The Influence of Byakugan

The Konoha ninjas were quickly deployed according to plan.

A total of five hundred ninja troops were divided into fifty teams, each consisting of ten people. Each of these fifty teams was responsible for defending a ten-kilometer defensive line.

Each team set up camp in their respective defense zone and managed their own rotations.

Every team had at least one ninja from the Hyuga Clan and a wind-release ninja.

This ensured the combat effectiveness of each team and, more importantly, their ability to support each other.

A ten-person team like this was sufficient to confront a Kumogakure assault team. Even if they were overwhelmed, they could still launch a flare signal, allowing other Hyuga Clan members from different teams to see and come to their aid.

In this way, the weakness of conventional four-man ninja teams conducting patrol missions was mitigated.

The only drawback was the lack of high-level combat power.

To balance the strength of each team, all Jonin were divided among different teams, and their assignments were frequently changed to serve as high-level combat forces.

Although the high-level combat power of Jonin was insufficient due to the impact of the Ninja World War and the Kyuubi Rebellion, fortunately, there were many experienced Chunin in the army as the backbone, so the combat power remained strong, not to mention there were individuals like Shintaro, whose combat strength far exceeded ordinary people.

Once the deployment was completed, the defense situation in the northeastern part of the Fire Country immediately showed signs of improvement.

The previously porous defensive line became solid, and Kumogakure Village's attacks on the Land of Lightning were clearly hindered.

Somewhere on the front lines, a Konoha ninja team was on patrol.

This team was a ten-person unit led by Hyuga Hiashi, patrolling the forest at the border.

Hiashi had a very calm and cautious character. He led the team to be vigilant against any enemies that might appear at the border, carefully scanning everything on the battlefield with his Byakugan.

At that moment, he suddenly lifted his head, and the bulging veins around his eyes appeared somewhat fierce and intimidating.

"There are enemies two kilometers ahead." He suddenly warned, and as the Jonin captain of this team and a member of the Hyuga Clan, his warning was taken seriously.

Everyone on the team relied on Hiashi's strength and Byakugan abilities, so they naturally followed his orders and quickly moved forward for support.

It only took a few minutes for a ninja to travel two kilometers, especially through the dense forest at the Fire Country border.

In Kumogakure, eight Kumogakure ninjas were moving through the forest. Specifically, these eight Kumogakure ninjas were actually two four-man ninja teams.

Since Konoha had changed their deployment method for border ninjas, Kumogakure's harassment strategy had also been adjusted.

Kumogakure Village's original harassment strategy was to send four-man ninja teams to harass, but this method was clearly not suitable now; otherwise, it would be sending food to the Konoha ninjas, so changes had to be made.

Kumogakure's current approach was to gather two or three teams to attack and harass, ensuring they could confront the Konoha ninjas without becoming too large and escalating the war.

The captain of these two Kumogakure teams was a Kumogakure Jonin named Mokai. A team like this was intended for Konoha teams without a Jonin, so even if they had fewer members, they wouldn't lack combat power.

Unfortunately, they encountered Hiashi's team.

Hiashi dashed forward like an arrow. His eyes were determined, as if they could pierce through the enemy. The Byakugan's ability allowed him to accurately lock onto the enemy's strongest ninja, Mokai. With a wave of his arm, powerful chakra condensed in his palm.

Immediately afterward, he shouted, "Hakke Rokujūyon Shō!"

This shockwave was like a surging ocean wave, unstoppable. Wherever it passed, the air was torn apart, producing a burst of loud whistling sounds.

Mokai was shocked to see such a powerful attack coming, but he didn't hesitate and immediately used ninjutsu to try to counter it. However, Hiashi's strength clearly exceeded his expectations. The "Hakke Rokujūyon Shō" easily broke through his defense and struck him hard.

Mokai felt a piercing pain surge through him, and his body involuntarily flew backward. He crashed heavily to the ground, with blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

When the surrounding enemies saw this, they were all terrified and retreated one by one, not daring to step forward and challenge Hiashi.

Mokai, a unique dark-skinned individual from the Land of Lightning, showed an ugly expression, making his already dark face even darker.

Without hesitation, he chose to retreat, as this team had come to exploit any opportunity, and the worst-case scenario was facing a Konoha ninja team without a Jonin.

Now that they were up against a team led by Hiashi, let alone fighting or not, if Hiashi launched a flare to summon other teams, the force led by him would be completely wiped out.

