In the Forest

"Huh?"

Hearing this voice, the six pairs of eyes from the two small teams all snapped to a young boy in Ao's team.

"What are you looking at me for? There's nothing special about my face!" Qi Shuang touched his nose and instinctively took a step back.

Suddenly being stared at so intently by so many people made him a little uncomfortable.

"It seems you've got another promising seedling on your team!" the opposing leader said with a smile to Ao.

Ao waved his hand, replying indifferently, "No matter how promising a seedling is, it's still just a seedling! It will take a long time to grow into a big tree!"

"And we don't have any extra time for them to grow safely!"

"As for whether they grow through wind and rain or are broken in the storm, that's entirely up to them!"

He said this while casting a deep glance at the three subordinates behind him.

"We don't have any leads on that person anyway, so why don't we go take a look now? Maybe it's just like that kid said, and the guy has already escaped the camp!"

With that, the Mist Ninja leader on the opposite side immediately led his people away.

They had already searched this area extensively without finding any clues, and at this moment, a Mist Ninja outside Konoha's main camp had sent out a distress signal.

The possibility that the target had escaped from here was extremely high.

"Follow me, let's go take a look together!" Ao called out to his three subordinates and watched the team ahead as they pursued.

At the same time, many Mist Ninjas engaged in a chaotic battle with Konoha Ninja within Konoha's main camp also noticed the signal.

Those who had already dealt with their opponents, or were searching for the target, immediately rushed towards the direction the signal flare was fired.

As for those who were still fighting, they tried their best to break free from their opponents to prepare for reinforcement.

After all, their target this time was the Hyuga Main Family, not to annihilate Konoha's main camp.

Although they had drawn away Konoha's main forces, compared to Konoha's remaining troops, their surprise attack force still held no advantage.

The longer this dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for Kirigakure.

Therefore, finding the target as quickly as possible was their primary mission.

Getting entangled with Konoha Ninja here would only be a waste of energy.

Accompanying them were many Konoha Ninja.

Although they didn't know what these Mist Ninjas were planning to do, they knew that as long as it was something the enemy wanted to do, they should try their best to disrupt and obstruct it!

Thus, on the path of many Mist Ninjas rushing to reinforce, many Konoha Ninja intervened, and quite a few Konoha Ninja even followed them.

Along the way, corpses littered the ground, and another chaotic battle ensued.

After a while, Ao's team and another Mist Ninja squad, working together, finally managed to break out of Konoha's main camp with great difficulty.

As they got closer to the location where the signal flare was fired, Qi Shuang and the others noticed more and more corpses and signs of battle on the road.

There were both Kirigakure and Konoha casualties, indicating that a fierce battle had taken place here between the two sides.

"It seems the Hyuga Main Family might have really broken through this way!" looking at the still-wet bloodstains on the ground, the leader of the other Mist Ninja squad said solemnly to Ao.

Ao glanced back at the many Mist Ninjas emerging one after another from Konoha's main camp and sighed, "Perhaps..."

If there were any traces of the Hyuga Main Family within Konoha's main camp, all the Mist Ninjas would have swarmed in, and there wouldn't be so many "idle people" coming out to investigate.

Therefore, the possibility of the Hyuga Main Family having escaped Konoha's main camp was very high.

In a clearing within the dense forest, several Konoha Ninja protected a man with white eyes in the center, resting in place.

The man had graying hair and looked about fifty years old, but his eyes were still sharp and clear, showing no signs of age.

However, the mottled bloodstains on his body had stained a large portion of his white clothing. Coupled with his rapidly rising chest and the weariness in his brows, he appeared three parts exhausted.

If Qi Shuang and the others were here, they would recognize this elder at a glance as the current Hyuga Main Family head.

A Hyuga clansman activated his Byakugan, scouted the surroundings, and immediately reported to him, "Lord, more and more Mist Ninja are pursuing us from behind!"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding Konoha Ninja tensed up, instinctively gripping their kunai.

However, they had already been through many battles and were now extremely tired. Even the hands holding the kunai were trembling involuntarily.

No matter how much their master encouraged them mentally, it couldn't stop their uncooperative hands from shaking.

Glancing at the crowd who were barely mustering their spirits, the Hyuga Main Family head feigned composure and asked, "How far are we from Konoha's main force?"

"Calculating at our usual speed, we should be able to rendezvous with them in about ten minutes!" the person replied, lowering his head.

"Ten minutes?"

Looking up at the dense canopy that blocked out all but slivers of sunlight, the Hyuga Main Family head's tone was somewhat complex.

On any other day, ten minutes wouldn't be a big deal.

But now, having gone through numerous fierce battles and broken through the encirclement, they were utterly exhausted. Meeting up with Konoha's main force within ten minutes had become a mere wish.

Even twenty minutes might not be enough to reach them.

Not to mention the pack of Mist Ninjas chasing after them like death itself.

These ten minutes might be the last moments of his life.

There was no possibility of escape!

"All of you, leave!"

He weakly waved his hand at the several Ninja surrounding him who had protected his escape, and said softly, "When they catch up later, I'll hold them off alone, all of you get out!"

"The person they're looking for is me. Once they find me, they won't bother with you!"

At first, he was somewhat confused by Kirigakure's surprise attack, but after capturing and interrogating a few Mist Ninja, he immediately obtained intelligence that Kirigakure had come for him.

Therefore, he knew very well that as long as he stayed, everyone else could live.

Upon hearing his words, some quietly put away the Kunai in their hands, secretly rejoicing; others gritted their teeth, full of unwillingness.

After a brief silence, one person stepped forward and said solemnly, "Lord, although I am not a member of your Hyuga clan, I also know that you are the patriarch of the Hyuga clan!"

"If you die in battle, the blow to the Hyuga clan will certainly be immense, and if you are captured alive, then..."

He didn't continue, but his meaning was very clear.

Hearing this, a Hyuga clan member cursed at him, "You scoundrel!"

"Forget it!"

The Hyuga Main Family immediately stopped the clan member who was about to curse further and said solemnly to everyone, "The Hyuga Main Family will only die in battle, never be captured alive!"

He knew very well what the Hyuga Main Family, which controlled the lives of all Branch Families through the "Caged Bird," meant to Konoha.

Once he was captured alive, it would mean that the Hyuga clan could very likely be manipulated by a third party through him.

Therefore, whether it was him, the Hyuga, or Konoha, no one wanted him to be captured alive.

He could only die in battle!