Mixing Pearls

"Open up!"

Unwilling to lose his life to this one move, the Hyuga Main Family mustered all his strength, trying to break free from the restraints around him.

Crack!

Immediately afterward, countless fine fissures spread across the two ropes formed from condensed ice.

"There's a chance!"

Delighted, he realized that the two ice ropes were not as sturdy as he had imagined.

Snap!

Upon discovering this, he immediately gathered his strength and shattered the ice ropes binding him. Ice fragments filled the sky as snowflakes swirled.

Unfortunately, one wrong step led to mistake after mistake.

He was simply too close to the little demon wielding the sword. Although the two frost ropes had not completely restrained him, that brief delay was enough for him to step through the gates of death.

The instant he broke free of the restraints, a chill pierced straight into his heart.

Zabuza's sword had already thrust into his chest, while his palm struck empty air.

It had missed.

"Bastard!"

Blood surged up his throat and spilled from the corner of his mouth. Forcing himself to summon his last breath, he tried to strike the little boy in front of him with one final palm.

Even if he died here, he absolutely would not let the people from Kirigakure off easily.

Even in death, he would drag someone down with him!

"Let me see who you really are."

A cold voice sounded beside him. The Hyuga Main Family discovered that someone else had appeared at his side.

It was that Chunin-level shinobi from Kirigakure. The captain of the squad had flashed over and restrained the hand he had just raised.

Immediately afterward, he felt a strange chakra pouring into the hand that had been restrained.

He knew that his opponent was trying to dispel his Transformation Jutsu.

The so-called Transformation Jutsu involved evenly distributing the caster's chakra throughout the body, then imagining the target's appearance and using chakra to imitate it.

Because the chakra had to be distributed evenly, this simple jutsu tested the caster's chakra control. The stronger the control, the better the transformation.

But precisely because the chakra was distributed evenly, once the balance of the caster's chakra control was disrupted, the Transformation Jutsu would be dispelled.

Poof!

A cloud of white smoke rose from the Hyuga Main Family's body.

It was a sign that the Transformation Jutsu had been dispelled.

Although they had already mentally prepared themselves for the possibility that this person was not the Hyuga Main Family, when they truly saw this scene, Ao and the others still felt faintly disappointed.

They had gone through all that trouble for nothing.

As the smoke screen dispersed, it revealed a face that seemed vaguely familiar to Qi Shuang and the others.

"You?" Ao was somewhat surprised.

The person before them was none other than the Hyuga Clan jōnin who had fled after clashing with them at Konoha's main camp earlier.

No wonder he had been so wary of Mei Terumi's Lava Style Mucus.

So he had already experienced it before.

"Yes... it's me!"

The man swept his gaze over everyone with extreme disdain, then coughed violently several more times, bringing up quite a bit of blood. He said resentfully, "If... if I hadn't fought battle after battle... and exhausted myself so badly... you... you never could have defeated me so easily..."

Zabuza twisted the short blade in the man's chest, then suddenly pulled it out and said coldly, "A loss is a loss. Where did all these excuses come from?"

After twisting the blade with force and pulling it free, the Hyuga Clan shinobi completely lost the strength to resist and immediately collapsed limply.

Ao also released his grip at the right moment, allowing him to fall to the ground.

Blood flowed out, instantly staining the earth red.

"Let's go." Ao called out to the other three before preparing to leave.

"You... you... can't leave..."

Hearing his shout, the Hyuga Clan man shakily extended a hand.

The color had already faded from his eyes. He only instinctively wanted to keep the group here, refusing to swallow his last breath.

Unfortunately, Qi Shuang and the others had no interest in a dying man. Besides, he was not the target they were looking for.

They still had to hurry and search for the real Hyuga Main Family.

"You... can't leave..."

As the footsteps of the four receded into the distance, the Hyuga Clan shinobi on the ground repeated his final words. Amid unwillingness and helplessness, he stopped breathing.

"Which direction should we pursue this time?" On the way, Mei Terumi asked the squad leader curiously.

Ao thought for a moment, pointed southeast, and said, "Let's take a look over there!"

"The Uchiha camp is in that direction, and Konoha's main forces are there too. If the Hyuga Main Family goes there, he'll have an easy chance of being rescued!"

"I think there's the greatest chance he fled in that direction!"

Qi Shuang, who was beside them, slightly furrowed his brows. He immediately spoke up. "Captain Ao, I think it would be better for us to turn back and search around Konoha's main camp!"

"Oh?"

At his words, Ao immediately landed on a tree branch and signaled for the others to stop. Then he asked solemnly, "Why?"

Combining the information sent by the Personnel Department last time with Qi Shuang's performance today, he did not dare underestimate the child in the slightest.

Therefore, he very much wanted to hear his explanation.

Qi Shuang sorted out his thoughts slightly before slowly saying, "We still haven't received the signal that the mission has been completed. It's basically certain that the Hyuga Main Family is still fleeing."

All of them nodded, indicating their agreement.

Qi Shuang continued, "Aside from our squad, there are quite a few other teams searching for the Hyuga Main Family."

"When it comes to guessing the direction he fled, I'm afraid most of us would instinctively assume that he's heading toward the Uchiha camp."

"What's wrong with that? As long as he joins up with Konoha's main forces, he'll be saved!" Mei Terumi said in surprise.

Qi Shuang shook his head and continued, "He can indeed be saved."

"But that depends on whether he can break through the encirclement formed by so many of us alone!"

At that, the three of them fell into thought, though they all felt they had overlooked something.

"Do you think he can't figure out which way we're moving? Or are you saying that, even knowing the road ahead is almost certain death, he'll still force his way through?" Qi Shuang questioned the three of them with a stern expression.

"This..." The three exchanged glances, rendered speechless.

Although he could be saved by joining up with Konoha's main forces, the danger along that route would also be greater. The Hyuga Main Family was even more likely to fall during his escape.

If they were that Hyuga Main Family, then after thinking everything through, they absolutely would not head in that direction to seek death!

"Then what makes you so certain that we should turn back and search Konoha's main camp? Couldn't he simply return to Konoha?" Mei Terumi deliberately challenged him without even thinking.

Qi Shuang rolled his eyes at her and continued, "This place is several hours away from Konoha. I'm afraid it won't take long before we catch up to him!"

"By then, he'll be completely isolated and helpless, with nowhere left to run!"

"As for turning back to search Konoha's main camp, that's precisely because we just chased him out of there. Most people would never imagine that he would turn back, which is why he would dare to do so!"

"That place is a blind spot in our thinking. As long as he hides carefully, there's a very high chance he can slip right under our noses!"