Konoha Year 44, Mid-Winter.
White snow drifted silently through the still forest. Beneath a leaden sky, a shinobi was fleeing for his life.
No matter how harsh the weather, it could never halt the progress of slaughter. Shinobi were, by their very nature, the most efficient reapers; harvesting lives was an instinct etched into their bones. Systems bred war, shinobi marched to the front, and battle brought death. The hand that rang the death knell changed from time to time, but the rope was simply passed from one person to the next.
Death was the only absolute, the only true fairness.
As dusk approached, the swirling wind and snow severely hindered normal vision, allowing countless shadows to hide within. Yet, one shinobi was sprinting desperately. His breathing was ragged, his steps unsteady, his face pale with a terror that left him blind to his own path.
He didn't care about masking his tracks anymore.
His eyes, which were supposed to see through space itself, now seemed to stare only at a future on the timeline where nothing but death awaited him. Still, he struggled. He had to.
Through the flickering shadows of the trees and the heavy curtain of snow, one could faintly discern the forehead protector tied to his swaying form. It bore the mark of the Hidden Leaf Village.
He was a Konoha shinobi. And he knew the enemies behind him were like maggots on a corpse—there was no retreat left.
In his current physical state, even with eyes that could detect enemies from afar, he had no way to hide. His right arm had been severed at the shoulder, and blood was gushing from the wound, staining the white world crimson. He had no time or strength to treat it.
Blood dripped, heat vanished, the fluid froze as it merged into the snow...
Even if he found a perfect hiding spot, the enemy would simply follow the trail of red. Furthermore, the pursuers had trackers.
He had lost too much blood, his chakra was depleted, and his mind was slipping. A large force was pursuing him—he no longer had the mental capacity to count them, but there was definitely more than one squad.
Was it unavoidable? He felt weak... and utterly helpless.
The young shinobi did not want to die, but he realized that the end was inevitable. The clansmen who had stayed behind to cover him must have fallen by now. Now, it was his turn.
He had feared death, then anticipated it; now, at the final moment, he found himself facing it with a strange calm. But before he died, there was one thing—the most important thing—that he could not leave for the enemy.
With that thought, he stopped running. Flight was now a meaningless act.
He raised his remaining left hand, forming a "V" shape with his fingers.
Was he mocking the enemy's victory? No, he didn't have the luxury for such thoughts. He had one final mission: he had to destroy his own eyes. This was the final, most vital duty of a Konoha shinobi and a member of the strongest clan.
The angle between his fingers was already set. He knew this would be enough to ruin those fragile organs.
However, at that exact moment, the whistling of a giant shuriken cut through the air. Sharp and heavy, the giant blade followed its predetermined trajectory with immense momentum, severing his head in an instant.
The impact caused a tremor in his hand. Only his index finger managed to pierce his left eye; his middle finger struck the metal of his forehead protector.
His right eye remained perfectly intact.
But he would never know. His consciousness faded at the exact moment he thought he had died with the dignity of a prestigious clan member.
The enemy walked over, stepped over his body, and picked up his head. They tore off the forehead protector, saw the blank forehead beneath it, and finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"Mission accomplished!"
The enemy shouted to their hidden companions, their voice carrying a mix of solemnity and grim delight.
Generally, when a border shinobi is declared missing, it is synonymous with death. However, such news is usually hard to confirm quickly, as finding a comrade's body in the field is rare.
But this time, at the exact moment that shinobi died countless miles away on the border, Konoha received the news through other means.
The Hyuga Clan was thrown into total chaos.
The report was immediately rushed to the Hokage. This news forced the Konoha machine to operate at its highest efficiency. Shinobi who were not currently on missions received an urgent summons from the Hokage almost simultaneously.
Land of Fire, Hidden Leaf Village, Hokage Office.
The Third Hokage looked at the assembled shinobi, his face grim. It was rare for Hiruzen Sarutobi to display such a dark expression, leaving many of the ninja confused as to what had happened.
Once everyone was present, the Third Hokage finally spoke.
"Due to factors we have yet to determine, roughly one day ago, the mission intelligence of our frontline shinobi was leaked. Kirigakure, having obtained this intel, ambushed one of our four-man elite squads with surgical precision."
"The battle ended recently. According to the information we just received, all four Konoha shinobi were killed in action..."
"But that is not the main point."
For a Hokage to say the death of his own shinobi wasn't the main point was unheard of, especially from a man known for his kindness. Yet, he was right.
"Among the four fallen, two were from the Hyuga Clan."
"One was from the Branch House. The other... was from the Main House."
The room stirred with unease.
Due to the Hyuga Clan's rigid caste system, the number of Main House members had never exceeded ten since the village's founding; often, there weren't even five. Losing a Main House member was a catastrophe.
But the worst was yet to come. The death of a Main House member meant the potential loss of the Byakugan.
Sure enough, the Hokage delivered the final blow.
"According to the Hyuga Clan's specific monitoring methods, it has been confirmed: one Byakugan has fallen into the hands of the Kirigakure enemy."
The Branch House member was of no concern; the Caged Bird seal ensured the eye's destruction upon death. But the Main House member had failed to destroy their eyes before passing, leading to a Byakugan being seized. Such an incident was unprecedented.
Considering the Hyuga's obsessive, conservative, and even cruel protection of their lineage, this was more than a disgrace. It was a thorn that threatened the safety of the entire clan. If the enemy mastered the Byakugan's secrets, the clan's bloodline limit would be laid bare.