The shadow clone Hyuga Ritsu had sent out from Mount Kinglight was sprinting along Route Seven toward the Frontline Camp. He hadn't activated his Byakugan as he traveled, since keeping it active required a continuous expenditure of Chakra.
And as a shadow clone, he couldn't produce new Chakra. His reserves would only dwindle until they were exhausted, at which point he would disappear.
So,
he only activated his Byakugan to check the surroundings after traveling about five kilometers, then shut it off and continued on his way.
In the blink of an eye, he had covered another five kilometers.
"That should do it."
The shadow clone stopped on a tree branch and activated his Byakugan, scanning everything within twelve kilometers. Then... four kilometers away, to the southeast, six figures rushing at incredible speed came into view.
"Suikazan Fuguki, Biwa Juzo, Ao, Kisame Hoshigaki, Ringo Ameyuri, and a Jonin from the Kaguya Clan."
The shadow clone recognized six of them. He knew the first four. He didn't recognize the last one, but the archaic hairstyle from the early Sengoku period and the two red dots between his brows made his identity unmistakable: these days, only the Kaguya Clan wore such a distinctive look.
His eyes shifted.
He immediately fled northwest.
As a shadow clone, he knew his duty tonight was to draw the enemy's attention in the open, buying as much time as possible for his real self to act in secret.
Not only was he no match for these six Mist Ninja elites, but even if he could fight them, avoiding battle was the better choice. Fighting would consume Chakra rapidly and drastically shorten how long he could remain.
So the best way to buy time was to run.
Of course, his flight didn't escape the notice of Suikazan Fuguki