Deep in the vast forest of the central battlefield, a damp, oppressive atmosphere hung in the air. Thick layers of branches and leaves crisscrossed overhead, breaking the sunlight into scattered flecks that dappled the ground.
Several Konoha Chunin wore grim expressions as they swiftly used the Body Flicker Technique, kicking up a gust of wind as they raced back toward their camp.
Their figures darted between the trees like ghosts, their clothes snapping in the wind.
Close behind them, a few Kirigakure Ninja were hot on their heels.
These Kirigakure Ninja were just as agile. A faint mist curled around them, seeming to conceal them and lend their movements an air of mystery and menace.
Their eyes were cold and keen as they watched the Konoha Chunin ahead, never slowing their pace. Taking advantage of the forest's rugged terrain, they pursued at breakneck speed, determined to intercept them.
"Captain! The Mist pursuers are catching up!"
One of the Konoha Chunin looked back and called out a warning.
"Tch, we can't shake them! There's no choice! You go on ahead! I'll stay behind and cover you!"
The long-haired Chunin pulled out a Kunai and charged back without hesitation, giving his teammates time to retreat.
"Captain! Damn it, fall back!"
Seeing their captain sacrifice himself to buy them time, the two companions could only swallow their grief and quickly withdraw.
"Come on, you Mist bastards! Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"
The Konoha Chunin swiftly formed hand seals and puffed out his cheeks. Four compressed streams of air shot toward the Kirigakure Ninja behind him like bullets.
"Scatter!"
The moment the Kirigakure Ninja saw the technique, their leader ordered the squad to split up.
Thwack! As one of the Kirigakure Ninja dodged, the Konoha Chunin charged in and drove his Kunai into the man's heart.
"Got you! You're the first!"
The Konoha Chunin grinned, but in the next instant, his smile froze. The Mist Ninja he'd killed slowly melted, then turned into a puddle of water.
"A Water Clone? When?"
The Konoha Ninja exclaimed in shock, then quickly put some distance between himself and the puddle.
The instant the Konoha Chunin landed, a thick, white bolt of lightning shot down from overhead.
"Argh! Damn it! I let my guard down!"
The Konoha Chunin screamed. The Lightning Release had left him nearly paralyzed. Seeing the Kirigakure Ninja surrounding him, he gave a faint, relieved smile.
"Boom!"
As a flash of fire erupted, the Kirigakure Ninja quickly leaped back.
"He used an Explosive Tag at the last moment? Too bad we still didn't get the intel back."
The Kirigakure squad leader sighed as he watched the two Konoha Ninja disappear from sight.
"Captain! The Kaguya Clan and Hozuki Clan have arrived as reinforcements!"
As the squad leader sighed, a Kirigakure Ninja beside him pointed toward six shinobi in different outfits behind them.
"Ah, it's our Kirigakure prodigy, Hozuki Mangetsu! And that sickly Kawakotsu Kai!"
Another Kirigakure Ninja beside him quickly pointed at the newcomers.
"Yeah, I heard the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were wiped out by a Genin. That's why they sent Hozuki Mangetsu, who only graduated recently. What a joke."
The squad leader held the Seven Ninja Swordsmen in utter contempt. Seven elites had been wiped out by a single Genin—four dead and three fleeing. They'd brought nothing but shame on the village.
"Move! Shikotsumyaku: Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!"
One of the Shikotsumyaku clan members approached the squad and roughly shoved several of them aside. Then he fired ten bone-shaped bullets from his fingers straight at the nearby treetop ahead.
Clang! Clang! Clang! At the sound of the impacts, everyone curiously turned their eyes toward the treetop ahead.
"I've been wondering. How did you find me?"
Uchiha Shisui slowly stepped out of the shadows and slid the Ninja Blade in his hand back into its sheath.
"Don't underestimate Kirigakure's prodigies! Your body blocked the moving mist, and our Hozuki Clan is exceptionally sensitive to water."
Hozuki Mangetsu sneered as he unrolled a scroll. A cloud of white smoke billowed up, and the Ninja Blade Hiramekarei appeared in his hand.
"The enemy's chakra is strong. Be careful. And you lot in the way, hurry up and retreat!"
As he drew his Ninja Blade, Hozuki Mangetsu warned the others nearby. The Shikotsumyaku clan members grew wary and drew bone blades from their bodies.
The Kirigakure Ninja who had been in pursuit heard Hozuki Mangetsu's order. They had nothing to say, so they reluctantly withdrew.
"Trying to slip away? Storm Release: Thunder Sea Illusory Tide!"
The Sharingan appeared in Uchiha Shisui's eyes. The Kirigakure Ninja who tried to leave had no time to react; under the combined effects of two illusions and Storm Release paralysis, they collapsed, dizzy.
"Sharingan! The Uchiha Clan! Don't look into his eyes!"
Drawing on what he knew from the intelligence reports, Hozuki Mangetsu quickly called out a countermeasure.
"I'll go first! Sickly, back me up!"
With that, Mangetsu's white hair streamed wildly around him like writhing silver snakes.
At that moment, a razor-sharp aura that made the blood run cold radiated from him. He planted both feet against the ground and sprang high into the air, his agile figure soaring like an eagle.
He gripped Hiramekarei tightly, excitement and fervor gleaming in his eyes, as if he were about to launch into an unparalleled celebration.
His chest heaved. Then, with all his might, he let out a hoarse shout: "Hiramekarei! Release!"
In an instant, the Ninja Blade, tightly wrapped in layers of bandages, seemed to awaken under the call of a mysterious, powerful force.
The bandages fell away like snowflakes, vanishing in the blink of an eye. At last, Hiramekarei's true form was revealed.
Along its broad black blade, immense chakra surged and roared like a turbulent blue tide.
The chakra gathered into the shape of a massive hammer, radiating a power that made the heart tremble.
At Mangetsu's command, Hiramekarei swept forward, wreathed in this terrifying chakra, like a bolt of black lightning, and smashed toward Uchiha Shisui.
The immense force compressed the air in an instant, producing a muffled boom. It was as if space itself twisted under the impact.
"That's some chakra! Not bad. You're worth taking seriously."
Uchiha Shisui sneered. The black hair behind him whipped in the wind as purple-black chakra surged around him, quickly forming a skeletal frame to block Hiramekarei's attack.
Rumble! The attack exploded on impact, hurling Uchiha Shisui backward. A crack appeared in the section of the skeletal frame that had protected him.
"It's not over! Underestimate me, and you'll lose!"
Hozuki Mangetsu charged out of the smoke, his Ninja Blade now transformed into Kabutowari. He brought the axe down on the skeletal frame.
The hammer in his other hand slammed into the back of the axe. This heavy blow shattered the purple-black skeletal frame, easily breaking through Uchiha Shisui's defenses.
"Shikotsumyaku: Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!"
The moment Susanoo was broken through, Hozuki Mangetsu used the Hydrification Technique. Several bone bullets from behind passed straight through his body and flew toward Uchiha Shisui.
"Clang, clang, clang!"
Relying on the Sharingan's ability to track movement, Uchiha Shisui swiftly drew his long sword to block. Even in a sneak attack, the blows seemed to slow down, so he was able to deflect them with ease.