The night grew even darker, as both the starry sky and the bright moon vanished, making the flames burning on the treetops appear even brighter.
The firelight flickered.
Kirigarasu's eyes suddenly sharpened.
With a wave of his hand.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Two flashes of cold light flew towards Hinami's face.
At the same time, Ketsuken, holding a man-height long blade, let out a roar. Chakra poured into his feet as he stomped hard, sending dust flying backward like arrows.
Using the recoil.
Ketsuken had already closed in, his long blade thrusting towards Hinami's abdomen. His charging speed was incredibly fast, the blade arriving almost simultaneously with the shuriken.
The two formed a pincer attack, one high and one low.
The kunai was still in the air.
Kirigarasu, holding a kunai, flanked from the side, his eyes aiming at all the vital parts of Hinami's body. At the slightest hint of an opening, the shuriken would instantly take her life.
Her evasion space was sealed; she could only retreat.
But if she took even one step back, Ketsuken would immediately follow up, and with Kirigarasu applying pressure from the side, defeat was only a matter of time.
Years of experience in the Anbu had taught him this.
However, everything today was destined to transcend his imagination.
For he was about to face the very first dual bloodline wielder in a thousand years of the shinobi world, possessing both the Byakugan and the Shikotsumyaku.
The mutually complementing Kekkei Genkai were destined to radiate endless brilliance in Hinami's hands.
Byakugan!
Hinami roared in her heart.
The veins around her eyes bulged, spreading towards both sides of her cheeks.
Under the blindfold, her grey pupils became as sharp as an eagle's eyes.
Buzz!
The world seemed to slow down.
To the side, Kirigarasu held a shuriken, his eyes like a hawk patrolling its territory.
Holding his long sword, Ketsuken kicked up dust as he charged forward.
The glinting shuriken spun through the air; she could even clearly see the purple stains smeared on the edge of each one.
In terms of insight and dynamic vision alone, the Byakugan leaves the Sharingan miles behind. In high-speed shinobi Taijutsu clashes, precisely striking the opponent's chakra points is a basic skill for every Hyūga ninja.
Calmly, she tilted her head left and right.
Hiss, hiss.
Two spinning shuriken cut through the air, whistling past Hinami's ears. The purple blades almost brushed against her ears but did not inflict the slightest injury, not even severing a single strand of her silver-grey hair.
Extreme accuracy and confidence came from the terrifying observation of a god's-eye view.
Both her palms cracked open simultaneously.
Chish!
Two bone blades, about 1.2 meters in length, abruptly appeared in Hinami's hands.
Clang!
Ketsuken's long sword was swept aside by Hinami's bone spike with a sideways blow.
The blade pierced through Hinami's "body," emerging from the side behind her, yet there was not a drop of blood.
The other bone blade swept horizontally.
Carving towards Ketsuken's chest.
Ketsuken, failing in his strike, instantly retreated, narrowly avoiding Hinami's sweep.
What a pity.
Hinami thought as she watched Ketsuken retreat rapidly.
Gripping the bone blade in her palm, she retracted the blade, which she had secretly extended to 1.4 meters when swinging.
Stomping the ground.
Every muscle in her body contracted and tightened simultaneously, chakra adhering to the muscle groups. Infinite power was transmitted to her feet like springs.
Boom!
The immense force stomped a deep crater into the ground.
To the side.
Kirigarasu's vision suddenly blurred.
The girl holding the forest-white bone blade had already charged right in front of Ketsuken.
So fast.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Two more shuriken flew out from her blind spot, aiming for the back of Hinami's head.
Without even turning her head.
Hinami continued to charge, pursuing Ketsuken, her left hand's bone spike held behind her head to casually deflect the shuriken.
On the other side.
Her right hand's bone spike abruptly transformed into a huge, door-panel-like broad-bladed heavy sword.
Whoosh!
Holding the heavy sword, Hinami brought it crashing down towards Ketsuken's face.
The intense wind pressure seemed to become palpable.
Even before contact, Ketsuken knew how terrifyingly powerful this strike was.
But at this moment, he had no time to dodge.
He could only raise his long blade, attempting to block the bizarre weapon in his opponent's hand.
CLANG!!!
The sound of metal clashing rang out.
The heavy broad blade crashed down upon the slender sword edge, instantly causing the thin blade to shatter from the middle, emitting a tragic wail.
Ketsuken was sent reeling by the powerful impact, his blood and chakra churning.
The blade in his hand felt as though it had been kicked by an elephant. Even though he had preemptively filled his wrist with chakra to cushion the blow, Hinami's terrifying smash still caused the webbing between his thumb and forefinger to tear, leaving it bloodied. His wrist and forearm were completely crimson.
Although he had paid a painful price, fortunately, he had withstood this strike.
Swish!
Before Ketsuken could catch his breath.
The bone blade that had just been swung behind her head to deflect the shuriken brought crashing down again.
It clearly looked like it wouldn't hit, but the blade weirdly extended by a large section. A huge cleaver, nearly two meters long, descended from the heavens, seeming intent on splitting his body in two vertically.
Doesn't she need to recover her strength?
Looking at the blade above his head, the only thought left in the desperate Ketsuken's mind was this.
Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!
Just as Hinami's blade was about to split Ketsuken in two.
Kirigarasu suddenly appeared behind Hinami.
His hands formed the 'Rabbit' seal, and then both hands thrust forward.
Infinite streams of water abruptly appeared in the space, instantly transforming into two huge hemispheres, like a venus flytrap capturing an insect, sandwiching Hinami in the middle, about to close.
At this moment.
Hinami fell into a dilemma.
If she retreated, the hard-won opportunity would slip through her fingers. But if she did not retreat, after killing Ketsuken alone, she would also be trapped in the water prison, running out of oxygen and dying.
Hinami, oblivious, continued to bring the blade down, with a single strike splitting Ketsuken in two.
Blood splattered.
The desolation in Hinami's Byakugan grew even deeper. The chakra within her body poured in trickles into her eyes, transforming into infinite visual power.
Bang!
Glass shattered.
The water prison, its streams about to close with alarming momentum, suddenly collapsed. Together with Kirigarasu, who had appeared who knows when, and Ketsuken, who had been split in two, they all vanished.
"Are you alright."
In the distance.
Kirigarasu's figure, clutching his forehead, suddenly materialized supporting Ketsuken. Ketsuken, gripping his injured arm, shook his head. The two looked towards the girl in the distance.
The bone blades retracted.
The slightly notched heavy sword returned to its slender blade form.
Hinami, holding the twin blades, slowly stood tall.
Her head turned.
Her blindfolded eyes locked onto the two mechanically.
Her face, white as jade, was calm and untroubled. The brief yet intense battle did not seem to have affected her in any way.
The slight damage within her body caused by the muscle tissue exerting force rapidly repaired and healed under the restoration of chakra, making the muscle lines hidden beneath the bone membrane even tougher and more taut.
Her pores expanded.
Chish!
Visible scorching steam evaporated from within her body, reminding one of the giant steamships that frequently travel across the ocean.
Combined with the girl's harmless, delicate face and her mysterious eyes covered by the blindfold, a dense, inhuman aura brought a palpable sense of pressure.
Gulp!
In the distance.
The two's Adam's apples rolled simultaneously.
"Perhaps, we should not have accepted this mission."
For the first time.
Ketsuken spoke hoarsely, raising a doubt to his always clever companion.
"Sometimes, those old geezers really do have a point," Kirigarasu said, enduring the piercing pain in his head, his face as dark as water.
The sky grew even darker, with not a single glint of light besides the fire.
At this moment.
The true Time of Encountering Demons had arrived.