I Might Have to Break My Promise

Hearing Shi Xiu's firm words, a surge of warmth welled up in Haku's heart, and his nervous tension eased slightly.

At the same time, Haku knew well that as long as Shi Xiu was by his side, they had the strength to fight no matter how powerful the enemy.

By now, the ninjas of Takigakure Village had closed in, surrounding them completely.

Those ninjas all wore ferocious expressions, their kunai glinting coldly in the sunlight as if ready to launch a lethal attack at any moment.

Shi Xiu slowly scanned the surrounding enemies, a cold smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. He gently patted Haku on the shoulder and said, "Leave none of them alive!"

Upon receiving the signal, Haku quickly formed hand seals, and in an instant, the surrounding temperature dropped by several degrees.

"Secret Technique: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"

Dozens of ice mirrors suddenly appeared around the Takigakure ninjas. Just as the ninjas looked on in confusion at the mirrors surrounding them, Haku's body quietly slipped into one of the mirrors.

In a flash, Haku's reflection appeared on every single one of the dozens of mirrors.

"What? These are... mirrors?" The Takigakure ninjas exclaimed one after another, shocked by Haku's secret technique.

"Secret Technique: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!"

Haku did not give them a moment to catch their breath; countless ice needles flew toward the Takigakure ninjas with blinding speed, each one precise and lethal.

Though the ninjas were numerous, they appeared utterly defenseless before Haku's secret technique.

Shi Xiu stood to the side, watching Haku's unstoppable technique, and couldn't help but nod. At the same time, Shi Xiu had also copied these two secret techniques.

However, just as Haku was about to finish off all the enemies, a powerful wave of chakra suddenly surged from the direction of Takigakure Village.

Haku's expression changed; he could feel the power and danger of that chakra.

Haku no longer cared about the struggling Takigakure ninjas; he dispelled his technique and shouted a warning to Shi Xiu: "Sir, watch out!"

Shi Xiu also sensed the powerful chakra fluctuation and turned to look toward Takigakure Village.

A figure approached with the speed of lightning. The person wore ornate clothing, a Takigakure forehead protector on their arm, and radiated a powerful aura.

"Have you finally appeared? The Seven-Tails Jinchuriki." Shi Xiu said in a low voice, his eyes becoming playful.

The Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, Kaede, stopped not far from Shi Xiu. She looked at him coldly and said with a stern expression, "Are you the one who dared to trespass in our Takigakure Village? How truly overconfident."

Shi Xiu did not answer; he simply watched Kaede quietly, looking her up and down.

Her appearance was much like the original description. Shi Xiu looked at the pale yellow wings on Kaede's back and the Tailed Beast power hidden within her.

"You've finally come out, Seven-Tails Jinchuriki Kaede." Shi Xiu said slowly. Haku arrived at Shi Xiu's side, his eyes fixed vigilantly on Kaede in the air.

Kaede laughed disdainfully at the sight: "Hmph, a grown man needing a little girl to protect him. And to think you dared to target me—how arrogant and cowardly."

Before Shi Xiu could speak, Haku shouted at Kaede: "I will not allow you to insult Sir!"

In an instant, countless ice needles flew toward Kaede, but she dodged them with ease.

However, just as Kaede prepared to mock Shi Xiu, he struck a highly provocative pose. With a cheeky expression, he slowly raised his hand, extended his index finger, and said, "Come and get me?"

Haku looked back at Shi Xiu in surprise, seemingly unable to understand why the usually gentle and composed Shi Xiu would act so... infuriatingly!

Kaede was also enraged by Shi Xiu's taunting gesture. She quickly closed the distance, flapping her wings to scatter scales that blurred his vision.

"Wind Style: Wind Killing Formation!" As the scales were scattered, Shi Xiu quickly formed hand seals, and a tornado erupted, blowing all the scales away.

The powerful wind force affected even Kaede. At that moment, Shi Xiu leaped high into the air and appeared behind her.

Kaede's reaction was extremely fast; she spun around, thrusting her kunai toward Shi Xiu.

But Shi Xiu seemed to have predicted her move and dodged the strike with ease. He then seized the opportunity to punch Kaede in the chest, knocking her out of the sky.

Kaede slid across the ground for over ten meters, kicking up a cloud of dust. When the dust settled, her clothes were tattered, revealing glimpses of her skin.

