Execution

"An opportunity."

Hyuga Kazuya, who had been observing the battle from the very beginning, said excitedly.

From Ran Shotaro easily killing two Sunagakure Jonin at the start to Kaguya Daiki nearly killing Pakura, Hyuga Kazuya had been waiting for an opportunity.

And that opportunity was best found outside the battle between Sunagakure and Kirigakure. If he launched a sudden attack while they were fighting, the vigilance of both sides would likely make them stop fighting immediately and guard against their surroundings.

Now was the best opportunity.

Kirigakure had already withdrawn from the battlefield, and Sunagakure, exhausted after its intense battle with Kirigakure, would inevitably let its guard down.

This was the best chance to complete the mission!

He steadied his heartbeat and adjusted his breathing.

Hyuga Kazuya gripped the East Wind Bow he had just taken out, nocked a metal arrow on the bowstring, slowly drew it, and aimed at a Sunagakure ninja in the crowd who appeared to be in his twenties.

He did not use a Chakra Metal arrow because Hyuga Kazuya hated spending money. Unless his own life was threatened, he would not use one.

Chakra Metal was simply too expensive!

Minato Namikaze, standing beside him, was somewhat surprised by Hyuga Kazuya's actions. He did not know what the situation ahead was like or why Kazuya was doing this.

But he still chose to trust Hyuga Kazuya.

So he did not disturb Hyuga Kazuya's movements.

Kazuya watched that Sunagakure ninja, who was inspecting the Scroll on his back. After the fierce battle just now, no one knew what effect it might have had on the already unstable large Storage Scroll.

He adjusted his breathing again, calmed his heartbeat, and sensed the wind speed, humidity, distance, and other external factors.

Quietly, he gave himself a Power Buff, bending the bow into a deeper arc and granting the arrow greater speed.

Then he infused the metal arrow with wind-natured chakra, forming a Wind Chasing Arrow.

He watched the distant Sunagakure ninja's expression and movements. The man seemed to still be relieved that the battle had not damaged the Scroll.

"Sorry, nameless Sunagakure ninja."

The moment the words fell, Hyuga Kazuya instantly released the bowstring drawn to its full moon shape.

Violent chakra fluctuations made the fired arrow glow blue as it tore through the air at terrifying speed. Thunderous sounds chased after it, yet could never catch up.

The arrow crossed the forest, crossed the stream, and ripped through a leaf that had just fallen from a tree.

All of this happened in an instant. The arrow, carrying horrifying power, struck the ninja who was still rejoicing that his Storage Scroll remained intact.

The joyful expression was still on his face, but his body and the Scroll before him had already been cleaved in two by the terrifying attack.

The horrific force blasted a massive hole through the Sunagakure ninja's waist, splitting his body into upper and lower halves. For that moment, his upper body remained suspended in the air.

As if wondering where his waist had gone.

With a bang, his upper body fell onto his legs. Without the support of his entire waist, it could only slowly collapse to the ground as blood spread outward.

Blooming into a crimson flower.

Even before his death, the expression on his face seemed frozen in joy.

"Daisei!!!!"

"Stay alert! Stay alert!"

Shouts rose one after another, some filled with disbelief at a friend's sudden death, others with calm, collected responses.

But none of that had anything to do with Hyuga Kazuya anymore.

Hyuga Kazuya closed his eyes and stopped himself from thinking about how that Sunagakure ninja had looked before he died. But how could someone simply do whatever they wanted?

The image still flashed through his mind. The man had been happy just now, still relieved that the Scroll he had kept was unharmed.

He took a deep breath, wanting to expel the heaviness in his heart.

"Sorry. I'm sorry." Perhaps this was all Hyuga Kazuya could do: one apology for one life.

But if he had to do it again, Hyuga Kazuya believed he would still make the same choice.

Minato Namikaze patted Hyuga Kazuya on the shoulder. Although he still did not understand what had happened, he had personally witnessed that terrifying arrow being fired from Kazuya's hand.

If it struck someone, the misery of the victim was easy to imagine.

"Looks like it succeeded."

What a kind child. Was he suffering over the person he had shot? Had Minato usually paid too little attention to his mental state?

But he had to make Kazuya accept the reality of being a ninja as soon as possible. Simple kindness was not a good trait for a ninja.

"Kazuya, Kazuya, it's all right. You only did what a ninja should do."

"What a ninja should do?"

He had no grudge against the other man, and the man had done no evil. Yet merely because they stood on different sides, he had shot and killed him?

It seemed that from this moment onward, Hyuga Kazuya began to merge into this cruel ninja world, casting aside his cowardice and kindness.

If one day he held the "blade" in his hand, he would definitely change this world, turning it into the way he envisioned it.

Hyuga Kazuya's gaze gradually became colder, yet the dream in his heart burned even hotter. "Sensei, you're right. I was only doing what a ninja should do."

"When I became a ninja, I should have been prepared for all of this." Hyuga Kazuya's voice was icy.

"This is what we must endure, Kazuya."

Seeing Hyuga Kazuya's change—from a somewhat mischievous and innocent Youth to this cold appearance—Minato Namikaze could not help sounding somewhat despondent. Just as he wanted to say something more, Hyuga Kazuya interrupted him.

"Sensei, I'm fine. Let's retreat first. I just shot and killed the Sunagakure ninja who sealed the Storage Scroll. The Scroll was destroyed along with him. I believe Sunagakure won't be able to recover the weapons stored inside."

"Our mission is complete. Those intense chakra fluctuations and that sound will bring Sunagakure pursuers here very soon."

"Mm. Don't resist with your body, and don't circulate your chakra too quickly." Without hesitation, Minato Namikaze displayed the decisiveness of an elite ninja, placing one hand on Hyuga Kazuya's shoulder again.

Without Minato Namikaze seeming to form any hand seals, the two figures vanished from where they stood, like ink wiped from a canvas.

A short while later, Rasa was the first to arrive.

Ever since Rasa had seen Kaguya Daiki flee, he had been following behind him. But Kaguya Daiki had been too fast while weaving through the bone forest, so Rasa could only chase from afar.

Following Kaguya Daiki, he naturally spotted the other members of Pakura's team, then personally witnessed the terrifying attack kill the Chunin responsible for guarding the Scroll.

Pakura and the village's other Jonin were behind him. Rasa assumed Kaguya Daiki had just used the Kaguya Clan's trump card and must have consumed a great deal of strength, so he would not suddenly turn back to attack.

Then, without stopping, Rasa followed the direction of the attack and the approximate distance from which the sound had come to search for the ambusher.

Rasa directly used Magnet Release ninjutsu to fly through the air, no longer hiding himself.

He descended from the sky and looked at the place where Hyuga Kazuya and Minato Namikaze had just been standing.

"Where are they?"

Seeing no one, Rasa wanted to find traces of their retreat from the slightest clues nearby, but he found nothing.

Even with his many years of experience, Rasa only found a few possible traces and could not be certain they were truly theirs.

Minato Namikaze was Jiraiya's disciple, and Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, was most skilled at gathering intelligence. Naturally, he was also skilled at erasing his own traces, so how could Minato Namikaze's abilities be lacking?

With his brow furrowed but no traces to be found, Rasa could only fly into the sky again, intending to search for the two from above.