Obito and Kakashi both stared intently at 'Mukai's' face, as if trying to discern any flaws from his every move and expression.
Ryuji found it somewhat amusing, 'With their limited experience, these brats who were exceptionally promoted due to the war dared to play mind games with me.'
If it were the real Mukai here, some flaws might have emerged, because Mukai himself wouldn't know whether Ryuji had sent him any messages.
But this false information went directly to the supposed sender himself.
That was a whole different story.
That thing in their hands, one didn't even need to think to know it was fabricated.
'Mukai's' expression remained unchanged from start to finish, without any fluctuations. He was prepared from the beginning.
Having a guilty conscience but not showing it is a basic skill for a qualified Shinobi.
"I don't know what you're talking about. If you want to make an accusation, please bring solid evidence. Otherwise, I won't let this rest, even if you two are from the Hokage's faction."
Ryuji, disguised as Mukai, adopted a firm tone, leaving no room for doubt, completely unwilling to argue with the two.
"Please leave."
Seeing this, Obito and Kakashi realized they had hit a wall. It seemed today was destined to be fruitless.
The scroll was indeed fabricated by them. Their goal was to bluff and see if Mukai had any undisclosed dealings with Sunagakure.
However, no matter what they thought, they would never have imagined that the plan was for the Hyuga Branch Family to defect.
After all, in traditional understanding, the Caged Bird Seal was considered nearly unbreakable.
The two looked at each other. It seemed their little tricks were still too naive in front of an old hand like Ryuji.
"Kakashi, I told you it wouldn't work."
Obito slipped into his usual mode of making sarcastic remarks. Kakashi helplessly pursed his lips, not saying much. After spending so much time together, he was already familiar with this guy's character.
"But that person definitely has a problem," Kakashi added in the end.
Obito put on a careless expression. "Even if he has a problem, without evidence..."
His words suddenly cut off halfway.
Because walking towards them was none other than the Kohinata Mukai they had just seen!
Obito wasn't a fool either. He immediately swallowed the rest of his sentence, putting on a smile and nodding in greeting to Mukai.
Mukai also smiled and nodded slightly at the two.
At this moment, even if they were foolish, they understood something was wrong!
'We must inform Hokage-sama immediately.'
This was the unanimous thought of the two.
Now the sky was gradually darkening. Once night fell, who knew what changes might occur.
The two rushed towards the Hokage's Office at high speed.
Mukai also sensed something amiss, because Obito and Kakashi had come from the direction where Ryuji and the others were currently located.
After meeting Ryuji, Mukai rapidly reported the incident of encountering Obito and Kakashi.
After listening, Ryuji nodded. "Not too bad yet. Where did you arrange to gather?"
"At Training Ground 44, to assemble before sunset!"
Ryuji glanced outside at the sky. With the current conditions, it would be completely dark in at most ten minutes.
"Now it's a race to see who is faster. We can't afford to be even a second late, because the Caged Bird Seal can kill them instantly!"
After checking the sky, Ryuji immediately turned and issued orders.
Mukai also realized the severity of the situation. He nodded and disappeared in an instant.
He rushed towards the Hyuga Clan's compound with the fastest speed of his life.
The Caged Bird Seal didn't allow for a single second of error.
After all, this was Konoha's territory.
After Kakashi and Obito met with the Third Hokage, the Third Hokage immediately issued an emergency order.
Given that it concerned the Hyuga Clan, the Hyuga Clan's response was swift, quickly assembling a team of Shinobi.
Hiashi's expression was extremely grave. He had noticed the clan's compound was quieter than usual today.
He hadn't thought much of it initially, assuming everyone was just lazy and didn't want to go out. But now, it seemed there was another reason behind it.
'Could it be that these people still want to defect? Impossible! With the Caged Bird Seal, defection is a dead end!'
About this, he was absolutely confident.
Mukai had swiftly returned to the Hyuga Clan's compound, leading the defecting clan members towards Training Ground 44 for the rendezvous.
Midway, they were intercepted by the hastily mobilized Hyuga Main Family and some Branch Family members unwilling to defect.
Hiashi looked gloomily at the Branch Family members led by Mukai.
"What are you all suddenly gathering together for?"
What they intended to do was almost self-evident. Most of them carried various storage scrolls and simple luggage.
Several Main Family's members behind Hiashi had already formed hand seals, ready to activate the Caged Bird Seal at any moment.
The same was true for the Hyuga Branch Family's members behind Mukai.
Ryuji, who had already arrived at Training Ground 44, smiled.
He had noticed the commotion over here.
'Not too late yet, they haven't completely torn face.'
After all, for the Hyuga Main Family, eliminating so many Branch Family's members would also be a loss that shakes their foundation. They couldn't act without hesitation.
They also hadn't imagined that someone could remove the seals from all these people before they activated them, so they weren't in too much of a hurry.
The Main Family's members behind Hiashi stared intently at Mukai, wanting him to give a satisfactory answer.
Kakashi and Obito were, of course, also in the pursuing team. The tension of this internal clan conflict made both of them deeply uncomfortable.
If it were just facing enemies on the battlefield normally, acting wouldn't carry much psychological burden.
But now, just a day ago, they were all one family.
Now, all their chips had to be placed on Ryuji.
Mukai sighed. Originally, after their secret meeting with Ryuji and escape, the entire process wouldn't have encountered any twists.
But they just had bad luck, running into those two troublemakers, Obito and Kakashi.
Now, they could only stall for as much time as possible.
"We don't intend to do anything. With the Caged Bird Seal in effect, we cannot oppose the Main Family. We just want to move to a different place to live."
The first part was indeed quite convincing, but the second part was full of holes.
"Do you want to escape secretly? I think you may have underestimated the distance required to activate the seal."
Hiashi stared fixedly at Mukai, also adopting the seal activation posture.
"You're the leader this time, right? Everyone here knows the terror of the Caged Bird Seal. Go back immediately, hand over the ringleader, and I can let this matter rest!"
Hearing this, Mukai's mouth twisted into a grimace.
"Hiashi, activate the Caged Bird Seal immediately. Make them lose their ability to resist first, then we can plan from there!"
An older Hyuga Main Family's elder whispered.
"No need to kill them directly. They can't escape!"
This elder nodded and instantly activated the seal.
The Hyuga Clan's members behind Mukai immediately cried out in agony.
Several of the weaker ones were already lying on the ground, unable to stand.
Mukai drew a kunai from his sleeve.
In two or three steps, he instantly charged towards Hiashi.
"A struggling beast at the end of its rope!"
Hiashi personally took action, adopting a stance.
"Eight Trigrams Palms: Rotation!"
Mukai's pupils contracted. Rotation was a top-level Taijutsu that combined offense and defense.
He was instantly sent flying, like a discarded sandbag.
Hiashi ceased the Rotation.
He swiftly rushed behind Mukai and seized his neck.
"The weak should have the awareness of the weak!"
…
Watching this scene from the crowd, Obito shrugged and said to Kakashi, "This is completely one-sided suppression. Looks like we don't need to intervene."
Kakashi didn't pay him any mind, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.
There was a small question in his heart: 'Who was the person disguised as Mukai earlier?'