Direct Conflict

Akamaru's nose twitched slightly. A dog's nose really was more sensitive than a human's. It had caught a faint... fragrance in the air?

"Enemies ahead. Prepare for battle!" Kiba grinned. He had been bored stiff along the way, and now he finally had a chance to fight. His blood was boiling.

Clearly, he had forgotten how he had just been fleeing in panic from those palm-sized hornets.

Seeing the two of them ignore him yet again, Shino sighed helplessly. It couldn't be helped; he simply had that little presence.

"Captain, is this what you meant by useful?" Ando pointed at the sack used to hold the roasted bear meat, speechless. So this sack was for carrying meat?

Was that even reasonable? They were still taking an exam, weren't they? Carrying a whole sack of roasted meat so openly—why did this feel like they were out camping?

"Of course not. It has other uses later. Carrying meat in it for now isn't bad either. I heard bear meat that has absorbed the essence of the sun and moon can improve a man's virility. If you think it's too tiring, I can carry it."

Moriyue spread his hands. The sack really was not meant for carrying meat, but with the mindset that since they were already here, leaving without taking some meat would be a loss, he had still cut off a huge chunk and made Ando carry it.

"Hey, Captain, you're being too formal. I don't care whether it improves virility or not. I've been taking it easy lately anyway, so a little exercise is good."

Ando seemed to have picked up on some keyword. Instantly, he was no longer tired. He even felt as though merely carrying this pile of roasted meat had made his kidneys heat up.

"It really works. Just leaning against it makes my kidneys feel warm. Sure enough... Ow, damn it! It hurts, it hurts! Where did this bug come from?!"

Feeling the warmth around his waist becoming more obvious, Ando slapped his lower back and finally realized it was not the roasted meat working through the sack. A moderately sized insect was biting him.

"Stop yelling. There seem to be enemies ahead. Captain, be careful!"

Kazeki covered Ando's howling mouth with one hand. She used electromagnetic waves to sense her surroundings. While it was not as direct as the Byakugan's x-ray vision, it was still quite effective at locating living creatures.

The group swiftly adjusted their stances and waited for Moriyue's command.

"Of course we're attacking. The more scrolls, the better. Never be cowards. Get ready to fight. If we really can't win, run first. I'll create an opening for you."

Moriyue was eager to give it a try as well. Though his left hand was still numb and tingling, his fighting spirit burned fiercely.

"Alright."

Since the two had acknowledged Moriyue as their captain, they would obey his decisions. Their standard Kumogakure katanas came out of their sheaths, and both entered combat stance.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Four piercing sounds came from deep within the forest. Before their attackers appeared, the sounds arrived first. Before Moriyue could see who was coming, four pitch-black kunai tore through the silence, flying toward him from different angles.

"Hmph. You think a few kunai can kill me?"

Moriyue sneered and swiftly drew the unsharpened katana at his waist. Gripping the hilt one-handed, he slashed diagonally in one fluid motion. The kunai collided with the Blunt Saber, and under the force of the downward diagonal strike, their diamond-shaped bodies veered off course. Moriyue reacted with lightning speed. As he raised his blade and slashed again, his body erupted with lightning.

The other three kunai aimed at him were thrown off their original trajectories by the interference of the lightning. The wild electricity around Moriyue seemed to become obedient tentacles, flinging the kunai aside.

As Moriyue knocked the kunai away, the Explosive Tags attached to their ends detonated midair. Flames burst through the air, and three figures appeared before them.

While Moriyue was deflecting the kunai, Ando and Kazeki had not been idle either. At this moment, they displayed Kumogakure's characteristic recklessness. Lightning wrapped around their blades, and both of their katanas gleamed with a deep blue light.

Without pausing, they charged toward the three figures before the smoke had even cleared. It did not matter what they looked like. If they attacked, they were enemies. And if they were enemies, there was no need to think so much. Just knock them down.

Though both wielded Lightning Blades, Ando and Kazeki followed completely different paths.

They had previously trained under Darui. As a master of Storm Release, which fused Water Release and Lightning Release, his command of water and lightning naturally surpassed that of ordinary people. Ando had inherited Darui's brutal way of wielding lightning. Every slash carried violent electricity, each move heavy and forceful. His broad, aggressive fighting style made it hard for Hinata and the others, who had only just regained their footing, to defend themselves.

"Fang Over Fang!"

Though they had been caught off guard by Moriyue's group attacking without introducing themselves, they had genuine skill. Kiba backflipped away from the raging lightning, and Akamaru merged with him as he leaped backward. One white and one black figure spun at high speed as the Man-Dog Spiral Dragon Rotation Wind clashed with Ando.

Kazeki's side was far more graceful. Her fighting style was light and nimble. Unlike Ando's roughness, she had learned water's flexibility from Darui. She had also mastered Water Release Chakra. Though she could not wield Storm Release like Darui, she could still incorporate water into her lightning to a certain extent.

She did not put much force into any of her slashes. Her goal was not to wound her opponent with the blade itself.

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"

Hinata swung her palm from afar. The Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, derived from the Gentle Fist, condensed a mass of Chakra and launched an invisible attack at Kazeki.

"Clang!"

The Chakra mass collided with the blade, letting out a crisp ring like a sword being drawn from its scabbard.

Kazeki spun, and the blade used the momentum of her turn to circle around her body once. Droplets of water scattered in every direction along the blade. She tossed the katana in her hand into the air and rapidly formed hand seals with both hands. By the time the long blade fell, she had completed her technique.

"Crackle, crackle!"

Tiny butterflies made of lightning swirled around Kazeki. Under her control, the lightning butterflies flew straight outward, exploding in great swaths along the droplets of water she had scattered earlier.

"Lightning Butterfly Technique!"

"Kikaichū!"

Just as Hinata was about to be swallowed by the lightning butterflies, Shino swept out his hand. A dark swarm of insects fearlessly rushed at the butterflies. Popping sounds mixed with the smell of charred flesh, but Shino ultimately pulled her out before the lightning butterflies could engulf her.

Moriyue focused his gaze and realized that the newcomers were Hinata and the others. His mind raced.

The Byakugan can see the body's acupuncture points. Hinata should be able to notice the abnormalities in my internal meridians too. I just don't know whether she saw the Dog Talisman near my heart...

I need to deal with Hinata first. I can't let her discover the Dog Talisman's secret.

The joy Moriyue had felt over creating a forbidden technique was mostly extinguished. A wordless sense of tension weighed on him. The Dog Talisman had to remain firmly bound to him for it to be safe...