There is a certain type of person in this world—once they know what they want, nothing can stop their footsteps. Sasuke and Neji were clearly such people.
Neither Sasuke nor Neji had expected Sakura and Tenten to appear. After knocking them both unconscious, their movements became even more urgent.
The Uchiha and Hyuga clans could be considered two of Konoha's most ancient families. Since both possessed eye-based kekkei genkai, their compounds were built in completely opposite locations.
Naturally, Sasuke and Neji weren't taking the same route. However, to reach Konoha's main gate, they would ultimately have to converge on the main road.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Two figures burst from opposite directions almost simultaneously.
They quickly pressed against the walls on either side, preparing to move forward. At that same moment, both discovered the other's presence.
Uchiha Sasuke! Hyuga Neji!
Neji and Sasuke stared at each other, their eyes flashing with surprise and suspicion. Both had made it this far without being discovered.
If they were caught now, everything would be for nothing.
Sasuke's body crouched slightly, clearly ready for battle. However, his expression darkened.
Compared to the unsuspecting Sakura, Neji's strength was on par with his own. There was no way to resolve a fight quickly.
Thinking this, Sasuke remained silent for a moment. He looked at Neji and spoke gravely.
"Why are you here?"
At the same time Sasuke's voice rang out, Neji's voice also carried over. "Are you leaving Konoha too?"
Neji looked at Sasuke with an indifferent expression. Though his clenched fists beneath his sleeves revealed he wasn't as calm as he appeared.
As both voices fell, the two froze simultaneously. Then, Sasuke and Neji exchanged a deep look and stepped out from the shadows.
"Do you have a way to leave without attracting attention?" Neji lowered his voice as he addressed Sasuke.
"No complete certainty, but dusk is the only window of opportunity." Sasuke paused, speaking in a low voice.
They understood each other without asking why the other wanted to leave Konoha.
"No complete certainty?" Neji looked at Sasuke. "That means there are some things you can't determine—solve those problems, and it should work."
"The ones guarding Konoha's gate are just two ordinary chunin." Sasuke looked at Neji seriously. "What I'm more concerned about are the Konoha Military Police hiding in the shadows. I need to know their exact positions and appearances, then use the Transformation Jutsu to slip past."
"With these eyes of mine, that problem is easily solved." Neji exhaled softly, turning toward Konoha's gate as he activated his Byakugan. "I'll leave the rest to you."
Compared to Sasuke's defection in the original story, without Orochimaru's covert assistance, Sasuke had to use the most basic method to leave Konoha.
Fortunately, Sasuke and Neji only wanted to leave Konoha, not sneak in. Otherwise the difficulty would have increased dozens of times over.
Whether intentional or not, neither Yuto nor Madara Uchiha had provided Sasuke and Neji with an escape route. They had only positioned people outside Konoha to wait.
Perhaps in Yuto and Madara's view, if these two couldn't even accomplish something as simple as leaving Konoha, they would have no value worth cultivating.
Time passed unknowingly.
In a forest outside Konoha's gates, Sasuke and Neji leaned against trees, eyes gleaming with excitement. They had finally made it out!
"Hyuga Neji, we've never actually fought each other." Sasuke suddenly spoke, looking at the stoic Neji.
"There will be opportunities in the future." Neji replied slowly.
Then, he reached up, removed his Konoha forehead protector, and casually dropped it on the ground.
Seeing Neji's completely bare forehead, Sasuke's eyes went wide with disbelief.
Neji glanced at Sasuke's shocked expression without concern. There was no need to hide it anymore.
His feet moved slightly, and his entire form vanished from sight, rapidly heading toward Kirigakure. In just a few bounds, Neji had disappeared from Sasuke's view.
Watching the direction Neji had gone, Sasuke finally came back to his senses. He had wondered why Neji would suddenly leave Konoha, but now he understood.
He also knew where Neji was headed.
"The First Mizukage, Yuto?" Sasuke murmured to himself.
He looked down at the forehead protector Neji had discarded, then removed his own protector and threw it on the ground. He turned and headed in a different direction.
Meanwhile, at the Hyuga compound.
Hiashi Hyuga sat in the center of a room, eyes closed, as if waiting for something.
Before long, the sound of a door opening broke the silence. A Hyuga jonin entered and addressed Hiashi respectfully.
"Clan Head, Neji Hyuga has not returned."
"Not returned yet? Send people to find him immediately!" Hiashi's tone suddenly carried a note of gravity.
