The Iwagakure Anbu in front of him carefully observed his surroundings, his rich experience and keen senses allowing him to detect abnormal situations.
However, he failed to notice Hattori Heizo slowly approaching, because each of Hattori Heizo's movements placed him in a blind spot that the Iwagakure Anbu could not perceive.
Unless it was the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan, which could cover a full 360 degrees, or other secret techniques that could achieve similar effects, a normal person's senses would always have areas they couldn't reach.
In such cases, they would need to move their bodies to change the range of their sensory awareness.
However, Hattori Heizo seemed to be able to sense the Iwagakure Anbu's range of awareness, always avoiding his attention.
Although attention is difficult to visualize, Hattori Heizo had his own advantages that allowed him to reach this level.
It's worth noting that the Hattori clan was a ninja clan that continued to adhere to traditional assassination styles until the late Warring States period.
Their research into the art of assassination was undoubtedly at the forefront of the ninja world.
The Hattori clan had its own set of methods for avoiding a target's attention, and Hattori Heizo used these to perfectly evade the enemy's notice.
At this moment, Hattori Heizo had already arrived behind the Iwagakure Anbu, as if he had merged into his shadow, standing silently there.
The latter, unaware, continued to observe the situation.
When he instinctively sensed something amiss, Hattori Heizo had already launched his attack, his palm appearing from a tricky angle, striking at the Iwagakure Anbu's vital point.
The Iwagakure Anbu didn't know when the opponent had approached him, but he understood that at such a close range, he had to fight with his life on the line.
He twisted his body violently, willing to let the opponent attack other parts of him, but determined to avoid his vital points.
At the same time, he thrust a kunai towards the opponent.
Unexpectedly, when the kunai struck the opponent's head, the opponent shattered like a mirror; it was just an illusion.
His heart trembled slightly, and this time, he had no chance to counterattack.
A bloody hole appeared in his throat, and he couldn't even make a sound.
After piercing the Iwagakure Anbu's throat with a single blow, Hattori Heizo raised his elbow and slammed it into the Iwagakure Anbu's back.
The opponent collapsed like a rag doll, as if all his bones had been broken.
The tactic Hattori Heizo had just employed was his usual Genjutsu Clone tactic: using a Genjutsu Clone to attract the opponent's attention and briefly control them, while he himself flashed to the side to launch an attack.
Through years of practice, the seamless transition between the two had reached a masterful level.
Coupled with Hattori Heizo's skillful use of body techniques, even an expert could fall victim if they weren't careful.
What ultimately brought down the Iwagakure Anbu was something Hattori Heizo had learned from Hyuga Hajime.
The Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist focused on the enemy's meridians and chakra points.
With the Byakugan, they could directly observe and utilize these, making Hyuga clan members very clear about the function of every meridian and chakra point in the human body.
They only needed a moderate amount of force to inflict significant damage on an enemy.
Although Hattori Heizo didn't have the convenience of the Byakugan, as an assassin, he already understood the general structure of the human body.
With Hyuga Hajime's guidance, his one-hit assassination ability was further enhanced.
For this, he was very grateful to Hyuga Hajime, because he understood that Hyuga Hajime's action, to some extent, was also imparting a secret family technique that was not to be passed on.
Of course, since it didn't involve the essence of the Byakugan or Gentle Fist, even if it were exposed, at most there would be a reprimand, not the secret elimination of a family traitor.
But it would certainly cause trouble, and the fact that he was willing to take such a risk showed the price he paid.
Over the years, Hattori Heizo had always been Hyuga Hajime's subordinate.
He knew that Hyuga Hajime had previously been a member of the First Anbu with his teacher.
Later, after his teacher was promoted to Jonin, Hyuga Hajime operated as his teacher's subordinate, along with the others, known as the Fumori Masaki Squad.
Aside from the teacher's fellow disciples, the trusted mid-level members were these members of the Fumori Masaki Squad.
In fact, Hattori Heizo was sometimes curious as to why a family disciple like Hyuga Hajime, despite being from a branch family, had good talent and strength and would be highly valued within the family, yet chose to stay so close to his teacher.
