"But there's one thing you've all overlooked," Sakura suddenly said with a smile. Under the moonlight, her pink hair shimmered brilliantly. "That is—I can fly!"
The moment those words left Sakura's lips, Izumisaburo and the others froze in place. Ninjas really could do things no normal person could dream of. But flight? Aside from Iwagakure's Tsuchikage Onoki, not many in the shinobi world were known to possess such an ability.
Izumisaburo's group felt nothing but pure, unfiltered despair. It was like being in a sword fight when the other side suddenly pulls out a laser cannon and blasts you point-blank. Faced with something so utterly overpowered, they could do nothing but scream curses in their hearts.
"Damn it! Get the target out of Konoha at full speed! If we escape past the barrier, we win!" Izumisaburo shouted, twisting his head around. The success of their mission now hinged entirely on whether his subordinates could get the objective beyond the village borders in time. Once they linked up with allies outside, their mission would be complete.
"You still think you can run? You didn't really believe flying was all I could do, did you?"
Sakura arched one eyebrow. Her left hand clutched an umbrella while her right shot out toward the fleeing Cloud Chunin. Red streaks flickered within her pupils.
[Reality]
The ground beneath the Cloud Chunin trembled slightly, then abruptly a layer of rock surged upward from below. In the blink of an eye, it had pinned the Chunin's feet firmly to the spot.
"What the hell kind of woman is this?!"
Izumisaburo and the others quickly rushed over, standing alongside the trapped Chunin, eyes burning with fury. Their carefully laid plans had been ruined completely. By now, Konoha had surely realized the Hyuga clan's young lady was missing!
"Surrender quietly and I might let you go. Otherwise… you're all staying here for good."
Sakura repositioned herself to block their escape, standing directly in front of them once again. There wasn't even the slightest emotion visible in her jade-green eyes. And it was precisely that total lack of feeling that sent chills deep into the hearts of Izumisaburo's team.
"Damn it! Since our plan failed, we'll execute Plan B!"
Izumisaburo's eyes sharpened. Behind him, disturbances had already begun appearing inside Konoha—clearly, their actions had been discovered. And with Sakura blocking their path forward, breaking free from her interference wouldn't happen anytime soon. The group exchanged determined glances, then Izumisaburo drew a kunai and thrust it toward the sack containing Hinata.
Plan B had been designed specifically for situations like this. If the mission failed and the target couldn't be taken away, then the objective itself would be eliminated immediately. Killing off the Hyuga heiress would certainly bring serious trouble to Konoha.
"Damn it, you're asking for death. Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
Chapter 8: A Father's Rampage
A furious voice rang out. Then came a direct strike of the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm slamming into Izumisaburo. Violent chakra sent him flying backward, snapping trees along his path.
"Ugh!"
Izumisaburo spat out a large mouthful of blood. Even though Cloud Village specialized in ninja combat techniques and possessed strong physical conditioning, being caught off guard and hit directly by the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm still left him seriously injured.
"Daring to kidnap my daughter?!"
Hiashi Hyuga, accompanied by dozens of Hyuga clan ninjas, surrounded Izumisaburo's group. His Byakugan eyes burned with rage bordering on tangibility. Although other villages had long coveted the Byakugan, no one had ever dared so brazenly abduct the Hyuga clan's young lady within Konoha territory.
"Surrender Hinata peacefully, or none of you will leave alive!"
"Lightning Release: Faked Darkness"
Without responding, Izumisaburo rapidly formed hand seals. Lightning nature chakra transformed into an electric bolt charging toward Hiashi Hyuga.
"Futile resistance," Hiashi scoffed, his body flickering out of the lightning's path in a blur.
"You fell for it!" However, Izumisaburo grinned. His true purpose had never been defeating Hiashi Hyuga with his lightning technique, but rather drawing Hiashi's attention. As for the actual objective?!
"Hinata!"
Hiashi and other surrounding Hyuga activated their Shifting Body Technique to rescue Hinata. Yet Izumisaburo's men had come prepared to die. When Hiashi realized their intentions, the three Chunin holding Hinata already brandished kunai knives against her throat. Even the fastest Shifting Body Technique needed time to react, but the kunai hovered just a hair's breadth from Hinata's throat — not nearly enough time.
Hiashi's eyes nearly popped from their sockets as he desperately wished to reach Hinata and shield her from that blade.
"Hahaha! In the end, we win!" Izumisaburo laughed maniacally. Almost there! As long as his subordinates applied just a little more force, they would kill the Hyuga heir, making subsequent plans achievable.
Yet the next moment, Izumisaburo's laughter abruptly ceased, and Hiashi Hyuga also halted his movements.
Just as the blade was about to strike, a small but firm hand caught it midair. No matter how hard its wielder struggled, the blade refused to advance further. The kunai's edge hovered only a hair away from Hinata's throat, yet this small gap now felt like an insurmountable abyss.
"Your struggle ends here. [Mind-Control Jutsu]."
Sakura, having used the Space Stone to teleport beside Hinata and catch the kunai, flashed a trace of pale yellow light in her eyes. The previously struggling wielder suddenly slumped over, collapsing unconscious to the ground.
[Lightning Release: Ground Crawl]
Izumisaburo screamed wildly. An arc of lightning spread from beneath his feet, racing straight toward Sakura and Hinata. Hiashi's just-relaxed heart sank once more.
"Still putting up a stubborn last stand, are we? Using a Lightning Release technique? Take it back!"
Sakura placed the oil-treated paper umbrella onto the demonic weapon. With one hand supporting Hinata and the other extended outward, purple energy swirled in her palm. As soon as Izumisaburo's Lightning Release reached her, the purple energy absorbed it completely. Then, the purple energy merged with the blue lightning-charged chakra and blasted from Sakura's palm straight at Izumisaburo.
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