The wounded Mokai endured the pain and led his remaining loyal subordinates to engage in a fierce battle with the Konoha ninjas.

In the intense battle, he exerted all his strength and finally used his best ninjutsu – "Raiton: Raigen Raikōchū!"

This blinding lightning instantly illuminated the entire battlefield, causing the Konoha Village ninjas to lose their vision and the ability to track the enemy.

Taking advantage of this brief but precious opportunity, Mokai resolutely led the remaining two loyal subordinates to successfully escape.

Hiashi did not pursue them for the sake of the overall situation, allowing Mokai's team to flee.

Mokai's team's experience could be said to be the common fate of most Kumogakure teams recently.

With the use of Byakugan, Konoha had a significant advantage.

Mokai and his two subordinates fled back to Kumogakure in shame and panic, and reported the battle in detail to the Fourth Raikage.

"Byakugan, why Byakugan again! Why does that hateful Konoha have so many powerful ninja clans? It used to be the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan, and now even the Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan is getting in on the action."

The Fourth Raikage, Ai, was furious, slamming his hand on the table. Ai now only had one hand left. The broken arm had been shattered by Uchiha Shintaro during the Third Ninja World War. The loss of his arm had caused much inconvenience in his life, and most daily tasks could only be handled by his secretary beside him.

Not only that, Ai's temperament had become increasingly irritable, especially after frequently losing battles to Konoha; he would break a table in anger almost every few days.

At this moment, Ai was panting like an enraged bull. After a long time, he slowly regained his composure under the persuasion of his secretary, Mabui.

Mabui had healthy wheat-colored skin and was a beautiful, dark-skinned woman. She combed her full head of silver hair into a neat bun. She had a beautiful face, arched eyebrows, and lovely eyes. She wore a dark green professional suit.

Mabui was clearly not a shallow and useless vase. On the contrary, she possessed extraordinary wisdom and keen insight. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that in Kumogakure Village, known for its rashness, her intellect was at the top level.

Because of this, she was qualified for the important position of the Raikage's secretary at such a young age.

Faced with the difficult problem at hand, Mabui quickly thought and offered her opinion: "Since Byakugan is so difficult to deal with, we should expand the scale of the attacks and increase the frequency to overwhelm Konoha."

She then added, "Based on the current information, Konoha's troop deployment in the border area this time is relatively limited."

After listening to Mabui's suggestion, Ai pondered deeply. After a while, he nodded in agreement and decisively ordered, "Immediately summon all the Jonin for an emergency meeting to discuss a specific battle plan. We must deliver a heavy blow to Konoha and make them suffer!"

Ultimately, the battle plan formulated by the Kumogakure Village Jonin Meeting was just released.

Facing Konoha, which had the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan and an advantage in reconnaissance and information transmission, Kumogakure Village decided to send multiple ninja teams with more than ten members to attack simultaneously. As a result, the Konoha ninja teams would be too overwhelmed to support each other.

There was no other way to handle this. After all, even though Konoha had suffered from the Kyuubi Rebellion, it was still the strongest ninja village in the ninja world.

Although Kumogakure Village was strong in border conflicts, it had not yet fully recovered from the last ninja war.

This situation made Ai and the other Kumogakure ninjas even more resentful of the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan.

Soon after, Kumogakure Village gathered ten teams of twenty members each and launched an attack on Konoha's defensive line simultaneously.

Kumogakure Village had high hopes for this wave of attacks. Since winter had passed and spring had arrived, this assault was named the Spring Offensive.

Mokai and other Jonin led a team of twenty elites to launch a surprise attack and encountered the team led by Hizashi.

Even before the enemies approached, Hizashi could sense their presence with his Byakugan ability. With such an advantage, he not only quickly made full preparations for battle but also decisively launched a signal flare in hopes of receiving reinforcements.

Unfortunately, reinforcements had not yet arrived at the location. This situation indicated that the Konoha teams in the vicinity might also have been attacked by enemy forces or had gone to assist other teams.

"It's you again!" Mokai roared angrily, apparently mistaking Hizashi for Hiashi.

Facing the other party's question, Hizashi was confused: "Have we met before?"

Mokai felt extremely humiliated and angry and immediately formed a hand seal. In an instant, more than a dozen blinding lightning bolts shot out like a rain of arrows, drawing brilliant arcs in the air toward Hizashi.

