The moment the flare exploded in the sky, Aoki immediately regretted not heeding Hyuga Mirai's advice. Whether it was a full retreat or sending someone to notify Miyamura Yagami, either option would have been far better than the current situation. Nonetheless, Aoki swiftly arranged for the camp's evacuation, moving the wounded and supplies, while sending someone to inform the frontlines. But in his heart, Aoki knew that even if Miyamura Yagami was informed, he probably wouldn't return in time. The Iwa-nin wouldn't just let Konoha ninja off so easily. It was their own fault for being careless and failing to recognize Iwa-nin's deception!
Outside the camp, Hyuga Mirai soon encountered the Iwa-nin explosive release team, who had come to ambush the Konoha base. This squad was considered the elite of Iwa-nin, with most of their members proficient in Explosion Release techniques or specialized detonator seals, making their attacks extremely deadly.
"Konoha ninja... I see, so it was your eyes that spotted us," said Bakusari, with a sinister smile. They almost failed their mission, but upon seeing the flare, they hastened their pace and should still be in time.
Other Iwa-nin followed closely behind, and upon seeing Hyuga Mirai, one of them exclaimed, "Captain, it's the Byakugan! Should we...?"
"Idiot, this kid doesn't have any guards around him. He's clearly a branch member of the Hyuga clan. What's your name?" Bakusari suddenly recalled an important piece of intelligence. Before they left, Toshibana had repeatedly warned them that if they encountered a talented young medical ninja from the Hyuga branch, they were to bring him back to Iwa, or, if that wasn't possible, to kill him and bring his body. This kid likely belonged to the Hyuga branch, and his age matched the intelligence report. Given that he stayed behind rather than going to the frontlines, there was at least a 50% chance that he was their target.
"Do you Iwa-nin have my intelligence as well?" Hyuga Mirai asked, surprised. From this question alone, he gathered a lot of useful information. Although he hadn't been out much since arriving at the battlefield in the Land of Grass, these Iwa-nin were clearly after Konoha's medical ninja. Upon seeing him, they immediately sought to gather information, meaning they most likely knew about "Hyuga Mirai." They must be allied with Sunagakure, as this shared intelligence meant an alliance between the two.
Bakusari grinned savagely. "Looks like this kid is the target Toshibana mentioned. Capture him!"
However, before Bakusari could finish, Hyuga Mirai leapt backward into the air, throwing two kunai with connected steel wires and explosive seals toward the ground.
"Watch out!" Bakusari, with his sharp eyesight, immediately warned. The kunai quickly wrapped around a rising Iwa-nin, who had likely been focused on Hyuga Mirai and missed noticing the traps. The Iwa-nin assumed the kunai were thrown inaccurately due to a shaky hand, but when the wires tangled around his body and pulled him in, the panic became evident on his face.
Boom!
A violent explosion followed, and when the smoke cleared, the Iwa-nin's body was almost unrecognizable.
"You idiots, stay alert!" Bakusari growled, his eyes blazing with fury. He turned to the rest of his team and said, "This kid is Konoha's genius—don't underestimate him."
The ninja who died was an elite Chunin, yet he was taken out in a single exchange. Though his carelessness played a part, this young boy's calmness and ability to deal with threats could not be ignored. If they underestimated him, even a Jonin could fall to his hands.
Without speaking further, Hyuga Mirai darted off in another direction. He knew where the traps were set around the camp, and if the Iwa-nin followed, their haste would make them careless, and those who could detect the traps would struggle to catch up with his speed. This also served to ease the burden on Aoki's team, giving them more time to move supplies and personnel.
"Bakusari, Yama, Oshi, the three of you lead teams to capture that kid. If you manage to catch him alive, abandon all other tasks and return to camp immediately," Bakusari ordered.
Whether alive or dead, this kid's body was an important source of intelligence. Even if they couldn't acquire the Byakugan, the information he had on Konoha's medical ninjutsu would be incredibly valuable to Iwa-nin, who would go to great lengths to obtain it.
"Captain, twelve people just to capture a kid?" Yama said, somewhat displeased. He was a genius in Iwa's explosive unit, and this felt like an overreaction.
"Stop talking, just carry out the order!" Bakusari barked, before leading the rest of his team toward the Konoha camp. They needed to destroy it quickly before Konoha reinforcements arrived, or their mission would fail.
After Bakusari and the others left, the remaining Iwa-nin began to follow the direction Hyuga Mirai had fled. During the pursuit, Yama, a more cautious type, warned, "Be careful, Bakusari. That kid might have set up traps along this route. Stay alert."
The other two nodded, and they spread out to keep an eye out for any potential traps. Among their group, two Iwa-nin were skilled at detecting traps, so they would clear the path for the others.
Not long after, they saw the kid in the distance, who had stopped and turned to face them. Yama, Oshi, and Bakusari's other two members quickly spread out and surrounded him.
