The Byakugan in the Way

With the surprise attack complete, Naoki immediately withdrew and watched Shinno in silence.

Blood pattered onto the ground.

As the sword came free of Shinno's chest, blood sprayed from the wound in a fine mist before falling to the earth.

Shinno's face contorted. He pressed one hand to the wound and pointed at Naoki with the other. "How dare you..."

He had not expected Naoki to attack while he was speaking. The sudden strike had left him bewildered.

Naoki flicked the blood from his blade. He said nothing, continuing to observe Shinno.

As a researcher himself, he knew a researcher's weaknesses all too well.

Researchers could achieve the seemingly impossible and acquire terrifying power others could scarcely imagine. But limited combat experience and mediocre fighting instincts often left them unable to control their new abilities. They might be able to bring only forty or fifty percent of their potential strength to bear in battle.

Hiruko was one example. His strength had soared after the Kekkei Genkai fusion ritual, yet even with every technique at his disposal, he had failed to defeat Naoki and Orochimaru while both were constrained and unable to fight freely.

Naoki had suffered a similar problem when he first became the Dragon Vein's jinchuriki. Unable to judge how much power to use, he had exhausted his chakra and allowed natural energy to damage his body.

Shinno was no exception. His strength had increased enormously, but he still lacked combat experience. He had been a spy and an herbal physician. For all his knowledge, he had rarely faced powerful opponents directly.

That did not mean Naoki would underestimate him.

He knew this wound might kill an ordinary shinobi. Shinno was another matter.

Naoki had obtained his secret body-activation technique from Orochimaru, but Orochimaru had acquired it from Shinno. On top of that, Shinno likely possessed the Chimera Technique and some of Moryo's abilities. Expecting one simple sword thrust to finish him was unrealistic.

A soft hissing rose from the wound.

As expected, although Shinno continued coughing blood, the muscles in his chest writhed. Within moments, amid a vapor like steam, the bloody wound closed completely.

Naoki's expression tightened. Without another word, he turned and ran.

"Trying to escape?!"

Shinno's eyes were bloodshot, his face furious.

The sword wound had done no lasting damage, but it had humiliated him. While he had been reveling in his seemingly limitless power, Naoki had made a fool of him.

Crash!

Enraged, Shinno charged through houses and walls like a battering ram. He pursued Naoki straight through the buildings in his path, filling the air with crashing masonry and billowing dust.

Naoki glanced back. Shinno's physical resilience was astonishing, but another thought struck him. 'Moryo seems to be affecting his mind, too.'

That was exactly why Naoki had decided against using Moryo as the chakra source for his artificial Tailed Beast.

The demon's evil was both immense and pure. It had been born from the priestess stripping away her own evil aspect. Technical methods alone could not completely suppress something like that. It also required tremendous willpower and an unshakable sense of self.

Naoki knew his limits. He was an ordinary person, and he did not trust himself to withstand Moryo's constant erosion of his mind. That was why he had left the demon alone. Seeing Shinno acting almost mindlessly now, he was deeply glad he had made that choice.

Yet his relief was mixed with confusion.

They were causing a tremendous disturbance. Why was the village barely responding? A number of Konoha shinobi along their route had noticed, but every one of them was a chunin or genin. None could stop the rampaging Shinno.

'What is going on in the village?'

Naoki's expression grew grimmer as he watched the villagers evacuating around him.

As an ANBU who reported directly to the Hokage, he understood Konoha's emergency procedures. The Hokage would declare a state of emergency only when war threatened the village itself, or in a crisis like the night of the Nine-Tails' attack.

His thoughts raced. He quickly ruled out an invasion by another hidden village.

Even if one had launched a surprise attack on the Land of Fire, reaching Konoha would take at least a week or two. The Third would have no reason to rush the residents out in the middle of the night.

An evacuation this urgent meant battle was imminent. But who was the enemy?

After considering the possibilities, Naoki could think of only one explanation: an Uchiha rebellion.

With Shinno openly roaming the village, he suspected the Akatsuki had a hand in tonight's events, whether the Uchiha had truly rebelled or had been framed.

At that thought, he abruptly looked back at Shinno. His dark eyes turned crimson.

...

Outside the village.

When no answer came to his question, Kakashi asked, "Naoki, what's wrong?"

The Naoki accompanying him and Shisui was only Shisui's shadow clone. It had no Byakugan and could not answer Kakashi's question. "Th-there might be a trap," it stammered.

"Might be?"

Kakashi was baffled.

Shisui hurried to intervene. "Captain, let me try."

Kakashi gave the disguised clone a suspicious look, then told Shisui, "All right. Be careful."

Shisui flickered away and landed lightly on the grass four or five meters from the bound Naruto.

Naruto squirmed and made urgent muffled noises. With his mouth gagged, Shisui could not understand him.

After examining the surroundings with his Mangekyo Sharingan and confirming there were no traps around Naruto, Shisui approached and cut through the ropes with a kunai.

Hiss...

At that moment, the sound of igniting explosive tags came from Naruto's body.

Ignoring his own safety, Shisui tore off Naruto's tag-covered jacket and shielded the boy with his body.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Violent explosions ripped through the woods.

Alarmed, Kakashi searched for hidden enemies, the three tomoe spinning in his left Sharingan.

Amid the chaos, a twisting vortex appeared behind the disguised Naoki. A figure stepped out, laid a hand on the clone's shoulder, and chuckled. "That troublesome Byakugan is taken care of."