Mizuki Is in Danger

"Hyuga Mizuki?" Tsunade asked, puzzled. "Riyue's cousin. What does she have to do with this mission?"

"The ruins are connected to an ancestor of the Hyuga Clan. The records say that they can only be opened by three ninja with the Byakugan, and that they must maintain it for a long time. Mizuki can keep her Byakugan active for quite a while, so we need her for this mission," Hyuga U explained respectfully.

Tsunade nodded. "All right. I agree. Mizuki can join your mission."

"Then we'll set out tomorrow! Sorry for the trouble, Lady Tsunade. I thank you on behalf of the Hyuga Clan!" Hyuga U bowed. As he lowered his head, a barely perceptible smile crossed his face...

Mizuki didn't say anything when she received the news. A mission to investigate ruins connected to an ancestor of the Hyuga Clan? It sounded pretty interesting!

At the Hidden Sand Fortress, Chiyo was reading a file. After their military defeat, her standing in Sunagakure had plummeted. Fortunately, her son and a few old friends in the council had stood by her. Otherwise, she suspected the Third Kazekage really would have come after her.

A messenger ninja walked in. "Lady Chiyo, our people have obtained some intelligence about Konoha."

Chiyo picked up the scroll and read it carefully. "How far are those ruins from here?"

"About sixty kilometers," the ninja replied respectfully.

"Then send someone to investigate. Remember! Leave no Konoha ninja alive!" A cruel glint flashed in Chiyo's eyes.

"Yes!" The messenger ninja vanished in a flash.

The next morning, Riyue got up and continued his training. He hadn't dispelled the Shadow Clone monitoring Hyuga Nisshin, which meant Nisshin hadn't done anything unusual.

After his usual training, Riyue decided to visit Mizuki and go see their teacher, Dan Katō, together. But Mizuki wasn't there. He was told that Tsunade had sent her on a mission and that she'd left early that morning.

Riyue had no choice but to visit Dan Katō by himself. Just as he reached the Medical Station, his Shadow Clone dispelled.

"Hmm... looks like nothing unusual happened." Riyue reviewed the Shadow Clone's memories of watching Nisshin.

"Huh? The Shadow Clone found something suspicious. This is..." Riyue froze.

The Shadow Clone had noticed something odd, something Riyue had overlooked all along. Where was Nisshin's lackey? Why hadn't the Shadow Clone seen him all night? Riyue stopped in his tracks, suddenly gripped by a terrible premonition...

Riyue hurried into Dan Katō's hospital room and saw that Dan was still asleep, with Tsunade sitting beside him.

"Riyue, you're here." Tsunade saw him and was about to take the opportunity to have a proper talk with him.

"Lady Tsunade, did you send Mizuki on a mission this morning?" Riyue asked directly.

"Uh? Yes. Why? Did something happen?" Tsunade asked, puzzled.

"Can you tell me what the mission is?" Riyue's sense of foreboding grew stronger.

"It concerns the Hyuga Clan. The Third has approved it. The Hyuga Clan needs her help investigating some ruins," Tsunade replied.

"Ruins? Hyuga ruins? Did the Hyuga Clan ask for Mizuki to go?" Riyue's expression darkened at once.

"Yes," Tsunade said after a moment's thought.

"Lady Tsunade, where are the ruins? Mizuki and the others could be in danger!" Riyue's expression turned deadly serious as he asked urgently. (BGM: "Tense Situation," Yasuharu Takanashi)

"What?!" Tsunade jumped to her feet, startled by Riyue's words.

"The Hyuga Clan doesn't have good intentions! They might hurt Mizuki. Please send people to support her right away, Lady Tsunade! Please believe me!" Riyue said earnestly.

"I understand!" Tsunade nodded at the resolve in Riyue's eyes and immediately told him the ruins' exact location.

"Poof!" Riyue suddenly turned into a cloud of white smoke, leaving only the words, "Lady Tsunade, I'll go ahead! Please hurry and send support!"

"Wait, Riyue! Don't be reckless!" Tsunade tried to stop him, but this was only Riyue's Shadow Clone. Riyue's real body hadn't entered the Medical Station.

Realizing the situation was serious, Tsunade immediately alerted several Jonin guards and hurried off herself to support Riyue.

