Watching the Battle

Half a day later, Yichen followed the two to a location about ten kilometers away from Falling Star Valley.

Looking at the distant Kajiyamari, Yichen decided to find a place to hide first. Hiashi Hyuga himself was not weak, and he must have brought many experts with him this time, so a fierce battle between the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and the Hyuga Clan was bound to break out.

There was no need for him to show himself so early. While Yichen was looking for a hiding place, Munashi Jinpachi and Raiga Kurosuki also arrived at Falling Star Valley. As the person in charge of this operation, Suikazan Fuguki only glanced at the two of them and did not ask them why they were late.

Everyone knew that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist of the Mist were not convinced of each other's abilities. With Suikazan Fuguki's shrewdness, he naturally knew that even if he wanted to use this matter to make things difficult for them, it would not have any effect, so he simply pretended not to know.

Raiga Kurosuki looked around. Everyone was there, including the other five members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. Suikazan Fuguki had also gathered many Jonin and Elite Jonin from the Mist Ninja Camp.

Knowing he was late, Raiga Kurosuki didn't say anything. He simply found a relatively empty spot, clearly reserved for him and Munashi Jinpachi, and sat down.

Once everyone had arrived, Suikazan Fuguki began assigning tasks according to plan.

Meanwhile, Hiashi Hyuga was leading dozens of his men toward the location of Falling Star Valley.

The ninjas that Hiashi Hyuga led were all elites of the Hyuga Clan, Hiashi Hyuga clearly did not intend to share the credit with other ninjas for this matter.

Throughout their Hiashi Hyuga and his group were accompanied by two ninjas who activated their Byakugan to conduct reconnaissance.

At this point, one of the scouts was none other than Hyuga Shin Hyuga, the Elite Jonin the branch family whom Hyuga Hiashi Hyuga relied on most.

Looking at the distant mountains, Shin Hyuga respectfully said to Hiashi Hyuga, "Clan Chief, ahead lies Falling Star Valley. Falling Star Valley a unique terrain; if enemies are hiding there, it will be difficult for the Byakugan to detect them. Should we detour?"

Hiashi Hyuga, who was running among the crowd, looked up at the sound of the voice. The moment he looked up, the Byakugan in his usually calm Hiashi Hyuga bulged.

After observing for a while with his Byakugan activated, Hiashi Hyuga said, "No need to detour, just go straight through Falling Star Valley."

After a pause, Hiashi Hyuga added, "Shin, you take three people and walk one hundred meters ahead of the group."

"Yes." Shin Hyuga Hinata called out to the two members, and then the four of them headed towards Falling Star Valley at an even faster pace.

Hiashi Hyuga watched Shin Hyuga gradually disappear into the distance, a sense of unease suddenly welled up in his heart for some reason.

Hiashi Hyuga glanced at the Hyuga Clan elites around him and relaxed a little. With so many ninjas by his side, Hiashi Hyuga felt that even if there were hundreds of Mist ninja lying in ambush ahead, he wouldn't have to worry. Besides, if the Mist ninja really made a big fuss and mobilized a large army, he couldn't possibly have been completely unaware of it.

What Hiashi Hyuga didn't know was that although the Mist ninja lying in ambush ahead numbered only a few dozen, roughly the same as their group, their elite troops were no less than, if not stronger than, the number of people he led.

Before long, the group entered the valley. As a scout Shin Hyuga quickly entered the valley while cautiously observing the surroundings with Byakugan.

After advancing several hundred meters, Shin Hyuga arrived in the middle of the valley, still finding no danger or ambush. But for some reason, Shin Hyuga felt a chill emanating from his surroundings.

"Something's not right." Shin Hyuga was about to signal his three subordinates to stop and investigate.

But it was too late; just then, one of his men stepped into a trap.

The trap was cleverly set up, clearly targeting the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan. However, the trap's power was rather weak.

Boom~~~

An explosion reverberated in all directions. Upon hearing the explosion, both Shin Hyuga's scout squad and Hiashi Hyuga's main force halted their movements.

Shin Hyuga glanced at the ninja who had just triggered the trap. The ninja was unharmed and easily dodged the explosion. The explosion had come very slowly, as if it was just a commotion made to scare people.

However, Shin Hyuga quickly realized what was happening and shouted, "Clan leader, there's an ambush! Retreat immediately!"

Hiashi Hyuga heard the explosion, but before he could figure out what had happened, after hearing from his trusted subordinates, he didn't hesitate and immediately chose to retreat, intending to leave through the valley entrance he had come from.

Because Hiashi Hyuga had distanced himself from Shin Hyuga, he was now closer to the valley entrance, so his first reaction was to retreat from there.

While ninjas could climb the mountains on either side of the valley, if enemies were guarding the mountains, such an act would be tantamount to suicide. Enemies with higher ground could easily stop ninjas attempting to ascend the mountains.

Hiashi Hyuga felt that the enemy wouldn't leave them such an obvious way out.

As expected, the Hyuga Branch Family members who turned and rushed towards the valley entrance activated their Byakugan, and then they saw several figures appear on the mountainsides on both sides. Although there weren't many people, they were enough to effectively intercept Hiashi Hyuga if they wanted to escape from either side.

While Hiashi Hyuga's reaction was not slow, the Mist ninja, who were well-prepared, acted even faster. In their plan, the explosion just now was the signal to begin their operation.

There was no way to launch a surprise attack on the Hyuga, so the Mist ninja set up a large number of Exploding Tag in the center of the valley for warning purposes. As soon as a member of the Hyuga Clan stepped on one, the Mist ninja would know that the operation had begun.

So when Hiashi Hyuga, the Suikazan Fuguki had already led more than twenty people to block the way.

Using his Byakugan, Hiashi Hyuga naturally recognized the people lying in ambush on him: the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

"Suikazan Fuguki, Munashi Jinpachi, Raiga Kurosuki, and Chiriku Hozuki, that's only four people. So, Juzo Biwa, Jinin Akebino, and Kushimaru Kuriarare must be blocking the other side of the valley." Hiashi Hyuga's heart sank.

It wasn't because he recognized the newcomers, but because he realized he had misjudged the situation. There were four Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist blocking his retreat, and all four were wide-range attack ninjas. The Mist ninja had clearly arranged this way to use these four to hold him back while the three behind him arrived to attack from both sides.

As for the four individuals who can deal damage over a wide area, they clearly have this capability.

If Hiashi Hyuga chooses the other way as his escape route, then Juzo Biwa and the others definitely won't be able to stop him.

It's too late to say anything now. Hiashi Hyuga only has one choice: charge forward.

As Hiashi Hyuga had expected, Suikazan Fuguki launched their attack first. What made Hiashi Hyuga even more desperate was that not only did the four Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist attack, but the ninjas around them were also using ninjutsu.

This is where Hiashi Hyuga's weaknesses became apparent. Having been pampered since childhood, Hiashi Hyuga had never truly participated in war, and in fact, he had experienced very little danger. Although his strength was at the level of Elite Jonin, and even a top-tier Elite Jonin at that, Hiashi Hyuga lacked adaptability.

Faced with this situation, he hadn't thought of a suitable response. Fortunately, the elite members of his branch family around him were all highly experienced in combat.

Seeing that their clan leader had clearly lost control of the situation, the group stepped forward and used their "Rotation" technique together.

Suikazan Fuguki's wide-range Water Release was blocked by the group's Rotation, but the Hyuga Branch Family members had no time to deal with the following attack of the Exploding Blade Shibuki.

Fortunately, Hiashi Hyuga had recovered from his initial despair. He raised his hand and used an Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm to knock the roll of paper covered with Exploding Tag away.

Seeing that this move was effective, Hiashi Hyuga followed up with several more Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, sending the scroll even further away.

Seeing this, Munashi Jinpachi at the mouth of the valley had no choice but to detonate the Exploding Tag ahead of time.

Boom boom boom boom~

Although they were much farther away, the dense and violent explosions still caused huge casualties among the Hyuga Branch Family members. At least five people died in the explosions.

Then came the attacks of Raiga Kurosuki, Chiriku Hozuki, and other group ninjutsu. Hiashi Hyuga led his men in a fight-and-retreat, finally managing to withstand the first wave of attacks.

At this moment, a Jonin the branch family said to Hiashi Hyuga, "Clan Chief, please break through quickly. We will cover you. Lord Shin won't be able to hold out much longer. Once the other three Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist arrive, you won't be able to escape."

Hearing this from the branch family member, Hiashi Hyuga realized he couldn't afford to waste time fighting Suikazan Fuguki and the others. He gritted his teeth and said, "Charge!"

Hiashi Hyuga knew, of course, that the Hyuga Clan was not good at ranged attacks. If they charged in like this, they would definitely suffer heavy casualties by the time they reached the enemy. And once his side got close to the enemy, when the Hyuga Clan should have been able to use their close-combat advantage, he could not linger and could only retreat.

But now there are no other options.

As expected, Tokuma Hyuga led the remaining Hyuga members to the valley entrance, the original group of dozens of people had dwindled to just over a dozen. Moreover, in order to resist the ninjutsu, they had repeatedly used wide-range Rotation, and the remaining ninjas had also suffered considerable losses.

Hiashi Hyuga killed a Kirigakure Jonin who couldn't retreat in Jonin Mist ninja a single palm strike, then glared fiercely at Suikazan Fuguki, who was still trying to hold him off in the distance. He gritted his teeth and ordered, "Continue the retreat!"

Suikazan Fuguki hadn't expected Hiashi Hyuga to launch such a reckless charge, and being extremely conscious of his life, he ultimately broke through the blockade.

Watching Hyuga Hiashi Hyuga into the distance, Suikazan Fuguki complained that Kushimaru Kuriarare were too slow, but still ordered his men to chase after them.

However, after he gave the order, no one moved. Everyone, including the three Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, including Raiga Kurosuki, looked at him with disdain.

Enraged, the Suikazan Fuguki swung his Samehada and slammed it hard against the mountain wall, creating a large crater.

Seeing this, the other ninjas swallowed hard and then chased Hiashi Hyuga in the direction he had fled. They dared not truly confront Suikazan Fuguki. After his subordinates left, Suikazan Fuguki glared fiercely at Raiga Kurosuki and the other two.

Of the three, Munashi Jinpachi chuckled and followed. The other two merely glanced at Suikazan Fuguki before catching up with Munashi Jinpachi.

The three of them weren't afraid of Suikazan Fuguki, but mainly because this mission was personally ordered by the Third Mizukage. They had to complete it, otherwise, although Suikazan Fuguki, the person in charge, would be punished, they wouldn't get away with it either.