Tsunade raised her leg high and leapt down from above, her kick crashing straight toward Xi'an.
Xi'an sensed her presence instantly and reacted at once, springing backward onto a tree branch.
Tsunade's first strike failed to connect. She immediately withdrew her strength, tapped the tree with her foot, and lunged after Xi'an again.
Her swinging fists tore through the air with sharp whooshing sounds.
Xi'an had just landed on the branch. Though he reacted in time, he couldn't evade completely—he crossed his arms in front of his chest to block.
Boom!!
Xi'an was blasted backward, smashing through tree after tree. Tsunade didn't pause for even a moment, relentlessly pursuing him.
The battle erupted in an instant.
By the time the other ninja reacted, both Tsunade and Xi'an had already vanished from sight.
Approaching from the left, Hyuga Hiashi and Hyuga Hizashi struck at once.
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Wall Palm!"
This was a taiTechnique technique performed by two shinobi capable of using the Eight Trigrams Air Palm. With their Byakugan activated, each released a vacuum shockwave from one hand simultaneously.
It was an advanced version of the Eight Trigrams Air Palm, a long-range technique of the Hyuga clan.
Boom!!
The vacuum shockwaves detonated in the middle of the four enemy ninja. Forced to evade, the four scattered in all directions.
Hiashi and Hizashi immediately charged toward the two chūnin.
The remaining two genin landed on the ground and quickly regrouped, preparing to support their teammates.
But just as they took a step—
Whoosh, whoosh!
Several shuriken flew in from afar, nailing themselves into the ground at their feet and halting their movement.
Hyuga Arin hung upside down from a tree branch, the grin on his face nearly reaching his eyes.
"Your opponent is me."
He crossed his hands, each fingertip pinching a shuriken.
"Pulling the mobs."
"Shuriken Heavy Fire Mode!!"
Chakra surged into his hands, forming what looked like massive bear paws.
Bear Wrestling Hands.
Fire!
Shuriken shot out one after another from Hyuga Arin's hands, both arms turning into blurs.
The two genin's expressions changed drastically as they split up and dodged to either side. The whoosh whoosh of flying shuriken filled the air—their speed far exceeded the genin's expectations, accompanied by heavy, oppressive sounds.
They glanced back—
And their souls nearly left their bodies.
A shuriken slammed into a tree trunk.
Boom!
The entire trunk exploded apart.
Are those really shuriken?!
What kind of shuriken have this kind of power?!
If that hit a person, wouldn't it blow a hole straight through them?!
The two genin moved even more desperately.
Behind them, boom! boom! boom! echoed nonstop as trees shattered one after another, like the footsteps of death pursuing close behind.
They didn't even have time to use ninTechnique.
"You can't escape," Hyuga Arin sneered. His hands never stopped throwing shuriken as his body flickered ghostlike through the forest.
One genin ducked behind a tree, trying to catch his breath.
But under the Byakugan, he was completely exposed.
"An opening!"
Hyuga Arin suddenly stopped his right hand and began forming seals.
Fire Release · Unknown Fire had simple hand seals to begin with. Using one hand wasn't too difficult—just slower than usual. The real challenge was guiding chakra with only one hand.
"Fire Release! Unknown Fire!"
"Bear Wrestling Hands!"
Two techniques layered together.
Hyuga Arin hurled a shuriken with all his strength from his left hand. Mid-flight, it transformed into a fireball the size of a palm, smashing straight into the tree.
Boom!
The trunk was pierced instantly—along with the genin hiding behind it.
[Experience +456]
Hyuga Arin didn't stop moving. He leapt to a rear branch at once—there was no time to collect drops yet. One genin still remained.
The other enemy hadn't slowed down at all and had already widened the distance.
But he had underestimated Hyuga Arin's speed.
The bandit greaves boosted Hyuga Arin's movement speed, turning his figure into a streaking shadow as he chased the fleeing genin.
Soon, the Byakugan locked onto the target again.
The shuriken barrage resumed.
This time, they weren't dodging left and right—the genin was directly ahead.
Shuriken enhanced by both Unknown Fire and Bear Wrestling Hands became blazing fireballs, piercing through trees—
And through the fleeing genin's body, riddling him with massive holes.
[Experience +543]
Hyuga Arin rushed over, grabbed the dropped items from the corpse, then sprinted back to the first genin's body and collected those drops as well, stuffing everything into his inventory.
Only then did he head toward one of the chūnin.
Deep in the forest—
Hizashi's body slammed into a tree, snapping it clean in half.
"Wind Release! Great Breakthrough!"
The chūnin rapidly formed seals and unleashed a violent gale from his mouth, roaring toward Hizashi.
Hizashi, who had just landed, gritted his teeth and immediately used Rotation.
A blue hemispherical chakra barrier formed, blocking the powerful wind.
At the same time, the chūnin gripped his blade and charged forward.
Hizashi took a sharp breath. His Rotation couldn't be maintained for long. Seeing the enemy rush in, he clenched his teeth and surged forward as well.
He knew he couldn't win.
But his mission was to stall.
Just as the two were about to collide, several shuriken infused with tremendous force suddenly flew in.
The chūnin's expression changed.
Midair, he had no time to dodge. Twisting his waist, he spun in the air and kicked Hizashi hard, using the recoil to fling himself backward—barely evading the shuriken.
Hyuga Arin rushed in, bronze saber in hand.
His chakra was running low; he couldn't maintain Heavy Fire Mode any longer.
"Gentle Fist Style! Yin–Yang Weird Blade!"
He didn't know any sword techniques. He could only adapt Gentle Fist movements and swing the blade at the chūnin.
Gentle Fist was a boxing art—using it with a blade felt awkward.
But it wasn't just awkward for him. The opponent felt it too.
The chūnin raised his kunai to block twice, then kicked Hyuga Arin squarely in the abdomen, sending him flying.
"What the hell is this?" the chūnin frowned, stepping off a branch and charging after the falling Hyuga Arin, ready to finish him with a kunai.
Midair, Hyuga Arin grinned.
His figure vanished abruptly.
Substitution Technique.
The chūnin's pupils shrank. In front of him appeared an explosive tag—and his kunai plunged straight into it.
Boom!!
The explosive tag detonated, swallowing the chūnin whole.
He had been far too careless—falling straight into a trap.
After all, who would expect a genin who couldn't even use a sword properly to pull off a godlike substitution?
Hyuga Arin reappeared in the distance and let out a light breath.
Seeing no experience notification, he knew the enemy wasn't dead yet.
He jumped down from the tree, preparing to finish him off—
Only to see Hizashi, kunai in hand, charging in first.
The chūnin roared with bulging eyes:
"If you dare touch him, I'll kill you!!"
Several shuriken flew from his hand, hurtling toward Hyuga Hizashi.
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