Fleeing in Disarray

Judging from the thick smoke, firelight, and the direction the sounds came from, it was certain that one of the Explosive Tag traps Uchiha Daiki had set earlier had been triggered.

"Looks like those unlucky guys set off the trap first..."

As Uchiha Daiki thought to himself, he spread out his senses.

His sharp hearing and keen sense of smell immediately gave him a clear read on the battlefield.

About seven hundred meters away, he could hear hurried breathing and the enemies' uncertain voices.

"Damn it, what happened?"

"It's an Explosive Tag trap! We actually fell for it!"

"How is that possible? We didn't notice anything just now!"

"The enemy probably lured us here on purpose. Watch out for an ambush! Let's retreat first! Move!"

"..."

From what he heard, the enemies had indeed fallen into the trap.

Unfortunately, although they had been caught in the Explosive Tag trap, they were only injured, and not severely enough to prevent them from moving.

At that moment, the six enemies had already begun rapidly retreating in the direction they had come from.

The member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist who had been about to enter the trap on this side also turned and left without hesitation after sensing that something was wrong.

"Just as expected of Jonin..."

Uchiha Daiki's gaze darkened slightly.

These elite ninja from Kirigakure displayed powerful and professional ninja instincts.

Had they been ninja of a lower rank, recklessly barging into his trap like that would have blown them to pieces long ago.

Of course, Uchiha Daiki had no intention of letting them go.

He quickly revealed himself, turned, and hurled a Kunai at the fleeing member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

The other man was already over a hundred meters away.

His figure could vaguely be seen through gaps in the branches and leaves.

The Kunai Uchiha Daiki threw instantly broke the sound barrier, streaking toward the enemy's back with a piercing shriek through the air.

"Hmph!"

The one tasked with pursuing Uchiha Daiki was a middle-aged man with a ring of beard around his mouth.

Like the other members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, he also had a bandage wrapped around his neck.

The weapon he used looked like an enormous hammer.

This weapon was called Kabutowari.

All these traits told Uchiha Daiki that this man was Jinin Akebino, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

By the time Jinin Akebino heard the movement behind him, it was already too late. He could neither dodge nor block it.

With a muffled grunt, his body swayed. He immediately stomped hard on a branch, using the force to accelerate his escape without even daring to look back.

In the blink of an eye, he vanished into the dense forest.

Sarutobi Shio, Hyuga Koji, and Uzuki Sen, who were fleeing, had already been nearly exhausted.

Just as the enemy was about to catch up to them, they suddenly heard a violent explosion from behind them and were utterly stunned.

"That sounded like an Explosive Tag detonation, but not a single tag—it was an Explosive Tag formation... When did you set up a trap?"

Sarutobi Shio asked his two companions in surprise.

Yet Hyuga Koji and Uzuki Sen were just as baffled. They exchanged a glance and both shook their heads.

"We didn't set the trap."

"Not you?"

"Then who was it?"

Sarutobi Shio wore a puzzled, contemplative expression.

"Could it have been that Uchiha Daiki?"

Uzuki Sen asked.

When Uchiha Daiki had been injured and unconscious, they had already checked his ninja identification.

So they naturally knew Uchiha Daiki's name.

"Let me see what happened..."

After saying that, Hyuga Koji had already activated his Byakugan and looked behind them.

The moment he saw it, his pupils contracted slightly in disbelief.

"Those guys are injured and retreating quickly!"

"It looks like they were the ones who triggered the Explosive Tag trap just now!"

Hyuga Koji's words greatly shocked the other two as well.

The two exchanged a glance before looking at Hyuga Koji again.

Sarutobi Shio narrowed his eyes and asked in a low voice, "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. That guy is currently eight hundred meters southeast of us!"

"And aside from us and him, the only ones here are that group of enemies. No one else would have set a trap like this here."

Hyuga Koji's reply made Sarutobi Shio narrow his eyes again.

He said nothing more.

Uzuki Sen, however, said, "So he deliberately had us retreat first while choosing to stay behind and deal with the enemy himself?"

"Hmph! Playing the hero!"

Sarutobi Shio curled his lip.

"No matter what, at least the enemies have finally been driven back. Those were the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist..."

Hyuga Koji's face was full of lingering fear.

He had even mentally prepared himself to die here.

Now that he had survived, he felt somewhat grateful toward Uchiha Daiki.

"That kid was just lucky."

Sarutobi Shio curled his lip disdainfully again.

"What do we do now?"

Uzuki Sen asked.

Being suddenly pursued by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had left her somewhat at a loss as well.

Enemies that strong were not opponents they could handle.

"Let's go meet up with Uchiha Daiki first."

Hyuga Koji suggested.

But Sarutobi Shio rejected that decision outright.

"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist are injured. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"If we can catch up to them and kill them now, we'll have rendered a great service! We might even become Jonin from now on!!"

Two blazing lights shone in his eyes.

He was incomparably excited by the prospect.

But the other two wore worried expressions upon hearing him.

"Even so, isn't that a bit too risky?"

Uzuki Sen asked.

Hyuga Koji continued, "I agree that we should pursue the injured enemies. While they're wounded, this is the best chance to turn the tables and kill them, but we need to meet up with Uchiha Daiki first."

"No need!"

"That kid used us as bait just now! No matter how you look at it, sacrificing comrades to achieve one's own goals is selfish and utterly irresponsible!"

"He doesn't care about our lives at all!!"

Sarutobi Shio rejected it again without hesitation.

This time, neither Hyuga Koji nor Uzuki Sen spoke.

As a member of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Koji knew full well that the Uchiha Clan's reputation and treatment in the village had worsened greatly over the years.

Many people in the village held certain prejudices against them.

Though Uzuki Sen had not been born into one of Konoha's noble clans, she had naturally heard about it as well.

They both understood why Sarutobi Shio was targeting Uchiha Daiki so fiercely now, but it was not their place to comment on such matters, nor did they want to be seen as taking the Uchiha Clan's side.