Confrontation (Fifth Watch)

However, in the next second, Minato Namikaze suddenly vanished, and at the same time, a searing pain erupted across Yoru Mizuzuki's back.

"Ah!"

A gash dozens of meters long appeared on Yoru Mizuzuki's back. Struck, she couldn't help but cry out.

"Tsk tsk, my dear Princess Yoru, you were going to give me a demonstration, but it seems you're nothing special after all!" Seeing Yoru Mizuzuki injured, Narishige Sawa couldn't help but mock her.

"Shut up!" After her failed attempt to show off, Yoru Mizuzuki's face darkened as she stared fixedly at Minato Namikaze standing before her. "Narishige Sawa, how is this brat so fast? Could he be using a teleportation technique?"

"How would I know? It's precisely because I can't hit him that I've been unable to defeat him all this time," Narishige Sawa shrugged, helpless.

"Could it be the legendary Flying Thunder God Technique once used by the Second Hokage?" Yoru Mizuzuki gritted her teeth and said.

If it really were the Flying Thunder God Technique, it would be a miracle if Narishige Sawa could even land a hit on Minato Namikaze!

However, even if the brat before them knew the Flying Thunder God Technique, Yoru Mizuzuki wasn't overly worried. If he used it frequently, Minato Namikaze's chakra would eventually run dry. Once his chakra was depleted, he would be like meat on a chopping block, ready to be slaughtered.

"Since we can't beat him, we'll just have to wear him down!"

Yoru Mizuzuki exchanged a look with Narishige Sawa, and the latter understood immediately. The two then suddenly sprinted toward opposite sides of Minato Namikaze.

Off to the side, Minato Namikaze watched the two whispering to each other. While he remained calm on the surface, he was actually worried to death inside.

Trading blows with the white-haired man and using the Flying Thunder God Technique had already consumed more than half of his chakra. Now that a woman had joined the fray, if he didn't find a way to finish them off, he would eventually be worn down to death.

Deep in the forest.

Ever since being wounded by Yoru Mizuzuki, Uchiha Matsuri had been using medical ninjutsu to treat himself.

Ten meters away, perched in a tree, an old man with a white beard and a young girl were quietly watching Uchiha Matsuri as he sat on the ground healing.

"Hey, old man, what do we do about this brat?" the female ninja asked quietly.

"What do you mean, what do we do? Don't tell me you want to ambush him?" The white-bearded old man looked at the girl in surprise.

"Of course. Do you think we have any other choice?" the female ninja retorted.

"What do you mean?"

"Given his strength, he should have sensed our presence long ago. The reason he hasn't attacked or fled is likely because his injuries are too severe for him to move," the girl analyzed calmly. "And once he recovers, the first people he'll likely eliminate are us, since we're the closest."

"Then what should we do?" Hearing the girl's analysis, the old man immediately panicked.

"Let's kill him together before he recovers!" The female ninja's eyes turned icy.

"Fine, I'll follow your lead," the white-bearded old man nodded.

Ten meters away.

Uchiha Matsuri was still healing.

"Damn it, it seems this injury is too severe; I've been treating it for five minutes and it still hasn't healed," Uchiha Matsuri frowned tightly. "It would be disastrous if someone attacked me right now."

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than Uchiha Matsuri instinctively sensed a sudden threat appearing behind him.

Poof.

A kunai pierced Uchiha Matsuri's body, but his form immediately transformed into a log.

"It seems we were discovered after all," the white-bearded old man said, walking out slowly.

"Hmph, enough talk. Old man, hurry up and see where that brat ran off to!" The female ninja looked at the log, which had been split in two, with annoyance.

The white-bearded old man kept his eyes tightly shut. A few seconds later, he suddenly opened them and pointed in a direction. "That way, eighty meters out."

"Chase him." Leaving those words behind, the female ninja immediately sprinted in the direction the old man pointed.

Eighty meters away.

Uchiha Matsuri was running unsteadily, feeling incredibly frustrated.

"Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy," Uchiha Matsuri chuckled bitterly. "I didn't go looking for trouble, yet here they are, coming after me."

"But if I keep running like this, they'll catch up sooner or later. If I run into other hidden ninjas, it'll be even worse." Thinking this, Uchiha Matsuri reached into his scroll and pulled out several explosive tags.

Looking at the explosive tags in his hand, Uchiha Matsuri felt a pang of heartache. The cost of a single explosive tag was enough to buy dozens of bowls of ramen. These few tags were purchased with the bonus he'd received from an A-rank mission; he had never been willing to use them before, but now that he was being hunted, he had no choice but to use his trump card.

After burying the explosive tags in the dirt, Uchiha Matsuri clapped his hands in satisfaction.

However, to his surprise, a woman's voice came from behind him:

"What a pity. I actually discovered the trap you worked so hard to set."

"Who's there?" Uchiha Matsuri asked instinctively.

"It's me." The female ninja who had attacked him earlier suddenly jumped down from a tree.

"Heh, I didn't expect you to get here so fast," Uchiha Matsuri said with a bitter smile.

"I didn't expect to find you setting a trap here either. How lucky," the female ninja clapped her hands and laughed.

"Oh, I'm exhausted." A few meters away, the white-bearded old man panted as he caught up to the female ninja.

They're all here, Uchiha Matsuri thought to himself.

"Young man, I think you'd better just surrender obediently. You're heavily injured now; you can't beat us," the white-bearded old man chuckled.

"There are two of us and only one of you. Let's see where you can run to now," the female ninja sneered.

"Whether I can escape or not isn't for you to decide." As he finished speaking, Uchiha Matsuri's eyes suddenly turned blood-red.

"Watch out, old man!" Seeing the situation turn dire, the girl shouted.

"Hahaha, hahahaha..." Caught in the genjutsu, the white-bearded old man laughed foolishly to himself.

"Damn it, I didn't expect this guy to possess the Sharingan, one of the three great dōjutsu. It seems I underestimated him." Afraid of falling under the genjutsu herself, the female ninja kept her gaze fixed on Uchiha Matsuri's feet.

Glancing at the old man still giggling away, the girl delivered a sharp chop to his shoulder, and his senses gradually began to clear.

"Idiot, haven't I told you before not to look directly into the Sharingan?" the female ninja scolded in a low voice.

Hearing the female ninja's words, the white-bearded old man finally realized he had just been caught in a genjutsu.

"Ah, my mistake, my mistake," the white-bearded old man laughed awkwardly.

"Hmph, kid, using the Sharingan must consume quite a bit of chakra, right?" the girl called out loudly.