Hinata Ran into Human Traffickers?

Hinata still had no idea that Moriyue had already marked her as the highest-priority enemy to deal with. She was still fulfilling her duty, using the Byakugan's ability to see through the human body in conjunction with the Gentle Fist to defend against their attacks.

Moriyue did not stay idle after knocking away the kunai. He channeled lightning into the Blunt Saber, and powerful electricity erupted from his body as well.

Since the Byakugan could see through appearances, he could only increase the interference. He did not know whether it would work, but it at least seemed to disrupt Hinata's vision.

Hinata narrowed her eyes and raised both hands in front of them. Moriyue's side was like a flare; even she had no choice but to temporarily shut her eyes. Staring directly at intense light was bad for the Byakugan, and the Hyuga Clan took great care of their eyes.

"Kiba, Shino, be careful!"

Moriyue did not waste the time while Hinata's perception was impaired. Capture the leader first to catch the whole gang—their target was the scroll. Since they could not see it out in the open, it had to be hidden on one of them. With a one-in-three chance, Moriyue chose Hinata.

Lightning constantly stimulated Moriyue's muscles. His skin had turned slightly red from the rush of blood, and paired with his uninhibited grin, he looked anything but trustworthy.

He charged forward in great strides, lightning continuously invigorating his body. Though it also caused a certain degree of damage, it had to be said that the speed was truly incredible.

Although Shino and Kiba had received Hinata's warning, they were still a step too late by the time they actually assumed defensive stances.

A spinning streak of lightning wrapped in electricity shot toward them. Before the Kikaichū could even approach the lightning sphere, the intense heat and electricity made them crackle and pop. The corpses of roasted insects rained across the ground.

The more Kiba looked at the rolling lightning sphere charging at them, the more familiar it seemed. He only came to his senses after spotting Akamaru beside him.

"Meow my ass, isn't that my Fang Over Fang? Where did this knockoff come from?"

That was right. The way Moriyue charged in at that moment greatly resembled Fang Over Fang. He had created a clone, and together they released lightning, imitating Fang Over Fang as they rushed toward... Shino.

"Hm? He chose me? He finally didn't ignore me. Then I'll have to show some real strength too..."

Shino, having been singled out by Moriyue, actually felt an inexplicable sense of flattery. All this time, he had been the sort whose presence even opponents subconsciously overlooked in battle. Yet under Moriyue's targeted attack, he felt a faint, indescribable surge of fighting spirit.

Sure enough, he had quite a presence after all!

Shino prepared to take the move head-on. Kikaichū rapidly enveloped his entire body, swirling around him like a black cyclone. Hmph, he had no choice but to show off a little strength now.

Yet Moriyue's target had never been him. Just as the lightning mass and insect cyclone were about to collide, Moriyue canceled the Human-Human state. He and his clone bypassed Shino's Macedonian defense line and attacked Kiba and Hinata separately.

"Gentle Fist!"

Hinata was no weak girl. Though she was not particularly skilled at combat, that was only relative. If she were placed alone in the outside world, her strength would still rank among the upper tier of ordinary ninja.

The Hyuga Clan was one of Konoha's great clans, so naturally they lacked no ninjutsu. As a member of the Hyuga Clan's main family, Hinata naturally received the very best treatment.

The Byakugan combined with the Gentle Fist was the Hyuga Clan's most iconic technique. The Byakugan saw through the meridians, while the Gentle Fist sealed the enemy's acupoints. After taking this sequence of attacks, the opponent's acupoints would be completely locked down by the Gentle Fist, and their Chakra would become like stagnant water, sealed in place and unable to flow. That was what made the Hyuga Clan so terrifying.

But Hinata never expected this simple, practical technique that had always crushed its opponents to completely fail against Moriyue.

"His meridians... I can't find any acupoints! There's no way to seal them..."

Hinata's fists struck Moriyue's spinning body again and again. Unfortunately, compared to Moriyue and the others, her physical training was still insufficient. Her barrage did little to him, while her own hands were left somewhat numb from the recoil and lightning.

Kazeki and Ando also knew to pick on the weak. Getting the scroll was what truly mattered.

They each threw several kunai at Shino and Kiba, then turned their blades toward Hinata, intending to help Moriyue take her down.

But the two of them were still a step too late. After spinning several times in midair, Moriyue drew the Blunt Saber at his waist. He activated Life Burning for an instant, and using the immense burst of power, he struck at Hinata with the flat of his blade.

Hinata wanted to use Neji's invincible Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven, but Moriyue was simply too fast. Before she could begin to spin, Moriyue had already crouched down in front of her.

But Kiba's rescue attack came again. Akamaru's snow-white fur streamed in the wind as he pounced like a tiger and snatched the Blunt Saber from Moriyue's hand.

Moriyue showed no panic despite losing his weapon. His posture resembled a hunting leopard. Driven by his elbows and joints, he sprang from the ground head-down and feet-up, launching skyward in an inverted motion before kicking Hinata in the waist with an upside-down skyward kick.

This move aimed to attack the enemy in the instant they were caught off guard with an unexpected posture. It was one application of taijutsu, and Moriyue had already become capable of adapting moves to counter moves to a certain extent. At the very least, he had carried out that entire sequence purely on instinct.

The struck Hinata flew backward like a kite with its string cut. Shino, who had been ignored again, felt irritation rise in his heart. Ignored again...

Don't think an honest man won't lose his temper!

The humming produced by rubbing wings together made everyone's scalp tingle. Under Shino's Summoning Technique, massive insects of all shapes appeared one after another, while ear-splitting insect cries echoed from the depths of the forest.

Moriyue knew without thinking that Shino was about to do something big. There were countless mosquitoes and venomous ants here; if Shino was allowed to continue, neither side would come out well.

"What are you waiting for? Ando, bring the sack over! Why are we still standing around? Let's go!"

At Moriyue's reminder, Ando and Kazeki nodded as if waking from a dream. Right, there was no need to fight to the death. It seemed the captain already had a plan and had presumably obtained the scroll. There was no need for them to keep tangling with them.

They just did not know what the sack was for at a time like this.

Moriyue caught the sack Ando threw to him. They had prepared plenty of spares, and the one tossed to Moriyue was naturally brand-new.

Moriyue held the sack in his left hand and a hemp rope in his right. With bafflingly practiced movements, he slipped it directly over the somewhat dazed Hinata, whom he had just beaten. He tied the rope into a noose... resembling a tortoise shell. Under everyone's stunned gazes, he hoisted the sack onto his back and sprinted off at full speed.

"What are you waiting for? Run, run! Nige ro dayo~"