Hoshiyomi's move effectively pushed Pakura's loyalty from fifty to seventy on the scale.
Seeing Hoshiyomi like that, a feeling of "a soldier dying for the one who understands him" unexpectedly grew in Pakura's heart.
Once Pakura's allegiance was secured, Hoshiyomi seized the moment and told her plainly why he and his team were in Kirigakure:
"I suppose you're curious about our purpose here. Now that we're on the same side, I won't hide it from you…"
As he spoke, Hoshiyomi briefly explained the invasion by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and their own retaliatory operation.
Hearing this, Pakura couldn't help but compare Hoshiyomi to Rasa. Look at Hoshiyomi — he led his people to avenge his disciple's father by striking back at Kirigakure. And Rasa?
Even when attacked at his doorstep, he still acted meek and submissive, even scheming to use the enemy's hand to eliminate her, the "Hero of Sunagakure," as a threat to his political position.
With this comparison, Hoshiyomi's image grew even taller, and his actions received Pakura's full support. Pakura decided on the spot to join Hoshiyomi in causing trouble within Kirigakure.
The five of them immediately decided to begin observing the patrol routes of the Kirigakure shinobi right away.
At first the three Hyūga thought Kirigakure — as one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages — must have strict defenses. But after three days of scouting they found Kirigakure's security surprisingly lax.
Their patrol units were sloppier than even the tiny villages surrounding Konoha; their routes were scattered as if they barely tried.
It made a certain kind of sense: Kirigakure was likely the poorest of the Five — a place with nothing to plunder. Without resources, there's no incentive to mount a proper defense. So their shinobi didn't care much about patrol duty.
Having confirmed that, the five wasted no time. Using the Byakugan's all-seeing vision to bypass the meaningless patrols and relying on Hoshiyomi's natural sensing, they slipped into Kirigakure's interior.
Inside the village, things were just as bleak as outside. Walking the streets, Hoshiyomi could feel the difference between Kirigakure and Konoha clearly.
It was around ten in the morning. If it were Konoha the streets would be bustling, but Kirigakure was nearly empty — the few people who passed by looked hurried and paid no attention to strangers.
"Not only do they have far fewer sensory-type shinobi than Konoha, but their overt and covert sentries are also nowhere near Konoha's level," Hoshiyomi remarked without restraint as they walked. With three pairs of Byakugan plus his natural sensing, the patrols and lookouts couldn't detect them at all.
Pakura listened in awkward silence — after all, Suna and Kiri weren't so different in this regard. She felt a bit offended at Hoshiyomi's mocking of Kirigakure's weakness.
Regarding sabotage, the five shared a consensus: they would not harm Kirigakure's civilians. Collateral damage from fighting was one thing, but wanton slaughter of civilians to avenge an invasion was disgusting.
With that agreement, they didn't linger on the main roads. They headed straight for Mizukage Building.
On the way, Hoshiyomi assigned tasks:
"Our goal is to make Kirigakure know that Konoha is not to be trifled with. We're not out to slaughter civilians, so the obvious target is their Mizukage Building."
"Next," Hoshiyomi continued, "you three will handle reconnaissance on the perimeter. Pakura and I will infiltrate the Mizukage Building. We'll cause as much damage as we can, then pull out immediately."
Seeing how weak Kirigakure's defenses were, the three Hyūga shinobi gained confidence.
"Even if reinforcements show up, the three of us can hold them off. As long as you finish within half an hour, we're confident we can keep everyone else busy."
Hoshiyomi nodded in satisfaction. Over the past few days, these Hyūga had clearly been influenced by his attitude.
"Good. Then we're going in. Stay alert out here — if something comes up that you can't handle, make some noise. Pakura and I will come running."
With that, Hoshiyomi exchanged a brief glance with Pakura, and the two of them stepped into the Mizukage Building.
Once inside, they no longer bothered to restrain their killing intent. Hoshiyomi mouthed to Pakura, "I'll cover you from the shadows," and activated his Transparent Escape Technique, vanishing from sight.
This was Pakura's first time seeing Hoshiyomi use his "Transparent Escape Technique." Watching him disappear completely before her eyes filled her with a sense of wonder — but she quickly focused her attention back on the Kirigakure shinobi ahead.
As she turned a corner, two Kirigakure shinobi approached from the opposite direction. Seeing her unfamiliar face, they instinctively started to question her identity — but before either could speak, a blazing orange sphere of Scorch Release shot out from behind her.
The glowing sphere struck one of them squarely in the chest. Before he could even scream, his body shriveled up into a desiccated mummy.
The second shinobi opened his mouth to call for help — but a flash of a blade behind him silenced him instantly. He clutched at his throat and collapsed to the floor.
From the shadows beside Pakura, Hoshiyomi's calm voice echoed:
"Keep moving. Don't leave a single one standing."
Pakura nodded, and the two advanced deeper inside.
The scenes that followed were almost identical — whether chūnin or jōnin, none could withstand Pakura's Scorch Release or Hoshiyomi's assassinations. None even had time to scream before falling lifelessly to the ground.
The pair advanced effortlessly, cutting through the first floor without encountering any real resistance, and soon reached the second floor of the building.
It was only then that someone finally realized something was wrong.
A Kirigakure ANBU squad captain crouched down, pressed an ear to the floor, and frowned.
"Something's off. Why is the first floor so quiet? Squad Seven, come with me to the staircase to check what's going on down there."
Following orders, Squad Seven drew their kunai and short swords, advancing cautiously behind their captain toward the staircase.
As they reached the turn in the stairs, the sound of footsteps echoed from below — tap, tap, tap.
The captain immediately became alert and called out: "Who's there? Put your hands on your head and come forward."
But the only reply was a cold voice:
"Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder!"
Three orange spheres roared up the staircase, instantly engulfing the three nearest ANBU. In a blink, they were reduced to mummified husks.
The captain, pale as death, stumbled back and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Enemies! We're under attack!"