The Hyuga clan, as a prestigious clan in Konoha Village, did not have a great desire for power.
Or rather, they gave up the power to enter the high ranks in exchange for their independent status in Konoha Village.
This was an unspoken understanding with the Konoha higher-ups, and due to the Hyuga clan's immense power and status, this understanding had always been maintained.
As long as Hyuga Hajime wished, he could return to his clan at any time and live as a private soldier of the clan, without having to dedicate everything to Konoha Village.
However, Hyuga Hajime had never made such a choice.
Hattori Heizo was a man of few words, and he couldn't directly ask Hyuga Hajime the reasons behind his choice.
But from Hyuga Hajime's daily conversations, Hattori Heizo could discern some clues.
Though only fragments, they revealed the vast and cold family behind Hyuga Hajime.
The Hyuga clan had always adhered to the main and branch family system, with the main family as the inheritors of the Byakugan, and the branch family bearing the responsibility of protection, with the Caged Bird Seal as a mark of loyalty.
The Hyuga clan had continued this way for a thousand years.
Due to tradition, most branch family members still largely accepted the main and branch family system.
However, there were also some talented but overlooked branch family members who, due to their birth, could not inherit the power of the Byakugan, and under the restraint of the Caged Bird Seal, had to obey the main family, with even their lives controlled by them.
Even if the main family was good-natured, the dissatisfaction accumulated in the hearts of those branch family members grew larger and larger.
The Hyuga clan still maintained stability for now, but contradictions had already emerged.
Perhaps, Hyuga Hajime's willingness to join the Anbu also had something to do with this.
Hattori Heizo often heard Hyuga Hajime's respect for his teacher.
He often thought to himself that perhaps Hyuga Hajime believed he could showcase his abilities with his teacher, or perhaps he felt that his teacher had the ability to gradually change that cold family.
Thinking this, his teacher truly was an amazing person, Hattori Heizo thought to himself.
At this moment, the Iwagakure Anbu in other areas had also been dealt with, almost without making a sound.
Those sounds were covered by the rustling of leaves in the wind, and the people busy inside remained unaware.
Hyuga Hajime used his Byakugan to observe the surroundings, confirming that no other Iwagakure Anbu were alive, and then summoned his companions.
Every time he carried out a mission, his Byakugan always displayed its powerful side, whether it was for the mission or against enemies.
For example, the Iwagakure Anbu he had just eliminated had mastered a ninjutsu that allowed him to become invisible.
If anyone else had come, they might have been caught off guard.
However, the opponent encountered Hyuga Hajime, who possessed the Byakugan.
Even if the opponent could truly hide their form, it was done through ninjutsu.
As long as it was ninjutsu, there would be traces of chakra, which could be observed by the Byakugan.
The opponent, thinking he had fooled Hyuga Hajime, smugly planned a sneak attack, but ended up losing more than he gained.
Before dying, that Iwagakure Anbu finally reacted, exclaiming in shock, "So, your eyes are..."
Due to his severe injuries, his voice was very weak.
"Too late to realize," Hyuga Hajime said.
Because he always wore a mask, the opponent naturally didn't discover his Byakugan, which is why he carelessly approached him.
Ninja battles were like this; even a slight mistake could send one to the Pure Land.
The others appeared in the clearing and met with Hyuga Hajime.
Hyuga Hajime nodded slightly and motioned towards the inside, indicating to go directly in and destroy the supplies.
Now that all the Iwagakure Anbu had been dealt with, only ordinary people and samurai remained inside.
Hyuga Hajime had used his Byakugan to confirm that there were no enemies to worry about.
At this point, continuing with assassination tactics would be inefficient.
It was time to openly appear before everyone.
In other words, they were now to transform from assassins to warriors.
Everyone nodded, drawing their swords, except for Hattori Heizo and Hyuga Hajime.
With a command from Hyuga Hajime, everyone charged inside together.
The samurai guarding the entrance saw people rushing in.
At first, they thought they were Iwagakure Anbu and wondered what these guys were doing.
But they quickly realized that the opponents' headbands were not from Iwagakure but from Konoha, and they immediately panicked.
