Even when the Cloud Village tried to shift the blame, they only obtained the body of the one they later learned was the twin brother of the Hyuga patriarch, whose eyes had been destroyed by the caged bird seal after his death.
Being aware of this and investigating on his own out of curiosity, it was natural that he also knew the appearance of the young Hyuga and recognized her when he found her by accident while touring the city.
But even though he recognized her and knew what a young woman like her meant to her village, Akio ignored her.
Any thought of kidnapping the young woman was quickly dismissed from his mind.
Besides the fact that they were currently on a mission, things were very different back then when the kidnapping of the Hyuga clan heiress occurred.
Besides the fact that the young woman is no longer an heir to the Hyuga clan and her forehead was marked with the caged bird seal, making it difficult to obtain the Byakugan, he would gain nothing by removing her Byakugan or kidnapping her even if she did not have the caged bird seal.
The reason?
His own well-being was not guaranteed.
A mission to kidnap the Hyuga clan heiress or steal the Byakugan is not something a mere Jonin like him could undertake on his own.
Akio was a mere chunin when the Hyuga clan incident occurred.
But even though he was not involved, he himself distrusted what his own village said about the murder of his envoy.
But something like the kidnapping of the Hyuga clan heiress would only be possible with the approval of certain people at the top of the village, so she wisely remained silent.
And he was right.
When he became a Jonin and gained access to higher spheres, he learned details hidden from the public.
Therefore, he knew the consequences of his actions now.
With the risk of a war between villages, only the village's high command could decide to undertake such a risky action.
If Akio kidnapped an unmarked Hyuuga or had one or both of his Byakugan stolen, and war between the two villages was a risk, the Cloud Village might sacrifice him even if his action provided a great resource like the Byakugan to his village.
The Cloud Village would keep the Byakugan and the bloodline if they could ensure the Hyuga had offspring, and they could deny any relationship with him, obtaining all the benefits without any risk.
Things would have been different if Akio were part of a large clan within the Cloud Village, and it would be much better if he were from the Raikage family, and then Akio would have gained the support of the village.
He could even get an implanted Byakugan if he requested it.
Unfortunately for the man, he came from a family with few shinobi, which could not be defined as a clan and did not have much power, so he was at risk of disappearing.
If Akio were a young man, perhaps he would have the audacity to try, blinded by his own merits.
But Akio was a 40-year-old man and knew that there were many intrigues at the upper levels of the village, so he knew that he might not leave the village alive if he returned with one or two Byakugan, or even with a young Hyuga that they could breed to obtain their own Hyugas for the Cloud Village.
Knowing his possible future, it never occurred to Akio to attack a Hyuga because of his Byakugan.
But looking at his subordinate, Akio's mind went into a trance.
This guy had told him that he had found the young woman they saw in the morning, the same one who ceased to be the heir of the Hyuga clan and became part of the branch family, and who, wearing a bandage on her forehead to hide the seal of the caged bird, now had her forehead uncovered and clean.
Akio did not believe his subordinate.
But he didn't yell at her for 'lying' to him either.
He and his team had worked together for many years, with some of them dying along the way, so the survivors forged a great friendship and camaraderie.
Therefore, Akio did not believe that he would lie to her in such an absurd way.
The caged bird seal had been an 'impossible' seal to decipher since the time of the war between shinobi clans, therefore it was hardly believable that the solution would suddenly appear before them.
Given how impossible it was and the confidence of his colleagues in front of him, he had to see it for himself.
.
.
.
Before dawn the next day, Akio and his team were waiting at another inn 200 meters from the inn where the Leaf Village team was staying.
Fortunately, their team had a sensor ninja; otherwise, they would have had to get closer, increasing the risk of being discovered.
Besides the young Hyuga, the Leaf Village team also had an Inuzuka and an Aburame.
They didn't know the specialty of the woman who was guiding them, but the young men were enough to make close espionage difficult.
Especially the young Aburame, whose insects could detect his chakras if they got close enough.
Akio and his group were 6 in total, who would definitely be noticed if they got close enough to the Leaf Village team.
If there was only one person with much more chakra than normal passing nearby, there wouldn't be a problem.
But if a whole group of them were to pass near the Leaf Village team, it would definitely be suspicious.
Akio wasn't so bothered that they noticed him.
What he didn't want was for the young Hyuga girl to hide her forehead if they noticed a possible ninja nearby.
Therefore, only Akio planned to approach, and his team would wait from a distance to support him if an accident occurred.
"They're dating"
The hours passed and the sensor on their equipment finally sensed them leaving the inn where they were staying.
And after he pointed in the direction they were heading, Akio knew it was time.
"Be alert," Akio said before leaving the room where they were and leaving the inn shortly after.
His appearance for this mission had already been modified through makeup, and he could move around without fear of being discovered.
All he had to do was suppress as much of his chakra reserves as possible before moving towards the place where the Leaf ninjas were.
One by one, her feet moved forward and backward while her breathing remained steady.
With his hands hidden inside the sleeves of his kimono, Akio advanced without showing any signs of nervousness.
The only thing that could give him away were his eyes, which moved in all directions looking for the figures of the Leaf ninjas.
He soon caught sight of them.
The four people and a large dog advanced slowly, with the younger ninjas conversing calmly while the older woman looked ahead.
Seeing that the leader of the Leaf team was paying attention, Akio's eyes stopped wandering and kept their gaze forward throughout the journey.
And when he got within a few meters of the group…
'It's true!' Akio shouted in his mind as his eyes darted around before regaining their focus and continuing on his way.
Akio's eye movements were so fast that they went unnoticed by the leader of the Leaf team, and she didn't suspect him.
But Akio had already moved past the Leaf team and had stopped worrying about their team leader.
Akio's mind was a whirlwind and he had no room to worry about anything else.
All he could think about was the image of that young woman with white eyes and the clean forehead of her, and what it meant to the ninja world.
The seal of the caged bird had been solved!!!
But the sight of the young woman's forehead also made him think that it was all fake.
He realized that all of this was a trick by the Leaf Village to lure him or the Cloud Village into a trap, and a bucket of cold water was poured over his head.
Akio couldn't tell if everything was true or false, and he was afraid of being wrong.
If it was a trap and he attacked the Leaf Village team, he could be caught by them and the Cloud Village would be in trouble.
But even if it was all true, Akio couldn't bear the consequences either.
Therefore, he turned several corners until he reached the inn where his team was staying and ignored the questions they asked him as he took paper, a pen and ink out of his backpack.
I had an urgent letter to send.