"Hinata Mizuki?"Tsunade raised an eyebrow. Haruki's cousin? Why would this mission need her?
"The ruins are tied to the Hyuga clan's ancestors," Hinata Ame explained respectfully. "The records say three Byakugan users are needed to open it, and the Byakugan must be sustained for a long period. Mizuki can maintain hers for a very long time, so the mission requires her presence."
Tsunade nodded. "I see. Very well—I approve. Mizuki will join your team."
"Good. We'll depart tomorrow morning. Thank you for your assistance, Lady Tsunade. On behalf of the Hyuga clan, I'm grateful for your help."Ame bowed low. As he lowered his head, a faint, almost imperceptible smile crossed his face…
When Mizuki received the news, she didn't complain. Investigating ruins connected to the Hyuga ancestors? This might be interesting.
Sunagakure Forward Base
Chiyo sat studying a dossier. After recent defeats, her standing in the village had plummeted. Luckily, her own son and a few old allies in the Council still supported her; otherwise, she suspected the Third Kazekage might have already disposed of her.
A messenger ninja entered. "Lady Chiyo, our operatives have obtained intelligence concerning Konoha."
Chiyo took the scroll, read it carefully, and asked, "How far are these ruins from here?"
"Roughly sixty kilometers," the ninja replied.
"Send a squad to investigate—and remember, leave no Konoha shinobi alive," Chiyo said coldly, her eyes flashing with lethal intent.
"Yes, ma'am!" The messenger vanished.
The next morning, Hinata Haruki rose and resumed his training. The shadow clone he had left to monitor Hinata Nisshin was still active—meaning there had been no suspicious movements.
After his daily drills, Haruki decided to visit Mizuki so they could check in on Kato Dan together. But Mizuki wasn't home. He learned from others that Tsunade had dispatched her on a mission early that morning.
So Haruki went alone to the medical station. Just as he arrived, his shadow clone dispersed.
"Hmm… seems nothing happened after all," Haruki thought, scanning the memories from the clone's watch over Nisshin.
Then he froze. "Wait—that's odd…"The clone had noticed something Haruki had overlooked all along: Nisshin's personal attendant. Where had he gone? Not once during the night had the clone seen him.
A chill of foreboding ran down Haruki's spine.
He quickened his pace and entered Dan's hospital room. Dan was still asleep, while Tsunade sat vigil at his side.
"Haruki, you're here," Tsunade greeted him, intending to take the chance to talk.
"Lady Tsunade—did you send Mizuki on a mission this morning?" Haruki asked without preamble.
"Eh? Yes. Why?" Tsunade's brow furrowed. "Did something happen?"
"Can you tell me what kind of mission it is?" Haruki's unease grew sharper.
"It concerns the Hyuga clan. The Third Hokage approved it himself. Mizuki was asked to assist in investigating a set of ruins."
"Ruins? For the Hyuga? Was it the Hyuga elders who specifically requested Mizuki?" Haruki's expression darkened instantly.
"Yes," Tsunade replied after thinking a moment.
"Lady Tsunade, where are these ruins located? Mizuki and the others could be in danger!" Haruki's voice turned urgent.
"What?!" Tsunade shot to her feet, startled by the intensity in his tone.
"The Hyuga elders may be plotting against her—they might even try to harm Mizuki. Please, send reinforcements at once! You have to trust me!" Haruki said firmly.
Tsunade locked eyes with him and nodded. "Understood." She immediately gave him the exact coordinates.
Poof! Haruki vanished in a cloud of smoke, leaving only the words: "Lady Tsunade, I'll go ahead—please send support quickly!"
"Wait—Haruki! Don't be reckless!" But it was only a shadow clone. Haruki's real body had never entered the medical station.
Realizing the urgency, Tsunade quickly summoned several jonin guards and set out personally to back Haruki up.
Meanwhile, Haruki—now far from Konoha's camp—had absorbed the clone's memories and was already sprinting toward the ruins.
Crossing the desert, he reached a jagged expanse of boulders and leapt into the rocky maze.
"This way!" Haruki's Byakugan fixed on the right path, and he bounded forward at full speed.
The rock forest was dense, shielding the ground from wind and sand. At first, the stones were yellowish with dust and grit, but deeper in they turned grey-blue. Beyond them lay a surprisingly lush forest.
"Please be safe, Mizuki…" Haruki's jaw tightened. Certain Hyuga from the main family had tried to target him before. Now, unable to touch him directly, they had stooped to going after his kin.
