Advantages and Disadvantages

"Dodge!"

Hearing Hyuuga Nen claim he had thrown a Flash Bomb, Kakashi shouted as he quickly slipped behind a tree to avoid the blinding light that was about to come.

The orb landed in front of Kakashi and the others and rolled a few times, but nothing happened.

Hyuuga Nen had the Byakugan, and Flash Bombs were the bane of his existence. Why would he carry a weapon that might hurt him? He had said it only to make Kakashi and the others let their guard down.

As he threw the Flash Bomb, Hyuuga Nen used the Body Flicker Technique. In an instant, he was in front of the weakest Anbu, knocking him down in a few quick moves and taking him hostage.

"Let go of my teammate!" Seeing Hyuuga Nen grab his subordinate by the throat, Kakashi shouted at him in warning.

Hyuuga Nen held the Anbu by the throat and slowly backed away. He also jabbed him a few times with the Gentle Fist, sealing the main chakra points in his body and leaving him unable to move.

Seeing Hyuuga Nen use the Gentle Fist against his subordinate right in front of him, Kakashi furrowed his brows. "Are you trying to provoke us?"

Looking at Kakashi, Hyuuga Nen replied, "You misunderstand. I'm not trying to provoke you. I just want to buy a little time."

"What?" Kakashi felt a sense of dread at those words.

"Captain, watch out! There's something strange about that orb!" At that moment, Itachi Uchiha shouted anxiously from farther away.

Hearing Itachi Uchiha's warning, Kakashi's eyes widened. The orb in front of him suddenly began to hiss and swell rapidly before exploding.

I fell for it! That was the thought that flashed through Kakashi's mind as the explosion went off.

Hyuuga Nen had first tricked Kakashi and the others with a fake Flash Bomb, then taken his teammate hostage and drawn them out. The orb had actually been packed with a Delayed Detonation Tag!

Kakashi was blasted backward, but at the last moment he managed to evade the explosion. He was struck only by the shock wave, but even so, he was in bad shape.

Seeing this, Hyuuga Nen immediately dropped the Anbu he had taken hostage and charged at Kakashi, hoping to take him out as quickly as possible.

"Take this, Flash Bomb!"

Itachi Uchiha's voice rang out. He had also pulled out an orb and thrown it at Hyuuga Nen.

Hearing that it was a Flash Bomb, Hyuuga Nen didn't dare risk checking whether it was real. He quickly retreated behind a tree and shut his eyes.

Itachi Uchiha's orb hit the ground and released a cloud of smoke. It wasn't a Flash Bomb, just a Smoke Bomb.

"Now's our chance!"

Seeing Hyuuga Nen close his eyes and take cover beneath a tree, Kakashi gritted his teeth through the pain and swiftly formed Hand Seals. A cloud of smoke appeared, and a clone materialized beside him. However, the seal Kakashi had made didn't seem to be for the Shadow Clone Technique.

Taking advantage of the moment, Itachi Uchiha ran to his teammate and led him farther away from the battlefield.

Hyuuga Nen emerged from behind the tree. Having been tricked with the same method, he looked less than pleased.

"Itachi, use the Shadow Clone Technique and blanket him with attacks."

Kakashi gave Itachi Uchiha the order and launched an attack on Hyuuga Nen to keep him from interfering with Itachi.

At Kakashi's words, Itachi Uchiha immediately formed Hand Seals and created a Shadow Clone. He and his clone charged forward together.

Kakashi's strategy was sound. Against an enemy like Hyuuga Nen, who had the Byakugan, almost every tactic based on luring or deceiving him was useless. To defeat him, they either had to be faster and stronger than he was, or overwhelm him with sheer firepower.

Kakuzu, who had fought Hyuuga Nen before, had used the second approach, and Hyuuga Nen had indeed been locked in a bitter struggle with him.

As Itachi Uchiha attacked, the three Tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly as he tried to find an opening in Hyuuga Nen's defenses.

He's stronger and faster than Captain Kakashi and me. Our ninjutsu can barely hit him, so finding an opening is incredibly difficult. He also has several times as much chakra as Captain Kakashi—more than our whole squad combined. If this drags on, we'll be the ones who lose!

Getting close to him is too dangerous. One mistake and we'll lose instantly. The only way to beat him is with Genjutsu! Itachi Uchiha reached his conclusion.

But why can he resist my Genjutsu? He's from the Hyuga Clan, but I didn't sense that his Dojutsu Power was greater than mine. There has to be another reason he can resist it.

Then Itachi Uchiha thought of the Sealing Technique on his own body. As soon as the possibility occurred to him, he focused his attention and made the Tomoe in his eyes spin even faster, trying to find a Sealing Formula on his enemy.

Nothing? There's no Sealing Technique on him. Did I guess wrong? Even through the Sharingan, Itachi Uchiha couldn't see any trace of a Sealing Technique on Hyuuga Nen.

Although the Sharingan could also see the flow of chakra, it could only see the chakra on the body's surface.

Hyuuga Nen had etched the Sealing Technique inside his body, something only someone from the Hyuga Clan could have done. That was why Itachi Uchiha couldn't detect the Sealing Formula on him.

Itachi Uchiha tried using Genjutsu on Hyuuga Nen again, hoping to figure out how he was resisting it. But just as their gazes were about to meet, Hyuuga Nen looked away.

He avoided my gaze.

Itachi Uchiha thought to himself. Of all the battles he'd fought against so many enemies, this one was the most frustrating.

Some of his ninjutsu had been sealed by the enemy, and his Genjutsu was ineffective too. He was no match for the enemy in strength, speed, or chakra, and with the Byakugan watching, none of his tricks could work.

How can I defeat him? Every enemy has a weakness, but I can't find his. Meanwhile, our weaknesses are obvious to him! Itachi Uchiha began to grow anxious.

The anxiety on Itachi Uchiha's face lasted only an instant, but Hyuuga Nen still noticed it.

Hyuuga Nen hadn't used his full strength in this fight. Instead, he was wearing Kakashi and the others down.

After all, his goal was to defeat them all. If they realized they couldn't beat him and tried to flee, that would be a real problem for him.

Seeing Kakashi and the others begin to tire, Hyuuga Nen decided the time had come. He slowed down and deliberately left Kakashi and the others an opening.