There were five Hyūga ninja in total. The one with the highest reputation was **Hyūga Shibō**, with a reputation of 6,900 points—a formidable jonin!
The other four consisted of one jonin, one elite chūnin, and two chūnin!
They were dressed very mysteriously, even wearing sunglasses. Haruto immediately understood why: their Byakugan was too distinctive!
"To think I'd run into them here. What mission are they on?" Haruto wondered.
This operation in the Land of Whirlpools was a joint effort by Konoha, so it wasn't surprising to see Hyūga ninja here.
However, because Haruto had a grudge with them—they were all in a hostile state—he paid extra attention.
---
**Passing through the bustling market district.**
Kirisame led Haruto to a large estate in the heart of Yamaryū Village… This was the Commander's Residence! The branch Kirisame had mentioned was located inside the residence.
The commander of Yamaryū Village was a member of Konoha's covert operations unit!
This ninja had been undercover in the Land of Whirlpools for seven years.
Haruto hadn't known this before.
Kirisame told him!
Beneath the Commander's Residence was a secret base.
**In the dim underground passageway.**
Haruto followed closely behind Kirisame. After walking several dozen meters, they pushed open a door, and the space opened up before them.
It was an underground cavern, spanning over a thousand square meters. The center of the cavern was empty, while the sides were lined with long tables and bookshelves. Dozens of ninja were busy working.
Judging by their identities, most of these ninja were from the covert operations unit. Only nine were ANBU, and of those, only four were from the assassination team!
This branch had been temporarily established, with the covert operations unit taking the lead.
"Captain Kirisame, why are you back? Weren't you out scouting?"
"Is there something happening outside?"
"Huh? Akaito! Akaito! You're alive!"
"Akaito? That's Akaito!"
Several ANBU ninja greeted Kirisame as he entered, but when they noticed Haruto following behind him, they all exclaimed in surprise.
Even the covert operations ninja put down their work and glanced at Haruto.
The covert operations ninja didn't know Haruto personally, but they were aware of his situation. Wasn't he supposed to be dead?!
"Hello, everyone!"
Haruto greeted the ninja warmly, finally feeling at ease. Here, Kirisame wouldn't dare to make a move against him. Aside from Kirisame, none of the ninja here were hostile!
"Send out the intelligence that Akaito is alive immediately! Notify the Captain!" Kirisame said to several covert operations ninja. Then he turned to Haruto. "The news of your survival needs to be sent back to Konoha. You'll need to report directly to the Hokage!"
"No problem. I'll write a report shortly," Haruto replied promptly.
"Good. I'll come find you in an hour," Kirisame said, then turned and walked away.
"Akaito, you're really alive?!"
"You're so lucky!"
"How did you survive?!"
"To escape from the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist…"
The nine ANBU ninja all crowded around, full of questions. The covert operations ninja, being less familiar with Haruto, went back to their work—organizing intelligence, writing analysis reports, and handling communications.
"Hey, hey, hey, you guys make it sound like you wanted me dead," Haruto said, rolling his eyes.
"Of course not! It's great that you're alive!" said a ninja in his late twenties with a small mustache, smiling as he patted Haruto's shoulder.
This was **Nagaki Ta**, an ANBU assassination team member with the codename "White Slash." Being a younger member of the assassination team, he was closer to Haruto.
"Impressive. I didn't expect you to grow so quickly," another ninja chimed in.
It was someone Haruto knew well!
"Lord Shinka, you're here in the Land of Whirlpools too?" Haruto said, surprised.
Shinka was one of the first ANBU ninja Haruto had met after transmigrating. When Haruto had been imprisoned in the ANBU dungeon, Shinka had been one of the two ninja responsible for interrogating him!
Later, after Haruto joined Konoha, Shinka had been assigned to protect him covertly!
Shinka had originally been part of the ANBU interrogation unit, but now his identity had changed—he was a member of the Third Squad.
"Yes, I was transferred," Shinka said with a faint smile.
"Come on, tell us! What happened?" White Slash couldn't help but pat Haruto's shoulder repeatedly, eager for answers. "What was it like being chased by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?"
"Thrilling! Almost thrilling to death!" Haruto shrugged.
"Hahaha!" White Slash laughed. "You're something else! Spill it—what happened? How did you escape?"
"Yeah, how did you escape?!"
"It's unbelievable! How did you pull it off?"
The other ANBU ninja chimed in one after another. It wasn't that they were overly curious—it was just that the situation was so bizarre… theoretically impossible! Truly impossible! Even Haruto felt it was impossible because he had only survived by consuming cards.
He had eaten dozens of healing cards to pull through!
Otherwise, he would have died long ago, without even the strength to fight back!
So, there was no way to explain it properly.
He could only make something up!
"It's very complicated to explain. I should have been unable to escape, but for some reason, after I hid while heavily injured, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist didn't find me. They didn't search thoroughly and left quickly. Later, I analyzed that there might have been another powerful ninja nearby who attracted their attention. Maybe they mistook that person for me, or maybe it was something else…"
Haruto was completely fabricating the story. After all, there was no way to verify it.
"Another ninja was nearby?"
"Someone strong?"
The ANBU ninja all looked thoughtful and skeptical.
"I don't know. The situation was too urgent. I couldn't risk looking to see who it was," Haruto said, spreading his hands. "I couldn't win in a fight, so I had to hide. After the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist left, I was so badly injured that I almost died. Thankfully, I know medical ninjutsu, or I would've been done for!"
---
**Meanwhile, in a dark alley near the Yamaryū Village market.**
"Lord Kirisame!" Hyūga Shibō hurried over, bowing respectfully toward the dark corner of the alley.
"Haruto Saito is still alive!" Kirisame stepped out of the shadows, his voice low.
"What?!" Hyūga Shibō's expression changed dramatically.
"I don't know the specifics, but he's definitely alive!" Kirisame said quickly. "You only have three days. Haruto will personally write a report to the Hokage. This is a top-priority urgent message, so… at most, in three days, the Hokage will reply to Haruto. By then, Haruto will definitely leave this place. After that, I won't be able to track his movements. Make your arrangements quickly!"
Hyūga Shibō was still in a daze for a moment before he snapped out of it. He bowed his head respectfully and said, "Thank you, Lord Kirisame!"