Anbu Encirclement

Kunai and Exploding Tags shot through the air like a dense rainstorm.

The blast waves from the explosions raised clouds of black smoke in the sky.

Aside from the weaker Land of Lightning ninjas being killed, Darui was also busy evading the explosions. He fled behind a huge boulder to the east, temporarily avoiding the worst of it.

Mingyou happened to be close to Samui and used Kamui to take her through that wave of explosions.

At that moment, Mingyou and Samui were hiding behind a large tree.

"Sharingan!"

Mingyou's eyes turned red, and three tomoe appeared within each of them.

He poked his head out and scanned the dense forest ahead, observing the situation.

Although the Sharingan could not see through objects like the Byakugan, its superior vision still allowed him to spot figures scattered throughout the woods.

A large number of Anbu ninjas were currently weaving through the forest, searching for and rushing toward the surviving Land of Lightning ninjas.

"These damned bastards!"

Hearing the sounds of fighting and screams in the woods, Samui shot out from behind the tree and charged toward her teammates, intending to rescue them.

"What's going on? The Konoha Anbu are fighting the Land of Lightning ninjas?"

Mingyou could not make sense of it. Hadn't those Anbu come to the Land of Waves to hunt down the Uchiha Clan?

"Wait for me."

Mingyou leaped after Samui.

Though he had only known this woman for a day, she was a future ally, so it was still necessary to protect her.

"Water Release - Water Formation Wall!"

"Earth Release - Rock Fall!"

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

After the large group of Anbu moving through the trees killed the remaining Land of Lightning ninjas, they began launching a frenzied assault on the surviving Darui.

"Damn it!!"

Darui gritted his teeth in hatred. Those ninjas under his command had followed him for years, yet now nearly every one of them had died.

Faced with the pursuit of so many Konoha ninjas, he had no way of confirming whether Samui was alive. He could only plunge into the forest and sprint for his life.

"Wind Release: White Whale Dance!"

Samui rapidly formed hand seals, her cheeks puffing out before she suddenly opened her mouth and exhaled.

Streams of tiny, umbrella-shaped wind blades flew toward the unidentified Anbu ninjas charging at her from the front.

Slash—

Slash—

Two ninjas failed to dodge in time and were struck by the umbrella-shaped wind blades.

The sound of fabric tearing rang out as bursts of bloody mist exploded across their bodies.

Before long, the two had become human bloodstains.

After letting out a string of screams, they collapsed to the ground with a thud and never moved again.

The other three Anbu ninjas were extremely fast. The instant the wind blades appeared, they had already leaped away to avoid them.

During the brief few seconds Samui was locked in place after casting her ninjutsu, the three men sprang from tree to tree and reached her.

Clang—

Clang—

Samui drew a kunai and became entangled in battle with the three of them.

But close combat was clearly not Samui's specialty. Before long, she could no longer withstand their offensive, and several cuts were carved across her body, blood flowing freely.

"Ahh—"

A shrill scream rang out as Samui was struck in the abdomen by an Anbu ninja's Earth Release-enhanced heavy punch, sending her flying into the air.

Was this really the end?

Despair filled Samui's eyes. The three Anbu ninjas, Ninja Tachi in hand, were already rushing toward her.

Samui gently closed her eyes and silently waited for death to come.

With her heavily injured body, she was no match for them.

The pain of crashing heavily to the ground never came. Samui suddenly felt a pair of warm, powerful hands holding her tightly.

"Amaterasu!"

Samui opened her eyes and discovered that Mingyou was holding her in his arms. All she could see was the side of his face.

Mingyou stared coldly ahead.

As a streak of blood ran down his cheek, black flames swallowed the three pursuing Anbu ninjas, drawing heart-wrenching screams from them.

Samui could not help staring blankly. At that moment, this man seemed so handsome, so captivating in her eyes.

"How are you? Are you all right?"

Mingyou leaped away from the area and stopped behind a large tree, lowering his head to ask Samui.

"I-I'm fine."

Samui came back to her senses, but quickly noticed that something felt wrong. Her left breast felt strangely constricted.

She abruptly looked down and found a large hand resting on her chest.

"W-what are you doing?"

Samui's cheeks flushed red as she violently broke free from Mingyou's embrace.

Although she often liked making jokes in the past, she was still a proper young woman.

Now that she had been taken advantage of by someone younger than her, she was still embarrassed and angry.

"Ahem. Sorry, I couldn't control this hand."

Mingyou coughed awkwardly twice and forcefully slapped the back of his left hand with his right. "Look at you. Why are you so disobedient?"

"Then let's get rid of it." Samui's brows rose as she pulled a kunai from her Ninja Tool Pouch and slashed it toward Mingyou's arm.

Mingyou reacted quickly and jumped several steps back. "Hey, hey—now that's a little unreasonable. I just saved your life. Fine, you don't have to offer yourself in gratitude or marry me, but you want to chop off my arm? That's going too far, isn't it?"

But the moment Samui moved, she suddenly fell to the ground.

She clutched the wound at her ribs, her face twisting in pain.

"They're over there! Hurry, chase them!"

At the same time, more Konoha Anbu ninjas discovered Mingyou and Samui. They shouted loudly, calling their companions over.

"Take me with you... please..."

Samui raised a hand toward Mingyou for help, her face deathly pale. Then her head tilted to one side, and she completely lost consciousness.

"Fine, for the sake of you being an ally—and a beauty—I'll help you one more time."

Mingyou stepped forward, scooped Samui up, and slung her over his shoulder.

Then intense spatial distortion rippled before him, and he vanished from the spot.

Only the dumbfounded Konoha ninjas remained, utterly at a loss.

After a long while, Mingyou carried Samui out of the battle zone and arrived at another forest in the Land of Waves.

Samui's injuries were serious. Her shoulder, back, abdomen, and several other areas bore severe sword wounds.

If they were not treated quickly, she would certainly bleed to death.

If Mingyou's guess was correct, these Anbu personnel had come for the Uchiha Clan.

Though he did not know what conflict had occurred between the Land of Lightning ninjas and Konoha,

bringing Samui to such an uninhabited place was the safest choice for Mingyou right now.

If Mingyou appeared in any villager's home in the Land of Waves at this time, he would surely bring them a deadly disaster.

Mingyou raised a hand and gently untied Samui's belt. "I'm not trying to take advantage of you. You'd better not wake up and start making a fuss about wanting to kill me."