Chapter 46: The Death of Ayano Miyamura

Upon learning that their initial arrangements had failed to yield any results, the Second Elder of the Hyuga clan was the first to lose his temper, snatching up the teacup beside him and hurling it at the two subordinates standing below.

"You two good-for-nothings! You can't even handle such a trivial task, so what use are you? Relying on the two of you to protect the main branch is less realistic than depending on a mere ninja hound."

Witnessing the Second Elder's uncontainable fury, alongside the submissive postures of the two branch-family ninjas who kept their heads bowed, not daring to meet his gaze, Hyuga Hizashi frowned.

From the bottom of his heart, he held nothing but contempt for this Second Elder, whose actions had brought massive losses upon the Hyuga clan. Furthermore, those two ninjas below belonged to the branch family of his own household.

As the future head of the main branch, Hyuga Hizashi felt he ought to do something, but before he could utter a word, his arm was firmly pressed down by his father seated beside him.

Hyuga Anmura patted the back of Hyuga Hizashi’s hand, signaling him to remain calm, before speaking in a leisurely and unhurried tone: "It is merely the failure of a tentative probe, nothing of great consequence. As long as that little fellow remains in the village, we will have plenty of opportunities.

If it fails once, we will try ten times; if ten times fail, we will try a hundred times. The most important item has already been placed beneath that brat's bed. Next, as long as even one of the selected out-of-clan branch children manages to befriend that brat, we will succeed.

We can afford to fail countless times, but that brat can only afford to fail once.

Beyond that, if the Second Elder still feels unsettled, you may personally manufacture some trouble for that brat. After all, that brat has already lost his Byakugan. Under such circumstances, creating a few minor troubles for him should be quite effortless."

The out-of-clan branch members mentioned by Hyuga Anmura were naturally those individuals from their previous plan who possessed thin Hyuga bloodlines but lacked the Byakugan.

Given the need to consider their influence within the village and the constraints of time, only a portion of those people had been branded with the Caged Bird curse mark.

As for the greater number of them who had yet to receive the curse mark, they were the ideal candidates to scheme against Kawaki Aoba.

At this point, the Hyuga clan's plot could be considered clear and transparent.

They would use the children of the out-of-clan branch to befriend Kawaki Aoba, and once the two sides grew familiar, they would plant the manual of Gentle Fist techniques hidden in the secret compartment beneath the bed to frame him.

With a righteous justification and the sheer weight of the Hyuga clan's influence, resolving Kawaki Aoba would be as easy as turning over a hand. Even if Yuhi Kurenai were added to the mix, it still wouldn't stir up any waves.

To be honest, this scheme was not particularly ingenious, but it was extremely lethal.

If an ordinary ten-year-old ninja were placed in that situation without any prior knowledge, they would truly be susceptible to falling into the trap.

After all, who would continuously and unreasonably suspect strangers who happened to appear by their side?

However, now that Kawaki Aoba was already aware of their conspiracy, that was an entirely different story.

Possessing max-level Observation Haki, Kawaki Aoba didn't need to worry in the least about anyone scheming against him right under his nose.

On the contrary, it was that Second Elder who might pull some petty stunts requiring a bit of attention.

Even so, it would amount to nothing more than racking one's brains to cause trouble for him. Kawaki Aoba was unconcerned; his own strength was his ultimate trump card.

The discussion regarding dealing with him had concluded, and Kawaki Aoba initially thought the four-man meeting would come to an end here. To his surprise, however, they subsequently brought up a name that caught him off guard, yet appeared strangely logical given the context.

"There is another matter. Horeshi, how was that other little brat, Miyamura Ayano, dealt with?" Hyuga Anmura asked casually.

"She has already been dealt with. After defecting to our Hyuga clan, she betrayed us, only to be recruited in turn by Sarutobi Hiruzen, attempting to use that as a stepping stone to advance. How could there be such a good thing in this world?" Hyuga Great Elder Horeshi shook his head. It was evident that he held profound disdain for a ninja like Miyamura Ayano, who was accustomed to betrayal.

A chill ran through Kawaki Aoba's heart: Miyamura Ayano, the person who had betrayed him, was dead.

He had long since concluded that she would be eliminated, but he hadn't expected the Hyuga clan to act with such swiftness.

At that moment, Kawaki Aoba found himself gaining a sudden understanding of Sarutobi Hiruzen.

The ninja clans of Konoha wielded terrifying influence, especially when targeting civilian ninjas with no backing; their actions could truly be described as utterly uninhibited.

Looking at it this way, these great clans were indeed targets that deserved to be weakened and suppressed.

The high-level secret meeting of the Hyuga clan came to an end here, but Kawaki Aoba did not withdraw his Observation Haki; instead, he continued to probe other areas.

This was simply because Kawaki Aoba suddenly realized that ever since acquiring max-level Observation Haki, he had yet to properly observe Konoha. Now, he might as well seize this opportunity to take a good look around.

Once Kawaki Aoba's Observation Haki was fully extended, the places he focused on held virtually no secrets from him. If he wished, he could even expend a vast amount of time to uncover ninety-nine percent of Konoha's secrets.

Naturally, Kawaki Aoba would never engage in such a time-wasting endeavor. Even now, he merely glanced roughly over a few important locations and figures.

For instance, within the Hokage Building at this very moment, several high-ranking Konoha officials were arguing fiercely over the issue of how many war reserve supplies needed to be stockpiled;

Nara Shikaku was waiting outside the door for Sarutobi Hiruzen's summons;

Two spandex-clad weirdos—one large, one small—were doing handstands as they ran laps around Konoha.

In a certain estate, a woman whose internal chakra was terrifyingly vast was resting.

Within the Uchiha Military Police Force, Fugaku, whom he had crossed paths with previously, was frowning as he looked over the documents in his hand.

Yuhi Kurenai was at home attempting to develop her chakra cloak.

In Konoha's Training Ground Number 3, a bright and sunny boy was continuously rubbing a chakra sphere between his hands.

Well, if there are no accidents, that last one seems to be Minato.

Judging by his appearance, is he developing the Rasengan? Could it be that before the war even started, he had already laid eyes on a Tailed Beast Bomb?

Tsk, this level of development is actually inferior to even his own; it looks like he must have just started not long ago.

Time flew like an arrow, and in the blink of an eye, several more days passed.

During these past few days, Kawaki Aoba's daily routine had been exceedingly regular. Aside from studying the Demonic Illusion: Descending Hell Technique with the person Sarutobi Hiruzen had sent to teach him genjutsu, he spent his time routinely observing Konoha with his Observation Haki.

Through his observations over these few days, Kawaki Aoba also discovered another wonderful utility of Observation Haki: using it to screen for spies from enemy villages.

If Kawaki Aoba were willing to put in the effort and spend the time to thoroughly screen the entirety of Konoha, while he might not unearth every single spy hidden within the village, he could at least eliminate ninety-nine percent of the hidden dangers.