"Kill that brat first!"
One of the Kumogakure ninja bellowed and casually threw out a signal flare. It soared high into the sky and exploded in a blinding burst of fire before he turned his sights on Yuzuru Hyuga.
Although the ANBU squad's intelligence had not been fully exposed, as a veteran of countless battles, the ninja judged that Yuzuru Hyuga, who still looked young, was either a naturally short dwarf or a child who had entered the battlefield early.
And children like that were often crucial—either they were weak and could serve as a point of breakthrough, or they were exceptionally gifted. If they were not killed today, they would sooner or later become a grave threat.
The eight Kumogakure ninja and Konoha ANBU had fallen into a chaotic melee, almost all locked in one-on-one deathmatches, with no one able to easily support another.
But after that Kumogakure ninja's roar, the Cloud ninja fighting Tsubasa Inuzuka did not hesitate. Even when Momonosuke tore a chunk of flesh off his arm with his teeth, he paid it no mind. Instead, he used the opportunity to charge straight at Yuzuru Hyuga.
Gentle Fist: Little Divine Air Strike!
Yuzuru Hyuga showed no panic. He spread his hands and assumed a stance, blue light flickering around his palms before transforming into several strange clusters of Gentle Fist chakra that shot forward.
The Cloud ninja who had broken free of Tsubasa Inuzuka had not expected it. Treating it as an ordinary Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, he was caught off guard when his acupoints were struck, leaving him rigid on the spot.
Tsubasa Inuzuka roared, "Fang Wolf Fang!"
He briefly merged with his ninja hound, transforming into a massive two-headed wolf. Spinning at high speed like a whirlwind, he tore forward amid terrifying gusts. The