The biting cold wind, carrying fine snow, swept through the quiet path.
Toneri stood in the shadows, his pale face appearing even colder under the moonlight.
He watched the green orb of light condense in his palm, reflecting the deep disgust in his eyes.
"The Uchiha are beyond saving."
He slowly raised his right hand, and the light orb on his fingertip suddenly became dazzling, aimed at the two unsuspecting individuals.
He wanted to end this meaningless conflict, to cleanse one stain after another from this flawed world.
Suddenly—
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
A series of urgent dog barks sounded from far to near, incredibly clear. Then, there was heavy panting.
"This way!"
Kiba followed behind Akamaru, quickly heading in Toneri's direction.
"Tsk, what a bother."
A flicker of imperceptible irritation crossed Toneri's eyes, and he decisively withdrew his right hand, which had been gathering Chakra.
Without the slightest hesitation, his figure blurred in place, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished without a trace, leaving only shallow marks on the snowy ground.
"Kiba?" Inaho asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
"Akamaru says he smelled a very strange scent, right nearby. Definitely not someone from the village."
"What?!"
Inaho and Tekka's eyes widened instantly, and they drew their blades, their scarlet Sharingan scanning their surroundings.
"Where is he?"
"Woof woof!"
Akamaru barked twice more in the direction where Toneri had disappeared, then let out a low whimper, looking somewhat confused.
"Akamaru says the scent is gone."
"It might be this terrible weather. The heavy snow completely covered the scent, or the target has extremely strong means of concealing their presence."
Inaho nodded. "It's not safe here anymore. Let's go, we'll meet up with them ahead."
Konoha's search net for Orochimaru covered the entire village and was constantly expanding outwards.
Toneri, moving through the gaps in this net, using his extraordinary perception, not only evaded pursuit but also unintentionally picked up more and more information leaked from ninjas.
What angered Toneri was that he had graciously given the Hyuga clan an opportunity to correct their ways.
And what was the result?
What he got in return was not heartfelt gratitude, but blatant betrayal.
Not only did the Hyuga clan show no remorse, but they also turned around and informed the Hokage, who could destroy the Ninja World at any time, about their secret meeting.
At some point, his identity as a descendant of the Ōtsutsuki, burdened with a sacred mission, was distorted into that of the infamous Orochimaru.
What made him feel that this world was utterly beyond redemption was that Konoha, from top to bottom, actually believed such a flawed rumor.
Now, wanted posters for him and Orochimaru were plastered all over the Land of Fire. It was even more severe than when Obito was wanted.
Back then, Kakashi even thought about bringing him back alive.
The situation was different now. If you saw him, kill him, and you would even get a bonus for bringing back his head.
"Indeed." Toneri, hidden in the shadows of a dilapidated high tower, clenched his fists.
"This world created by the Sage of Six Paths was a huge mistake from the beginning."
"The current Ninja World has long been controlled by that despicable fellow, and everyone's hearts are filled with evil."
Toneri clenched his fists. He couldn't wait any longer.
He had to activate the Tenseigan, which could bring about the final judgment, as soon as possible. Then, with the holy light it cast, he would thoroughly purify this already decaying, defiled land, along with all the sinful life upon it.
Toneri knew that the key to activating the Tenseigan lay with the Hyuga clan head's two children, Hanabi and Hinata.
He had already planned to take Hanabi's eyes and then abduct Hinata.
The next night, Konoha's intelligence departments reported that they had found some clues that might belong to Toneri. The target might be active in the outer areas, attempting to find a breakthrough.
So, most of Konoha's ninjas were dispatched to conduct a dragnet search following those true and false clues, and the internal defenses instantly became empty.
Toneri seized this opportunity, silently infiltrating Konoha and returning to Hiashi's home.
Hiashi and most of the clan's elite had been reassigned to participate in the outer search or in the deployment of other key positions within the village.
At this moment, the Hyuga main residence was left with only some elderly, women, children, and a few guards of mediocre strength.
Hanabi softly murmured to herself, "Haven't father and the others returned yet?"
She sat at the table, holding a cup of hot water. She didn't know why, but she had a bad feeling tonight.
Suddenly, an unusually fierce cold wind howled past, slamming against the heavy main gate.
Clang! Creak!
The huge iron gate was blown violently, making a grating sound that set one's teeth on edge. Hanabi hated that sound the most.
She immediately put down her teacup, stood up, and prepared to close and secure the door tightly.
However, when she opened the inner hall door and stepped into the courtyard, her steps instantly froze.
In the center of the courtyard, a figure stood silently.
"Who are you?! How did you get in?!"
Hanabi pulled out a kunai and took a defensive stance.
Toneri said nothing, only slowly approaching Hanabi. In his opinion, there was no need to waste so many words on a tool.
Hanabi felt a chill rush from her feet to the top of her head. She gripped her kunai, ready to fight to the death.
At this critical moment—
Eight Trigrams Empty Palm!
A sharp wind broke through the air, striking at Toneri.
Although Toneri easily dodged it by stepping aside, this sudden attack successfully halted his steps.
Neji instantly arrived, standing in front of Hanabi.
He asked, "Are you alright?"
"I-I'm fine."
"Find a place to hide, leave this to me."
Toneri chuckled. He beckoned with his hand, and a large number of puppets emerged from the shadows, instantly surrounding Neji in the center.
Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!
Neji did not hesitate, his body spinning at high speed like a top, releasing the absolute defense that the Hyuga clan was so proud of.
However, the strength of these puppets far exceeded expectations. Their material was exceptionally hard, their attacks were powerful and heavy, and they fought fearlessly, like a tide, continuously impacting the Revolving Heaven's barrier.
Neji gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, his Chakra rapidly depleting.
While Revolving Heaven could deflect most attacks, it couldn't completely destroy these endless puppets, nor could it prevent them from compressing his range of movement.
"Foolish fellow,"
Toneri didn't even glance at Neji, who was struggling in battle. His gaze remained fixed on the pale-faced Hanabi.
"I already gave you a chance, but you didn't cherish it."
Hanabi took a deep breath.
She was going to fight!
Just at this critical moment, a lazy voice suddenly sounded from the highest rooftop of the courtyard.
"You're the foolish one, Orochimaru."
"What?!"
Under the clear moonlight, Satoshi was sitting on the roof of the Hyuga main residence. No one knew when he had gotten there. He even held a steaming large bowl in his hand, slowly slurping noodles.
"You invaders are really annoying,"
Satoshi took another big slurp of noodles, complaining indistinctly, his voice not loud, yet clearly reaching everyone below.
"Can't you be a bit polite and wait until I finish this bowl of dinner quietly before causing trouble?"
"Damn it." Toneri frowned. "So I was discovered."
"Don't say 'so'."
Satoshi quickly finished his noodles and carefully placed the bowl on the rooftop.
"Orochimaru, it's been a while. You've gotten a lot weaker."