Primeval forest, clearing among the three giant trees.
"Phew..."
Yukina let out a long breath, a trace of exhaustion appearing on her face. A few unhealthy flushes bloomed across her fair, delicate cheeks.
Then, as she exhaled, the Byakugan in her eyes gradually faded, and the bulging veins from the corners of her eyes to her temples slowly subsided until they vanished completely.
That was...
She turned her face to the left, her gaze seeming to pass through the giant tree blocking her view and stretch onward, all the way to a spot beneath a certain clump of bushes.
Then her expression changed, from astonishment to confusion, from doubt to certainty, then to urgency, and finally to anxiety.
No!
I can't keep dawdling. I have to get to Chiba and Hirohiko as soon as possible. Without that thing...
With that thought, she looked up at the towering giant tree above her and its sprawling branches. With a flick of her wrist, the kunai in her hand shot upward, trailing a translucent, threadlike steel wire behind it.
"Thunk!"
Amid the sound of a blade embedding itself in hard wood, Yukina tugged at the steel wire in her hand and silently nodded. Then she leaped upward, rapidly climbing along the wire.
Now that the traps had been cleared and there were no more obstacles, she no longer needed to climb so cautiously. Naturally, she was much faster.
"Tap!"
Very soon, she stood on the branch she had taken on her way here. Tilting her head slightly, Yukina crouched down and erased the signal at the junction of the trunk and branch. Then she rose and darted away.
I can still use the Byakugan now, but I can't keep it active for too long. Otherwise, I'll start feeling dizzy and exhausted...
It feels