Hyuga Mori Suke assumed a Gentle Fist stance.
Zabuza's voice rumbled from beneath the bandages, "Let me test his strength."
Ao nodded in agreement, "Make it quick."
Hyuga Mori Suke was enraged, they were using him as a training dummy.
Zabuza unleashed his silent assassination technique, disappearing into the mist once more.
Unfortunately, Hyuga Mori Suke had already activated his Byakugan, his gaze fixed on Zabuza.
Seeing no opening, Zabuza charged at Mori Suke with his sword drawn.
Hyuga Mori Suke's Gentle Fist foundation was profound, while Zabuza's swordsmanship was fierce, and the two immediately engaged in a fierce clash.
Following the Hyuga tradition, Mori Suke preferred to strike after his opponent, calmly responding to Zabuza's relentless attacks.
Zabuza seemed to be extremely confident in his swordsmanship, unafraid of hand-to-hand combat, he fought fiercely with Mori Suke.
Zabuza had already made a name for himself, although he hadn't yet joined the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
But within Kirigakure, he was already a standout amongst his peers, and his taijutsu training was also quite advanced.
Unfortunately, he had met his match in the Hyuga clan.
Hyuga Mori Suke had several opportunities to eliminate Zabuza, but he held back.
He knew his mission: he must send out the alarm, otherwise the Hyuga clan's hard-won position in the guard force would be disgraced due to his negligence.
The two figures moved rapidly as they clashed, eventually reaching a corner, Hyuga Mori Suke spotted an opening and struck Zabuza's sword with a palm strike.
A crisp "pa" echoed, Zabuza had not expected such strength, his sword flew from his grasp.
Hyuga Mori Suke, with a severed arm, leaned back, already pulling out his signal flare.
"Don't even think about it!"
Several Kirigakure ninja were already stationed nearby, and now several shuriken instantly blocked Hyuga Mori Suke's escape route.
But Hyuga Mori Suke turned and collided with them.
He used his own flesh and blood to meet those shuriken.
The signal flare in his hand shot out with a loud "bang."
A nearby Kirigakure ninja leaped up and kicked Hyuga Mori Suke in the waist, sending him tumbling to the ground, rolling several times.
Hyuga Mori Suke coughed up blood, his chest, neck, and head were pierced by numerous shuriken.
In a short amount of time, Hyuga Mori Suke had breathed his last. The caged bird on his forehead flickered with a faint light, his Byakugan lost its color and dissipated.
The surrounding forest quickly received the emergency signal.
Several new signal flares exploded in the sky.
Ao glared fiercely at Hyuga Mori Suke, then gave Zabuza a stern look.
"It's done, let's go!"
They quickly withdrew from the scene.
...
A series of hurried leaps, and three Anbu members landed in the clearing.
One of them, wearing a fox mask, with silver, messy hair, and a sword on his back, was none other than Kakashi Hatake.
After landing, Kakashi quickly raised his forehead protector, revealing his Sharingan, and after a brief examination, gestured to his two companions.
The other two Anbu quickly examined the bodies.
"Taijutsu attack, mist cover."
"Sword wounds, assassination technique, very likely Kirigakure!"
Kakashi nodded, "The enemy has retreated, but we can't rule out their return. I'll report to the Third Hokage."
Since the Third Shinobi World War, Kirigakure had been sending people to harass Konoha, but they had been repelled by the Uchiha clan before.
Unexpectedly, this time, four Konoha ninja had perished here, including one from the Hyuga clan, known for their superior scouting abilities.
The situation was serious.
......
Inside the Hokage's office.
After listening to Kakashi's report, the Third Hokage furrowed his brow, "Please call in Hizashi."
The Byakugan, the pinnacle of scouting ability, had been attacked, it was simply inconceivable.
Previously, the security of Konoha's outskirts had been entrusted to the Uchiha clan, and they had never suffered such a loss.
It was unexpected that as soon as the Hyuga clan took over, Kirigakure took the opportunity to strike.
Fortunately, the signal flare was launched in time, otherwise if these Kirigakure ninja infiltrated the village, the consequences would be unimaginable.
After Kakashi left.
A tap-tap sound echoed, the newcomer was none other than Shimura Danzo, who had been stripped of his position.
The Third Hokage was not surprised to see Danzo, after all, even though he had lost his position as advisor to the Hokage, he was still an elder advisor.
The position of Hokage assistant was just a title for him.
After all, there were many things that the Third Hokage couldn't do himself, and he still relied on Danzo.
The Third Hokage took a puff of his pipe.
"Danzo, is this recent security issue your doing?"
"Hmph, I don't understand what you're talking about."
"Now that the Uchiha have fully withdrawn from the guard force, the remaining Uchiha are just guarding their own shops. You better behave."
Danzo had indeed been making trouble for a few days, but then he realized that the Uchiha weren't taking the bait, and his actions became a laughingstock.
He didn't respond to this, instead, he continued his previous suggestion, "Root members are all loyal, very suitable for inclusion in the guard force."
The Third Hokage understood Danzo's plan, he waved his hand in annoyance, "We'll talk about this later, I'll find out more from Hizashi first."
"Hiruzen, think about it."
Danzo didn't push the matter, he knew that the Third Hokage wouldn't allow him to extend Root's influence to the guard force.
So he slowly turned and left with his cane.
During this time, the guard force was attacked.
And news of the loss of a squad and a Hyuga clan member had reached the Uchiha clan.
At this time, Kawasaki was visiting Shisui, Shisui's eyes had been successfully transplanted, it had to be admitted, replacing an eye was indeed simple.
Even without a special constitution, eye transplants were considered a simple and common surgery here.
Look at Rin Nohara, she could install a Sharingan for Kakashi on the battlefield.
You can see just how advanced medical technology is in this world.
Of course, the most amazing thing is Tsunade's Mystical Palm Technique, a technique she passed down.
It can quickly repair various injuries, greatly reducing the probability of death.
If it weren't for other injuries on Shisui's body, just the eye transplant wouldn't have kept him in bed for a week.
"Senior, I'm fine, why do I have to stay at home for so long?"
Shisui originally called him Deputy Clan Head, but Kawasaki stopped him, to build a closer relationship, he had Shisui address him directly as Senior.
"Konohagakure is currently in turmoil, many people are watching us Uchiha. I have you rest at home, firstly to allow you to fully recover, secondly to let the situation ferment for a while."
In Kawasaki's heart, Shisui might not be very clever, but his ability is real.
Besides, Shisui is still young, and has a lot of room for growth.
The Sharingan is a big burden for Shisui now, Susanoo cannot be used casually.
But if used properly, Kotoamatsukami is a great help.
"Deputy Clan Head! You're here! Shisui, how is your recovery?"
The newcomer was named Uchiha Yomitsu, and was considered a relatively obedient member of the faction.
A week ago, Kawasaki had made the Hokage side eat their words, since then, Yomitsu had worshipped Kawasaki.