By then, Riyue's real body had already left the Konoha camp. After receiving his Shadow Clone's memories, he immediately headed for the ruins.

He crossed the desert and reached a Stone Forest, then leaped into it.

"This way!" Riyue used his Byakugan to determine the general direction and swiftly bounded through the Stone Forest.

The Stone Forest was made up of countless rocks. The dense stones blocked the sand and wind. At first, the ground was covered with yellow rocks stained with sand and earth. Farther in, only gray-green rocks remained. Beyond the Stone Forest lay a fairly dense forest.

"Please be safe..." Riyue knew that certain members of the Main Family wanted to harm him. They couldn't touch him for now, so they'd resorted to the despicable act of going after his family!

Of course, Riyue understood that they wanted to use Mizuki to lure him in and kill him. They might already have laid a trap, waiting for him to walk right into it. But for Mizuki's safety, he couldn't back down. Riyue left special marks along the way, hoping the reinforcements would follow them and catch up quickly.

"Faster!" Riyue leaped into the forest.

In the forest, five people bounded through the trees using Ninja Footwork. Mizuki and Hyuga U were in front, followed by three sensor-type Chunin.

"U, doesn't investigating the ruins require three members of the Hyuga Clan? Where's the other one?" Mizuki asked curiously.

"Oh, you know him. He's one of the clan's young men. You'll see him soon enough. Heh..." Hyuga U replied with a mysterious smile.

"Someone I know?" Mizuki wondered. "Could it be Riyue? Yes, it must be him. Maybe something came up and he's running a little late..."

Meanwhile, deep in the forest, a pair of eyes watched the Konoha ninja moving through the trees from a thicket. The man sneered. "Only five of them? Get ready to move..." The twelve people behind him immediately sprang into action, rushing out of the thicket and following close behind.

Hyuga U suddenly stopped as he walked. The others saw him and stopped too, landing in a clearing in the forest.

"Someone's following us!" Hyuga U said aloud, thinking, "The Sunagakure ninja have finally arrived. They're pretty slow."

"Haha! Konoha ninja, what are you doing here?" Thirteen Sunagakure ninja landed in the nearby trees: three Jonin and ten Chunin.

"Enemies!" The Konoha group tensed and drew their weapons, ready for a fight.

"That's none of your business!" Hyuga U said, though inwardly he thought, "There are quite a few of them. All the better!"

"Then we'll just have to capture a few and ask them." The Sunagakure Jonin prepared to attack.

At that moment, Hyuga U suddenly pointed in one direction and shouted, "Everyone, watch out!" The Konoha ninja all turned their attention that way.

Then, unexpectedly, he struck Mizuki with a palm and sent her flying. Taking advantage of the confusion, he darted away alone!

"U? Why?" Mizuki was caught off guard. The blow struck her in the back, and she spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Tch! He abandoned his subordinates and ran? Konoha's Jonin really are cowards! But cowards get to live!" The Sunagakure Jonin scoffed. In the blink of an eye, Hyuga U had disappeared.

"Attack!" The Sunagakure ninja didn't care about any of that. They hurled a volley of shuriken.

"Clang! Clang!" The other three Konoha ninja hurriedly knocked the shuriken aside with their kunai. Mizuki lay on the ground, her internal organs injured and her breathing ragged. She struggled to her feet, but one of the shuriken that slipped past the others had cut her, and blood immediately began to flow. The four Konoha ninja were in danger!

"Surrender! You can't escape! I only want to ask you a few questions..." the Sunagakure Jonin said, arms crossed.

"Never!" The three Konoha ninja knew they had little chance of escaping, but they didn't give up. They formed a defensive cross formation, shielding the wounded Mizuki behind them. Covering one another, they prepared to fight to the very end.

"Hmph! Then die! Leave the wounded Hyuga kunoichi alive! Kill the rest!" The Sunagakure Jonin waved his hand casually, and ten Sunagakure Chunin charged forward.

"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!" A Sunagakure ninja spat a fireball at the Konoha ninja. The three could only leap aside to dodge. Their defensive formation broke apart, and Mizuki fell backward to the ground again.

