Oh no! Hyuga Kaze thought inwardly.
There was ninjutsu ahead, his son behind, and rock walls on both sides.
He gritted his teeth, stopped his retreating steps, crossed his hands in front of his chest, and faced the ninjutsu head-on.
Just as the ninjutsu was about to strike Hyuga Kaze, a curtain of water suddenly appeared in front of him.
Water Style: Water Formation Wall!
The water wall rising from the ground cut off the inside and outside of the cave, protecting Hyuga Kaze behind it.
The high-speed rotating current collided with the explosion on the ground.
The two forces vanished into nothingness, and water splashed everywhere.
Hyuga Kaze, being the closest, bore the brunt and was splashed all over with water.
He was a little dazed by the sudden ninjutsu.
Before he could react, Hyuga Seisen grabbed him and rushed out of the cave while the water spray blocked the vision.
Arriving outside the cave, they finally saw the culprits who had unleashed the Earth Pillar Explosion.
Two tall men stood outside the cave entrance, one muscular and one slender.
The muscular man crossed his arms over his chest, his chin lifted slightly, and his gaze was condescending.
Seeing Hyuga Seisen and the other emerge, both men spotted Byakugan eyes on their faces, and their gazes instantly turned excited.
"It's actually the renowned Hyuga Clan, a clan famous for taijutsu."
The relatively slender man at the side rolled his eyes upon hearing this and retorted:
"Big Earth, how come you only have taijutsu in your eyes?"
"Don't you think it's even stranger that the Hyuga Clan used ninjutsu?"
Big Earth paused upon hearing this and scratched his head:
"Did they just use ninjutsu? I thought that was Rotation!"
Then he waved his hand: "Never mind, Mo Lin, you just watch from the side later and don't disturb me."
Mo Lin supported his forehead, his face full of helplessness.
Here it comes again!
He had no idea what the higher-ups were thinking, sending this kind of taijutsu lunatic to form a team with him.
The moment he encountered a taijutsu ninja, he lost all composure.
He could only urge him:
"Don't forget Lord Tsuchikage's mission."
"That kind of thing doesn't matter." Big Earth grinned, extremely excited.
His face was full of fanaticism, and his gaze remained fixed on the father and son pair of Hyuga Seisen without moving:
"Today, I just want to beat the two of them to death..."
"Or be beaten to death by the two of them."
Hyuga Seisen looked at the two men ahead, his expression solemn.
The ninja named Big Earth probably had Jounin-level strength.
And the one called Mo Lin was at least above average for a Chunin.
Running was out of the question; Hyuga Kaze's Body Flicker Technique was not fast enough.
Only the path of fighting remained.
But how to fight?
He carefully observed the surroundings with his Byakugan, searching for countermeasures in his mind.
"Seisen, you go quickly, Dad will stay behind to cover our retreat."
Hyuga Kaze could also sense the enemy's strength, and his expression was extremely anxious.
His movement speed was not good enough, so he couldn't run away, but his son still had a chance.
He could completely stall them and let his son leave first.
Hyuga Kaze turned his head and looked at Hyuga Seisen, who was standing motionless.
He was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan inside. Now was not the time for sentimentality; as long as one of them could survive, it was enough.
"Dad..."
"Stop talking, go!" Hyuga Seisen just started to speak when Hyuga Kaze interrupted him.
"Okay!" Hyuga Seisen replied.
With that, he turned around and bolted straight into the woods behind the mountain.
"???"
Hyuga Kaze widened his eyes, taking a moment to adapt to the situation: "Just like that?"
He had been afraid that his son would be stubbornly determined to stay, and in his heart he had been thinking about how to persuade him.
Seeing his son leave, his expression turned serious, and his gaze locked firmly on the two opponents.
Big Earth felt a bit disappointed upon seeing this: "One got away!"
He turned to look at his companion: "Mo Lin, go chase the little one, this cripple looks stronger."
"Alright, got it, you really know how to boss people around!"
Mo Lin complained, and with a Body Flicker Technique, he chased after Hyuga Seisen.
Can't find the book title? Try searching for the author instead, maybe it just changed its name!
Hyuga Kaze wanted to stop Mo Lin.
Big Earth instantly used the Body Flicker Technique and kicked out:
"Your opponent is me!"
Hyuga Kaze hurriedly parried.
The immense force shoved him back several steps.
Big Earth let out a soft hum, stretching his limbs and neck:
"I'm a taijutsu ninja too, so I've come to experience the renowned Gentle Fist today."
On the other side, in the dense forest.
The tall trees blocked out the sky, vines were everywhere, and weeds grew in abundance.
As soon as Mo Lin entered the forest, he saw the clumsy attempts to cover up traces on the ground and couldn't help laughing.
"A brat is just a brat, he might as well have not bothered hiding them at all."
He sensed carefully for a moment and headed in a certain direction.
Before running far, a trap lay openly on the path he had to take, its craftsmanship as crude as a prank.
"You call this a trap? Even a pig wouldn't step on it."
The smile on Mo Lin's face grew even wider.
His pace did not slow down at all, the tips of his toes tapping lightly against a thick tree root.
His body flowed like a leaf in the wind, sliding smoothly past the trap.
For the next stretch of road, he dodged three or four traps in exactly the same way.
These traps were either to the left or the right, and the craftsmanship looked as if it came from the same mold—crude and amateurish.
Every time he dodged one, Mo Lin's disdain grew a fraction.
He continued his pursuit.
In the distance, the terrain ahead suddenly narrowed.
He spotted another clumsy trap once more.
Only this time, as his gaze swept over it, he instinctively felt something was amiss.
He looked closer, and the color of the soil on both sides of the trap had a subtle difference from the surroundings.
If it were any other inexperienced ordinary ninja, it would be hard to perceive.
"Want to use my habitual thinking to induce me to bypass the trap from the sides as well?"
"You've got a bit of brains, but unfortunately you ran into me."
Mo Lin mentally evaluated it from a position of superiority, as if looking at a child's scribble.
He didn't stop his pace, observing the surrounding environment while running.
"The vines on both sides block the sky. If I want to bypass these three traps, I'll definitely have to run a long detour."
"And if I want to save time, jumping across from the tree branch above is the most reasonable way."
He looked at the empty space on the tree branch ahead, and a flash of understanding crossed his mind.
"Since I can only jump across from this branch."
"Then the real killer move..."
"Must be right here!"
While running, he drew several kunai and shuriken with both hands, throwing them fiercely toward the middle of the tree branch ahead.
Boom, boom, boom!
The concealed weapons triggered the trap in the middle of the branch, detonating the explosive tags hidden within.
"Trivial tricks!"
Mo Lin sneered, his disdain mixed with the triumph of three parts of solving a puzzle.
He hurried over to the tree and leaped with supreme confidence.
As his body jutted past the trunk, the scene behind the tree appeared.
That brat he had been hunting.
At this moment, holding a huge blue-and-white Spirit Bow.
Standing on the path ahead.
He was drawing an arrow, his gaze ice-cold.
Quietly taking aim at him.
"Huh?"
Mo Lin had not yet figured out what that thing was.
That brat let go, and a lightning-like bolt of light suddenly darted forth, rushing swiftly toward him.
Midair and with no leverage, Mo Lin barely had time to struggle.
Before watching helplessly as that bolt of light.
Struck him heavily in the head!
A spray of blood burst in the air.
Mo Lin's body, which was about to clear the tree fork due to the momentum of his jump.
Was knocked flying backward because his head was heavily smashed by the light of the arrow.
Landing flat and hard on the ground.
Before you continue