Cooperation to Annihilate Mountain Bandits

"Ugh... ah, you... you bastard."

Takisui, having been successfully ambushed, could not help but spit out a mouthful of blood.

After retreating a great distance, he endured the pain to pull the kunai embedded in his chest.

With a "clatter," he threw the blood-soaked kunai to the ground, only to vomit another mouthful of blood.

If he hadn't urgently performed a temporary water-transformation on his heart area just moments ago, he would have already been reporting to King Yama after that strike.

Hyuga Hiashi and Hanabi were both confused by this sudden betrayal, standing blankly in place as they watched.

Is this situation... an internal conflict among bandits?

Takisui glared hatefully at the person who ambushed him, already guessing that someone must have used the Transformation Technique.

Lord Takisui had never suffered such a dark loss, not even when he was an Anbu in Kirigakure!

Thus, the look in his eyes now was one that wished to devour the other's flesh and drink his blood.

"You are not Yojima. Who exactly are you?"

Seeing that Takisui was only severely injured and not dead, Qiuyang nodded with great regret:

"You guessed right. That person you mentioned was killed by me a few days ago. He died quite miserably."

Qiuyang spoke as if reminiscing, without a shred of guilt for having taken a life.

It made sense; when you see these bandits committing all sorts of atrocities, raping and pillaging at will, you would surely be more ruthless than anyone when striking them down.

It might also be because Qiuyang still regarded this place as an anime world; the ones he finished off... were merely NPCs.

In any case, Qiuyang didn't feel the intense psychological shift that people always talk about when killing for the first time.

However, since the ambush had failed, Qiuyang simply dispelled the Transformation Technique to restore his original appearance.

After releasing Hanabi, he worked from the inside and out to help Hyuga Hiashi break the Water Prison Technique that had trapped him.

Because there was no caster to continuously supply chakra, the Water Prison Technique soon shattered with a "splash," and Hanabi rushed over to support her father with her small frame.

Hyuga Hiashi, finally breathing fresh air, paused for a moment. When he looked up to thank Qiuyang for the rescue, he saw that the man was wearing a Konoha forehead protector.

Huh? He hadn't sent a distress signal to the village, so how could there be reinforcements... and this person, he looked very unfamiliar!

Hyuga Hiashi asked Qiuyang hesitantly:

"May I ask who you are..."

"Oh, Lord Hyuga Hiashi, I am a genin from the village named Qiuyang. It's normal that you haven't seen me."

Hyuga Hiashi felt very embarrassed upon hearing this, simply because, strictly speaking, this person had saved the lives of him and his daughter, yet he did not recognize Qiuyang.

But as the leader of the strongest clan in Konoha, he could not lose his composure. Hyuga Hiashi endured his pain and promised:

"Thank you for your intervention. Once we return to the village, the Hyuga Clan will certainly not forget this debt of gratitude."

Having read the original work, Qiuyang naturally knew what this head of the Hyuga Clan was thinking, so he shook his head and clarified directly:

"I didn't come here specifically to save you. Coming here was a mission assigned to me by my master, Jiraiya."

"What? You say you are a disciple of the Sannin Lord Jiraiya?"

Hyuga Hiashi was shocked, re-evaluating the young man before him who looked only a few years older than his eldest daughter.

As far as he knew, Lord Jiraiya never took on disciples easily; the only one he knew of was the Fourth Hokage, known to all as the Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato.

Lord Jiraiya's eye for talent was beyond doubt.

Then this person before him... was highly likely to grow into a powerful ninja like the Fourth Hokage.

Hyuga Hiashi gasped, deciding that he must build a good relationship with Qiuyang later.

It had to be said that as the head of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Hiashi's judgment was truly impeccable.

Qiuyang caught a glimpse of Hyuga Hiashi seemingly noting down his identity and name, feeling quite satisfied.

Yeah... he had revealed his information on purpose.

Once Hyuga Hiashi and his group went back to spread the word, he would make a brilliant debut in Konoha, completely bidding farewell to his former timid self.

Even if Obito came knocking, he now had the strength to maneuver around him.

Even if he couldn't win, didn't he have the life-saving teleportation formation flag obtained from the mysterious space of the Mangekyo "God-Meeting Machine"?

Moreover, once he had the Hashirama Cells to bolster him, he would have enough chakra to use the "God-Meeting Machine" for another draw.

He hoped to draw a more powerful weapon the second time.

"Listen well, Lord Hyuga Hiashi, you are injured now. You go and deal with the bandits over there; I will handle this rogue ninja from Kirigakure."

While speaking, Qiuyang noticed the adorable Hyuga Hanabi, the future sister-in-law of the Seventh Hokage, looking at him with curiosity.

He couldn't help but reach out to pat her little head, then his eyes suddenly shifted into the scarlet Sharingan.

The change in his eyes startled the little girl, her white pupils widening significantly.

He didn't forget to tease her before finishing:

"Did you remember that, little sister?"

"Ah, yeah."

Takisui, left cooling his heels on the sidelines, was still debating whether to ditch his subordinates and bolt, but he couldn't bear to part with the wealth he'd painstakingly looted for the warehouse.

Caught in this dilemma, he felt his soul leave his body the moment Qiuyang's red eyes locked onto him.

He tossed a caltrop and a smoke bomb to the ground, then turned and fled toward the rear.

Mommy, the Sharingan and the Byakugan! If I don't run now, I'm an idiot.

Qiuyang drew the short sword he had found in the bandit gang's treasury yesterday:

"Do as we discussed. You handle the remaining bandits over there, and I'll take care of this rogue ninja from Kirigakure."

With that, he formed a sword-finger seal with his left hand and vanished from the sight of Hyuga Hiashi and Hanabi.

"I never expected someone so formidable from the Uchiha Clan to still be alive. I thought only that one child remained..."

Hyuga Hiashi sighed. Qiuyang's display of the Sharingan had shaken him to the core, and he couldn't fathom how this young man had survived the night of the clan's annihilation.

But Hyuga Hiashi knew this wasn't the time for such thoughts. The veins around his eyes bulged as he activated his Byakugan.

Knowing his daughter had exhausted her chakra in the previous skirmish, he told Hanabi to stay put while he dealt with the bandits, who were beginning to scatter now that their leader had fled.

After Hanabi nodded, Hyuga Hiashi gave chase to the fleeing bandits. Though injured, he was more than capable of handling these ordinary men.

Once her father had left, Hanabi instinctively activated her Byakugan, peering through the smoke at the figure locked in combat.

That older brother was using some kind of Body Flicker Technique, constantly blinking around Takisui.

Takisui, already run through once, was in no state to contend with a Qiuyang who no longer had to worry about his chakra reserves.

Just like Hyuga Hiashi's opponent earlier, he had no desire to fight and was only thinking of how to escape.

To the Sharingan, with its dynamic visual acuity, he was nothing but a mass of openings.

And so, Hanabi watched as Qiuyang pierced Takisui's body with his sword once more.

So cool!

The young girl didn't understand the grand principles her father preached; she only knew that the big brother who had saved her was truly, incredibly cool!