"Clang!" One Konoha ninja blocked the attack of the Sunagakure Chunin in front of him. Their kunai clashed, sending sparks flying. But another enemy snuck up behind him and attacked with a kunai. Just as he tried to dodge, a third Sunagakure Chunin appeared at his side and stabbed him with a kunai, knocking him down.

"Poof!" The Konoha ninja turned into a log. At the last moment, he had used the Substitution Technique and escaped behind a tree. "Hmph! Think you can get away?" A Sunagakure Jonin had been watching him closely. Appearing behind him, the Jonin swept him away with a sickle.

"Damn it!" The second Konoha ninja was about to help his endangered comrade.

"If I were you, I wouldn't get distracted!" A Sunagakure Chunin had already leaped behind him and slashed.

"Watch out!" The third Konoha ninja leaped backward and formed Hand Seals. "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" A water dragon burst from a puddle in the forest and surged straight at the enemy. The Sunagakure Chunin retreated to dodge, and the Konoha ninja took the opportunity to use the water dragon to shield his comrade.

But another Sunagakure Jonin charged over. "Lightning Style: Lightning Bind!" He threw three kunai marked with lightning seals into the water dragon, then struck its head with his electrified palm. The water dragon was immediately bound and collapsed into a puddle.

"Die!" The third Sunagakure Jonin rushed at him and slashed with a kunai. The Konoha ninja dodged and retreated.

"Watch out, behind you!" While attacking him with a kunai, the Sunagakure Jonin had secretly stuck an Explosive Tag to his back. His Konoha comrade hurriedly warned him, but it was too late. The Sunagakure ninja had already triggered the tag. "Boom!" The Konoha ninja who had used Water Style was blown away, his body mangled and charred black. He was already dead.

At the same time, another Sunagakure Jonin used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind the Konoha ninja protected by the water dragon, intending to kill him.

"If I'm going to die, I'm taking someone with me!" The Konoha Chunin pulled out several Explosive Tags and wrapped his arms around the Sunagakure Jonin attacking him, trying to take him with him. The other Sunagakure ninja immediately jumped back to dodge.

"Run!!" The Konoha Chunin shouted at Mizuki with all his strength. Mizuki tried to run away. "Boom!" A tremendous blast shook the forest, and a fireball rose into the air. When the smoke cleared, the Sunagakure Jonin emerged from the ground.

He casually brushed the dust off himself and sneered. "Tch! He thought he could take me with him. He never imagined I'd use Earth Substitution!"

Mizuki staggered for several dozen meters before her legs gave way and she fell to the ground again. The thirteen Sunagakure ninja quickly leaped onto the surrounding branches and closed in around her.

"I thought that after winning the war, I'd be able to go home. But now I'm going to die here." Mizuki struggled to draw her kunai.

"Ah, I wish I could eat Mom and Dad's cooking with Riyue..." Mizuki pictured her family sitting down to a meal.

"I've never even been in love..." In her mind, Mizuki saw a tall, broad-backed figure, with a Gunbai clan crest on the back of his clothes.

"But I'm a member of the Hyuga Clan, and he's from the Uchiha Clan. If we started dating, both our clans might strongly oppose it. But since I'm going to die, I really wish I could confess. Riyue would definitely tease me to death..." Mizuki smiled bitterly.

"Go capture that woman! I want her alive!" Looking at his "prey," the Sunagakure Jonin waved a hand with an amused smile. Three Sunagakure Chunin immediately sprang from the trees toward Mizuki.

Mizuki closed her eyes in despair, ready to take her own life with the kunai.

"Goodbye, everyone..."

Suddenly, "Whoosh, whoosh!" Thirty-six shuriken flew from the trees, curving along strange trajectories as they attacked the Sunagakure ninja. The three Jonin leading the group were given special "attention"—most of the shuriken were aimed at them.

"Hm? More enemies!" The Sunagakure ninja were startled. Why hadn't they noticed them earlier? How many more enemies were there?

Then, in midair, the thirty-six shuriken suddenly changed direction and all targeted the seven Sunagakure Chunin beside the Jonin. The three Sunagakure Jonin weren't attacked, but the shuriken blocked their paths too.

Meanwhile, the three Sunagakure Chunin leaping through the air to seize Mizuki weren't attacked at all.

That was because a small figure had already appeared between them!

"Gentle Fist Art: Thirty-Six Death Point Rotation Strike!"