"Judging by the injuries, both arms were severed simultaneously by brute force. The victim didn't even have time to react. Whoever did this had the strength to disable but deliberately avoided delivering a killing blow…"

Fuji's expression turned somber, a hint of sorrow appearing on his face. The surrounding Konoha ninjas fell silent as well.

This was the worst-case scenario.

In ninja combat, attacks were typically lethal. To deliberately cripple an enemy rather than kill them could only mean one thing: they were after the Hyuga main family member.

It was almost laughable. The branch family's Caged Bird Seal protected their Byakugan from being stolen, leaving them unappealing targets. But the main family…

A weakling with insufficient strength insisted on coming to the battlefield, only to become a liability!

Kotaro cast a glance at Fuji, then looked back at the severed arms. He silently cursed under his breath.

"If you had to come to the battlefield, why didn't you engrave the Caged Bird Seal to protect yourself like the branch family?"

(End of Chapter)