Sitting in a sealed room inside the Hidden Mist Hospital, Ao felt increasingly uneasy.
He had already been here for several days. The wounds from his last mission had barely healed when he was suddenly transferred to this isolated ward. No explanations were given, only vague orders and tense silence from the medical team.
Still, Ao believed he had been chosen for something important.
A long time ago, during the war, he had defeated a Hyuga ninja and taken one of their Byakugan. That eye had become his greatest weapon ever since. It allowed him to see through chakra, break genjutsu, and track enemies from impossible distances. According to the official character history, Ao obtained his Byakugan during the war and implanted it in his right eye, later using it to expose the Fourth Mizukage's genjutsu.
Because of that, Ao knew better than anyone how valuable a Byakugan truly was.
And that was exactly why the silence today felt wrong.
Outside the room, distant explosions echoed through the hospital corridors. At first, they were faint, but the sounds grew louder with every passing minute. Something serious was happening in the village.
Was the Leaf attacking?
Ao clenched his fists.
The Hidden Mist had always been surrounded by enemies, and hatred toward the Leaf Village had only deepened after years of war. Even if the truth behind the conflict was complicated, Ao did not care. In his mind, Konoha had always been the root of everything that went wrong.
The door suddenly rattled.
Knock. Knock.
Before Ao could respond, the door burst open. A medical ninja rushed inside, his expression pale and tense.
"Follow me, quickly."
Ao did not argue. He grabbed his ninja pouch and followed him out into the corridor. Several Mist ninja were already waiting outside, including Tamura, one of the other chosen recipients of the Byakugan transplant.
"What is happening?" Ao asked in a low voice while they hurried toward the emergency exit.
Tamura glanced around before whispering, "Someone from Konoha has invaded the village. They are saying it is the Lightning Flash."
Ao's expression stiffened.
The title alone was enough to make anyone uneasy. A shinobi who could earn such a name was not someone who attacked villages without confidence. If that person had truly entered the Hidden Mist alone, then the situation was already beyond control.
"Why are they moving us?" Ao asked.
"They are afraid the enemy is here for the Byakugan," Tamura replied quietly. "So we are being evacuated together with the eyes."
Before he could finish speaking, the wall beside them exploded.
Stone shattered everywhere as a massive hole was blasted open. Smoke spread across the corridor, and slow footsteps echoed through the silence that followed.
A young ninja walked out of the smoke.
He wore a Leaf forehead protector and the clothing of the Uchiha clan. His crimson eyes were already active, the three tomoe spinning slowly as if everything in front of him meant nothing.
The moment Ao felt that chakra, his body froze.
Cold. Sharp. Calm. And filled with killing intent.
Even though Ao had fought on battlefields since he was young, this was the first time he had ever felt such overwhelming pressure from a single person. His legs refused to move.
Twelve masked ANBU instantly appeared in the corridor and surrounded the intruder. Each one drew a sword, the air becoming heavy with tension.
The command was given, and all twelve attacked at once.
The fight ended almost instantly.
The Uchiha moved like a shadow. The first ANBU was kicked away before he could even react, crashing into the others with terrifying force. The remaining ones hesitated for only a moment, but that hesitation was enough.
Within minutes, the corridor was silent again.
Bodies covered the floor. Blood stained the walls. The smell of iron filled the air.
Under the pressure of the Sharingan, the medical captain handed over a glass container with trembling hands. Inside it was a preserved Byakugan.
The Uchiha calmly placed it inside his pouch.
Then he snapped the man's neck without hesitation.
Ao wanted to move. He wanted to stand up, to fight, to do anything at all, but his body refused to obey him. The explosion earlier had already shattered most of his strength. His vision was becoming blurry, and every breath felt heavier than the last.
Footsteps approached him slowly.
Ao forced his hand to move. He picked up his kunai and tried to stab forward, but his arm stopped halfway. The weapon slipped from his fingers and clattered onto the floor.
The Uchiha looked down at him silently.
Even through the blur, Ao knew who it was. A shinobi with that level of killing intent, that level of chakra, and those eyes… it was obvious.
He was going to die.
The hand closed around Ao's neck.
For a brief moment, the corridor was completely silent.
Then a sharp cracking sound echoed softly.
Darkness swallowed everything.
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