The jonin hesitated briefly, then quickly turned and departed.
Hiashi's eyes showed a heavy expression as he looked at the scroll on the table before him. This was the "Rotation" training scroll that Hiashi had personally delivered to Neji just yesterday.
But now, the scroll sat on the table—not only had it not been opened, it hadn't even been moved from its original position.
Yes, Hiashi was currently in Neji's home.
He had come today with two intentions: first, to give Neji some guidance in his training; second, to repair the relationship between them.
But upon arriving and finding the untouched scroll, Hiashi realized he might have been thinking too simply about the matter.
Not long after, the jonin returned to the room and addressed the still-seated Hiashi respectfully.
"Clan Head, we've checked all the training grounds. Neji Hyuga is nowhere to be found."
Hiashi fell silent for a moment, then rose to his feet and headed toward the door. As he walked, he issued orders.
"Send someone to the Konoha Military Police Force. I'm going to the Hokage's office." He continued. "I expect a definitive answer by the time I arrive."
With those words, the jonin nodded and vanished in an instant.
As clan head, the moment Hiashi stepped out of the Hyuga compound, he immediately attracted the attention of interested observers.
Especially noticeable were the numerous Hyuga ninja moving like white shadows in all directions.
The Hyuga clan is making a major move? All the ninja who witnessed this scene wore confused expressions.
At the Hokage's office.
Jiraiya and Tsunade were currently processing Konoha's recent documents, both appearing completely overwhelmed with work.
To this day, the Fifth Hokage had still not been selected. Before his death, the Third Hokage had intended to pass the position to Jiraiya.
But after Hashirama Senju's resurrection, combined with Tsunade's existing reputation, Konoha had split into two factions. One supporting Jiraiya, the other supporting Tsunade.
However, neither Tsunade nor Jiraiya particularly cared about the politics. The result was that all of Konoha's administrative duties were temporarily handled by these two.
In truth, as long as Hashirama Senju remained, it didn't matter who became Hokage. Hashirama was the true pillar of the village.
As for the other Hokage candidate, he had long since withdrawn. Not because Danzo wanted to step aside, but out of helplessness.
After his resurrection, Hashirama naturally wanted to check on his own clan as well as the Uchiha clan. However, what awaited him was hardly pleasant.
If learning of the Uzumaki clan's demise had still allowed Hashirama to remain silent, discovering that the Uchiha clan had also been wiped out made him truly angry.
Though Hashirama usually appeared carefree, that didn't mean he didn't understand politics. Konoha held no secrets from Hashirama Senju.
And if any existed, as soon as he wanted to know them, no one could keep him from finding out.
Danzo, who was connected to all these events, had been terrified upon learning Hashirama was investigating these matters. He was shaking with fear.
Now, let alone running for Hokage, Danzo didn't even dare leave his home.
However, after Hashirama finished his investigation, he didn't confront Danzo directly. He simply fell into silence—or perhaps, disappointment.
Suddenly, an ANBU member appeared in the Hokage's office.
After respectfully delivering a message to Jiraiya and Tsunade, the ANBU vanished once more.
"Something happening with the Hyuga clan?" Jiraiya put down the intelligence report in his hands and asked curiously.
"We'll know when Hiashi gets here." Tsunade yawned carelessly.
Not long after Tsunade spoke, a knock sounded at the door. Hiashi Hyuga entered directly.
"Hyuga Clan Head, what's the matter?" Jiraiya looked at Hiashi with puzzlement.
"It's about time." Hiashi composed himself and spoke softly.
Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged glances, their confusion deepening.
Just then, the door that had just closed was knocked upon again. A Hyuga jonin along with a ninja from the Military Police Force hurried in.
"Lady Tsunade, Lord Jiraiya, we've discovered two Konoha forehead protectors in the forest outside Konoha's main gate." The Military Police ninja reported respectfully. "They appear to belong to Konoha genin."
Genin forehead protectors?
Tsunade and Jiraiya's expressions changed. Could foreign ninja have attacked Konoha and abducted two genin?
As soon as that thought arose, both shook their heads. Such a scenario was highly unlikely.
"Regardless, we need to identify who these two are first." Jiraiya quickly issued orders to the Military Police ninja. "Gather all the genin, and notify their jonin squad leaders as well."
The Military Police ninja immediately turned and departed. At the same time, several ANBU operatives hidden in the shadows also departed one after another.
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