"Boom!"
Uchiha Obito's body crashed down from the cave ceiling, showering dust and broken rocks.
Hyūga Daiki squinted. Seeing that the chakra was still flowing through the enemy's body's pathways, he immediately shot a kunai at the fallen Obito. Daiki had no intention of holding back when facing an enemy.
The two Anbu behind him also quickly performed hand signs. A Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu, amplified by a Wind Release: Breakthrough, rushed toward Uchiha Obito. The terrifying heat briefly scorched the floor and the dome of the cave red.
"One after another..."
"All interfering with me!"
Fire Release: Blast Wave Dance!
Perhaps frustrated by the Hyūga ninja's continuous suppression, Obito showed no intention of dodging with Kamui when faced with the incoming kunai and the Anbu attack.
Swiftly standing up from the ground, Obito quickly performed hand signs. While activating Kamui, he spat out flames. The spatial vortex, combined with Obito's Fire Release, causes the flames to spiral back and clash with the incoming Great Fireball. The power and ferocity of his counter-attack were even stronger than the combined Ninjutsu released by the two Anbu.
"!!!"
The swirling flames released by Uchiha Obito instantly shattered the Wind-amplified Great Fireball. The fire swept directly toward Hyūga Daiki and the two Anbu behind him.
Feeling the scorching heat rushing toward him, Hyūga Daiki's expression tightened. Unable to launch a counter-attack in time, he quickly dodged to the side. Unlike Hyūga Hizashi, who received special training from Shinichi, Daiki, also from the Branch Family, was not privy to certain Hyūga secret techniques.
The Hyūga ninja always focused on mastering Taijutsu to maximize the power of the Byakugan. Correspondingly, their training in Ninjutsu was slightly weaker.
It wasn't that Hyūga Daiki couldn't use Ninjutsu other than Taijutsu, but his skill in the Jutsus he knew was simply not enough to stand up to Uchiha Obito's Blast Wave Dance.
While Hyūga Daiki lacked high-level Ninjutsu to handle the fire attack, the Anbu guarding Kushina were masters of elemental Jutsus.
Those who become Anbu often have distinct specializations. The Hyūga ninja were part of the guard because of their Byakugan, while the other ninjas in the delivery room specialized in defensive Ninjutsu.
Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!
The two Anbu quickly performed hand signs together, and an earthen wall quickly rose in front of Hyūga Daiki. Simultaneously, another Anbu completed a set of hand signs and pressed his hands onto the ground.
Earth Release: Dropping Lid!
Inside the empty rock chamber, a gigantic earthen lid suddenly appeared above Uchiha Obito's position and began to fall toward him. As the Anbu used Ninjutsu for defense, another Anbu quickly launched a counter-attack at Obito. The two Anbu worked seamlessly, requiring little communication between offense and defense.
The residual power of the Blast Wave Dance was blocked by the earthen wall rising from the ground. Meanwhile, Obito looked up at the stone lid crashing down on him, and a shadow crossed his eyes. This scene triggered a painful memory he wished to keep buried. Once upon a time... he had also been buried by a similar Earth Release Ninjutsu.
Activating Kamui, Obito's figure blurred, then slowly sank into the ground.
"BOOM!!!!"
The earthen lid crashed, hitting the ground with a tremendous roar. As the smoke and dust billowed, none of the surrounding ninjas relaxed their guard. Hyūga Daiki and Hyūga Hizashi used their Byakugan to peer beneath the lid. Seeing no sign of Obito's body, they looked around, searching for the enemy.
"Don't relax your guard. We haven't seen his body."
"That Earth Release didn't hit him!" Hizashi, the leader of this squad, warned the others while searching for Obito's figure.
"Has he retreated!?" one Anbu asked with a low voice, seeing no sign of Uchiha Obito after a long moment.
It was then that white spores suddenly began to grow rapidly on Hyūga Daiki and several Anbu. As the spores grew, the chakra from their bodies was quickly absorbed.
"Wha... What is this!!!"
"What's happening?!"
Amidst the bizarre transformation, even the battle-hardened elites like Hyūga Daiki and the Anbu couldn't hide the terror in their voices when faced with this unknown Ninjutsu. Their chakra was being drained, and they could clearly feel their strength waning.
The spores grew incredibly fast, and as they did, they became extremely heavy. In the time it took for the ninjas to shout, the spores had already firmly encased them, rendering them immobile.
The rapidly growing spores even vaguely formed faces similar to the ninjas they were parasitizing. However, the growth of the spores seemed to have a limit; after firmly encapsulating the ninjas, they stopped growing. The ninjas immediately began trying to peel off the spores covering them, but it seemed impossible to do so quickly.
While his clan brother and subordinates were undergoing this strange change, Hyūga Hizashi showed no intention of leaving Kushina's side to help his comrades.
"Luring the tiger out of the mountains..."
"That trick won't work on me!"
Hizashi's mind replayed every scene and moment since Uchiha Obito's appearance. Whether it was the kidnapping of the newborn infant or the current attack targeting Daiki and the Anbu, Hizashi had discerned the motive.
The kidnapping of the infant was to draw away Minato; the current attack on the Anbu and Daiki was to draw him away from Kushina's side. The opponent's goal had been clear from the start: Kushina!
What could Kushina have that would attract the enemy's attack? Most likely...
"The target is the Nine-Tails?!"
With the answer in his heart, Hizashi dared not relax for a second.
"Hello—"
Just then, the body of White Zetsu slowly rose from the ground behind Hizashi. The "cheerful" White Zetsu even greeted Hizashi affectionately.
However, Hizashi's response was an Eight Trigrams: Air Palm as he swiftly turned around.
Boom!!!
The Air Palm instantly pierced through White Zetsu's head. But at the same moment, Uchiha Obito suddenly appeared by Kushina's side and grabbed her arm. Kamui activated, and a massive suction enveloped Kushina, drawing her into the alternate dimension.
"Are you kidding me!"
Hizashi realized Obito's movement and leaped up, rushing toward Obito. However, at that moment, white spores also began to grow rapidly on his foot, the weight affecting his action and slowing his rescue by a beat.
"Hyūga ninja..."
"I'll remember you..."
"Goodbye!"
Kushina was successfully absorbed into the Kamui dimension. As Obito's figure became intangible, a Flying Thunder God kunai suddenly flew toward them. However, such an attack could not hit Obito, who had achieved his goal and was already preparing to depart.
As Uchiha Obito's figure vanished from the cave, Namikaze Minato, wearing the "Fourth Hokage" cloak, appeared in front of Hizashi. He stared solemnly at the spot where Obito had disappeared.
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