"Heh, little brat, tired already? If you surrender and come back to the Land of Earth, you might just keep your life," Yama sneered, his expression twisted with annoyance. He had wanted to join the rest of the team at the Konoha camp to destroy it, but now he was stuck chasing one kid around.
Although he spoke of surrendering, Yama actually hoped the kid would resist so he could break his limbs and enjoy listening to his screams of pain.
"I'm not tired, just thought this was the best spot for you to see how every single one of you will die in my traps."
Hyuga Mirai slowly rolled up his sleeves and calmly said, "But in my mind, I'm thinking that the medical ninja outfit isn't very suited for battle. Next time, I'll just wear the standard attire of the Hyuga clan."
"Heh heh, Daishi Mori, do you know what this kid is saying?" One of the Iwa nin, Kurogami, grinned maliciously.
"Not really, probably just talking nonsense since there's no hope of escape," Daishi Mori casually responded. "Sending twelve elite Iwa nin after a Konoha kid is already showing a lot of leniency. Besides, I just got a signal from my subordinates; there aren't any traps set up around here. This kid is just a medical ninja, and without traps, what combat potential could he possibly have?"
Hyuga Mirai didn't engage in much conversation with the Iwa ninjas. He had attracted them for a reason – he wanted to stretch his legs. After all, it had been a long time since his last spar with Orochimaru, and he hadn't been informed of any suitable opponents since then.
When Iwa ninja Yamaki saw Hyuga Mirai forming hand seals, he suddenly had a bad feeling, so he furrowed his brows and ordered, "Attack! Go for him!"
"Earth Style: Earth Spike!" One of the Iwa nin quickly formed seals and unleashed a ninjutsu. However, Yamaki's order came too late. By the time Mirai started his hand seals, he had already removed the restrictions on his body.
"Gravity Seal, Release!"
Once the triple gravity seal was lifted, Hyuga Mirai immediately felt his body lighten, and he felt as though he could float in the air at any moment.
"Lifting the triple gravity seal... seems like I need a moment to adjust." Hyuga Mirai glanced down at his clenched fist, then turned around without a second thought, swatting away the Earth Spike attack from behind with a single palm.
"What? Did they just see the Byakugan kid shatter the Earth Style ninjutsu with one hand? Was that an illusion?"
"Where did he go? That kid disappeared!" One of the Iwa nin shouted. Then, others snapped out of their shock and looked around. They found that Hyuga Mirai had indeed vanished from the spot, leaving only shattered earth as evidence that the scene they had just witnessed wasn't an illusion.
"I'm behind you." A cold voice suddenly came from behind Iwa ninja Kurogami. He immediately felt a chill run up his spine and instinctively tried to flee. But before he could even think about escaping, he felt a hand pressing against his back.
Boom!
Kurogami was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing through three large trees before finally falling to the ground in a heap, lifeless.
"Kurogami!" Seeing one of their comrades fall, another Iwa ninja shouted in fury and immediately prepared to launch a counterattack with ninjutsu.
"Be careful! This kid is not ordinary!" Yamaki shouted in alarm, warning his comrades, but as soon as he looked up, he lost track of the figure again.
His speed is insane! Yamaki thought, panicking. The speed of that Body Flicker technique was so fast it exceeded his reaction time, and he couldn't even keep up with it.
"Form up! Stay together!"
Crack! Splat!
In the next instant, two more Iwa ninjas were dead, one with his throat crushed, and the other with a kunai driven through his skull. Hyuga Mirai's Body Flicker technique was so fast that even Orochimaru found it troublesome. While not quite as fast as space-time ninjutsu, it was still more than enough to overwhelm these Iwa ninjas.
Although it had cost the lives of two of their comrades, the remaining Iwa ninjas quickly formed a group.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Castle."
"Eight Trigrams: Air Palm!"
Hyuga Mirai didn't hesitate, immediately gathering chakra into his palm. He then struck out with an Air Palm, sending a powerful chakra wave forward.
Boom!
The ground was torn apart as a long trench was created. The shockwave struck the Iwa ninjas who had just formed their defensive stance before they could even complete their Earth Style technique. In the blink of an eye, three more of them were killed.
In less than a minute, half of their group was wiped out. Yamaki and Daishi Mori were seething with both anger and fear, but there was no way to confront Hyuga Mirai at this rate. They couldn't even see his movements clearly.
As for the Earth Style jutsu, they hadn't even completed their seals before Hyuga Mirai would reappear beside them, as if he were death itself, claiming their lives with each blink of an eye.
Ten minutes later, the battlefield was quiet again.
Hyuga Mirai quickly formed five Shadow Clones and began cleaning up the area. He disposed of the Iwa ninjas' bodies in traps to trigger them, used poison from the Sand ninja, and set off explosive tags to destroy any traces of the fight. Though no one would likely come looking during wartime, he preferred to be cautious.
He planned to wait a while before heading back to the camp to check the situation. After all, as a medical jonin, it wouldn't do to return too early, even with the help of the terrain and various traps.
(End of Chapter)
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