Breakout

Beneath the scrape of shifting sand and gravel, several figures quietly closed in on a low-lying area ahead.

The Sand Ninja squad leader, High Ninja Ziluo, suddenly raised his hand. All six figures stopped in unison.

Ziluo silently gauged the distance between the two sides. Three hundred meters should be about right.

Under cover of night, the Sand Ninja crept closer.

But Ziluo didn't rush in. He signaled to his subordinates.

At his command, the squad's sensory ninja pressed a palm to the ground and sensed for a moment, then nodded to him.

Ziluo wasn't relieved. He knew that a member of the Konoha squad was from the Hyuga Clan.

The fame of the Byakugan spoke for itself. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been given this mission.

He was to drive the infiltrating Konoha squad into the designated area.

The Sand Ninja higher-ups might have had their eyes on those Byakugan for a long time. That would explain all the effort they were going to.

As for how to deal with the Caged Bird, that wasn't his concern.

He'd come here tonight intending to use a strategy of wearing down the enemy and driving them onward, exhausting their strength.

Just like the village elders tiring out hawks, he figured the enemy would collapse on their own in another three days.

But it was too quiet now. Had the ninja with the Byakugan fallen asleep?

Impossible. He cast the absurd thought from his mind.

To be cautious, he ordered his subordinates to wait where they were and went ahead alone to scout.

He moved slowly, perfectly silencing each footfall as he drew nearer to the target.

Gradually, a thick fog rose around him.

At first, he paid it no mind. Fog often settled over the rocky wasteland at night.

Only when the mist began to obscure his vision did he realize what was happening. By then, it was too late.

This is bad!

Ziluo immediately blew a sharp whistle.

The whistle rang out four times like an eagle's cry, but two positions remained silent throughout.

"Enemy attack! Close in on me at once!"

His shout carried far across the vast, silent wilderness.

"Ah—"

A scream answered him.

"Tianzhi!"

There was no reply.

Ziluo immediately pulled out a flare. A burst of brilliant red light bloomed in the night.

Its vivid glow stained the surrounding fog a bloody red, and hurried footsteps sounded nearby.

The enemy made no sound, and his squadmates didn't dare make a noise either, afraid the demon might set his sights on them.

Suddenly!

A rumbling came from nearby, followed by another scream.

As a pure Taijutsu specialist unable to use ninjutsu, Ziluo had no way to deal with the enemy's sneak attacks.

His opponent had a clear target: the squad members under Ziluo.

From beginning to end, he hadn't even seen the despicable bastard lurking in the shadows.

Two figures rushed out of the thick fog, their steps clearly unsteady.

Before Ziluo could tell whether they were his own men, a Kunai flew out from behind the fog and killed one of them.

Right in front of him, his comrade's eyes remained wide open, not yet given the chance to close.

"You're asking for death!"

Ziluo caught sight of the fleeting shadow and unleashed the full power of a Taijutsu High Ninja.

He shot forward like a cannonball, the fog exploding around him as he passed.

His enemy was cunning, but Ziluo had caught his trail. This assassination would soon be over.

He swore he'd tear the enemy limb from limb. His pent-up fury churned in his chest like magma.

The corpse that had been lying on the ground suddenly moved, then slowly crept up behind the Sand Ninja, who was frozen with fear.

Ayako Hyuuga easily caught him off guard. Her Kunai drew a line of blood as she finished off the last pursuing Sand Ninja.

Thanks to Mo Jingxian's technique, which was somewhat like the Hidden Mist Technique but far more powerful,

it didn't just block their vision. Anyone inside the mist also lost their sense of direction and had their sensory abilities impaired.

Otherwise, the two of them wouldn't have been able to take out five enemies so easily.

She released the Transformation Technique and, using the mist for cover, carried Shinju Ishikawa on her back as she retreated south.

As Nara Shikuta had said during their first mission, sometimes intelligence was more useful than strength.

Today, Ayako and Mo Jingxian had used their wits to carry out a perfect ambush.

After Mo Jingxian had run some distance, he figured Ayako should be safe.

He suddenly doubled back and punched the Sand Ninja pursuing him.

Ziluo charged in like a tank. Faced with Mo Jingxian's fist, he neither dodged nor retreated.

He raised his arm and struck straight at it.

"Bang!"

Mo Jingxian went flying, and the Water Scale Armor covering his right arm burst apart on the spot.

Ziluo's furious blow made Mo Jingxian pay dearly, and completely shattered his overconfidence.

Before he could hit the ground, his opponent was already in front of him again.

"Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique!"

A glint flashed in Mo Jingxian's eyes. He seized the moment their gazes met and activated the genjutsu.

He had deliberately left this gap in the enemy's intelligence. Ever since infiltrating the area, he'd never revealed his skill with genjutsu.

As expected, his opponent was unprepared and took the genjutsu head-on.

"Bang!"

Mo Jingxian had barely begun to feel pleased before another heavy blow struck his chest.

His Water Scale Armor shattered like a silver vase, and he flew away even faster.

For a split second, Mo Jingxian froze.

He'd never imagined Ziluo would be immune to genjutsu.

One mistake, and his body had taken a heavy blow.

A sharp, throbbing pain came from his chest.

Ziluo's speed had already surpassed the limits of an ordinary High Ninja. Before Mo Jingxian could hit the ground, Ziluo was there again.

His fist rapidly filled Mo Jingxian's field of vision, and a burst of air exploded in front of him.