Kaede wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, her eyes filled with a bit more wariness as she looked at Shi Xiu.

She hadn't expected this ninja, whom she thought needed a little girl to protect him, to possess such formidable strength.

Shi Xiu looked at Kaede and couldn't help but comment: "So flat. An airport."

Upon hearing this, Kaede immediately covered her exposed skin, biting her lip as she glared at Shi Xiu, her face flushed red.

"It seems I underestimated you," Kaede said. She began to form hand seals rapidly, preparing to undergo Tailed Beast transformation.

However, Shi Xiu did not give her the chance. He threw a kunai, seemingly intending to interrupt her transformation.

Kaede dodged the flying kunai with a slight tilt of her body, just about to mock him again.

Unexpectedly, Shi Xiu appeared in front of her in an instant. He caught the kunai and held it against Kaede's throat.

"Don't move! Otherwise, I'd like to see if your Tailed Beast transformation is faster or my kunai is!"

Kaede swallowed hard, slowly lowered her hands, and said, "I surrender! But can you spare Takigakure Village?"

Shi Xiu did not answer her; instead, he placed both hands on Kaede's abdomen.

This terrified Kaede, and she said to Shi Xiu with a sob: "No... don't!"

Even Haku blushed and hurriedly covered his eyes, though he still peeked through the gaps in his fingers at Shi Xiu.

Shi Xiu looked at Kaede, speechless, and then channeled chakra through his palms to carve an Eight Trigrams Seal onto her stomach, sealing away the chakra of both the Seven-Tails and Kaede.

Shi Xiu then released Kaede. Unable to feel the chakra within her body, she looked at the Eight Trigrams Seal on her abdomen and sighed in resignation.

Just as Shi Xiu was preparing to take Kaede and Haku back to Konoha, three hooded figures in black suddenly appeared. Seeing this, Haku hurriedly shouted to Shi Xiu, "Sir! Look out!"

The three figures in black charged rapidly toward Shi Xiu. Shi Xiu did not hesitate, immediately summoning his incomplete Susanoo.

After all, if he were to summon the Complete Body Susanoo, even a casual strike, despite Shi Xiu's efforts to shrink it, could cause the entire area to collapse.

The three figures in black seemed well-prepared, quickly splitting up as two of them charged straight at Haku.

Shi Xiu understood their intentions immediately and roared, "Get lost! Don't touch him!"

At this critical juncture, Haku's heart tightened, and he quickly formed hand seals.

In an instant, countless sharp ice needles appeared out of thin air, whistling toward the two figures in black like a torrential rain, carrying a biting chill.

However, to Haku's astonishment, this seemingly airtight attack was easily dodged by the opponents.

Meanwhile, not far away, Shi Xiu was burning with anxiety, desperate to go and assist Haku, but he was helplessly pinned down by the remaining figure in black.

No matter how fierce his onslaught, the opponent always managed to evade with extremely agile movements. Shi Xiu's brows furrowed, and a fine layer of sweat began to bead on his forehead.

Seeing the situation becoming increasingly dire, Shi Xiu made a split-second decision and unleashed the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

As a cloud of smoke rose, over a dozen figures identical to him appeared before his eyes.

Immediately following, these shadow clones simultaneously summoned massive Susanoos, rushing toward Haku's location like a surging tide.

In truth, a dozen shadow clones were far from the limit of Shi Xiu's abilities, but due to the constraints of the environment, this was the extent to which he could perform for the time being.

While controlling the shadow clones to advance, Shi Xiu looked toward Haku's side with deep concern.

To his horror, the two figures in black had closed the distance to Haku and were on the verge of capturing him.

Although the shadow clones were sprinting with all their might, there was still a significant distance between them and Haku.

At this life-or-death moment, Haku suddenly turned to look at Shi Xiu, his eyes filled with endless apology and resolve.

He used all his remaining strength to shout at Shi Xiu, "Sir! I'm sorry! I'm afraid I won't be able to keep my promise this time!" Before the words even faded, Haku charged straight at one of the figures in black without hesitation, opening his arms to hold the opponent in a tight embrace.

He then formed hand seals once more, and an incredibly sharp ice needle shot out in response.

With a dull "thud," the ice needle pierced through the bodies of both Haku and the figure in black without the slightest resistance.

In an instant, blood splattered everywhere, blooming in the air like a desolate and beautiful flower.