Escape to Survival

"Next, I need to figure out how to leave..." Zi Xu stood holding his crowbar after a single swing, feeling a bit troubled.

The Ronin and Kirigakure ninjas, seeing their primary target escape, split off a small squad to pursue while the rest naturally focused on dealing with this meddling crowbar-wielding man.

Terrifying chakra energy erupted, distorting the surrounding mist. Dealing with the Ronin and Kirigakure Genin alone wouldn't be an issue, but the Kirigakure Jonin watching from the sidelines put immense pressure on Zi Xu. Though one Jonin had already gone after Zabuza and the others, Zi Xu's burden hadn't lessened in the slightest.

"Hmm... Conqueror's Haki still can't be used well, the technique for using Natural Energy to create a 'Pseudo Haki' isn't perfected yet, and Adamantine Sealing Chains would easily expose my Uzumaki Clan identity..." Zi Xu shattered a Ronin's thrusting blade with his crowbar, his mind racing to formulate a countermeasure.

As Zi Xu tangled with the Ronin, the Kirigakure Jonin made his move. The mist around him grew denser, his figure flickering in and out of the white haze. This was the Kirigakure Jutsu, and the mist's concentration shifted with chakra output. Now, the Jonin had fully merged into the surrounding fog, his form concealed as he crept closer to Zi Xu.

"Perception cut off? Assassination technique?" Zi Xu had been keeping a close eye on that Kirigakure Jonin, and when the ninja vanished, he keenly sensed a hint of danger.

"Blocking perception? I can do that too." Zi Xu withdrew a portion of Demon Power from his Silent Clone, and in turn, the Silent Clone's personality leaned more toward Zi Xu's own.

Meanwhile, with Chino and the others, they were chattering quietly among themselves. Tenzo had caught up from behind, overtaking Chino's group, but the Kirigakure ninjas behind them remained relentless, like hunting dogs fixated on their prey, patiently waiting for a moment of weakness to strike a fatal blow.

Chino pressed one hand to her injured shoulder, pulling a roll of bandages from her Sealing Scroll. She plucked a tuft of fur from the little panda's rear—who had returned at some point—then dismissed the summon again. Wrapping the panda fur in a layer of bandages, she bound it to the wound as a temporary measure to stop the bleeding.

"Tenzo-sensei, do you have any more Explosive Tags? Leaving some traps along the way might slow those ninjas down..." Chino glanced back at the Kirigakure ninjas trailing far behind and suggested to Tenzo, who was covering the rear.

"Already set them, but they seem to have a way to see through the Explosive Tags I hid in the tree branches. No choice—let's run for now. Once we're out of Kirigakure's territory, we'll be safe." Tenzo was still curious about the mysterious crowbar-wielding man who had appeared earlier, wondering what his goal was.

Chino's Byakugan widened in shock. Among the Kirigakure ninjas, she spotted a man with gray-blue long hair, one eye, and protective sealing talismans hanging from his ears. The eye he had open was unmistakably... a Byakugan!

Hatsumi noticed Chino's rapidly shifting expression and followed her gaze, spotting only a gray-blue-haired man in navy clothes. She couldn't make out much detail, but that didn't bother her.

"Chino, let's go back and kill them all. Getting rid of them would make things a lot easier, right? No need to hold back..." Hatsumi's smile was radiant, the blood at the tips of her hair seeming even brighter.

The Silent Clone thought quietly. What would the original body do right now?

With that in mind, he casually slapped Hatsumi on the head. A not-too-strong personality-correction palm brought the slightly unhinged Hatsumi back to her senses—or at least reined her in a bit. What she was thinking inside, no one knew.

"I suggest we surr—" Just as the dejected Silent Clone was about to blurt out some terrible advice, Zi Xu happened to withdraw part of the Silent Power, forcibly correcting the clone's personality before he continued.

"I suggest Hatsumi deploy more bugs. They don't need to be strong—ordinary ones will do. Best to inject some chakra into them. Since they have ways to detect traps, we'll play an open game..."

Zi Xu's suggestion earned Tenzo's approval. Chino clenched her fists, fresh blood slowly seeping from her previously treated wound.

'Because of the Caged Bird Curse Seal, a Branch Family Byakugan will self-destruct along with the brain once removed from the body. So how did that man... obtain a Byakugan? Could it be from the Main Family?' Her mind was in turmoil, emotions that had long been stagnant stirring once more.

Leaving that aside for now, Zi Xu's original body, after reclaiming part of the Silent Power, also cloaked his surroundings. The invisible Jonin paused. Though he could still see Zi Xu, the crowbar-wielding man had vanished from his perception. He was certain this wasn't a ninjutsu—he hadn't even seen Zi Xu make any hand seals.

This aura concealment was different from using ninjutsu, too. When using ninjutsu to hide, there was always some chakra residue, depending on how much the user leaked. But around Zi Xu, there was no aura at all, as if he had truly disappeared.

"Tch, this guy's no pushover..." The Kirigakure Jonin stared at the relaxed Zi Xu, his wariness toward this strange man skyrocketing. Just from this aura-concealment technique alone, he was at least a Jonin.

Zi Xu had no idea what the Jonin was thinking. He could only infer the ninja's position from the chakra energy lingering in the air. All he needed now was to find an opportunity to escape, so the pressure on him wasn't too great.

But the Kirigakure Jonin's movement speed was far faster than he'd anticipated. From his perspective, the ninja was still some distance away, but in reality, the man had already closed in to just a few meters behind him.

"He didn't notice? Or is this a deliberate opening?" The man hesitated, momentarily unable to read Zi Xu's intentions, but years of ninja instinct drove him to swing his kunai.

"Right, there's something in the system space I can toss out to draw attention. Like this..." Inspired, Zi Xu leaped forward, and that jump made the ninja's lethal strike miss.

"So it was a trap. Then what's his game? Mocking me? Or does he see me as no different from an ant?" The ninja stared hard at Zi Xu's wooden mask, but through the eyeholes, he could only see a pair of eyes revealing neither joy nor sorrow.

"Slap!" Zi Xu pulled an item from his system space and, without a word, hurled it to the side, then prepared to flee.

"Huh?" Only then did he realize his face was plastered with [Baki's Socks], emitting a gray-green stench.

The ninja stared fixedly at Zi Xu, then reluctantly collapsed to the ground.

"As expected... not simple..." Zi Xu heard this inexplicable remark, and the surrounding ninjas fell into chaos at the man's unconsciousness. This was the perfect chance to escape!

After some deliberation, he still retrieved [Baki's Socks]. This "secret technique" had proven remarkably effective—maybe he could use it again later?