Hizashi remained calm in the face of danger and used the unique skills of the Hyuga Clan.

"[Hakkeshō Kaiten]."

He spun rapidly like a top, and his entire body continuously emitted powerful chakra. This chakra merged into an immensely strong hemispherical chakra shield, easily deflecting all incoming lightning rays.

Seeing this scene, another Jonin from Kumogakure joined the battle, and the two of them surrounded Hizashi together, almost overpowering him.

Hizashi was very strong, and one person could fight two Jonin, but that didn't mean every Konoha ninja was like this.

After all, Kumogakure had the advantage in numbers, and Konoha soon began to retreat and suffer casualties.

Just as Hizashi was getting anxious, his Byakugan suddenly detected several figures approaching from a distance. Among them was a familiar figure—his brother Hiashi.

So while fighting, Hizashi loudly reminded everyone: "Our reinforcements have arrived, everyone must hold on!"

Hearing this, the Konoha side reignited their fighting spirit and managed to hold their ground despite being outnumbered two to one.

Hiashi's reinforcements arrived. There were only five of them, but it was enough to change the course of the battle, as the other Jonin had come to Konoha's aid.

"[Hakke Rokujūyon Shō]."

With an angry shout, Hiashi swung his palm with all his strength, and the powerful force surged toward Mokai like an unstoppable wave.

Mokai was caught off guard and was thrown back, crashing hard to the ground. This familiar feeling left him stunned.

Taking advantage of this, Hiashi quickly rushed to the middle of the battlefield and fought alongside his brother Hizashi. His arrival greatly reduced the pressure on the team that had been at a disadvantage. The two of them worked together, and for the moment, they were unbeatable.

At the same time, the other ninja who had come to support also found their targets and joined the battle. Their involvement allowed Konoha to gradually turn the situation around and regain the initiative.

The tacit understanding between the two brothers Hizashi and Hiashi was perfect. Not only did they use the same techniques, but they could also support each other in critical moments.

When another Kumogakure Jonin launched a ninjutsu attack at Hiashi, Hizashi did not hesitate to abandon his fight with Mokai.

"AAHHH!"

Two roars sounded simultaneously, and Hizashi and Hiashi's palms gathered into a large wave of energy in the air. This incredibly powerful shockwave collided with the opponent's ninjutsu with destructive force, instantly annihilating the two Kumogakure Jonin.

It was then that Mokai woke from his daze and realized that the Hiashi and Hizashi before him were actually twins. Moreover, these brothers were clearly very powerful, and they were not people to be easily provoked.

Mokai wanted to repeat his old trick and use lightning to escape, but unexpectedly, Hizashi had prepared for this and blocked his escape route first, closing his eyes tightly.

"[Raiton: Raigen Raikōchū]."

This was a rare ninjutsu in the ninja world. The illusion was used to amplify the light emitted by lightning, thus blinding the enemy's sight.

However, Hizashi had closed his eyes and was not affected by the illusion. As a result, the lightning flash's effectiveness was greatly reduced, and the lightning escape chakra in Mokai's hand became a target from the Byakugan's perspective.

"[Hakke Kusho]."

With another palm strike, Mokai was sent flying backward.

Hiashi stepped forward with his palm, executing a series of smooth [Hakke Rokujūyon Shō]. Chakra was injected into Mokai's body to close his acupoints, and his fragile internal organs suffered a terrible blow until he vomited blood and died.

Seeing that the situation was over, the other Kumogakure ninja fled the battlefield one by one.

Hizashi looked at his brother in front of him, with sincere gratitude in his eyes. He said softly, "Thank you very much, Hiashi. If you hadn't helped in time, I'm afraid the consequences would have been dire."

After hearing his brother's thanks, Hiashi nodded slightly in response, but his expression seemed somewhat stiff and unnatural. He replied in a low voice: "It's what you must do as part of the branch family, no need to thank me."

Although his tone was calm, there seemed to be a trace of helplessness and bitterness in it.

On the battlefield, they worked together seamlessly, as if they were connected by heart. However, in real life, an invisible gap still lay between the brothers—the difference in status between the Main Family and the Branch Family made it difficult for them to get along.

This situation was not an isolated case but a deep-rooted problem throughout the Hyuga Clan. Even blood brothers could not escape the shackles of this fate.