Chapter 122: Hyūga Ayaka
Hyūga Ayaka moved in the opposite direction from where Uchiha Kei had gone.
Technically, this was called a "recon mission"—
But to her, retreat felt like a much more accurate description.
Her sharp instincts had picked up something faint yet unmistakable: a trace of malice hidden beneath Kei's calm expression.
And that single thread of hostility made her recall a lot of things she'd rather forget.
In extreme situations, Ayaka would gamble with her life.
But under normal circumstances, she preferred to eliminate every uncertain factor.
Unfortunately, Uchiha Kei was one factor she couldn't quite eliminate.
When it came to cunning, Ayaka wasn't afraid of him.
In terms of methods, she didn't believe she was any less capable.
But if it came down to a head-on fight... she wasn't confident.
Maybe if she had a few more years to grow, she'd be able to face him without hesitation.
She believed in her potential—believed her strength would eventually blossom.
But facing a fully awakened three-tomoe Sharingan wielder—
and someone as ruthless and manipulative as Kei—
Ayaka wasn't foolish enough to think she had the upper hand.
She envied Uchiha Kei.
Not just his sudden rise in strength—
But also something far more precious: freedom.
Ayaka couldn't even remember when the markings had first appeared on her forehead.
But as she grew older, she came to understand what they meant.
It was a brand of servitude, a mark of enslavement.
It symbolized the loss of her freedom.
As a child, she had dreamed of breaking free through sheer effort and excellence.
But that dream shattered the moment she applied for early graduation with top scores—
and realized that beyond the peaceful walls of the academy was the hellscape of real battle.
The shinobi academy had been her only sanctuary.
Once she left it, there was only the blood-soaked battlefield.
Yet Hyūga Ayaka didn't give up.
If anything, she became more focused—more ruthless.
The war changed her.
Once, she had been a bright, optimistic girl—hopeful and innocent.
Now, she was cold, calculating, and filled with silent ambition.
She had watched teammates die with her own eyes.
All she could do was avenge them. Nothing else could be reclaimed.
That moment taught her a brutal truth:
Only the living have a future.
Only by surviving could she pursue her dream.
And her dream was simple:
To reclaim her freedom—
To become a bird that could soar across the sky, unbound.
She worked tirelessly toward that goal.
Over the years, her strength had grown, and she'd become more adept at hiding her true self.
But she knew—it still wasn't enough.
She had to push harder.
Fight harder.
Be sharper.
The battlefield had taught her countless lessons.
She'd survived where many others hadn't.
So many teammates had come and gone that she had grown numb to it.
Now she had a new squad.
Uchiha Kei—someone from a clan that stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Hyūga in reputation.
In some circles, the Uchiha were even held in higher regard.
Looking into his record, Ayaka had guessed he might be the same kind of person as her:
Quiet. Watchful. Dangerous.
Besides him, there was Imai Kenta.
Ayaka didn't concern herself with Kenta.
A civilian-born shinobi, no matter how deep he tried to hide his thoughts, would always be just that—a civilian.
But Uchiha Kei was different.
As someone from a noble clan, even if he was a so-called "fringe member," Ayaka didn't dare underestimate him.
At first, she had looked down on Kei a little.
Despite his strength, he hadn't awakened his bloodline limit.
And it bothered her—a lot—that someone so similar to her in nature was put in charge as team leader.
She genuinely worried that he'd get consumed by some misguided sense of justice or pride and drag them all down in a blaze of reckless idealism.
But reality proved otherwise.
Kei was calm.
He was composed.
And above all, he was cruel.
His fear of death was no less than her own—perhaps even greater.
He was the kind of person who would sacrifice everything and everyone if it meant ensuring his own survival.
And on top of that... he was brilliant.
In the most extreme circumstances, he managed to come up with a plan to save himself.
In that short window of chaos, he figured out the objective of Namikaze's squad.
Even with death staring him down, he pieced together the Iwa-nin's tactical setup.
And if that wasn't enough...
He awakened the Sharingan.
Not just the first stage—but the three-tomoe Sharingan, right off the bat.
Hyūga Ayaka had studied the Uchiha clan before.
Their bloodline limit was notorious—fickle, even strange.
Whether or not one awakened the Sharingan seemed to depend entirely on fate.
Not awakening it didn't necessarily make an Uchiha weak—
But once it did awaken, their strength surged dramatically.
A Genin with a fully awakened three-tomoe Sharingan could potentially go toe-to-toe with a Jonin.
Of course, that didn't guarantee victory.
Real combat experience, tactical skill, chakra reserves—those all still mattered.
But the mere possibility of such a matchup said everything.
Even before unlocking his Sharingan, Uchiha Kei had already been formidable.
Ayaka never thought he was stronger than her… but with his Sharingan activated?
There was no doubt—he was a real threat.
That alone made Ayaka wary.
But what truly gnawed at her… was jealousy.
Kei was a free bird.
And she… was not.
Look at how fast he rose in Konoha.
After returning from the frontlines, he was promoted to Jonin.
Then, right before this mission, he was appointed Deputy Chief of the Military Police.
That title said everything about how much freedom he truly had.
Ayaka didn't envy his rank or title.
To her, being a Jonin or Deputy Chief was meaningless.
What she envied—was his freedom.
But that very title—Deputy Chief of the Police Force—now made her even more uneasy.
Because it meant that Kei's presence here, in the middle of a battlefield, was no accident.
Someone like that wouldn't come here unless they had a very clear goal.
Sure, Ayaka could rationalize it as the mission being critical.
Or that Kei had personal motives.
But knowing the kind of person Kei was, she refused to believe he was doing this for the sake of the village.
And if he had another agenda…
Was it possible—just maybe—that his objective included eliminating someone like her, someone who knew too much and was bound by shackles?
In war, you always plan for the worst.
That was one of the first lessons Ayaka had learned.
Even if it turned out to be nothing, she had to assume the worst.
She had to prepare for it.
"…Let's hope not," she muttered with a soft sigh.
"We've only ever clashed within the rules… but if he decides to break them… I'll be in real trouble."
That thought circled in her mind.
Her only comfort right now was that Kei seemed to be sticking to the plan—
Heading in the direction he claimed he'd scout.
Relieved, Ayaka finally let herself slow down.
Truth be told, she didn't really care about finding any hidden Mist-nin.
If she did, she wouldn't have suggested regrouping in the first place—
Safety was the bigger concern.
As she relaxed and deactivated her Byakugan, she took a few quiet steps forward—
Only to realize she'd just spotted some tracks…
Tracks that her Byakugan had completely missed.