Rescue

"Hoo~"

"Hoo~"

Keep moving, keep running, don't stop!

Her throat felt as if it were bleeding, the metallic taste spreading in her mouth.

Hui kept running; she had no right to stop.

"Hahahaha!"

"This power, it's the best!"

The aura behind her was closing in relentlessly, and Hui couldn't help but glance back.

"Hey."

"What other uses does the blood of a Guardian have?"

Hui's eyes widened as she stared at the man before her, his skin pale white and two small horns sprouting from his head.

Kuchiki Kurohane, that was the man's name.

The wind picked up, and blood dripped onto the ground, splashing upward---

Time traced back to half an hour ago.

When Hui woke up, all she saw was a pillar of light reaching toward the sky, with the Chakra Fruit floating within it.

Then, that shimmering Chakra Fruit was simply eaten by Kurohane.

It was clear that Kurohane had struggled to approach the Chakra Fruit, even sustaining injuries that sent blood spraying from his body.

The reason was simple enough.

The raw chakra overflowing from the Chakra Fruit surged into Kurohane's body; it was a stroke of luck that he hadn't exploded.

Kurohane withstood the pressure, even absorbing that chakra into his body and making it his own.

Through his efforts, the Chakra Fruit was finally claimed by Kurohane.

That small yet radiant fruit, shining like a miniature sun, was swallowed whole by him.

Then, the anomaly occurred.

Could this be called human evolution?

Hui dared not define it so easily.

After consuming the Chakra Fruit, Kurohane's body began to undergo abnormal changes.

His skin turned snow-white, as if he had been draped in a new layer of flesh, which was quite striking.

Then, there were the sides of his forehead.

Two small horns began to sprout there, though they looked somewhat stunted.

Next, his eyes began to change as well.

His clear eyes gradually turned white, until even the pupils became pure white.

It looked just like---

The Byakugan of the Hyuga clan in Konoha, the unique kekkei genkai of the Hyuga family.

Beyond these points, the most obvious change was a distinct mark that had appeared on the crown of Kurohane's head.

Whether this was human evolution, Hui still could not say.

His strength was abnormally powerful; the aura radiating from his entire body made that much clear.

A gale blew through the area, causing Hui's hair to whip wildly in the wind.

"This is it!"

"Hahahaha."

"This feeling!"

Kurohane's cries echoed continuously through the air.

His tone was filled with excitement, laced with a hint of madness.

He's gone mad!

That was Hui's first impression.

The Chakra Fruit was known as a Small Divine Tree Fruit; Hui did not know its specific significance, but it was definitely not ordinary.

Did a human have the qualifications to swallow the fruit of a Divine Tree?

Before the thought could be answered, a gust of wind blew Hui directly to the ground.

Kurohane slowly calmed down, and Hui, realizing the situation, immediately began to run away.

No matter where, no matter how, running was the only thing to do now.

And the result of that run.

That was it—

The girl's blood splattered onto the ground.

No!

That was Kurohane's blood!

With a flash of sword light, Yueshu appeared silently from the side, the Kusanagi Sword in his hand slashing down in an instant, aimed directly at Kurohane's hand.

The Kusanagi Sword did not inflict much damage, but under these circumstances, it was already enough.

Hui was released, and the blond figure followed, rushing out to snatch Hui away in one swift motion.

"Fire Style: Flame Eraser."

Jiraiya's voice rang out, and Yueshu took action as well.

He spun in mid-air, kicked Kurohane's body, and used the force to leap to the side.

Just then, Jiraiya's ninjutsu arrived right on cue.

The ground beneath Kurohane turned red, and then flames erupted upward.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough."

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique."

Kushina and Mikoto appeared as well, each unleashing a ninjutsu to add a little more fuel to that pillar of fire.

Yueshu landed steadily, and Minato Namikaze had also rescued Hui.

Neither of them stopped, each casting a ninjutsu to continue piling on the pressure against Kurohane.

"You guys..."

Hui looked at Minato Namikaze and the others, her arms trembling slightly.

"This time."

Minato Namikaze turned his head to look at Hui, his eyes seemingly glowing.

"I will definitely protect you."

Hui was stunned, many words stuck on the tip of her tongue, but in the end, they all turned into the same language—

A pure smile.

"Mm."

"I believe in you."

Swish.

The moment the words fell, a gust of wind brushed past them, and a figure appeared behind Minato Namikaze.

Hui's smile was still blooming, but it froze in an instant.

Behind Minato Namikaze—

It was Kurohane, who should have been in the middle of the flames.

Just like Hui, Kurohane also wore a smile, and it was also very pure.

Purely evil.

Dang.

Minato Namikaze broke through his own limits, reacting in an instant to raise his arms and block.

Kurohane's fist descended immediately, the immense force sending Minato Namikaze flying.

"Next."

Kurohane looked toward Hui, reaching out his hand.

"It's your turn."

The one speaking was not Kurohane, but Yueshu, who was beneath him.

In that brief moment, Yueshu had successfully rushed over.

Kurohane reacted naturally, and just as his gaze shifted downward, a flash of sword light erupted.

It was an upward slash of the Kusanagi Sword, with Yueshu aiming directly at Kurohane.

The Kusanagi Sword grew larger and closer in his eyes, yet Kurohane showed no signs of panic at all.

He leaped upward with ease, dodging the Kusanagi Sword entirely.

"Fire Style: Toad Oil Bomb."

Jiraiya spat out a glob of oil; Kurohane, caught in mid-air, was essentially a locked-on target.

Kurohane glanced toward Jiraiya's side and swiped a hand, scattering the incoming oil bomb instantly.

Jiraiya hurriedly leaped into the air, and the spot where he had been standing was struck, sending dust and debris billowing into the air.

—The Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist.

Jiraiya's expression was grave.

The Gentle Fist of the Hyuga clan was their unique taijutsu, yet now, an unknown ninja could not only use it but had reached a high level of mastery, especially given his current appearance.

A pair of eyes that looked exactly like the Byakugan.

And perhaps it wasn't just that they looked like them; they might very well be the real thing.

Jiraiya landed steadily, positioning himself beside Kushina and Mikoto.

As the two weakest members of the team, his female disciples would struggle to even protect themselves against such an opponent, so Jiraiya naturally had to guard this side.

As for Yueshu and Minato Namikaze, the two geniuses of Konoha, Jiraiya wouldn't say he was entirely confident, but he chose to believe in his students.

"Rasengan."

Yueshu rushed forward, forming a sphere of chakra.

The blue-and-white Rasengan collided directly, but Kurohane easily dodged to the side and kicked Yueshu.

The Yueshu who had charged in transformed into a puff of white smoke.

Shadow Clone!

Kurohane didn't pay it any mind, simply flicking away a kunai that came flying toward him.

The kunai flew to the side and detonated instantly.

Yueshu and Minato Namikaze revealed themselves.

Hui had already been carried away by Yueshu's Shadow Clone, and now—

It was time for the revenge match!