Night deepened as thick clouds slowly crept across the sky, threatening to swallow the moonlight. On a remote island within the Land of Water, Himeji and a group of Konoha shinobi were desperately fleeing through the darkness.
The mission had gone terribly wrong.
The number of Kirigakure shinobi stationed at the base was far greater than intelligence had suggested. Soon after the battle began, Himeji and several others were cut off from the main force by a large group of enemies. Before they could regroup, they were completely surrounded.
Fortunately, Himeji possessed the Byakugan. With its vision, she managed to guide several Konoha shinobi through the darkness while avoiding the enemy's pursuit.
Even so, their numbers kept shrinking.
One by one, the shinobi beside her fell behind during the chase.
Eventually, only two people remained.
Himeji, and another member of the Hyuga clan.
The Kirigakure shinobi did not immediately kill them. Instead, they pursued them relentlessly, as if enjoying a cruel game of cat and mouse.
The two finally stopped in a dense forest.
The Hyuga shinobi from the branch family lowered his body and spoke in a quiet voice.
"Himeji-sama."
Himeji turned to him. "What is it, Kita?"
"It can't continue like this," Kita said quietly. "If we keep running, we'll both die here."
Himeji forced a bitter smile.
"I already tried to send a summoning snake to notify Hayashi, but the summoning failed earlier. This entire area seems to be sealed by a barrier that blocks space."
Summoning techniques were essentially a form of space time ninjutsu. If an area was completely locked by a barrier, summoned creatures could not enter.
Kita fell silent for a moment.
Then he spoke again, his voice trembling slightly.
"If we reach a dead end, Himeji-sama, abandon me and escape alone."
Himeji immediately shook her head.
"That's impossible."
"There is nothing impossible about it," Kita replied. "I am part of the branch family. Protecting the main family is my duty."
His voice trembled as he spoke, as if saying those words had consumed all his courage.
Suddenly, he grabbed his chest and groaned in pain.
Himeji stepped closer with concern.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine..." Kita raised his hand weakly.
But before he finished speaking, he suddenly attacked.
The strike came without warning, aimed directly at Himeji.
In terms of strength, Kita was only an ordinary Jonin. Normally he would not be able to defeat Himeji.
But the problem was that Himeji had never expected an attack from him.
She believed the person before her was truly a loyal member of the branch family.
In that single moment of hesitation, disaster struck.
Blood splashed into the air.
One of Himeji's Byakugan was forcibly torn from its socket.
The pain of the ambush and the loss of her eye instantly placed her in a terrible situation. But what hurt even more was the betrayal itself.
Kita lifted his arm again, preparing to dig out her remaining eye.
Was losing her eye painful?
Yes.
But at this moment, the deeper pain was something else entirely.
Himeji could not understand.
Why would someone from the branch family, someone she had always protected, do something like this to her?
Was it simply because she belonged to the main family?
But Himeji could not die here.
There were still things she had yet to accomplish. There was someone she still wished to see. Words she had held in her heart for ten long years still remained unspoken.
With that thought, her chakra erupted.
"Gentle Fist Art: Rotation!"
The spinning chakra blast forced her attacker back.
Using that brief opening, Himeji immediately used the Body Flicker Technique and escaped deeper into the forest.
The man who looked like Kita did not pursue her.
Because he was not Kita at all.
The figure slowly revealed a strange smile.
It was White Zetsu, disguised as the Hyuga shinobi.
He calmly placed the stolen Byakugan into a saline filled container inside his ninja pouch.
This precious eye would eventually be delivered to Kirigakure.
As for Himeji, she could not die yet.
Only a living Himeji could lure the real target into the trap.
The true prey would rush here no matter the danger.
White Zetsu's body slowly sank into the ground and disappeared.
A moment later, a large squad of Kirigakure shinobi arrived at the location where the two had been hiding. After briefly scanning the area, they immediately chased in the direction Himeji had fled.
Far away from the island, over the dark sea, a young man was moving at terrifying speed.
