However, the very next second, Minato Namikaze suddenly vanished. At the same time, a burning pain flared across Yoru Mizuzuki's back.
"Ah!"
A gash dozens of meters long appeared across Yoru Mizuzuki's back. The moment she was struck, she couldn't help crying out.
"Tsk, tsk. My dear Princess Yoru, you were going to give me a demonstration, but it looks like you're not all that impressive!" Narishige Sawa taunted her when he saw she was hurt.
"Shut up!" Her attempt to show off had backfired, and Yoru Mizuzuki's face darkened. She stared hard at Minato Namikaze, who stood before her. "Narishige Sawa, how is that kid so fast? Could he be using a teleportation jutsu?"
"How should I know? I still haven't managed to beat him because I can't land a hit." Narishige Sawa shrugged helplessly.
"Could it be the Flying Thunder God Technique, the jutsu the Second Hokage was said to have used?" Yoru Mizuzuki gritted her teeth.
If it really was the Flying Thunder God Technique, it was no wonder Narishige Sawa couldn't hit Minato Namikaze!
Even so, Yoru Mizuzuki wasn't too worried, despite the boy's ability to use the Flying Thunder God Technique. If he used it too often, his chakra would eventually run out. Once that happened, he'd be like meat on a chopping board, at their mercy.
"If we can't beat him, then we'll just wear him down!"
Yoru Mizuzuki gave Narishige Sawa a look, and he immediately understood. The two of them then suddenly rushed toward Minato Namikaze from opposite sides.
Minato Namikaze watched the two whispering to each other. He appeared calm on the surface, but inside, he was desperately worried.
Using the Flying Thunder God Technique against the white-haired man had already drained most of his chakra. Now there was a woman too. If he couldn't find a way to deal with both of them, they would eventually wear him down.
In the dense forest.
Ever since Yoru Mizuzuki had injured him, Uchiha Matsuri had been using Medical Ninjutsu to treat his wounds.
In a tree a dozen meters away, a white-bearded old man and a girl watched Uchiha Matsuri as he sat on the ground treating himself.
"Hey, old man, what should we do about that guy?" the kunoichi whispered.
"What do you mean? You're not thinking of sneaking up on him, are you?" The white-bearded old man looked at the girl in surprise.
"Of course I am. Do you think we have any other choice?" the kunoichi asked in return.
"What do you mean?"
"Given his strength, he must have noticed us already. The reason he hasn't attacked or run away is probably that his injuries are too severe for him to move," the girl analyzed calmly. "And once he recovers, the first people he'll deal with will probably be us, since we're the closest."
"What should we do, then?" The old man immediately panicked after hearing her analysis.
"We kill him together before he recovers!" The kunoichi's eyes turned cold.
"Fine. I'll do as you say." The white-bearded old man nodded.
A dozen meters away.
Uchiha Matsuri was treating his wounds.
"Damn, I must have been hurt too badly this time. I've been treating myself for five minutes, and I still haven't fully recovered." Uchiha Matsuri furrowed his brow. "It'll be bad if someone attacks me now."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he instinctively sensed a threat behind him.
Thump.
A kunai pierced Uchiha Matsuri's body, but it immediately turned into a log.
"Looks like the two of us were discovered after all." The white-bearded old man slowly stepped out.
"Hmph, there's no point talking. Old man, hurry up and figure out where that guy went." The kunoichi looked displeased as she stared at the log, chopped in two.
The white-bearded old man closed his eyes. A few seconds later, he opened them and pointed in one direction. "That way, eighty meters."
"Go." The kunoichi left the single word behind and immediately ran in the direction he'd pointed.
Eighty meters away.
Uchiha Matsuri stumbled along, feeling deeply frustrated.
"Just my luck," Uchiha Matsuri thought with a bitter smile. "I didn't go looking for trouble with them, but they came looking for me."
"But if I keep running like this, they'll catch up sooner or later. I might even run into other hidden shinobi, and then I'll really be in trouble." As he thought, Uchiha Matsuri took several Explosive Tags from his scroll.
Looking at the Explosive Tags in his hand, Uchiha Matsuri felt a pang of regret. A single Explosive Tag cost enough for him to eat ramen dozens of times. He'd bought these with the reward from an A-rank mission and had never been willing to use them. But now that he was being hunted, he had no choice but to use these last-resort ninja tools.
After burying the Explosive Tags in the ground, Uchiha Matsuri dusted off his hands with satisfaction.
However, what Uchiha Matsuri hadn't expected was a woman's voice behind him:
"What a pity. I went to all that trouble to set a trap, and you still found it."
"Who's there?" Uchiha Matsuri asked instinctively.
"It's me." The kunoichi who had attacked Uchiha Matsuri earlier suddenly leaped down from a tree.
"Heh, I didn't expect you to get here so quickly." Uchiha Matsuri gave a bitter smile.
"I didn't expect to find your trap here, either. I guess I got lucky." The kunoichi clapped her hands, then laughed.
"Whew, I'm exhausted." A few meters away, a white-bearded old man panted as he ran up beside the kunoichi.
"Now we're all here," Uchiha Matsuri thought.
"Young man, you'd better surrender. You're badly wounded, and you can't beat us." The white-bearded old man smiled.
"There are two of us and only one of you. Let's see where you can run now." The kunoichi sneered.
"Whether I can get away isn't for you to decide." As soon as Uchiha Matsuri finished speaking, his eyes suddenly turned blood-red.
"Old man, be careful!" Seeing that something was wrong, the girl shouted.
"Ha ha ha, hahahaha..." The white-bearded old man had fallen under a genjutsu and laughed foolishly to himself.
"Damn, I didn't expect this guy to have one of the Three Great Dōjutsu, the Sharingan. I underestimated him." Afraid of falling under the genjutsu, the kunoichi could only keep her eyes on Uchiha Matsuri's feet.
The girl glanced at the old man, who was still laughing foolishly, and struck his shoulder with a chop. Only then did he gradually come to his senses.
"Idiot, haven't I told you not to look at the Sharingan?" the kunoichi scolded in a low voice.
Hearing her words, the white-bearded old man finally realized he'd just fallen under a genjutsu.
"Ah, I let my guard down. I let my guard down." The white-bearded old man laughed awkwardly.
"Hmph, kid, using the Sharingan must take a lot of chakra too, right?" the girl called out.
Before you continue