บท 20: Chapter 20: Kazuya Observes from the Shadows! The Byakugan is Mine!
The villagers, exhausted from a day of joyful revelry, had all returned home and fallen into deep sleep.
But not everyone in the village would sleep peacefully tonight.
Under the cover of darkness, a shadowy figure darted through the night.
Kazuya had arrived near the Hyuga Clan's compound.
If his suspicions were correct, tonight would be the night the Kumogakure Head Ninja made his move.
With the peace celebration just concluded, everyone's guard would be down—this was the perfect moment to strike.
"Halt!"
A voice called out suddenly, and an ANBU agent appeared before Kazuya. The ANBU member hesitated briefly, then exclaimed, "Kazuya-taichou?"
"It's me," Kazuya replied with a nod. "I wasn't feeling at ease, so I decided to check things out personally."
"As expected of Kazuya-taichou!"
The ANBU's admiration was clear. To give up a well-earned break, approved by the Hokage himself, just to ensure the mission's success—this was what set Kazuya-taichou apart from others.
His white eyes glimmering behind the mask revealed his identity as one of Kazuya's subordinates—a Hyuga jōnin who had fought alongside him during the battle with the Fourth Raikage.
It was clear that the Third Hokage had heeded Kazuya's advice: after the Kumogakure delegation arrived, the village had put extra surveillance on key individuals and clans, including the Jinchūriki, the Hyuga Clan, and the Uchiha Clan.
Tonight, the ANBU assigned to guard the Hyuga Clan were all under Kazuya's command.
Additionally, the Third Hokage had granted Kazuya a special leave to focus on mastering the Flying Thunder God technique.
However, there was no way Kazuya was going to miss out on the opportunity of a potential Hyuga kidnapping attempt.
Who knew—he might even "collect" the Byakugan in the process!
The Byakugan, one of the Three Great Dōjutsu, was somewhat underwhelming compared to its counterparts. It essentially functioned as a 360-degree X-ray vision device.
Beyond reconnaissance, it didn't offer much in terms of combat utility.
In the entire Hyuga Clan, no one had ever reached a level higher than jōnin.
But that wasn't because the Byakugan was inherently weak—it was because the Hyuga Clan lacked the potential to unlock its true power!
In the original story, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's Byakugan allowed her to decimate Sasuke and Naruto at their peak.
It wasn't the Byakugan's fault; the Hyuga simply didn't have the Ōtsutsuki's chakra to fully utilize its abilities.
It was all about bloodline!
But Kazuya wasn't concerned about that.
If he lived long enough, he was bound to "collect" the chakra of the Ōtsutsuki one day. When that happened, even evolving the Byakugan into the Tenseigan wouldn't be out of reach.
Four powerful Dōjutsu at once? He'd blind the entire world with his brilliance!
Soon enough, Kazuya melted into the shadows.
The nearby ANBU recognized their leader and didn't react, though some were moved by his dedication.
"Kazuya-taichou leads by example—working late into the night even during his time off."
"He's the type of captain you can always count on."
At around 1:30 AM, the village was at its most vulnerable, with everyone weary from the day's excitement.
Suddenly, several figures slipped into the Hyuga compound, moving with practiced stealth.
"Here they come!" Kazuya's eyes lit up in anticipation.
It didn't take long for the sounds of battle to break out.
Hyuga Clan members clashed with three Kumogakure shinobi, including the head ninja.
But within two minutes, the fight was over.
The three Kumogakure ninjas, including the head ninja, were all killed on the spot.
Under the moonlight, the Kumogakure head ninja, after receiving a barrage of Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, was left in a pitiful state.
From the shadows, Kazuya observed silently.
One after another, glowing orbs of light began to drift toward him.
[You have collected 50 points of Battle Experience.]
[You have collected 50 points of Lightning Release Aptitude.]
[You have collected the Bloodline Limit: Byakugan.]
[You have collected 200 points of Ocular Power.]
[Your Ocular Power has leveled up to Lv.2 (100/500).]
[You have collected the Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.]
[You have collected 1000 points of Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms Skill Experience.]
[Your Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms has leveled up to Lv.2 (0/1000).]
"What a haul!"
The Byakugan was his!
In an instant, Kazuya felt a cool energy wash over his eyes.
"Phew…" Kazuya exhaled slowly, resisting the temptation to activate his Byakugan.
This was the Hyuga compound, after all. With so many people around, it would only cause unnecessary trouble if someone noticed.
"Take care of the cleanup," Kazuya instructed calmly.
"Yes, taichou!" the surrounding ANBU replied in unison.
The next moment, Kazuya disappeared into the night, leaving no trace behind.
The moment the head ninja from Kumogakure was killed, the matter came to a close.
As for what would happen to Hiashi Hyūga and the fallout within the clan, it no longer concerned Kazuya.
For the next half month, Kazuya settled back into the daily routine of life in the ANBU.
Each day, he would clock in at the base, and then head to the training grounds to collect attributes. His days were relaxed and uneventful.
Now that he was a squad captain, he could delegate most of the smaller missions to his subordinates.
If a squad captain had to personally take action, it would typically be for S-rank missions.
But in the current era of peace following the war, there weren't many S-rank missions to go around.
In just two weeks, Kazuya had picked up another 20,000 points of chakra and maxed out his skill in the Body Replacement Technique.
His stats were now as follows: [Chakra: Lv. 4 (62,500/100,000)]
Over 60,000 chakra points! This was already considered mid-to-high level among the Kage-ranked shinobi.
As for Flying Thunder God and Sage Mode, they hadn't progressed much.
Those powerful techniques were far harder to improve. There were very few ninjas who could use Flying Thunder God and even fewer who could handle Sage Mode.
The only ones in Konoha who might trigger the golden glow from Sage Mode-related skills were Jiraiya and Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru…"
As Kazuya stepped into the ANBU base, he found himself deep in thought.
By his calculations, it wouldn't be long before the Third Hokage would catch on to Orochimaru's darker experiments.
That would trigger yet another emotional rollercoaster filled with tension, friendship, and betrayal.
But instead of dread, Kazuya was eagerly anticipating it.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, Orochimaru, Jiraiya…
With these kinds of names involved, the golden attribute orbs they'd drop were bound to be even better than what he collected from his battle with the Fourth Raikage, right?
Just as he reached the office door, Kazuya was startled by an unexpected sight.
"Kazuya-taichou, please train me mercilessly!"
A purple-haired girl knelt on one knee, her expression determined and resolute.
Kazuya blinked. "Excuse me, what did you just say?"
Train her… mercilessly? What was she even talking about?
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