Purple smoke drifted through the gloomy sky.
Almost instantaneously, every faction situated within the nameless forest—the spies of the Great Nations, the Mist's Surprise Attack Force, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the four escort teams from the Hidden Leaf, a special reinforcement unit rushed from the Leaf's main camp, and the Foundation...
All of them saw the signal.
Upon seeing the smoke signal rising from behind their formation, the three members of Team 10 immediately turned grave. After exchanging quick glances, they pivoted and rushed back toward the direction of the signal to provide support.
Ao of the Hidden Mist paused. After confirming that this signal was not part of their original plan, he halted his advance toward the Crow Forest. He ordered two squads to continue the mission while he and his two teammates changed course, sprinting toward the rising smoke.
Meanwhile, the various escort teams from the Hidden Leaf remained in place cautiously. Before long, green signal flares were fired into the sky one after another. By communicating their status through these flares, they began to converge at the location of the first signal to coordinate their next move.
Soon, at 7:35 AM, all parties moved simultaneously, crisscrossing through the battlefield as they raced toward their respective destinations.
Hyuga Yu stood atop a large tree not far from Team 10. He watched calmly as his three teammates "brushed past" him before jumping down from the branches.
Immediately after, he gripped his bow and stepped calmly toward the position Team 10 had originally occupied.
He didn't have to wait long. In his distant field of vision, seven figures wielding seven uniquely shaped shinobi blades appeared, racing toward him at high speed.
Watching the Seven Ninja Swordsmen approach, Hyuga Yu took a deep breath and slowly drew an arrow from his quiver.
He tied his last remaining "smoke bomb" to the end of the shaft.
Draw, aim, fire!
Whoosh!
The first arrow was released!
Following that, without a moment's pause, he drew the remaining six arrows from his quiver in one motion. Three were held in the palm of his bow hand, two were wedged between the middle, ring, and pinky fingers of his drawing hand, and the last one was notched onto the bowstring.
Yu's gaze turned icy as he constantly toggled the Byakugan between a bird's-eye view and a magnified perspective. Data on the forest's wind direction, temperature, humidity, arrow trajectories, and obstacles were gathered at extreme speed. Finally, he locked onto his targets!
Azure chakra surged from the tenketsu in his thumb and index finger, flowing into the arrow!
It was as if he held a raging gale in his hand; the surrounding air visibly spiraled into a funnel toward him. In the next instant—
Twang!
The sound of the vibrating bowstring erupted. Before the echo could even fade, Yu had already notched the next arrow from between his fingers and drawn it back without resistance. Then—Twang!
Twang!
Twang!
Twang!
Twang!
Six shrieking Wind Style: Vacuum Chain Arrows officially raised the curtain on this battle!
On the other side: "Everyone, our objective this time is Hyuga Yu."
"According to intelligence gathered during our last operation to hunt the Hyūga Main House, this brat from the Branch House possesses high-level medical ninjutsu."
"He also masters a very specific physical technique that allows him to release bursts of power far beyond his rank. In this state, his strikes act like the Gentle Fist, injecting chakra into the enemy's body and distorting their perception of their own body weight."
"The cost is unknown, but the only certainty is that the technique has a time limit. During the burst, he was able to trade blows with Ao, but he fled immediately once the technique ended."
In the middle of the advancing group of seven, Biwa Jūzō, wielder of the Executioner's Blade, listened with boredom to the orange-haired fat man rambling at the front of the pack.
As the only "normal" person in this squad, Jūzō often felt it was impossible to get along with these freaks. Take the fat man speaking, for example—Suikazan Fuguki. This guy had killed the most people, slaughtered the most teammates, and was the most ruthless and cold-blooded among them. Yet, every time he teamed up with Mist shinobi, he would inconsistently act like a doting, overprotective mother. Jūzō could sense that this concern was genuine, so sincere it almost made him uncomfortable. But simultaneously, he could feel the coldness lurking behind that sincerity—a murderous intent ready to snap and kill at any moment.
Just then, Fuguki narrowed his eyes and slowly turned his head. His rows of shark-like teeth gnashed together, making a terrifying sound as if he were chewing raw meat. His face darkened as he looked coldly at the trailing Jūzō, who had drifted off. "Jūzō..."
"Have you... been listening to a word I've said?"
"Yeah, yeah—" Jūzō raised his browless forehead, responding with a lack of interest.
"Hmph!" Fuguki bared his teeth in a cold sneer and tightened his grip on Samehada. "Don't listen then. When you screw up during the mission, I hope you don't regret it—"
"I'm listening," Jūzō muttered. Admitting he couldn't beat the man, he sighed and offered a forced compliment.
"Then listen well—"
Fuguki continued with a grave expression:
"In addition to that, the kid also possesses highly skilled archery!"
"Huh? Archery?" Jūzō almost thought he had misheard and couldn't help but chuckle. "People are still using those outdated samurai toys?"
"Don't underestimate the opponent. Akamaru—one of Ao's subordinates—and two Chunin squads fell to those skills."
At that moment, Akebino Jinin couldn't hold back either. He shook his head and laughed boisterously. "Aren't you being a bit too sensitive, Fuguki?"
"Isn't that red-eyed brat just a Genin? Relying on such obsolete ninja tools... even if he beat a few kids, what does that prove?"
"Exactly! Hahaha!"
Hearing this, Jūzō couldn't help but let out a mocking laugh.
However, right at that moment—Screech!
The sharp, sudden whistle of an arrow tore through the air!
All seven men were startled. The first to react were Suikazan Fuguki, Biwa Jūzō, and Kuriarare Kushimaru. The arrow was aimed precisely at Jūzō at the rear of the group. Seeing that the trajectory was slightly off-target, Jūzō's brow relaxed. "This is it?"
As if to prove his point, Jūzō casually swung the Executioner's Blade from his back in a vertical slash!
The tip of the blade accurately split the arrowhead, cleaving the shaft in two!
But in that instant, Kushimaru, who had been about to throw a needle to deflect the arrow, couldn't help but bark coldly: "Idiot!"
Hearing this, Jūzō was furious. "What did you say, you damn spider—"
Halfway through his sentence, Jūzō realized something felt wrong. After the Executioner's Blade split the arrow, it had sliced directly into a paper-wrapped pellet tied to the fletching.
POOF!
A pitch-black toxic mist erupted!
This was a mixture of twenty-six lethal neurotoxins, including carfentanil, king cobra venom, and barbiturate sedatives. Even a 1 mL inhalation would be enough to instantly drop an elephant. The mist exploded violently right in front of the Executioner's Blade!
————
Supporting me on Pa-treon to gain early access to advanced chapters and enjoy expedited updates. Your support is greatly appreciated.
pat-reon .c-om/Dragonhair
(Just remove the hyphen - and space, to access Pa-treon normally.)