His thoughts raced, and Shinji Hyuga quickly realized another possibility: a spy.
This person was a spy from another ninja village, infiltrated within Konoha.
The fact that the other party was targeting him might be related to his contact with Hyuga Genkou of the main family earlier that day.Based on this, it could be inferred that the other party was very likely a spy belonging to Kirigakure.
Thinking this, Shinji Hyuga frowned slightly, still unable to understand why the other party would attack him.
But what was done was done, and what was more important now was...
To resolve this sudden crisis.
Shinji Hyuga suppressed his expression, deactivated his Byakugan, and continued walking down the street without making a sound.
His apartment was located on the edge of the clan's territory, near Konoha's second ring road. Although not large, its location was undeniably prime real estate within Konoha.
This place was near Konoha's central commercial district—where Naruto would live in the future.Even Shinji Hyuga's neighbor was Hatake Kakashi, who had recently sold his family property and rented a place here for convenience after becoming a Jonin at the young age of twelve.
This wasn't because Shinji Hyuga was particularly wealthy, had high status, or because the Hyuga clan treated its branch family exceptionally well.
But one thing was certain:
He lived in a settlement for Konoha's elite ninjas.
If an enemy hiding in the shadows wanted to make a move against Shinji Hyuga, they couldn't wait until he actually returned to that neighborhood. The only place the enemy could act and conceal their tracks was in the alleyways connecting the Hyuga clan territory to the apartment district.
Now that Shinji knew this, could he run?
No.
Could he not run?
Also no.
No matter what, Shinji Hyuga was just a genin with pitifully low chakra. What he feared most was a head-on, reckless assault from an enemy.
With his Gentle Fist,even at full strength, he could only hold his own against a Chunin-level opponent for a few minutes before collapsing from exhaustion and chakra depletion.
Therefore, he could not call for help, because he would likely be killed before reinforcements arrived.
He had to submit to the enemy's expectations,lull them into complacency, and then...
Kill the enemy in an instant!
At this time,
As the sun set,the sound of cicadas chirping like pouring rain filled the air. Shinji calmly walked across the long street, passing by the eaves where the enemy was hiding.
Until he reached the street corner and arrived at what the enemy had prepared for him—
His burial ground.
Shinji Hyuga's pure white pupils suddenly contracted, revealing a cold, sharp glint filled with murderous intent.
He stepped into the darkness.
His hand swung in a normal rhythm,and as it swung back, he quietly retrieved the ninja tool pouch tied to the waist of his open-chested gray kimono.
He pulled out a kunai with a paper-wrapped pellet tied to its end.
The instant his fingers grasped the kunai's handle, Shinji Hyuga tensed his body, his toes slamming into the ground. His entire frame swayed slightly in the elongated shadow of the alley before suddenly accelerating!
He plunged headlong into the alley,which was only three hundred meters long.
At the same instant, the hairs on his neck stood on end.
His extraordinary sensory ability allowedShinji Hyuga to immediately perceive that the gaze that had been focused on his back, after suddenly losing its target, only hesitated for less than half a second before shifting back into the shadows of the alley to lock onto him—becoming even more dangerous, sharp, and almost piercing his flesh!
Whoosh!
A sharp gust of wind sounded behind him.
That was the sound of the enemy realizing something was wrong and using a Body Flicker Technique to close in at lightning speed!
"Byakugan, open!" Shinji Hyuga suddenly widened his eyes, veins bulging at their corners.
The moment captured by the god-like perspective of his rapidly scanning sight,the enemy behind him was rapidly approaching.
Shinji Hyuga lowered his body, stopped abruptly, and rolled to the side.
The broad-faced ninja wearing a cat mask with only two whiskers and dressed as an Anbu member, propelled by the momentum of his Body Flicker, held a kunai that gleamed with cold light as he brushed past Shinji Hyuga, who had rolled to the ground.
At this moment,
He saw the boy lying prone on the ground with his head raised.
He saw...a pair of white eyes that had been as simple and honest as a camel's, but had instantly turned as fierce as a lion's.
Juntō Yajima was a spy-nin.
He was one of the lowest-ranking members of the Hidden Mist spy network within Konoha Village.
In layman's terms,he was the kind of person who didn't matter if he was exposed, or someone sent to be exposed when necessary—sacrificing his life to assist his superior in obtaining intelligence or removing obstacles through a single-line communication chain.
Today at ten o'clock in the morning,
He had received a mission—
Disguised as a Konoha Anbu ninja,assassinate a Hyuga branch family genin named Shinji Hyuga.
Juntō Yajima didn't know why his superior wanted to kill this Hyuga branch family genin, but he could roughly guess.
At nine o'clock in the morning,he had seen Shinji Hyuga emerge from the residence of Hyuga Sōsuke, the head of the Hyuga clan's collateral branch.
This suggested the target had very likely been in contact with Hyuga Genkou,the member of the Hyuga main family he had been closely monitoring.
Furthermore,this was combined with subsequent mission intel indicating that [Shinji Hyuga] was a medical ninja.
His superior judged:
Shinji Hyuga'sexistence could influence Kirigakure's next operation, so this variable must be nipped in the bud.
What was Kirigakure's next move?
How could someone as weak asShinji Hyuga have any impact on the operation?
Wouldn't killingShinji Hyuga now alert the enemy and introduce even greater unpredictability?
Juntō Yajima had an inkling of the answer's direction, but he couldn't know for sure.
A ninja chosen to be a spy couldn't be an idiot,especially given the existence of Konoha's Yamanaka clan, who could read minds.
All he knew was that,at this time and place, he needed to use his skills as a seasoned Chunin to eliminate a weak Hyuga branch family genin—one who hadn't even fully mastered his clan's secret techniques—without causing too much commotion.
However,
After reviewing the assassination target's profile,
Juntō Yajima instinctively sensed something amiss from the other party's sparse resume.
The resume read as follows:
[Shinji Hyuga: Genin]
[Missions Completed: 46 D-rank, 12 C-rank]
[Strength Assessment: Genin. Has awakened the Byakugan, but has not mastered Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms. Taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, and throwing skills are all lacking.]
[Has independently studied and mastered several medical ninjutsu, including even a high-difficulty B-rank technique.]
[Konoha Year 46: Graduated early from the Ninja Academy.]
[Konoha Year 47: Joined the 8th Reconnaissance Team and participated in the Third Shinobi World War. In the same year, during an Iwagakure assault in the Land of Grass, the team's Chunin leader was killed, and two teammates also died.]
[Konoha Year 48: Joined the reorganized Reconnaissance Team 8. In the same year, the team's Chunin leader died. Later participated in Konoha's Chunin Exams, where two teammates died under mysterious circumstances.]
[Konoha Year 49: Has been recuperating in Konoha.]
Looking at this resume, Juntō Yajima made a judgment.
This was an ordinary genin who hadn't even fully mastered his family's self-defense secret techniques.Apart from possessing a pair of Byakugan that were more of a burden than an asset compared to other ninjas, his combat strength was even inferior to some elite academy graduates.
But even such a ninja, weak in every conceivable sense,
Had survived to this day through the Third Shinobi World War,despite two Chunin leaders and multiple teammates dying around him.
This person was most likely a bit problematic...
Either he was so lucky that even the heavens couldn't bear to take his life,or—
Shinji Hyugapossessed an ability that couldn't be documented in intelligence reports.
Such individuals were referred to by spies and ninjas whose lives depended on intelligence as:
[Intelligence Black Holes].