Chapter 20: The Tragic Caged Bird — The Assassination of Hyuga Hizashi!

The expressions of the Three Ninja Blades grew extremely grim. They never expected the Konoha shinobi to arrive so swiftly—

and with such overwhelming force!

Not only was the Legendary Sannin Jiraiya personally leading the team, but everyone accompanying him was an absolute elite.

"Uchiha clan head, the 'Wicked Eye' Uchiha Fugaku, and the younger brother of the Hyuga clan head — Hyuga Hizashi."

Suikazan Fuguoki tightly gripped his Samehada. As the head of Kirigakure's intelligence division, he was very familiar with these Konoha elites. Because of this, cold sweat had begun to bead on his forehead.

"Also, the head of the Aburame clan, Aburame Shibi; the head of the Yamanaka clan, Yamanaka Inoichi; and the elite of the Nara clan..."

"Are you crazy? You've deployed all the main forces here. Aren't you worried Kirigakure's frontline will be broken through by us?"

"Water Style!"

"Kirigakure's Technique!"

Biwa Juzo immediately formed hand seals.

A thick mist billowed from his mouth, instantly enveloping everything around them, completely obscuring their vision.

"Trying to use Kirigakure's technique to limit the Sharingan's reconnaissance?"

As the mist spread, the Three Ninja Blades melded directly into the fog. But the Konoha side remained completely calm.

Biwa Juzo's Kirigakure Mist Technique was extremely powerful; even the Three-Tomoe Sharingan couldn't penetrate it, no matter how fearsome its wielder.

But this time, Konoha didn't just bring Sharingan!

"The wielder of the Executioner's Blade, Biwa Juzo, is five meters to the left of Lord Jiraiya; Kurotsuchi Raiga is eighteen meters in front of Inoichi; Suikazan Fuguoki... Fugaku-sama, watch your left!"

Veins bulged on Hizashi's temples as his Byakugan, the all-seeing white eye, activated, effortlessly reporting everyone's positions.

The hidden Three Ninja Blades gritted their teeth. With the Byakugan active, they couldn't even retreat.

At the same time, the sound of rushing wind was heard.

A heavy fist slammed fiercely toward Suikazan Fuguoki.

With a dull crash, Suikazan Fuguoki managed to block in time using Samehada. The blade's spikes tore through his bandages, devouring Jiraiya's chakra, so he didn't suffer serious injury.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"

The fireball and water dragon collided, filling the dispersed mist with a thick vapor again. Biwa Juzo, holding the Executioner's Blade, plunged into the fog, seizing the opportunity to strike at Fugaku's neck.

Fugaku's three-tomoe Sharingan rotated in his eye socket, seeing through all of Biwa Juzo's attacks.

"Bang!"

Kunai blocked the Executioner's Blade, and the two immediately engaged in combat within the dense fog.

"This won't do. If we don't take down this Byakugan, we can't even run."

Kurotsuchi Raiga's expression turned serious. His lightning blade was enveloped in chakra, crackling with electricity as the thunder roared toward Hizashi.

"Secret Technique: Parasitic Insects!"

A swarm of insects flew, perfectly blocking the incoming lightning attack, wielded by Aburame Shibi.

All three Ninja Blades were engaged!

Seeing all the Ninja Blades intercepted, the previously tense Hizashi relaxed, continuing to activate his Byakugan to lock onto the Ninja Blades' locations.

"If all seven Ninja Blades were present, this battle would be unpredictable. After all, Suikazan Fuguki with Samehada could somewhat restrain Lord Jiraiya, and the other blades each have their own abilities."

"But now, there are only three blades, and no one can hold us back. Suzaku, Inoichi, and I can operate freely!"

Hizashi was brimming with confidence.

Having killed that mysterious Blood Mist Blade at the start, the outcome of the battle was already determined. Hizashi knew exactly how much a secret technique master family could impact the battlefield.

This fight was theirs to win!

"Inoichi, Suzaku... Inoichi?!"

"Pfft!"

Yamanaka Inoichi had already fainted on the ground, and the chest of Nara Suzaku now had an additional blade lodged in it.

He had been pierced through the heart!

"How is this possible?!"

Hizashi stared in shock at the familiar young face.

"What's impossible? Are you saying I'm still alive, or that I could dodge your Byakugan?"

Dropping Nara Suzaku's body, Yoru sneered as the system alert sounded in his ear.

Konoha's sudden attack was indeed terrifying — Yoru didn't even get a chance to use the Empty Cicada technique before being locked on.

Luckily, at the last moment, he decisively exchanged points in the system shop for a prosthetic body, narrowly escaping disaster.

Yes.

The one swallowed by the swarm of insects was not Yoru's real body — it was his prosthetic!

That had cost a full 10,000 points!

"And the reason I could dodge your assassination and even your Byakugan..."

Bursting into a flash step, Yoru appeared before Hizashi in an instant, swinging a shallow strike upward. Hizashi instinctively leaned back to evade, but the forehead protector bound to his temple was sliced off by Yoru's blade.

The ugly Caged Bird curse mark was revealed.

"It's not because my concealment skills are that great — it's because of you, Hizashi of the Hyuga branch family."

"W-What?!"

Yoru sneered coldly.

The Byakugan of the Hyuga branch family was restricted by the Caged Bird curse. Its visual field had a blind spot spreading one degree behind the first thoracic vertebra.

Using this blind spot, Yoru was able to evade the Byakugan's surveillance.

Looking at Hizashi, disheveled and marked with the ugly curse, Yoru's eyes flashed with pity.

The only value of someone trapped in a birdcage was to become Yoru's point balance!

"Pfft!"

With a single strike, a bloody gash appeared on Hizashi's face, slashing down from his neck and severing the cursed Caged Bird in two.

Hizashi's eyes were wide open in disbelief — he couldn't accept this was his fate. The commotion also attracted the attention of the others nearby.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

A roaring gale filled with thick chakra forcibly blew away the lingering mist.

Jiraiya and Uchiha Fugaku just happened to see Yoru finish off Hizashi with a single slash.

Looking down at the lifeless bodies of Yamanaka Inoichi and Nara Suzaku beside him, both Jiraiya and Fugaku's expressions darkened completely.

Even the usually stern Aburame Shibi showed significant emotional disturbance.

"Nice work, Yoru!"

Suikazan Fuguki rejoiced, activating Samehada's power to forcibly create distance from Jiraiya.

Biwa Juzo and Raiga Kurosuki were also beaming with joy.

Without the Byakugan, their movements could no longer be tracked — they could retreat anytime.

And without members of the Yamanaka and Nara clans, their upcoming fight would face no outside interference.

In other words...

They might even consider leaving these few behind right here!

PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin