After receiving a Katsuyu, Hyuga Ao was carried along while recovering Katsuyu one after another, as if collecting quest items. All the ownerless Katsuyu along the line connected to Hyuga Ao moved toward her.
"Ao-sama, there are three enemy Jonin and nine Chunin ahead. Half of them are Puppeteers. Our ten-man group is barely holding on."
Hyuga Ao was puzzled. "Weren't we supposed to have the advantage in numbers? Why have we been at a disadvantage the whole way here?"
"All the Sand Ninja along this line are targeting Tsunade, so their strength is naturally higher. Our advantage mainly lies on the edges. The outer routes are about to be cleared, and they'll soon pour back into the center of the battlefield."
Katsuyu explained.
"Oh." Hyuga Ao nodded, crossed her hands into a seal, and created another clone.
She had to admit, having the entire map unlocked was incredibly convenient.
With the whole map open, the clone drew attention from the front while the original circled around to seek a breakthrough. This move never failed her.
Hyuga Ao's clone wrapped itself in a violent gale and charged toward the Sand Ninja amid a tremendous roar.
It was like when people broke up a fight and grabbed the one shouting the loudest, even though someone else was secretly striking from the side while that person was being held back.
Because subconsciously, you felt that the one shouting the loudest posed the greatest threat and needed to be restrained.
Hyuga Ao's clone charged over with overwhelming momentum, drawing everyone's attention. The Sand Ninja and Konoha quickly split apart, warily watching the newcomer.
Using the cover of the camp tents, Hyuga Ao quietly crept to the Sand Ninja's flank.
Hyuga Ao's clone stopped and stamped her foot. As the dust cleared, everyone discovered that she was a little girl, and the expressions on both sides varied.
The Sand Ninja leader, Mikami Nokatsu, pointed at Hyuga Ao and laughed.
"Ha ha ha ha! Is Konoha out of people? After fighting for so long, you only sent a little girl? This is hilarious! Ha ha ha ha!"
The Konoha leader, Jonin Sarutobi Hiro, sighed inwardly. Still, reinforcements were better than none.
"You're Orochimaru-sama's disciple, right? Come over here quickly. Watch out for the Sand Ninja."
Sarutobi Hiro waved to her.
The clone ignored him. Her delicate little face remained taut as she waved a hand. Numerous Wind Blades swept toward the Sand Ninja with the gale, and she charged after them with a blade in hand.
Sarutobi Hiro's expression darkened, and he ordered everyone to follow. There was nothing he could do. After all, she was Orochimaru's disciple.
The Sand Ninja scattered to evade the Wind Blades. Mikami Nokatsu quickly formed several hand seals, signaling them to hold back the Konoha ninja temporarily and deal with Hyuga Ao first.
Upon receiving the order, the Sand Ninja Puppeteers released all their puppets to block the Konoha ninja. Although the Sarutobi clan's Fire Release was fierce, they still could not destroy puppets specially modified for defense.
"Damn it! If something happens to Orochimaru-sama's disciple right in front of me, I don't know how I'll explain it to him." Sarutobi Hiro looked at Hyuga Ao surrounded by enemies and spoke in frustration.
Hyuga Ao's clone did not care about any of that. She hypnotized herself inwardly: I'm a ruthless ADC. I have no emotions, no damage output, and no survival environment. My only purpose is to use my body as bait.
The Sand Ninja split into two groups. All the Puppeteers and one Jonin temporarily held back Sarutobi Hiro and the others.
Mikami Nokatsu led the remaining six Chunin in surrounding Hyuga Ao.
Seven Sand Ninja formed hand seals in unison.
"Earth Style: Earth Tremor." "Earth Style: Sharp Rock Spikes." "Earth Style: Earth Wall" ×2
"Lightning Release: Falling Lightning." "Wind Style: Net." ×2
Two earthen walls rose, separating the confused clone.
Meanwhile, Hyuga Ao, hidden behind the camp tents, discovered that the ground beneath her was rapidly rising.
She knew she had been discovered and was about to jump down when spikes of rock stabbed up from all around, forcing her back. Before she could recover, an enhanced Wind Style: Net had already closed around her. At the same time, lightning gathered in the sky, ready to strike at any moment.
"Damn it!" Trapped in this predicament in the blink of an eye, Hyuga Ao realized that the Sand Ninja leader was actually a Sensory Ninja. Those earlier hand seals had been meant to deal with her first.
"Hmph." Looking at Hyuga Ao caught in the net, Mikami Nokatsu's lips curled into a smile. He was not foolish. Anyone capable of creating such momentum while moving, even a little girl, had to be treated cautiously.
Moreover, a ninja's strength had never been tied to age.
When he sensed a figure with the same chakra behind him, he knew the person in front was merely a decoy.
The clone broke through the earthen wall and realized that only she could help the original now. But she did not have much chakra to begin with, and she had no way to break through the wall of people immediately.
Hyuga Ao's instincts screamed warnings. Every hair on her body stood on end. The lightning in the sky was about to strike.
Although the net had been cast by two Chunin, they had deliberately reduced its damage. They had put all their skill points into restraint and toughness, so Hyuga Ao could not break free for the moment.
The lightning descended. Hyuga Ao forcibly compressed her bones to create a little space, then exploded with power again. Her Wind Cloak expanded, and she began spinning Rotation within the cramped space of the net.
