Enemy! Iwagakure Female Ninja

"Damn little brat...!!"

The masked female ninja clutched her shoulder, where a kunai was embedded.

A hair's breadth closer, and she would have lost her life.

That instant of combat had also let her see her enemy clearly.

"A brat from the Hyuga Clan!!"

The gritted words squeezed out from behind that pale mask.

Hyuga Sho frowned slightly.

At the crucial final moment, the woman had evaded the thrust aimed at the back of her neck.

Was it her perception of danger?

Having lost one kunai, Hyuga Sho slowly set Hyuga Natsu down.

Fortunately.

Hyuga Natsu was breathing steadily. She had merely fainted.

Unfortunately.

Though he had saved her, she might become a burden.

At that thought.

Hyuga Sho took a deep breath, preparing to hold it, while several possible plans formed in his mind.

Since Hyuga Natsu was unconscious...

There were only a few possible methods.

And when Hyuga Sho reached into the Ninja Tool Pouch at the small of his back and drew another kunai...

Pfft!

The masked female ninja suddenly flicked her free left hand.

A heap of powder flew out from her sleeve.

The powder came rushing straight at Hyuga Sho, covering his face and head.

Clearly, it was a drug with hypnotic effects.

If inhaled, it would most likely knock him unconscious.

"Mm...!"

Holding his breath, Hyuga Sho pretended to be affected... staggering two steps back.

He barely managed to assume the stance of the Gentle Fist.

Then, the next second, he fell backward onto the grass with a thud.

"Hmph... a brat is still a brat... just as stupid as the previous one. One dose, and he drops... Hisss~~~!"

The masked female ninja sneered, but soon sucked in a breath because of the wound in her shoulder.

She slowly raised the Sleeve Sword on her right arm and walked toward Hyuga Sho.

She planned to sever this brat's hand and foot tendons first, then pack both children up and take them away.

"One boy and one girl... both Children, hehehe. Take them back and hand them over to the higher-ups... let them study them slowly, experiment on them, and when they grow up, breed them..."

The woman from Iwagakure muttered as she raised her kunai and viciously thrust it down at Hyuga Sho.

Scht!

Hyuga Sho, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly swung his arm.

He tore a bloody gash across the woman's wrist.

"Ah~~!!"

The masked woman staggered back several steps, blood spraying everywhere.

The moon in the sky was swallowed by dark clouds.

Konoha's Back Mountain, where one could still see beneath the moonlight moments ago,

Now...

Became pitch-black in an instant.

And darkness was the main battlefield where the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan truly shone.

Within the Byakugan's field of vision.

The blue Chakra in the masked woman's body burned like a torch.

Hyuga Sho rose and fought.

With Insight that surpassed even the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan.

Hyuga Sho Clearly Captured every movement his opponent made.

This was also the result of Hyuga Sho's nearly three months of grueling practice, growing familiar with and learning to use the Byakugan.

Within this darkness.

One large and one small figure streaked rapidly past each other.

The trees, bushes, and stones around them... were continually sliced apart.

As their figures crossed.

At some point, Hyuga Sho had grasped another kunai in his left hand.

Meanwhile.

The wounded masked woman sensed the blood Passed from her two wounds.

With a Low Growl, she wielded her Sleeve Sword and transformed into a whirlwind, sweeping toward Hyuga Sho.

"I'll kill you!"

Clear metallic clashes rang out.

They were the sounds of kunai colliding with the Sleeve Sword.

The occasional sparks briefly brought Star Point-like light into the darkness.

One was an icy mask, the other a calm face.

In less than ten short seconds.

Hyuga Sho had already gauged his opponent's approximate strength.

Genin.

Basically, she was on the same level as him.

But.

She did not have the Byakugan, nor did she possess Taijutsu as formidable as the Hyuga Clan's.

Therefore.

Hyuga Sho slowly whittled away at the woman's life.

She was like a wounded beast, letting out miserable cries from time to time.

In contrast, Hyuga Sho.

Was calm and cruel, like a solid block of ice.

Another wound tore through her ninja attire and ripped open the fair arm beneath it.

These ten seconds of fighting.

Also made her realize that her opponent possessed the composure of a crocodile.

Even more terrifying was...

Though he was clearly a brat from the Hyuga Clan.

Every move he made was a vicious, lethal attack.

He targeted vital points completely; there was no trace of the Gentle Fist to be seen.

In the darkness.

Another metallic spark flared.

With a crisp crack.

The kunai in Hyuga Sho's hand... snapped.

"..."

Hyuga Sho frowned.

Differences in weapon smelting and forging.

Meant that weapons from different ninja villages differed in quality.

Clearly.

The Sleeve Sword wielded by the Iwagakure ninja was sturdier than an ordinary kunai.

However...

That was not a problem.

Hyuga Sho switched the kunai in his left hand to his right.

At the same time, his left hand reached into the Ninja Tool Pouch behind his waist again and drew out a brand-new kunai.

My weapon quality might be poor.

But they were cheap, and I had bought a lot of them earlier.

"..."

The woman from Iwagakure fell silent.

The scent of death enveloped her.

This brat before her was far more troublesome and thoroughly prepared than she had imagined.

Just how many kunai did he still have?

Thirteen left.

Having lost two kunai, Hyuga Sho calmly counted the remaining blades he had.

Sharpening the axe did not delay the cutting of firewood.

Buying kunai from the ninja tool shop earlier had indeed been a very thorough consideration.

This was Hyuga Sho.

Not only did he possess self-control and diligence beyond ordinary people.

He also had a meticulous mind to match.

The crisp clang of metal rang out once more.

Another half minute passed.

The masked woman finally realized what Hyuga Sho intended to do.

"This brat is wearing down my stamina!!"

"You realized it?"

Hyuga Sho asked in return.

His young voice carried unimaginable calculation and coldness.

In the instant she froze.

Hyuga Sho moved.

Words were also part of tactics.

At the right moment, throwing out trash talk.

Could disrupt the opponent's thoughts.

Ninjas had schools such as Fire Release, Water Release, Earth Release, Lightning Release, Wind Release... and more.

As for this school of verbal tactics.

Hyuga Sho called it "Talk no Jutsu."

Bang!!

From excessive blood loss, a momentary daze, and Hyuga Sho's trash talk disrupting her.

The masked woman took a heavy punch to the abdomen.

An unimaginable surge of force spread from her abdomen through her entire body.

"Urgh..."

With a low groan.

The masked woman was Sent Flying Backwards, crashing into a tree trunk with a bang.

Only then did the dark clouds disperse, and moonlight spilled over the land once more.

It also illuminated Hyuga Sho's stern Cheeks beneath the moonlight.