"Ningxiang, where are you going? Kurenai, let's follow her..."
Sato Hideaka watched Hyuga Ningxiang suddenly leave the group, feeling a little worried. Although her Byakugan was exceptionally good at sensing things, she didn't have much chakra, so she couldn't keep it active for long. And since she was a girl—and young at that—her Gentle Fist couldn't pack much of a punch.
In the perilous Forest of Death, without the strength of a team, even Sato Hideaka wasn't confident he could stay safe. Hyuga Ningxiang was a girl, to boot!
The two caught up with Hyuga Ningxiang. As she leaped through the trees, she glanced back at them, gratitude flashing in her pale eyes. "Thank you. Thank you for coming to help me!"
"We're on the same team, of course we should help each other. You don't have to thank us, Ningxiang. If we needed help, you'd help us too, wouldn't you?" Yuhi Kurenai smiled beside her, utterly unconcerned.
Sato Hideaka added, "Ningxiang, you're the eyes of our team. Without you, we wouldn't have gotten those scrolls so easily. After all, the three of us make the strongest team..."
Ningxiang smiled at them and wiped away the tears glistening at the corners of her eyes. Her pale eyes, with their bulging veins, took on a rare, solemn expression. She turned around and led the way in earnest.
The three of them headed roughly in the eleven o'clock direction for fifteen minutes. Then Ningxiang suddenly leaped down to the ground and began running. Sato Hideaka knew they were close to their destination. It was a sign of how well the three of them had learned to work together.
Leaping through the trees made it easier to move quickly and offered a wider view. They could see what lay ahead and guard against possible attacks from nearby. But when they got close to their target, the opposite was true...
If they stayed up high near their target, they could easily reveal their position and put the other side on guard. To avoid that, they usually returned to the ground when they were close, carefully using the undergrowth for cover as they crept forward.
The three ran for another five minutes before Ningxiang suddenly stopped in front of a low thicket. Sato Hideaka and Yuhi Kurenai crouched down and joined her, peering toward an open area ahead...
There were around ten people in all. A man and a woman stood facing each other. The girl wore the Uchiha's gray-and-blue uniform, and her long, straight black hair fell around her. Her scarlet eyes held two Tomoe. She stood on a tree, staring coldly at the man twenty meters below.
The man had a pair of eyes that looked almost like those of someone with cataracts. He was handsome, with a cold air about him, and veins bulged at the corners of his eyes. He wore the Hyuga Clan's standard kimono, with a cloud crest on the back—the mark of the Hyuga Clan.
When the three reached the edge of the brush, the man deliberately tilted his head slightly in their direction. It seemed he had noticed Sato Hideaka, Hyuga Ningxiang, and Yuhi Kurenai...
Sato Hideaka recognized the two. Sarutobi Asuma had told him about them: Uchiha Kaoru and Hyuga Ningbo, the two strongest members of the new generation, with strength rivaling Chunin. One represented the strongest Uchiha of the new generation, the other the strongest Hyuga.
In the clearing, Sato Hideaka also spotted Uchiha Kenichi and Inuzuka Jin, whom he had encountered three days ago. Uchiha Kenichi seemed to be in poor shape. He was limp all over, supported by Inuzuka Jin, and his clothes were badly disheveled, as if he had just been in a fight...
There was also a Hyuga with pale eyes. Shimura Masao, whom Sarutobi Asuma had mentioned, stood behind Hyuga Ningbo. Beside Uchiha Kaoru stood a mysterious woman in sunglasses and a boy of about thirteen.
The eight people at the scene seemed to have formed three factions, centered around Uchiha Kaoru, Uchiha Kenichi, and Hyuga Ningbo.
Uchiha Kaoru stood in the tree, the two black Tomoe in her scarlet eyes slowly turning. She raised her chin proudly, showing off her graceful, swanlike neck, and said coldly, "Hyuga, release Uchiha Kenichi from your hold, and I'll let you go!"
"Uchiha Kaoru, do you think anyone from the Hyuga Clan would do that because of a threat from the Uchiha?" Hyuga Ningbo bent his rear leg and stretched his front leg forward. He held one hand at his waist and the other in front of him, taking up a Gentle Fist stance as if facing a formidable enemy.
"Then you're out of the exam right now... Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Uchiha Kaoru leaped down from the tree and rapidly formed Hand Seals at her chest. She spun once in midair, then raised a hand to her mouth and spat out a steady stream of blazing red fireballs toward Hyuga Ningbo!
Hyuga Ningbo glared fiercely, concentrating the chakra within him into his hands. Facing the Phoenix Flower Fire, he repeatedly struck the air in front of him with both palms, his movements focused and deliberate, as though he were actually hitting a target...
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm! I can't believe Brother Ningbo has even learned Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. He really is one of the most gifted members of the clan."
Hidden in the brush and watching the fight, Hyuga Ningxiang's eyes shone with wonder. She made no effort to hide her envy.
Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm... That technique sounds familiar!
Sato Hideaka looked closely. The Phoenix Flower Fire Uchiha Kaoru had spat out seemed to be struck by an invisible force, scattering in midair like fireworks. The Fuma Shuriken wrapped inside the flames were knocked off course as well...
Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm was a Gentle Fist technique of the Hyuga Clan. It released a high-pressure, high-density chakra shockwave through the palm to attack targets from a distance, making up for the Gentle Fist's lack of long-range attacks.
Clearly, Hyuga Ningbo had mastered the technique. All seven blazing fireballs Uchiha Kaoru had spat out, each wrapped around a Fuma Shuriken, were scattered by the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. He had even aimed his palms at Uchiha Kaoru, who was still suspended in the air.
The Tomoe in Uchiha Kaoru's scarlet Sharingan spun rapidly. Though Hyuga Ningbo's powerful chakra shockwaves were invisible, they couldn't escape her Sharingan. No chakra could evade its gaze...
Using the recoil from the Phoenix Flower Fire, Uchiha Kaoru spun through the air several times, dodging the force of Hyuga Ningbo's Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. Her slender figure traced a graceful arc before she landed on a treetop again. Her voice was icy as she said:
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. I didn't expect you to have mastered that technique!"