Everyone knew the Byakugan of the Hyūga clan could see everything within a one-kilometer radius.
That wasn't even the limit—just the standard range when activated. With further training and development, the visual range could increase significantly.
Even so, based on intelligence compiled during the three Great Ninja Wars, the max range of a Byakugan typically topped out at several kilometers, maybe ten at most.
If this had come from Hiashi Hyūga himself, Kurenai wouldn't have batted an eye. As the clan head, it made sense he'd surpass the norm.
But Hinata?
She'd just graduated a month ago, still basically a kid—and her Byakugan was already covering a 20-kilometer radius?
What kind of monster was she?
She had clearly broken the upper limits of the Hyūga clan's abilities!
Seeing the way both of their expressions shifted, Kenjiro couldn't help but smile to himself.
If even Hiashi had been floored by Hinata's rapid progress, of course Kurenai and Shino were shocked.
With his red-tier Ōtsutsuki bloodline, Kenjiro and Hinata—who carried the red-tier "Byakugan Princess" talent—were the perfect match.
When Kenjiro unlocked Hinata's talent as one of his own, it was effectively like transplanting her eyes. And now, with the help of the red-tier "Sage Eye" he had already reached the first awakening.
Hinata, who didn't even have a red-tier bloodline herself, only needed to absorb Kenjiro's chakra to unlock her potential and raise her ceiling.
From year 58 of the Konoha calendar, both Hinata and Hanabi had started rewriting their fate.
That was the year Kenjiro awakened a unique Uzumaki ability—physical regeneration.
Every day after training, whether they were hurt or not, Kenjiro had Hinata and Hanabi bite him to absorb some of his chakra.
The chakra they absorbed not only healed any minor injuries but also continuously boosted their growth.
Hinata's Byakugan, being the most pure, showed the fastest change.
Barely out of the Academy, she had already surpassed Hiashi's range.
At this rate, by the time the Shippuden era rolled around, her Byakugan might have evolved from a purple-tier to a gold-tier Kekkei genkai (Bloodline Limit).
"Is something wrong?"
Hinata tilted her head adorably, completely unaware of why Kurenai and Shino looked so stunned.
Kurenai took a deep breath, then said seriously.
"Hinata, don't tell anyone how far you can see with your Byakugan. If word gets out, people will start targeting you."
A Hyūga main-branch heiress with no Caged Bird Seal and a Byakugan that could see twenty kilometers? If the other villages caught wind of that, Hinata's name would shoot straight onto every black market hit list.
"Yes." Hinata nodded seriously, even if she didn't fully understand why.
"Your range gives us a huge safety net. I'll be relying on you from here on out." Kurenai said, patting her head gently.
Shino silently retracted his insects.
With Hinata's vision, his insect-based sensing wasn't even worth mentioning anymore.
And so, on they went, Hinata scanning their 20-kilometer perimeter with her Byakugan at regular intervals.
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Another two days passed.
In that time, Team 8 wiped out two groups of mountain bandits and scared off a third.
The road through the mountains was steep and difficult to detour around.
Bandits and rogue ninja familiar with the terrain often set ambushes in chokepoints, forcing travelers to either take a longer detour or deal with them head-on.
Most bandits would avoid a caravan protected by ninja.
But there were always a few who thought they could get lucky.
The two groups they killed were exactly that kind of fool.
Naturally, Team 8 didn't hesitate to eliminate them.
It was the team's first time killing, and while they felt uneasy at first, they got over it quickly.
They'd been taught how to break genjutsu in school, and had even been subjected to genjutsu simulations that showed them blood and violence.
Some students still struggled.
But not Kenjiro, Hinata, or Shino—they were top of their class. They'd long overcome that level of fear.
That day, after traveling several more kilometers, Hinata activated her Byakugan again to do her usual scan.
But this time, her expression suddenly changed—eyes wide, panic in her voice.
"Everyone, stop! Right now!"
The caravan halted immediately. Since the road was steep, everyone had been walking their horses already.
Kurenai's face grew serious. "Hinata, what did you see?"
Hinata nodded quickly, looking a little shaken. "About seventeen kilometers ahead… two people… their chakra is massive. Way stronger than you, Sensei. A lot stronger…"
By the end, Hinata didn't even know how to describe it—she just pointed out how much stronger they were than Kurenai.
But Kurenai didn't get offended—she was already moving into crisis mode. "Did you see what they looked like?"
"They're both wearing full cloaks and straw hats. One of them looks kind of like a scorpion… and the other is standing on a bird, flying low, like he's searching for something."
Kurenai's expression changed immediately. She turned to Mr. Nishimura and the rest of the caravan. "Turn around. New route. We've got S-rank rogue ninja up ahead."
"Move it! Hurry!" Mr. Nishimura shouted. Clearly, he knew what that meant.
"Oh… so they're S-rank..." Hinata murmured.
Kenjiro didn't say a word, but deep in his blue eyes, a faint white flower-shaped pattern began to spin.
His gaze pierced through mountain after mountain, locking onto the two figures nearly seventeen kilometers away.
One on the ground. One in the sky.
It was them—just as Kurenai had guessed. Two members of the Akatsuki.
Sasori of the Red Sand and Deidara.
What were they doing here?
What were they looking for?
Watching Deidara fly around on his clay bird, scanning the area, Kenjiro narrowed his eyes in thought.
His gaze shifted to Sasori, hidden inside his puppet body, Hiruko—and then, inspiration struck.
To control puppets remotely using the Tenseigan, first he'd need to learn how to build them.
To build puppets, he needed materials—which meant he needed money.
But… why bother building a puppet when there was a perfectly good one right in front of him?
So after the caravan turned and followed a new path, Kenjiro slipped away, saying he needed to relieve himself.
The Kenjiro that came back was just a shadow clone with a massive chakra pool.
As for the real one—he was already speeding toward the two S-rank rogue ninja.
Hinata, as if sensing something, glanced briefly at the clone.
The clone noticed and subtly shook its head.
Hinata instantly looked away, acting like nothing had happened.
She wasn't worried.
Because in her Byakugan's view, Kenjiro was warping through space—sometimes blinking ahead, sometimes flying, phasing through terrain.
After witnessing his powers of gravity and repulsion, she knew that no clay bird could stand up to that kind of force.
If Kenjiro wanted to run, no one could stop him.
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