Encirclement (Part Two)

Uchiha Yan drew his Susanoo greatbow to its fullest, and three chakra arrows sealed off the Hyuga Main Family's retreat with piercing shrieks.

"This... this is..." The Hyuga elder's Byakugan trembled violently. He had never seen such terrifying ocular jutsu.

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!" Three Main Family jonin struck out at the same time, but the chakra shockwaves hit the green Susanoo without even leaving a crack.

Jin sneered, and his Susanoo giant axe swept across. Two Hyuga ninja who failed to dodge in time were cut in half on the spot!

"Don't fight them head-on!" the Hyuga elder roared. His venomous gaze instantly locked onto Qin Mo, who stood at the very front. "Everyone, listen up! Capture that Uchiha brat alive!"

Seven Main Family jonin suddenly shifted formation, breaking through the interception at the cost of sacrificing three men. Their Gentle Fist tore through the air straight for Qin Mo's vitals.

Madara hurriedly warned him, "Mo! Watch out!"

Qin Mo was clearly stunned for a moment when he heard the Hyuga elder's shout. Then the corner of his mouth curled into a faint, almost imperceptible sneer.

These idiots had actually taken him for the easiest soft target.

"Protect Young Master Mo!" Uchiha Jin's Susanoo was just about to turn back to defend him when Qin Mo suddenly raised a hand to stop him.

"Let me play with them." There was a teasing note in Qin Mo's voice as he actually charged straight toward the Hyuga Main Family's encirclement.

The Hyuga Main Family members were overjoyed at the sight.

"Quick! Seize him!" The elder was so excited his voice cracked.

The seven jonin instantly altered the trajectory of their Gentle Fist, sealing off Qin Mo's retreat from every angle.

"Eight Trigrams Palm: Crushing Strike!"

"Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists!"

"Vacuum Palm Chain Chop!"

Dense chakra attacks poured down like a storm, yet Qin Mo did not even show the slightest intent to dodge.

The Hyuga jonin at the very front had already revealed a smile of victory.

Until he saw the spinning Mangekyo Sharingan pattern in the boy's eyes.

"Not good! Retreat!"

The warning came too late.

Pitch-black flames suddenly ignited in midair, and Qin Mo's entire body was instantly wrapped in the skeletal frame of a half-bodied Susanoo.

The Amaterasu Black Flames spread along the bones of the Susanoo, turning it into a skeletal armor burning with black fire.

"What... is this..." The Hyuga jonin charging at the front discovered in terror that his palm had already sunk into the black flames.

He tried to pull his arm back, only to find the black fire crawling up along his arm like a living thing.

"Ah!!" A shrill scream echoed through the forest as seven Hyuga ninja instantly turned into seven human torches.

They frantically slapped at the flames on their bodies. Some even used kunai to cut away the burning flesh, but the black fire stubbornly continued to burn.

"Elder... save us..." One jonin collapsed to his knees, his outstretched arm gradually turning to nothingness in the flames.

The other Uchiha ninja all involuntarily took half a step back. Even they had never seen such terrifying fire.

The Hyuga elder's face was ashen as he watched helplessly while seven elites were burned to ash in the span of a few breaths.

The black fire even burned vitrified marks into the ground, leaving not even bones behind.

"Demon!" A young Hyuga ninja slumped to the ground, the crotch of his pants already soaked through.

Qin Mo slowly stepped forward, and the half-bodied skeletal frame of Susanoo moved with him. "Now, does anyone else want to catch me?"

The remaining Hyuga Main Family ninja had completely broken down.

Some turned and ran, only to have their knees pierced by Uchiha Yan's Susanoo arrows.

Some knelt and begged for mercy, but the only thing that greeted them was the Uchiha clansmen's cold kunai.

Madara looked at the three enormous Susanoo and felt the powerful, suffocating pressure emanating from them.

So this is the true power of the Mangekyo Sharingan? It really does set the heart racing!

Izuna stood beside him, his fair face flickering between light and shadow under the black flames, his eyes filled with yearning for power.

Qin Mo took in the expressions of Madara and Izuna's longing for power, and unconsciously nodded. This was exactly the effect he wanted.

To let the Uchiha's two future leaders witness the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan with their own eyes, becoming the catalyst that would push them to awaken even higher ocular jutsu.

On the battlefield, the final Hyuga Main Family jonin was nailed to a tree trunk by Uchiha Yan's Susanoo arrow.

At that moment, only the Hyuga elder remained on the field, slumped in a pool of blood, his white hair disheveled, his luxurious Main Family robes long since torn to rags.

"Collect all their Byakugan. Don't waste them!" Qin Mo ordered.

"Yes!" The Uchiha immediately set to work.

"Spare... spare me..." The elder trembled as he crawled forward, his forehead knocking against the frozen earth with dull thuds. "This old man is willing to lead the entire Hyuga Clan in pledging loyalty to you, my lord..."

Qin Mo released Susanoo, crouched down, and used a kunai to lift the elder's chin. "There really is a favor I need your help with!"

"Please speak, my lord!" A light of hope suddenly shone in the elder's clouded Byakugan. His withered fingers clutched Qin Mo's hem tightly. "Whether you want the Hyuga Clan's secret arts or wealth, this old man can offer it all with both hands..."

"Tie him up," Qin Mo suddenly stood and ordered.

Four Uchiha jonin immediately used special chakra chains to bind the elder up like a dumpling.

When the chains dug into his flesh, the elder finally realized something was wrong. "My lord, what is this...?"

Qin Mo did not answer. He merely gestured to Crimson Snow.

Crimson Snow immediately took out a signal flare and fired it into the sky.

Bang!

The red signal flare exploded in the night sky into the pattern of a blood-colored lotus.

Before the light of the flare had completely faded, Xue Tahai had already led the elite ninja of the Snow Clan racing through the forest like white ghosts.

"Everyone, advance on the Hyuga Clan's camp!" Hozuki Dark Moon's voice echoed through the mist, and forty Hozuki jonin swiftly moved toward the target location.

At the same time, Qin Mo's squad was escorting the Hyuga elder through the dense forest.

The Hyuga Main Family elder, carried by two Uchiha jonin, suddenly began struggling violently, the cloth stuffed in his mouth letting out muffled "mmph mmph" sounds.

Uchiha Yan kicked him impatiently. "Stay still!"

"Let him scream," Qin Mo said without looking back. "It'll serve as a warning for the Hyuga Branch Family."

At that moment, in the Hyuga Branch Family camp, the three ninja of the scouting squad practically tumbled and crawled into the central command tent.

"Lord Tosei!" The leading ninja's voice had gone off-key. "The elite jonin of the Hozuki and Snow Clan are surrounding us! The enemy is less than two hundred meters from our camp!"

The tent instantly erupted into an uproar.

Hyuga Ryusuke pulled out his kunai with a swish. "Grand Elder, we must break out immediately!"

Veins bulged around Hyuga Tosei's Byakugan, and the wrinkles on his aged face deepened by a few degrees.

He raised a hand, signaling everyone to be quiet, then turned to the scouting ninja. "What about the Main Family?"

"No, no word yet..."

A commotion suddenly came from outside the tent.

A jonin stumbled in. "Grand Elder! Patriarch Xue Tahai of the Snow Clan requests to see you!"

Hyuga Tosei's clenched fists trembled slightly. "Lead the way."

When Hyuga Tosei walked out of the tent, the scene before him made his pupils shrink sharply.