Before they could even draw their swords, they were struck in vital points by thrown kunai.
Except for those samurai who had undergone arduous training, ordinary samurai had no ability to contend with ninjas, unless they could form military formations and, through good cooperation, cause trouble for ninjas.
Seeing this, the working commoners immediately ran in panic in all directions.
Only the samurai charged forward.
Most of the Anbu members went to deal with the samurai.
They had no interest in bothering the commoners who were running around.
After all, their mission was to destroy the supplies, not to slaughter civilians.
If it weren't for the samurai posing a certain threat and being stubborn, they might have been too lazy to deal with them.
Hyuga Hajime, Hattori Heizo, and another Anbu member rushed to the stockpiled or loading supplies.
Hattori Heizo and the other Anbu member charged out, forming hand signs.
One performed a Wind Release sign, the other a Fire Release sign, then simultaneously shouted, "Combined Ninjutsu: Fire Dance Whirlwind!"
The other Anbu member first spat out a shocking flame, and Hattori Heizo's subsequent Wind Release swirled it up.
As the saying goes, wind aids fire.
Under the amplification of the Wind Release, the Fire Release's range became larger, and its power became even more terrifying, engulfing the supplies.
With a loud bang, the scorching flames directly shattered the supplies.
The exploding storm knocked down those who couldn't avoid it.
Scattered tongues of fire licked at their clothes, quickly igniting them, scaring them into rolling on the ground until they managed to extinguish the flames.
At this point, the Anbu had no intention of continuing to fight the enemy and withdrew, as their mission was complete, and wasting more time eliminating enemies was meaningless.
The remaining samurai were also unable to pursue the Anbu ninjas.
The terrain here was very complex, and ninjas skilled in individual action were not something they could catch up to.
They could only regretfully look at the supplies that had been blown to smithereens, wondering what to do next.
After moving far away from the target location, the Anbu finally stopped, found a hidden place to rest, and waited for news from other areas.
After some time, news came back from all sides.
Each Anbu squad had successfully completed its mission, completely destroying the supplies supporting Sunagakure.
This meant that if Iwagakure wanted to continue its support, it would have to re-mobilize supplies.
"Now, the Third Hokage should be satisfied, I wonder what kind of expression the Third Tsuchikage will have when he hears about this," Hyuga Hajime said to the others with a smile while writing his report.
During non-mission periods, the relationship between Anbu members was very good, and sometimes they would chat like ordinary people.
Hyuga Hajime only spoke in a relaxed manner after confirming that no one was pursuing them.
The others also smiled knowingly.
They were all Konoha ninjas, so they were naturally happy to see their enemies in a difficult situation.
"Ah, but we won't be able to see the Third Tsuchikage's expression, Captain," one Anbu member said with a laugh.
"In that case, the Third Tsuchikage should also take some action.
Everyone, please work a little harder.
Next, we must constantly pay attention to Iwagakure's movements and not disappoint the Third Hokage, understood?" Hyuga Hajime folded the report, looked at everyone, and said.
"Yes," everyone replied.
Just as Fumori Masaki received the good news from the Anbu, Onoki also received the news.
The Iwagakure Anbu protecting the Tsuchikage's office saw Onoki raise his fist and slam it heavily on the table, his beard trembling with anger.
He gritted his teeth and said, "I've been played.
Sure enough, that warning letter wasn't groundless."
Onoki was very annoyed.
If he had paid attention to this earlier, perhaps this wouldn't have happened.
He blamed himself for harboring a lucky psychology, thinking that the other party wouldn't act rashly.
After all, this was a blatant provocation, and Fumori Masaki shouldn't be so foolish as to needlessly provoke an enemy like Iwagakure.
But now, the other party seemed not to fear his retaliation, destroying all the supply transportation points.
Onoki could, of course, choose not to acknowledge it.
If he stopped now, Konoha Village probably wouldn't take further measures.
But for Onoki, who wanted to support Sunagakure to weaken the enemy, this situation was completely unacceptable.
At this moment, he began to consider whether Iwagakure should participate in this war.