Kuroiwa was furious. His squad had nearly completed the mission Lord Tsuchikage had given them. They only needed to stall for a little longer before they could return to the village and report in.
But then, out of nowhere, a Konoha Ninja appeared and took out two of his teammates in just a few moves, leaving him injured as well.
Fortunately, the Konoha Ninja seemed intent on taking him alive. Using an Earth Clone and the Earth Style Body Flicker Technique, he had managed to escape and temporarily shake off his pursuer.
Just after escaping danger, he spotted Haku and the other two resting in a forest clearing. From experience, he could tell that all three were at Chunin level.
These three must be that Konoha Ninja's students. They're probably out on another mission and happened to find the corpses of the Konoha Ninja those two idiots left behind. They followed the trail to me.
I'll capture them and find out what their mission is and where they're headed. Then I'll avoid that Konoha Ninja, head to the Land of Grass, and take a detour through the Land of Rain to return to Iwagakure.
With that plan in mind, the Iwagakure Ninja launched a charged Rock Missile at Haku and the others in the clearing.
What happened next went just as he'd expected, except he hadn't realized the other side had a Byakugan user. His plan had been seen through, but he'd still managed to trap one of them—the one who looked like the leader.
Well? Are you going to talk, Konoha brat?
Looking at Haku, trapped underground, Kuroiwa asked again. When Haku didn't answer, Kuroiwa decided to deal with the other two first, then interrogate him.
The moment he looked up, he saw a blood-red eye. In an instant, he lost all awareness of his surroundings.
Hell Viewing Technique!
Uchiha Yu let out a breath of relief as she watched the Iwagakure Ninja fall under her genjutsu.
"Haku, are you all right?"
As she spoke, she started toward Haku to free him.
"Don't come over! Watch out!"
"Earth Release: Fist Rock!" Haku's warning came too late. As Yu passed Kuroiwa, he broke free of the genjutsu and punched her, sending her flying.
Ignoring Uchiha Yu, whom he'd just knocked away, Kuroiwa sneered and walked toward Hyuga Riko, who had taken up a fighting stance.
Riko's eyes had turned completely white, the veins around them bulging. He had activated his Byakugan. He held one arm slightly raised in front of him, leaned forward, and clenched both fists.
"You're injured too, aren't you? It must hurt. Your left leg is injured!"
Watching Kuroiwa approach, Riko didn't move in. Instead, he called out the state of his opponent's body.
"Don't try to throw me off with that. Even with my movements hampered, you still can't save your teammate from me."
"Your lower back on the right is injured too. Those last few jutsu must have pushed you to your limit."
When Kuroiwa was only six or seven meters away, Riko stopped hesitating. He drew back his fist and thrust out his palm, sending one Air Palm strike after another.
Kuroiwa watched Riko fight back, punching away the force of each Air Palm.
"Is that all you've got? This is over!"
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Boom!
"That won't work!" Kuroiwa dodged the Great Fireball Yu had barely managed to release.
"Cough!" Kuroiwa spat out a mouthful of blood.
As the smoke cleared, Haku appeared, his whole body wreathed in green Chakra. A steel-hard fist had slammed into the right side of Kuroiwa's lower back.
"You!" Kuroiwa couldn't help spitting out another mouthful of blood.
Before Kuroiwa could say anything, Haku used the Body Flicker Technique to retreat, then immediately charged at him again at high speed. As he neared Kuroiwa, Haku began to spin. By the time Kuroiwa had recovered a little and tried to turn around—
Haku was already on him. His first kick struck Kuroiwa's injured left leg, lifting him off the ground. Then Haku continued to kick him again and again, carrying him into the air.
At the highest point, Haku grabbed Kuroiwa's arms and began spinning as they fell.
Because of his earlier injuries and Haku's latest assault, Kuroiwa had temporarily lost the ability to move. He stared at Haku's calm yet frenzied eyes, confusion showing in his own.
"This move must hurt you too, right? Was it really necessary?"
Haku didn't answer. He only smiled.
"Boom!"
They hit the ground, and dust billowed around them.
When the dust cleared, a huge crater had appeared in the clearing. Kuroiwa lay motionless in its center, his eyes vacant. Haku was kneeling on one knee beside the crater.
Hyuga Riko helped Uchiha Yu over.
"Are you all right, Haku?"
"Cough, cough!" Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but Haku spoke first.
"Don't worry about me yet. Go check on him. He's not dead. Finish him off first."
Haku had received no system notification, so he knew Kuroiwa was only injured, not dead. He could barely move right now, let alone go over and fight another round.
Hearing Haku's words, Riko didn't hesitate. He went over and pierced Kuroiwa's heart with a Kunai. After checking with his Byakugan to make sure he was dead, Riko finally left.
Before you continue