Hayashi advanced relentlessly, repeatedly using the Body Flicker Technique to shorten the distance.
When Dabai had failed to return after the summoning signal, Hayashi immediately realized something had gone terribly wrong with Himeji.
From that moment onward, he had traveled at his absolute maximum speed.
If it were not for his enormous chakra reserves, such extreme movement would have already exhausted him.
Across the ocean, Hayashi's movement resembled a streak of black lightning tearing through the night sky.
Yet the closer he came to the location where Himeji had encountered danger, the more Kirigakure shinobi appeared to block his path.
At this point, if he still failed to recognize the situation, then he truly deserved to fall into the trap.
Someone had deliberately set all of this up.
But who?
Was it Uchiha Madara?
Hayashi did not know.
There was only one thing he was certain about.
He had to reach Himeji.
Along the way, Hayashi had asked himself a question countless times.
If he knew it was a trap, should he still rush forward?
Should he continue even if it meant walking straight toward death?
Now, he had already made his choice.
If it had been Mikoto, Kushina, Minato, or Nawaki in danger today, he would have made the exact same decision.
Humans were strange creatures.
They discarded things they did not value as easily as worn out shoes. But the things they cared about, they would protect with everything they had, sometimes with an almost obsessive determination.
After hours of relentless travel, Hayashi finally slowed down.
Before him stood fifty Kirigakure shinobi.
They blocked the path ahead.
Hayashi did not hesitate.
He charged directly toward them.
Blood sprayed through the air.
Bodies collapsed one after another.
No one could even react to what was happening.
Within moments, the battlefield fell silent again.
When the last enemy collapsed onto the ground, Hayashi wiped the blood from his face and continued walking forward.
His pace was calm now.
Neither fast nor slow.
The final stretch of road before him was destined to be soaked in blood.
Leaving behind a trail of corpses, Hayashi followed the crimson path until he finally reached a narrow canyon.
He stopped.
Because someone was waiting at the entrance.
The man looked young and possessed a round, almost childlike face. His silver hair stood out clearly in the dim light.
Even from a distance, Hayashi could see his distinctive features.
Purple eyes.
A stitched scar beneath the left eye.
The man held a strange staff like weapon with curved hooks on both ends. The front was thin while the back was thicker, and one end was decorated with a small green flower.
There was no doubt about his identity.
Yagura.
The Fourth Mizukage.
And the final obstacle standing in Hayashi's way.
"Konoha's Lightning Flash," Yagura said in a childish voice that sounded strangely cold. "You finally arrived. I've been waiting for quite some time."
Hayashi ignored everything else.
"Where is Himeji?"
It was the only thing he cared about.
Yagura gave a faint laugh.
"Her? She is inside the canyon. She is seriously injured, but she is still alive."
His expression turned mocking.
"But a strict space barrier has already been placed inside."
"If you want to save her, you must defeat me first."
"Otherwise, she will bleed to death inside that canyon."
Hearing that Himeji was still alive, Hayashi finally relaxed slightly.
The worst possibility had not yet come true.
At that moment, hidden within the darkness nearby, a man wearing a white mask silently observed the scene.
Uchiha Fugaku.
Through his genjutsu, he had placed Yagura completely under his control.
Naturally, he would not miss the chance to witness this battle.
If Hayashi were in peak condition, Fugaku believed Yagura would be killed easily.
But now the situation was very different.
Hayashi had already exhausted all of his Sage chakra during the battle with the Three-Tails.
His long distance sprint had consumed a massive amount of chakra.
He had also fought numerous enemies along the way, leaving several injuries across his body.
His breathing was uneven.
His steps were heavy.
His face looked pale from exhaustion.
At this moment, Hayashi's strength had been pushed to its absolute limit.
Fugaku believed his calculations were flawless.
Hayashi himself knew it too.
Yet even so, he stared calmly at the Mizukage standing before him.
Then he spoke quietly.
"If you are seeking death, then I will grant it to you."