Another Hostage Arrives

At first, A and Killer B were merely probing the depth of their opponents' strength.

At the same time, they tried to find flaws in the Hyuga Clan's Nintaijutsu, the Gentle Fist Style.

As the battle continued and they gradually figured out their opponents' capabilities, they began attacking with everything they had.

A, the candidate for Fourth Raikage, activated his Lightning Release Chakra Mode. Combined with his powerful Nintaijutsu, which embodied a brutal sort of beauty, he began relentlessly suppressing Hyuga Hiashi.

Although the Byakugan could see the path of chakra flowing through an opponent's body and clearly perceive an enemy's movements, the Gentle Fist Style simply could not harm A's defenses.

Unable to use the Gentle Fist Style to attack his opponent's internal organs and chakra pathway system, Hyuga Hiashi's combat ability was already greatly diminished.

Moreover, as A grew faster and faster, Hyuga Hiashi gradually realized that even his Byakugan was beginning to have trouble keeping up with his opponent's speed.

"He's too fast... Is this guy continuously stimulating his body with the flow of Lightning Release chakra to drastically increase his speed?"

Hyuga Hiashi's expression became exceptionally grave, and his attacks grew increasingly cautious.

That gave A even more opportunities to suppress him. As one side waxed while the other waned, Hyuga Hiashi gradually began to fall into a dangerous situation.

Compared to him, Hizashi Hyuga's situation was even more perilous.

Killer B was the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, and his chakra reserves were immense, practically inexhaustible.

Combined with his Nintaijutsu that fused superb swordsmanship and taijutsu, his incredibly fast attacks left Hizashi Hyuga unable to cope.

Whenever danger arose, Hizashi Hyuga had no choice but to rely on techniques like Rotation to defend against his opponent's fatal attacks.

Though it was an absolute defense, Rotation had one very obvious weakness: it consumed an enormous amount of chakra.

In a short battle, it would be fine if they could defeat the enemy.

But once they became locked in a prolonged fight, the longer it dragged on, the more unfavorable it became for the two Hyuga brothers.

If their chakra ran out, their fate would be either capture or death.

The three Konoha Jonin—Raimu Yamato, Watanabe Taiya, and Hibiki Yokoyama—were facing the same predicament.

They had finally managed to wait for reinforcements and thought they had been saved, yet even the arrival of two Elite Jonin failed to change the situation.

The remaining Kumogakure ninja were no saints. Seeing the three of them get back on their feet, some immediately launched another attack, giving them no chance to rest and recover their strength or chakra.

For a time, all five Konoha Jonin faced the danger of being wiped out.

"Don't count on your reinforcements arriving. Just die here! Hahahaha!"

"That's right! Don't think we only sent this few people. We came fully prepared this time. Your Konoha reinforcements are probably fighting our interception force right now! They'll never make it here!"

"You damn bastards, you're already injured, so why are you still this strong? Why not just obediently die already?!"

"Surrender. You have no chance of escaping. Keep resisting, and we'll have no choice but to kill you..."

"..."

The Kumogakure ninja who had not yet joined the fight began launching a psychological assault, further affecting the five Konoha Ninja who were already at a disadvantage.

Hyuga Hiashi slipped up for an instant, and A suddenly flashed to his rear flank and struck him with a punch.

Bang!

The future Fourth Raikage's Nintaijutsu was so powerful that he could even directly contend with the Eight-Tails' true body.

Hyuga Hiashi took that blow squarely in the back, vomiting a mouthful of blood on the spot before being sent flying.

His defeat was like a breach in a thousand-mile dam, instantly causing the floodwaters to burst through.

On the other side, Hizashi Hyuga was immediately subdued by Killer B.

A sharp blade rested against his neck, leaving him afraid to make any rash moves.

At that moment, the remaining three Jonin were also successively restrained under the combined assault of Kumogakure's strongest fighters.

"Why not just kill them?"

A young Cloud Village ninja looked at Killer B and A in confusion and asked.

Before the two could reply, an older-looking, one-eyed Jonin stepped forward.

"They are all high-level combat forces from Konoha, especially those two from the Hyuga Clan."

"The Hyuga Clan's Kekkei Genkai, the Byakugan, is incredibly powerful. If we can obtain such power, it will greatly enhance our ninja village's combat strength."

"Besides, keeping them alive gives us bargaining chips. That way, we can fight for greater benefits in the upcoming negotiations!"

The older ninja who spoke was named Dodai.

He had previously been the Third Raikage's trusted confidant.

After the Third Raikage died fighting ten thousand Stone Village ninja, Dodai's responsibility became assisting A, the Fourth Raikage.

After hearing Dodai's explanation, the other Kumogakure ninja finally understood.

"Bind them all and guard them closely! Do not let them escape!"

"Once the war is completely over, their eyes must be taken! That is the Hyuga Clan's Kekkei Genkai!"

A, the Fourth Raikage, loudly issued orders to his subordinates.

Then, all the Kumogakure Jonin present suddenly felt a faint chill in their hearts.

Sure enough, an amused voice sounded from above their heads. "What a fine plan you have."

"Who is it?!"

All the Cloud Village ninja immediately looked up, but the sky overhead was completely empty.

"Fourth Hokage, behind you!"

A Sensory Ninja from Kumogakure quickly detected the target's whereabouts and warned A, the Fourth Raikage.

The other ninja also turned to look.

There, on a horizontally extending branch of the large tree behind the Fourth Raikage, stood a man who appeared to be under twenty years old.

He wore a Konoha forehead protector, making it obvious that he was one of Konoha's reinforcements.

"Who is this brat?"

"He actually dared to show himself and confront us alone... He's got some nerve!"

"But how did he appear here without anyone noticing?"

"Whatever. He's just another fool who came to die. Hahahaha! Catch him, and we'll have another hostage in our hands!"

"..."

Seeing that there was only one person in the tree, and that he did not seem particularly impressive, the several hundred Kumogakure ninja immediately burst into laughter.

Almost no one took the suddenly appearing enemy seriously.

Except for a few people.

A, the Fourth Raikage, was one of them. He stared at the young man before him and asked in a deep voice, "Since you dared to show yourself, are you planning to save them all by yourself?"