I Am Uzumaki Menma

When the first signal flare exploded over the Hyuga Clan's compound, Hiruzen immediately led the main force into action.

Clad in his combat attire, Hiruzen dashed across the rooftops of the village, followed closely by the members of the Anbu's Third Division and elite Ninjas such as Hiashi, Shikaku, and Inoichi.

It can be said that most of the Jonin in Konoha Village had been mobilized, forming a formidable unit!

However, Hiruzen was not careless… he had kept a portion of the forces in reserve. Should any other location come under attack, reinforcements would be ready to deploy.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

One after another, signal flares shot into the night sky, bursting into crimson sparks.

"So many flares?" Hiruzen's aged face beneath his helmet grew solemn.

"Hokage-sama!" An Anbu's Ninja wearing an animal mask arrived from the direction of the Hyuga Clan's compound, kneeling on the rooftop before Hiruzen.

Hiruzen stopped and asked, "What is the situation at the Hyuga Clan's compound? Has Shura appeared?"

From the moment the first signal flare was launched until now, only a few minutes had passed. Yet there were no explosions or signs of Ninjutsu being used, which puzzled Hiruzen.

"A dense mist has enveloped the Hyuga Clan's compound!" The Anbu quickly reported, "Hundreds of enemies are attacking from within the mist! The Division Captain has already led reinforcements there!"

"Mist?" The first sentence of the report made Hiruzen, along with Shikaku and Hiashi, tense.

Given the current time and weather, natural mist was impossible. This could only mean the mist was the enemy's doing.

And a large-scale mist technique inevitably reminded them of Kirigakure's Hiding in Mist Technique!

'Shura could use Kirigakure's Ninjutsu?!'

'Moreover…'

"The enemy has significant numbers?' Shikaku asked, glancing toward the Hyuga Clan's compound.

'Had Shura brought a large force? Or was he using shadow clones or similar techniques?'

"Our priority is to get there as quickly as possible!" Hiashi urged anxiously, his voice tense.

"Go!" Hiruzen shouted in a deep voice and rushed out first.

The other Ninjas followed swiftly.

…

At this time, in the Hyuga Clan's compound.

The mist had already spread to the meeting hall. The four elders of the main family and their relatives were being protected by the branch family's Ninja led by Hizashi.

The four elders of the Hyuga Clan had also activated their Byakugan and saw dozens of figures in the mist approaching them.

"How is this possible!" The elders were filled with disbelief, 'How could so many enemies break into the Hyuga Clan's compound?!'

'How had they bypassed Konoha's village barrier?'

'How had they evaded so many patrol squads?'

'What about the patrol teams of branch family's Ninjas in the compound? Why hadn't they stopped them?!'

Countless questions flooded the elders' minds.

"Hizashi!" One of the elders roared angrily at Hizashi, "What are you waiting for? Stop them now! Protecting the main family is the branch family's duty!"

Even as the head of the branch family, Hizashi was nothing more than a subordinate in the eyes of the main family's elders.

Hizashi had long been accustomed to the arrogant tone of these elders.

He just frowned and led the branch family's Ninjas forward to engage the enemy.

"Byakugan!" Hizashi activated his Byakugan to its fullest, observing the Chakra Pathways of the figures in the mist.

Then, Hizashi concentrated his Chakra into his palms, advancing with the Gentle Fist Taijutsu.

But when his strikes landed on the enemies, there was no physical impact, not even the dispersion of shadow clones. Instead, they simply dissipated into mist.

"What?!" Hizashi was stunned. He struck left and right, quickly clearing the surrounding figures.

"Damn it! These things aren't even human!"

"They're not shadow clones either!"

"What the hell are these?!"

The other branch family guards also noticed the eerie nature of these shadowy figures.

Their full-powered Gentle Fist strikes felt as though they were hitting cotton… their concentrated Chakra and focus simply dissipated into nothingness, leaving them disoriented.

Tap!

Tap!

Just as Hizashi was still trying to make sense of the situation, the sound of footsteps echoed from the direction of the meeting hall's main entrance.

Hizashi focused his Byakugan, but all he saw were two fallen Hyuga Clan's members.

There was no sign of any enemy… not even those strange figures from before!

Tap!

But the footsteps continued, slowly closing in.

Hizashi, the branch family guards, and the main family's elders strained their Byakugan, but they couldn't detect anyone inside the hall!

"Ah-!" One by one, the branch family guards collapsed before their eyes!

It was as if the enemy was completely invisible… undetectable even by the Byakugan!

Boom!

The ceiling of the meeting hall suddenly shattered as Hiruzen, wielding the transformed Enma, landed amidst the dust and debris.

At the same time, Kakashi and Yamato arrived, bursting in through the main entrance.

Konoha's elite Ninjas such as Hiashi, Shikaku, and Inoichi landed one after another and swiftly took their positions, weapons drawn as they all focused in one direction.

"Hizashi! Where are the enemies?!" After landing, Hiashi looked around with his Byakugan but did not find any enemies.

"Hiashi?" Hiruzen blinked, then pointed his staff toward the spot where the Hyuga Clan's members had fallen, "What are you talking about? Shura is right there!"

"What?!" Hiashi's entire body stiffened, his Byakugan following the direction of Hiruzen's staff, yet he saw nothing.

Kakashi, Yamato, and the other Anbu's Ninjas moved in, surrounding Shura with their blades drawn.

Hizashi and the Hyuga Clan's members could only watch in stunned silence as the Anbu and the Hokage reacted with such tension toward… empty air.

Cold sweat dripped down their foreheads.

'Why?'

'Why can Hokage-sama and the others see him, but we can't?!'

At this moment, Shikaku seemed to realize something and said to Hiashi, "Hiashi, deactivating your Byakugan!"

Upon hearing this, Hiashi immediately deactivate his Byakugan.

As his vision returned to normal, his eyes widened… there, in the center of the Anbu's encirclement, stood a masked figure clad in black robes!

"Shura!" Hiashi gritted his teeth, his entire body trembling.

'What kind of ability was this? A Kekkei Genkai? Or something else?'

Hizashi, the branch family guards, and the main family elders also deactivated their Byakugan.

And now, they could see it-

Standing nonchalantly in the middle of the Anbu's encirclement, his foot resting on an unconscious branch family's Ninja, was Shura.

His white three-eyed fox mask gleamed ominously, his black cloak adorned with mysterious patterns fluttering slightly.

"Pfft, you called so many people here, are you planning to gang up on me?" Menma kicked the unconscious Hyuga Clan's Ninja towards Hiashi.

"Shura! You bastard!!!" Hiashi roared, fury burning in his veins!

"Then, I'll play with you guys." With a whisper under the mask, Shura put his hands together and formed the Tiger Seal.

"Nine Mask Svāhā!"