The Yin Seal opened. Hyuga Ao released her chakra with all her strength, and a blue orb of light rose above the high stone platform.
The falling lightning collided with the top of the orb, bursting into dazzling light.
Seeing that even the A-rank Lightning Release: Falling Lightning could not deal with Hyuga Ao, Mikami Nokatsu ordered the Sand Ninja to dismantle the stone platform beneath her feet. He wanted to see how she could spin without a foothold.
Mikami Nokatsu increased his chakra output.
On the other side, Hyuga Ao felt the ground beneath her suddenly shake. The stable Rotation immediately developed an opening.
Strands of lightning landed on Hyuga Ao, electrocuting the Katsuyu into shrill screams.
Hearing the Katsuyu cry out in agony, Hyuga Ao smiled instead. So you have your day, too.
Using the time Rotation had bought her, she brought her hands together and formed Wind Blades. At the same time, she increased the Wind Cloak's output to wrap around her entire body, intending to withstand the falling lightning head-on.
Hyuga Ao's Wind Blades split the falling lightning apart. The lightning traveled from her hands throughout her body and rampaged across the Wind Cloak.
Fortunately, wind countered lightning. With the Wind Cloak's protection, not much electricity penetrated. Even so, Hyuga Ao's hair stood on end from the shock, and her hands and feet stiffened, leaving her temporarily unable to move.
The stone platform was pulled out from beneath her, and Hyuga Ao crashed heavily to the ground.
Mikami Nokatsu looked at Hyuga Ao, who could no longer move, and nodded in satisfaction. He signaled for two people to tie her up, then turned and joined the battle on the other side.
The clone had already dispersed when Hyuga Ao was struck.
Two Sand Ninja Chunin came to Hyuga Ao's side. One picked up a rope and moved to loop it around her, while the other found medicine that prevented ninjas from gathering chakra and brought it to Hyuga Ao's lips.
Hyuga Ao watched the Sand Ninja's movements coldly. As soon as Mikami Nokatsu joined the battle on the other side, she controlled her Shikotsumyaku to cut the rope.
The Sand Ninja tying up Hyuga Ao was slashed by a bone blade that appeared in an instant and staggered back in shock.
Hyuga Ao rose unsteadily and lurched toward the two Sand Ninja like a marionette pulled by strings.
Hyuga Ao hardened her heart. "Those two saw my Shikotsumyaku. They absolutely cannot be allowed to live!"
She drew the Kunai she had not used in ages, gripping it in reverse, and charged at the Sand Ninja.
The two Sand Ninja had injured palms, while Hyuga Ao was still unfamiliar with controlling her body through her bones. The two sides actually reached a stalemate.
Although dragging things out favored Hyuga Ao, there were too many variables. She decided to trade injury for life.
Hyuga Ao ignored everything else and stabbed one of the Sand Ninja with her Kunai.
The Sand Ninja sneered. With your short arms and legs, even if we stab each other, I'll definitely hit you first.
The Kunai of the two Sand Ninja stabbed toward Hyuga Ao one after another. But the moment they pierced her, they felt as if something had blocked them. Hyuga Ao pushed forward against the Kunai, driving it into the Sand Ninja's heart.
She turned around.
The Sand Ninja's Kunai scraped across Hyuga Ao's back. When he saw her look back, he instinctively thrust the Kunai toward her.
They exchanged another blow.
The Sand Ninja fell, disbelief filling his eyes. He seemed unable to understand why his Kunai had failed to pierce her.
Two long bloody cuts marked Hyuga Ao's chest and neck, exposing the gleaming white bones beneath.
Mikami Nokatsu sensed the chakra signatures of his two Chunin disappear. He turned and saw Hyuga Ao sitting in a pool of blood, staring straight at him.
The white robe beneath Hyuga Ao had been dyed red with blood. A long cut ran down her fair, jade-like neck from the right side, crossing her collarbone before stopping atop her smooth shoulder.
Another cut ran down from her left chest to her navel. Through the torn clothing, her pale, tender skin could be seen indistinctly.
A cut across her back ran over her flawless body and down to her waist, drawing out a long trail of blood.
Hyuga Ao's throat moved as she spat out the pill held in place by her Shikotsumyaku. Her black hair fell forward, concealing her white eyes, and she gave Mikami Nokatsu a terrifying smile.
Hyuga Ao had indeed been caught off guard this time. First, she had not expected a Sensory Ninja to turn the tables on her. Second, she had not expected them to communicate so discreetly. Finally, once she realized she had been trapped, her reaction had not been quick enough.
Hyuga Ao remained sitting where she had fallen, surrounded by the heavy stench of blood. She could taste its sickly sweetness with every breath.
The blood soaked through her skirt and the clothing around her legs. The warmth made her legs itch, but Hyuga Ao was already too weak to move. Forcing her Shikotsumyaku to move her body had left muscles bruised in many places.
To prevent her condition from worsening, the best option was to wait for the paralysis from the Lightning Release to fade.
The cuts across her chest, shoulder, neck, and back throbbed with pain. Hyuga Ao felt an itch on her back and knew that the Katsuyu knocked unconscious by the electricity had awakened. She said coldly,
"You're awake? Then treat me!"
Before you continue