What Lovely Weather

Naoki had no idea that his group had already stirred up the entire Southern Border Battlefield, much less that Karatachi Yagura's schemes ran far deeper than they had imagined...

Half an hour of rest in the mountain hollow passed in the blink of an eye.

"We should get going." Naoki rose to his feet, leaning on his sword.

Hyuga Hiroshi activated his Byakugan and carefully surveyed the surroundings.

"Since the day before yesterday, there seem to have been fewer and fewer Kirigakure Ninja pursuing and intercepting us. It looks like we'll make it to the eastern coast and escape today."

"Are we finally going to get out of here?" Uchiha Zongxin let out a long breath, relief at having survived showing on his face.

"It won't be that simple." Naoki shook his head.

Karatachi Yagura had pursued them with such force before, but now he had suddenly let up. No matter how Naoki looked at it, something felt wrong.

Had he really given up the pursuit?

Impossible. That was absolutely impossible.

Naoki shook his head to himself.

Uchiha Setsuna spoke up. "There's no need to dwell on it. We'll keep heading east. Once we reach the coast, all our problems will be behind us."

Uchiha Zongye nodded. "Setsuna is right. Instead of worrying about all that, we should focus on making good time."

Naoki touched the White Amulet tucked against his chest, and his anxious heart settled a little.

"Let's go."

The seven raced through the dense forest, fleeing desperately toward the eastern horizon.

Hyuga Hiroshi ran at the front, keeping his Byakugan active as he guided the group along the safest route.

"Almost there!" Hyuga Hiroshi's voice was hoarse. "Once we cross that mountain ahead, we'll be able to see the coast!"

Naoki gritted his teeth and kept up. The wound in his abdomen split open again under the strain of running. Blood soaked through his bandages and dripped from his clothes, but he had no time to worry about it. His Sharingan remained alert, sweeping over their surroundings.

Over the past few days, they had endured countless more small-scale attacks and killed who knew how many Kirigakure Ninja, but they had paid a heavy price themselves... Shi's left shoulder had been pierced by a Kunai, leaving him unable to exert himself. Uchiha Zongye's severed arm had become infected and inflamed, and his fever wouldn't break. Uchiha Zongxin and Itachi had nearly exhausted their chakra, and were holding on by sheer willpower.

Of the seven, only Naoki, Uchiha Setsuna, and Hyuga Hiroshi were in relatively good shape. Uchiha Setsuna had fought several times while they fled east. Though the old man was already in his sixties, he still carried himself with grace, but his condition had become a serious concern.

As for Naoki, his abdominal wound still hadn't healed. Though he was in decent shape, the area around the wound had begun to swell, and his combat ability had fallen sharply.

Hyuga Hiroshi, meanwhile, was in the best condition of the seven.

It was strange. Though he was only a few years older than Uchiha Zongxin, his condition was the complete opposite. After resting for only a short while, he could recover his chakra, and his stamina was much the same. Naoki had never once seen him fail to recover...

So Hyuga Hiroshi, who should have been the one they were protecting, was now leading the group.

"Once we cross this mountain, we'll be at the coast." Hyuga Hiroshi glanced back, the veins around his eyes standing out as his Byakugan focused. "There are no enemies nearby. We can—"

Hyuga Hiroshi was about to say something when he suddenly let out a surprised sound.

"There's someone over there!"

Naoki hurried to the crest of the hill and looked into the distance.

On the snow-white beach, it looked like someone was being pursued.

Naoki turned to Hyuga Hiroshi, who had caught up with him. "Are those Kirigakure Ninja?"

Hyuga Hiroshi shook his head. He had gotten a clear look.

"No, that's Ah Xiao and the others!"

"Ah Xiao?" Naoki didn't understand at first.

"Hyuga Takashi, my clan brother!"

"Ah..." He remembered. That seemed to be someone from the Main Branch.

Uchiha Zongye came up behind them and asked, "What's going on? Why is Hyuga Takashi here?"

Uchiha Zongxin chimed in. "Yeah, why is he here?"

Hyuga Hiroshi opened his mouth, but said nothing.

"Whatever the reason, it's good for us to see someone from the village. Let's go join them!"

With that, Naoki charged downhill. Hyuga Hiroshi froze for a moment, then followed close behind. The seven ran down the mountain.

Hyuga Takashi stood in front of Ao and snarled, "You Kirigakure dogs! Where do you think you're going?"

"Haha."

Ao threw back his head and laughed.

After being chased the whole way, he was truly at his wits' end.

"You lot really are persistent. You've been on my heels this whole time over nothing but a Byakugan? Fine, I'll give it back!"

With that, Ao gouged out his own eye, crushed it, and tossed it toward Hyuga Takashi.

Thinking that Ao had crushed the Byakugan, Hyuga Takashi cursed, "Bastard!" But Ao had only been bluffing. He suddenly bolted toward the sea.

Hyuga Takashi snatched up what was supposed to be the Byakugan and examined it closely. "This isn't a Byakugan! Catch him!"

As he spoke, Hyuga Takashi gathered his fingers and struck with a palm.

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"

A blast of air compressed to the utmost slammed into Ao's back. He flew through the air like a broken kite and crashed onto the beach, leaving a shallow crater.

Ao struggled to get up, but the Hyuga Branch Family Ninja had already surrounded him.

Hyuga Hiroshi was the first to run down the slope and head toward Hyuga Takashi. Naoki followed close behind, then spoke into Hyuga Hiroshi's ear.

"Hiroshi, that Byakugan they mentioned—is it yours?"

Hyuga Hiroshi didn't answer, but his silence said it all.

On the beach, Hyuga Takashi, certain that the situation was under control, sauntered over to Ao.

But then, without warning, figures began flying out of the forest one after another. Soon, no fewer than forty or fifty Kirigakure Ninja were closing in on Hyuga Takashi's group.

That wasn't all. The calm sea suddenly turned turbulent, and huge waves began to rise.

Hyuga Takashi realized something was wrong and hurriedly ordered the Hyuga Branch Family Ninja to gouge out Ao's eye. But before they could, more than a dozen water arrows shot out of the sea straight toward them.

Hyuga Takashi's pupils contracted. He instinctively leaped backward, but the water arrows were too fast. He was far enough away to dodge, but the Hyuga Branch Family Ninja weren't. The arrows pierced their bodies in an instant.

"Ah!"

Screams rang out across the beach. Blood splattered, staining the pristine sand red.

Taking advantage of the moment, Ao struggled to his feet and staggered toward the sea.

"Trying to run?"

Hyuga Takashi shouted furiously and was about to pursue him, but his steps abruptly halted.

The sea churned. The waves parted, and a short figure strode out over the water.

Karatachi Yagura held a Hook Staff in his hand. His pale purple eyes looked down over everyone on the beach, and his baby face bore an authority and murderous intent far beyond his years.

"I've finally found you two groups of little rats."

His gaze swept across the beach, finally settling on Naoki and the others.

"If I'm not mistaken..." He pointed at Naoki. "You're the ones who attacked the transport ship, aren't you?"

"And you..." He pointed at Hyuga Takashi. "You're the group that's been sneaking around behind my lines, slippery as a loach?"

"What lovely weather today." Karatachi Yagura smiled as he gazed at the sun in the distance. "Now that I've caught you all together, I might as well send you down to the Sanzu River!"