He also suspected they intended to use Mizuki as bait to lure him into an ambush. But no matter what trap awaited, he couldn't abandon her. Along the way, he left subtle marks only allies could recognize, hoping reinforcements would follow quickly.
"Faster!" He plunged into the forest.
In the woods, five Konoha shinobi moved swiftly through the branches. Mizuki and Hinata Ame were in front, followed by three sensory-type chunin.
"Ame-senpai, didn't you say we need three Hyuga for the ruins? Where's the third?" Mizuki asked curiously.
"Ah, you know him. A younger clan member—you'll see soon enough." Ame gave a mysterious smile.
"Someone I know?" Mizuki thought aloud. "Is it Haruki? That must be it. Maybe he was delayed by something…"
Meanwhile, deep in the forest, a pair of eyes watched from the undergrowth.
"Only five? Then let's move," the spy muttered. Twelve more figures sprang from hiding, pursuing the Konoha group silently.
Suddenly, Ame stopped. The others landed in a clearing behind him.
"We're being followed," he announced, thinking, So the Sand finally showed up? Took them long enough.
"Heh. Konoha shinobi—what's your business here?" Thirteen Sunagakure ninja appeared on nearby branches—three jonin, ten chunin.
"Enemies!" The Konoha group tensed, weapons drawn.
"No comment," Ame said lightly, though inwardly he smirked: Plenty of Suna shinobi… perfect.
"Then we'll just take a few of you in for questioning," a Suna jonin said, preparing to attack.
At that moment, Ame suddenly pointed off into the trees. "Look out!"
The Konoha shinobi instinctively turned—and in that split second, Ame's palm struck Mizuki's back, sending her flying. He vanished into the forest alone.
"Senpai—why?!" Mizuki gasped, blood spraying from her lips.
"Tch. Sacrificing your comrades to save yourself? Typical cowardly jonin," a Suna shinobi sneered, noticing Ame had already disappeared. "But cowards live longer."
"Attack!"
Shuriken whistled through the air. The three remaining Konoha ninja intercepted them with kunai. Mizuki staggered to her feet, pain twisting her insides, and was nicked by a stray blade—blood welling from the cut. The four of them were in dire straits.
"Surrender! You can't escape. We just want some information," a Suna jonin said mockingly.
"Never!" The three Konoha ninja closed ranks in a swastika-shaped defensive formation, shielding Mizuki behind them.
"Then die. Leave the injured Hyuga kunoichi alive—kill the rest!"
The ten Suna chunin rushed forward.
"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!" A ball of fire forced the Konoha ninja to scatter, breaking their formation. Mizuki fell again.
One Konoha ninja blocked a slash head-on, only to be flanked and nearly skewered before using a Substitution Technique to escape—only to be hunted down and slain by a waiting jonin's scythe.
Another was cut down while trying to help his comrade.
The third launched "Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet", using a nearby pool, but a Suna jonin countered with "Lightning Style: Lightning Bind", paralyzing the dragon and dispersing it into water.
The fight turned brutal. One Konoha ninja, mortally wounded, grabbed a jonin in a desperate bid to self-destruct with explosive tags—urging Mizuki to run—but the Suna jonin escaped using Earth Substitution.
Mizuki stumbled away, but the thirteen Suna ninja quickly surrounded her.
She drew her kunai with trembling hands. So this is it… I thought I'd make it home after the war, but I'll die here instead.
I wanted to share one more meal with Haruki and our parents…
Her thoughts strayed to a tall figure wearing the Uchiha crest. I never even had a proper romance… and being Hyuga while he's Uchiha, both clans would have opposed it. Still… I wish I could tell him. Haruki would tease me endlessly…
"Capture her alive," the Suna leader ordered, smirking. Three chunin leapt toward her.
Mizuki closed her eyes, ready to end her own life. "Farewell, everyone…"
Suddenly—swish, swish!
Thirty-six shuriken tore through the air in strange arcs, most aimed at the three Suna jonin.
"An ambush?!" the Suna ninja thought in shock.
Mid-flight, all thirty-six blades abruptly shifted trajectory, slamming into the seven chunin nearest the jonin, blocking their movement entirely.
The three chunin lunging for Mizuki weren't touched.
That was because a small, lithe figure had already appeared between them.
"Gentle Fist: Thirty-Six Deadly Points—Heavenly Spin Kill!"