Mo Jingxian's ears rang. His vision went black, and his body burst into countless streams of water.

The streams shot out behind him in a radiating pattern, the result of the powerful air pressure.

More than ten meters away, Mo Jingxian reappeared, his heart pounding wildly.

At the critical moment, he'd used his lifesaving skill: the Water Substitution Technique.

His Water Scale Armor was broken, two ribs were fractured, and he'd just escaped death by the skin of his teeth.

He'd never been this close to dying.

The ferocious beast in human form before him reminded him of Might Guy.

The two had too much in common.

They were both just as violent and just as unreasonable, perfectly demonstrating how sheer force could overcome every technique.

All his various tricks had failed before that unreasonable strength!

Mo Jingxian finally knew what it felt like to be completely overwhelmed.

Ziluo had an incredibly sharp instinct for combat. The moment he landed, he was already right in front of Mo Jingxian, punching at him again.

"Bang!"

The air burst apart!

Mo Jingxian dodged by the narrowest margin.

He didn't dare hold anything back anymore and immediately gave it everything he had.

"Ice Style: Ice Flood Dragon Seal Technique!"

He'd developed this ninjutsu by adapting the Water Dragon Technique, using low temperatures and Sealing Jutsu to restrict his opponent's movements.

For now, it was his strongest control technique.

The technique incorporated the activation pattern of Sealing Jutsu. During their brief exchange, Mo Jingxian had already left a mark on Ziluo.

He'd been inspired by the Flying Thunder God technique and created an anchor point for his own ninjutsu.

The instant he dodged Ziluo's attack, Mo Jingxian braced both hands against the ground and unleashed the technique.

Sealing symbols spilled out like quicksilver, immediately binding his opponent's movements.

But only for an instant.

He seized the opportunity and retreated.

A gigantic maw opened beneath Ziluo's feet.

The next moment!

The maw snapped shut, sealing Ziluo inside.

Rows of black symbols crawled over the Ice Flood Dragon's surface. It seemed alive, reflecting the moonlight with a cold gleam.

The Ice Flood Dragon was beautiful, like a work of art.

But beneath that beauty lurked a murderous intent.

The technique had nearly drained all of Mo Jingxian's Chakra. To be safe, he retreated dozens of meters.

"Crack, crack, crack..."

The sound of cracking porcelain was faint at first.

Once Mo Jingxian had retreated a safe distance, two deep fissures split the Ice Flood Dragon's surface.

Seeing that even this technique couldn't hold his enemy, he turned and ran.

In the silent wilderness, the "crack, crack" sounded like a wild dog crunching bones.

Even from so far away, Mo Jingxian's back broke out in a cold sweat.

What kind of ninja was this? He was a monster wearing human skin. Mo Jingxian seriously doubted this was a normal ninja encounter. It felt more like he'd run into something uncanny.

"Bang!"

Ziluo burst through the Ice Flood Dragon from within. The scattering ice dust coated the gravel with a layer of white frost.

Watching the direction Mo Jingxian had fled, a trace of unwillingness flashed in Ziluo's eyes.

Suddenly!

A rush of blood rose to his face, turning it purplish. Something seemed to writhe beneath his skin.

It moved across his body, up his neck, and finally onto his face, where it stretched the skin and let out a spray of air.

As if deflating, Ziluo's tall, muscular frame shrank.

His back hunched slightly, and a strand of white hair appeared at his forehead.

"Seven Heavens Breathing Method."

Ziluo had found this body-tempering method in an old book, but the second half was missing.

As he trained, he slowly filled in the rest based on what he felt in his body.

The technique was powerful. Every time he activated it, his physical abilities increased severalfold.

But the side effects were just as obvious. After each use, he was left weak and needed at least half a month to recover.

It was a technique that prematurely tapped into his body's potential.

Mo Jingxian ran twenty or thirty kilometers in one go, then finally collapsed when he couldn't keep going.

He lay flat on his back, arms and legs spread wide, gazing at the star-filled sky. Suddenly, he started to laugh.

His laughter grew louder and louder, until a string of dry coughs finally cut it short.

He was glad to have survived once again.

If even a monster like that hadn't managed to kill him, what was there to fear on the road ahead?

He'd just have to keep pushing forward, step by step. What else could he do?

After several days of fighting, he no longer dared underestimate the heroes of the world, and he'd gained a much clearer understanding of his own strength.

Ninja battles hinged on intelligence. Whoever revealed their trump card first was likely the one who'd end up lying on the ground.

If he encountered that Sand Ninja again, he probably wouldn't be in such a sorry state next time.

Pain stabbed through his chest. Grimacing, Mo Jingxian sat up and set his displaced ribs back in place.

The Ninja Academy had taught them these techniques, so he handled it without much difficulty.

It just hurt like hell.

Sweat soaked through his undershirt. The night wind slipped in through his collar and cuffs, making him shiver uncontrollably.

It was colder than iron.

Getting too cold outdoors could really cost him his life. Mo Jingxian didn't dare take any chances, so he swallowed two Military Ration Pills and began recovering his strength where he was.

Before he knew it, his breathing had shifted into the Breathing Method.

At first, he didn't notice anything. But as his breaths deepened, a small stove seemed to kindle at the injured spot in his chest.

The pain gradually eased, and warmth flowed through his body.

By chance, Mo Jingxian had discovered the right way to use the Breathing Method.