The reason Hyuga Yu chose to kill the three spies was simple: it was a performance for Aburame Ryōma's benefit.
Within the hierarchy of Root—a system that demanded its members be "more shinobi than shinobi"—one had to demonstrate a corresponding, superior "value" to seize more power. Whether it was the authority to allocate the "under observation" combat power of Might Duy, his own future cultivation path, or using the massive tree of Root to shield himself from the Hyuga Main House and the international experts closing in to capture him, Yu needed more influence within the organization.
However, it was clear that Yu had misjudged the Root of this era.
Root using the Hyuga Main House as bait, the "accidental" misassignment of Might Duy, and the mysterious "Mist Collapse Plan" Ryōma had mentioned... these events had led Yu to subjectively overestimate Root's current strength.
In reality, stripping away the carefully manufactured aura of "power," Root's role in the Third Shinobi World War was essentially that of a mere intelligence agency for Konoha. Aburame Ryōma was a top-tier operative within this agency, and his absence suggested he was currently on a mission that only he could—and must—perform. According to the official records, his most specialized skill was infiltration.
The only place worth Ryōma's infiltration at this time and place was the interior of the Hidden Mist Village, currently locked down by the "Bloody Mist."
This meant that at this very moment, the "Mist Collapse Plan" Ryōma spoke of had already begun.
Yu couldn't determine the full scope of the plan, but with Root's second-in-command deployed elsewhere, the forces Root had left on the Mist Front were far weaker than he had imagined. Root's supposed control over the global situation of the Mist battlefield was a bluff—a precarious dance on a knife's edge, using "information" to glaze over their actual lack of manpower.
And unfortunately, Hyuga Yu was currently standing right in the center of the approaching eye of the storm.
March 12th, 8:00 PM.
Hyuga Yu walked briskly through the chaotic Medical Corps camp. Following the address on his reassignment orders, he arrived at the main Konoha camp on the north side.
Compared to the Medical Corps camp, which was busy moving supplies and relocating to the rear, the atmosphere here was far more oppressive and silent. Unlike the usual days when ninjas might find time between missions to play cards or boast, the shinobi here—all wearing Konoha forehead protectors—looked grim. Grouped in their three-man squads, they shuttled between three main tents, lining up to receive pre-battle supplies: a pile of crudely manufactured ninja tools, a few Food Pills, and a bottle of "sugar tablets" distributed to each person by medical ninjas.
Relying on his keen eyesight, Yu caught a glimpse of the torn label on one of the bottles. He recognized the main ingredient of those "sugar tablets" as methamphetamine.
A powerful stimulant. Or more accurately, an addictive drug.
It would allow a ninja to fight like a berserker on the battlefield, squeezing every last drop of potential out of their body. Konoha was truly treating its low-ranking ninja like disposable fodder.
This also proved that Konoha was truly out of reinforcements. They had no confidence in winning the frontal engagement—perhaps not even in holding the line against the Hidden Mist's assault.
Yu brushed past several shinobi. As he passed a group of medical ninjas, an elderly man in a white lab coat—gaunt and looking somewhat numb—suddenly stopped him.
"Child, wait," the old man said. "I... have I seen you before?"
Yu turned back to the old man and recognized him immediately. "Dr. Suwa. I attended your lectures. Your courses on psychiatric disorders and post-war trauma recovery are considered authoritative."
The elderly physician named Suwa looked surprised, but after staring blankly at Yu for a long time, he still couldn't place him. He shook his head. "Ah... I see. You're a medical ninja too? You took my class? To be young is a fine thing, haha... I've been forgetting a lot of things lately. My apologies, I didn't recognize you."
"Please, take this. It's not much, but..."
The old doctor held out a medicine bottle, looking at Yu with a numb, vacant expression. He whispered a piece of advice: "But... staying alive is what matters most."
Yu looked at the bottle in the old man's hand and remained silent for a long moment.
Dr. Suwa was a chief physician in the neurosurgery department of Konoha Hospital, specializing in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in shinobi. But now, he himself was suffering from the very condition he studied. He was even prescribing these "tiger-and-wolf" drugs to the waves of Konoha ninja heading to the front.
Was this an angel's mercy, or... a devil's pity?
Yu found it hard to reach an answer. He didn't take the bottle. Instead, he gave a gentle smile, pulled a small vial from his tool pouch, and showed it to the old doctor in his palm to put him at ease. "Dr. Suwa, I have something better."
Dr. Suwa took the vial and examined the ingredients carefully. His face immediately darkened with gravity. Then, he looked up as realization dawned, his eyes welling with an irrepressible rage.
"I—I remember now! You're that Byakugan kid!"
"What are those old fools in the Medical Department doing? Why were you sent here too? Has Tsunade gone mad? Where are your teachers? Why haven't they reported this to the Third Hokage?!"
"This is absolute nonsense!"
Dr. Suwa's eyes became incredibly clear in that moment of provocation. He was so angry his beard trembled as he grabbed Yu by the arm.
"Come, follow me to see Fugaku Uchiha right now. I'll have him send someone to take you back... back to..."
As he spoke, a look of confusion and daze washed over Dr. Suwa's face. His eyes went blank again as he looked at Yu with a frown. "Eh? Child, wait... I... have I seen you before?"
The smile on Yu's face gradually stiffened.
He remained silent, his expression returning to a calm state—a calm like a still lake hiding endless thunder beneath the surface.
"You have the wrong person."
"Ah, is that so? Well, child, please take this. Though it's..."
Yu took the medicine bottle, took a deep breath, and walked forward without looking back.
Behind him, Dr. Suwa watched Yu's departing figure with suspicion. He thought for a long time but still couldn't remember where he had seen that boy before.
Soon, he sighed, shook his head, and returned to the front of the distribution tent. His face settled back into that dull, numb mask. Mechanically, he raised his hand, reaching out to hand bottle after bottle of lethal yet life-saving poison to every Konoha ninja waiting in line.
March 12th, 9:00 PM.
Yu retrieved his full kit from the equipment maintenance tent in the Konoha camp. He strapped his Japanese longbow to his back, hung his quiver, belted his chakra blade to his waist, and picked up a briefcase containing field surgical instruments. He slid a white cross armband onto his right sleeve.
According to his orders, he arrived at the temporary assembly point for Team 10.
It was a clearing within a large palm grove behind the Kusunami Coast.
There, sitting around a campfire in the center of the clearing, were three teenagers roughly the same age as Hyuga Yu.
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