"..."
The air was utterly still, as though the world itself had died. Only a sharp ringing filled the silence, faint and unreal, like an echo in the ear.
Acting purely on instinct, Might Guy had opened the Eight Gates, but Hyūga Arata was already frozen in mid-turn, knees bent, body twisted.
He stared blankly at the strands of Arata's long hair slowly falling behind him. A sharp plop broke the stillness as blood gathered at Arata's fingertips and dripped onto the ground.
"An ambush!?"
Guy's expression hardened immediately. In the next instant, his figure vanished, rushing toward the direction the attack had come from.
But when he arrived, there was no one.
Only a splatter of scarlet blood, and a single severed right arm with a clean, surgical cut, every muscle fiber and bone line clearly visible.
Obviously, Arata's thrown kunai hadn't taken the enemy's life, only their arm, forcing them to flee in humiliation.
Arata walked up beside Guy, glanced at the arm, then lifted his gaze toward the depths of the forest.
The trees swayed softly in the wind; the broken sunlight through the leaves made shifting patterns of shadow and light.
"Arata, did you see who it was?" Guy asked.
No blood trail. The enemy must have treated the wound on the spot to avoid being tracked.
"No," Arata shook his head, a faint trace of regret in his tone. "Too fast. I couldn't see."
[Ding! Your lie has been classified as "Feign Ignorance." Might Guy experiences strong emotional fluctuation. Degree: Deeply Convinced. You gain 300 Reality Points…]
Arata had chosen to get close to Might Guy for two reasons:
First, because this man, who would one day nearly kick Six Paths Madara to death, was a potential goldmine.
Second, because Guy's simple, emotional nature made him easy to manipulate.
Guy clearly didn't doubt him at all. Face tense with anger, he said grimly, "We have to report this to Lord Third! Someone dared to attack a comrade inside Konoha!"
Then, as if remembering something, he looked at Arata's hand. "Wait, your injury!"
"It's fine. That guy's Wind Release wasn't that good," Arata said lightly, raising his palm to show just a shallow cut.
[Ding! Your lie…]
In truth, it had been close. The enemy's Wind Release wasn't weak at all.
If Arata had grabbed the blade instead of the handle, he would've lost his whole hand.
"Whew… good. You're fine," Guy sighed in relief. "Still, maybe it was a blessing in disguise. You awakened your Byakugan, after all!"
Even so, the memory of that kunai's terrifying speed made his heart race.
Even Guy, brave as he was, felt a chill of fear.
He thought: 'if that attack had been aimed at me… could I have reacted in time?'
His conclusion came quickly.
If he had managed to open even one of the Eight Gates, he could've dodged.
But with how sudden it had been, and who would expect an ambush in Konoha, he wouldn't have stood a chance.
"Arata, that was amazing," Guy said sincerely, clapping his shoulder. "Seems I've still got a long way to go. Starting today, five hundred extra handstand walks every day!"
Next time, even if Death itself came swinging a scythe, he'd punch his way out.
"Just luck," Arata replied with a modest smile.
This time, there was no system notification. Guy truly believed it was skill, not luck.
"Come on, let's patch that up and report this to Lord Third," Guy said gravely. "Can't believe a spy managed to infiltrate Konoha."
'A spy?
'Maybe. Maybe not.'
Arata glanced at his already-healed palm, recalling the shadowy figure he'd seen through his Byakugan. A flicker of thought crossed his eyes.
'Who could it be?'
'Sarutobi Hiruzen? No… I haven't exposed myself yet.'
'Then it must be one of Orochimaru's remnants. Or perhaps-'
'Shimura Danzō.' Arata chuckled to himself. 'So quick to act. A master of civil war, useless at foreign ones.'
Meanwhile, at the edge of the Forest of Death,
A cloaked figure staggered through the woods, flickering with Body Flicker after Body Flicker, until he finally stopped, clutching his bleeding stump, one knee pressed to a branch.
"Ugh…"
He bowed his head, biting back a scream that still slipped through his clenched teeth. The sound was thick with pain, and fear.
'Damn it! Damn it! How did it turn out like this!?'
He'd done everything by the book. According to the intel, his target frequented this training ground, so he had lain in wait for hours.
When the boy appeared, he'd been relaxed, this was supposed to be an easy job.
He'd used his best technique, the one he was proudest of, personally taught by Lord Danzō himself.
And then, somehow, the brat noticed him.
Stopped. Tilted his head. Opened a Byakugan, the very thing the intel said he couldn't do.
Even then, he hadn't been too worried.
He was cautious. Always was. He had made sure to stay at a distance, precisely within the Byakugan's blind spot.
Until the brat closed his eyes.
At first, he thought the kid had given up.
Then that brat raised a hand, and caught his Wind Release–infused kunai barehanded.
Yes. Barehanded.
And not only that, he'd caught it by the handle.
The handle!
'What kind of monster was that!?'
The dense forest stretched endlessly around him, branches crisscrossing like a tangled web.
But even from such a long distance, using sensory ninjutsu, he had felt it, those calm, lifeless eyes staring back at him.
Then came a sharp whistle.
A single gust of wind.
Leaves rained down from the trees like a green storm. The forest was beautiful for one fleeting instant, then pain followed.
A slash.
His arm split open cleanly. The sleeve tore. A red ring appeared around his flesh.
Blood gushed out. His arm fell to the ground.
He had no words, only horror.
"That brat… caught my jutsu, and sent it back!"
He knelt on the branch, trembling. Even now, he couldn't believe it.
The intel had said, this boy was a failure.
A waste.
How could a "failure" catch a Wind Release technique personally taught by Danzō?
'If he's a waste… then what the hell am I?'
"Kamaitachi. What are you doing?"
The voice was low and rasping, cold as a blade.
He froze, every muscle locking up.
Lifting his head slightly, he saw the one standing before him, then immediately bowed low. His voice shook. "L–Lord Danzō, I…"
"Hmph. Fool. So you failed."
Danzō's tone was cutting. His shadowed eyes glanced at the man's severed arm.
This man, one of his specially trained assassins, had taken down jōnin before with perfect kills.
And now?
"Without your dominant arm… you're useless."
Danzō narrowed his cold eyes.
'Interesting,' he thought. 'That Hyūga brat isn't as simple as he looks. Orochimaru must have left something behind in him.'
'Hmph. If Hiruzen dares to rob me of my Wood Release assets, then he can't blame me for going after this boy.'