"Madam, forgive me."
The Kusagakure reinforcements were rushing toward them. Neji didn't have much time.
He strode up to the beautiful woman, roughly pulled open her collar, exposing her smooth, snow-white shoulder, and bit down hard.
"Ah!!"
A tall Kusagakure shinobi ran at the front, with dozens of others following close behind as they rapidly closed in on the little wooden house where Neji was.
"Spread out. Surround it."
Ryurin waved his hand and gave the order. The dozens of Kusagakure shinobi immediately split into four squads.
One squad advanced from the front, while the other three circled around to cut off their escape.
Just as the Kusagakure shinobi were about to complete their encirclement, a muffled boom suddenly came from the little house. Neji burst through the wall and sped off into the distance.
"Squads One, Three, and Four, follow me! Squad Two, stay behind and check the scene!"
Seeing the black figure dart away, Ryurin shouted and led three squads in pursuit.
Kusagakure shinobi from the surrounding area heard the commotion and rushed over from all directions, joining the pursuit.
The entire village was in chaos.
Meanwhile.
The six Kusagakure shinobi in Squad Two cautiously approached the little wooden house.
The Special Jonin at the head of the group pricked up his ears and listened for a moment.
It was silent inside, except for the sound of a woman sobbing.
The Special Jonin made a hand signal.
Two Kusagakure shinobi leaped onto the roof.
Two others circled around to flank the hole Neji had made.
The Special Jonin and another Kusagakure shinobi gently pushed open the door.
The little wooden house was plainly furnished, with only a bed and a table inside.
Katsushiro lay motionless in a pool of blood, unconscious.
The beautiful woman looked as though she had been assaulted. Her clothes were disheveled, one shoulder bare, and tears streaked her face.
No enemy in sight!
The Special Jonin let out a long breath of relief. Then he glanced at Katsushiro lying in the pool of blood, and his expression changed.
"You two, go find a medical ninja."
The two Kusagakure shinobi who had been stationed on the roof received the order and quickly left using the Body Flicker Technique.
The Special Jonin walked over to the beautiful woman and asked with a frown, "How many enemies were there?"
"Just one. He already ran off."
There was a hint of resentment in the woman's voice, difficult to detect.
He'd promised to protect us, but after biting me, he ran off faster than anyone.
"One?!"
The Special Jonin furrowed his brow.
Squeee!
Just then, a sharp chirping sound rang out. Two hands wreathed in lightning abruptly emerged from underground and clamped tightly around the Special Jonin's ankles.
The Special Jonin's hair stood on end. With the ambush at such close range, he hadn't even had time to dodge before both his legs were crippled.
He tightened his grip on his Kunai and thrust it downward with all his might.
Whoosh!
Several meters of azure lightning shot from Neji's palm, stabbing into the Special Genin's chin and bursting out through the top of his head, stretching all the way to the ceiling.
The Chidori Spear quickly contracted, condensing in Neji's palm as it erupted with the cries of thousands of birds of prey.
With a sweep of Neji's hand, the savage azure lightning transformed into slender Senbon and flew toward the three Kusagakure shinobi inside the house.
Lightning Release: Chidori Senbon!
When used in conjunction with the Byakugan, this technique could strike an enemy's chakra points and inflict devastating damage.
The three Kusagakure shinobi were hit by the Senbon and fell to the ground one after another, dead on the spot.
The sudden turn of events made the beautiful woman's eyes widen. "You—you didn't leave?"
"There's no time to explain."
"Give me your daughter. I'll carry you. We have to get out of here."
After biting Karin's mother and replenishing his chakra, Neji had found the area outside already surrounded by Kusagakure shinobi.
It would be difficult enough for Neji to break through alone, let alone with Karin and her mother.
The one who had just run out was a Lightning Release Clone, meant to draw the enemy's fire.
His real body had used the Earth Release: Fish in Water Technique to slip underground.
He had killed the Kusagakure shinobi left behind in the house by catching them off guard. Now he would take Karin and her mother and escape.
"Madam, hold on tight!"
He didn't know how long his Lightning Release Clone could hold out. He had to get Karin and her mother to safety before the Kusagakure shinobi caught on.
With a whoosh, Neji shot out of the little wooden house like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Elsewhere.
Seeing that the Lightning Release Clone was about to be caught.
As he ran, Neji spotted a dango shop ahead and smashed through its window.
"Activate the barrier! Don't let him escape!"
In the blink of an eye, dozens of Kusagakure shinobi surrounded the dango shop.
A ninja in the squad who specialized in Sealing Barriers immediately used Barrier Technique to prevent Neji from escaping with Earth Style ninjutsu.
Ryurin stared at the dango shop, his face dark and his mind full of doubts.
He had already tried to account for the intruder's strength, but the sight of bodies littering the Kusagakure branch had still sent a chill through him.
They had lost at least thirty people.
A ninja with that kind of strength was either a notorious top-tier rogue ninja or an elite from one of the Five Great Nations.
Neither possibility was one he wanted to face.
As Yugito ran, she sensed more and more chakra signatures gathering up ahead, and her heart burned with anxiety.
A moment later, the black cat Yugito had transformed into reached the area near the dango shop.
But she didn't approach recklessly. Instead, she hid high in the tree canopy and watched warily from a distance.
"Looks like Neji's surrounded."
"He's still just a kid. He's too green."
Yugito grumbled away, masking the unease in her heart.
She climbed into the tree canopy and first studied the dango shop carefully, planning an escape route.
Then she returned to her true form, formed the Fire Release hand seals, and aimed her lips at the Kusagakure shinobi surrounding the dango shop.
Fire Style: Great Fire Destruction!
Boom!
In an instant, a wave of fire far greater than the Great Fireball Technique poured forth.
"Squads Three and Four, guard the outside. Squad One, come in with me..."
Ryurin was about to lead Squad One into the dango shop and beat Neji senseless.
No one had expected a sea of flames to descend from the sky.
Ryurin's expression changed slightly. He surged his chakra, using up two-fifths of it, and unleashed the Great Waterfall Technique against the raging flames.
The flames and furious waters crashed into each other. With a deep, rumbling hiss, a thick mist spread out, shrouding the area within a hundred meters.
When equally powerful Fire Release and Water Release techniques collided, they produced a vast cloud of mist in an instant.
And in that dense fog, their vision was robbed of them, nullifying their numerical advantage.
Ryurin knew all of this, of course.
But he had no other choice.
The attack had come too suddenly, and the Kusagakure shinobi were completely unprepared.
If he hadn't countered the Great Fire Destruction with the Great Waterfall Technique, the Kusagakure shinobi would already have suffered heavy casualties.
In the dense fog, a Kusagakure shinobi shouted, "Captain, where are you?"
Ryurin, a veteran with years of experience, said grimly, "Everyone, stay where you are! Don't move!"
The Kusagakure shinobi surrounding the dango shop were all elite members of Kusagakure. They knew that moving blindly while their vision was obscured could leave them open to a sneak attack.
So, after hearing Ryurin's command, they all stayed where they were and remained alert.
While keeping watch against the vast sea of mist, Ryurin quickly formed hand seals and called out, "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A powerful gust burst from Ryurin's mouth. Before long, it had blown away the surrounding mist.
Before you continue