Once the strategy was set, Hyūga Hizashi began assigning tasks.
Rokuro was in charge of activating the sealing formation, so he couldn't leave the ambush spot. Hyūga Hizashi himself would handle eliminating the targets, while the task of luring the enemies fell to Inuzuka Hana.
With her three ninja dogs, Inuzuka Hana was perfect for the job and accepted without hesitation.
Hizashi gave a hand signal, and Hana dashed forward with her dogs, while Hizashi remained hidden nearby underground.
Soon, the sounds of barking and thunder echoed in the distance; Hana had already engaged with the Cloud ninja.
"She's a Konoha Inuzuka clan secret technique ninja! Her rank is higher than normal—capture her alive!"
A Cloud Anbu lieutenant ordered, and six Chunin immediately ceased their jutsu and switched to throwing shuriken and kunai.
Hana retreated swiftly, with the three Graymaru brothers circling around her. Another Cloud Anbu formed a hand seal and charged to support the pursuit.
Amid rapid breaths, Hana pushed with all her strength to the ambush site, then charged forward without hesitation.
Just half a second later, eight Cloud ninja arrived. As they were about to catch Hana, golden light erupted—the sealing formation appeared on the ground. Eight chakra chains shot out, ensnaring the Cloud ninja.
"It's a sealing jutsu! Avoid it!"
The Cloud Anbu had keen eyesight, but it was too late; six Chunin didn't have time to react before the chakra chains bound them.
Some tried tearing with their hands, others slashed with kunai, and a few foolishly attempted to cut the chains with Lightning Release hand strikes.
The results were disastrous: kunai snapped, hands were bound tighter, and chakra drained rapidly with the lightning strikes, leaving them completely incapacitated.
In an instant, all eight were trapped. The golden chains absorbed their chakra, quickly nullifying their combat ability.
At that moment, another Cloud Anbu suddenly transformed into a ball of lightning.
"Watch out! Lightning clone!"
Hizashi had just emerged and was about to execute Gentle Fist attacks. Following the principle of "capture the leader first," his initial targets were the two Cloud Anbu.
When the Cloud Anbu became lightning, Hizashi received a minor shock, lightly injuring his hand.
Almost immediately as the clone dissipated, the real Cloud Anbu appeared behind Rokuro, thrusting a Lightning Release hand strike at his back.
A flash of lightning, and another of Rokuro's Lightning Release hand strikes blocked the attack. Two new chakra chains shot from the formation, binding the enemy swiftly.
"You're unlucky—didn't expect me to be skilled in Lightning Release too, huh?"
Rokuro smirked, then filled his right hand with lightning chakra and drove it through the enemy's heart.
Blood spattered; this was the real body. Bound by the golden chains, the Cloud Anbu couldn't counter or dodge, and was instantly killed.
Rokuro didn't pay further attention, turning instead to watch Hizashi.
Hizashi moved like he was dancing on the battlefield, spinning rapidly, gliding past several Cloud ninja, lightly striking them as he advanced.
Rokuro activated his Mangekyō Sharingan. He observed that every strike targeted vital points—hearts, back of the head, temples.
Though the Sharingan doesn't see through the body, Rokuro knew that beneath each seemingly light strike, there was needle-like chakra capable of piercing stone. Hits to other parts might cause only muscle tears or broken blood vessels, but strikes to the heart or brain were fatal.
As predicted, within a second, when Hizashi stopped, all seven remaining Cloud ninja were dead—including the Cloud Anbu.
The golden chains dissolved, leaving eight corpses. Aside from the one Rokuro pierced through the heart, the other seven appeared nearly unharmed externally.
"The power of the Hyūga Gentle Fist is truly formidable. Some once spread rumors that your clan's Gentle Fist isn't as lethal as a thrown kunai. I'd like to personally refute that."
Hizashi's face darkened with anger.
"Fools. The Gentle Fist easily penetrates skin, muscle, and bone, causing severe internal injuries. A strike to vital points is lethal. Sharp weapons like kunai can rarely kill with one blow unless there's a huge difference in skill."
In essence, the Gentle Fist is somewhat like Amaterasu fire. While Amaterasu is touted as the strongest physical attack, in canon few actually die from it due to countermeasures—quick armor removal, severing limbs, etc. Only elite-level opponents can truly endure it.
Hana returned to support, finding the fight already over. Rokuro used the sealing scroll to collect the eight bodies. Ninja corpses were valuable for analyzing jutsu, poisons, and possibly extracting intelligence. Meanwhile, tools like shuriken and kunai were kept as personal loot; with Rokuro as a sealing master, there was no concern for hidden traps. The three shared their spoils happily.
That night, they camped outdoors, taking turns standing guard with their dogs.
When it was Hana's turn, Hizashi approached Rokuro.
"Rokuro, I need to discuss something with you. After tonight, I want you to forget what I say—don't let it slip. Can you do that?"
Seeing Hizashi's serious expression, Rokuro already guessed the topic.
Sure enough, Hizashi removed his headband, revealing the Caged Bird mark—a symbol of disgrace for the Hyūga branch family.
"Team Leader Hizashi, you're asking if there's a way to remove the Caged Bird, aren't you?"
"You… guessed it?"
Rokuro smiled.
"I have a keen interest in the history of the ninja world and the major clans. Aside from researching sealing jutsu, I've studied the Hyūga clan closely. If I'm not mistaken, branch family children get the Caged Bird mark at age four. Your son, Hyūga Neji, is three this year, right?"
END OF CHAPTER
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