Flying a Kite

Hyuga Seisen put away his spirit bow and pulled out a kunai.

He sprinted forward, bypassing the traps.

He rushed to Mo Lin's side, ready to finish him off.

Only to find there was no need.

Mo Lin's head was already a mangled mess of flesh and blood. With injuries like that, he was dead beyond doubt.

Forget treatment—even the Interrogation Department would probably have trouble searching his memories.

A thought crossed his mind.

"Spirit Network!"

Ribbons drifted through the surrounding area, though they were far fewer than when he used it in the village.

He grabbed one of them. "Dad's position hasn't changed. He's still there."

Hyuga Seisen leaped over Mo Lin's corpse.

Following the direction sensed through the Spirit Network, he raced ahead at full speed.

Mountain Dragon Stronghold.

Hyuga Kaze slumped against the wall, covered in blood, his clothes torn to shreds.

His arms hung limply at his sides. His forearms bent at unnatural angles, clearly broken.

His eye sockets were swollen, his eyelids drooping as he stared fixedly at Big Earth before him.

Big Earth's condition was the opposite of Hyuga Kaze's.

He was much cleaner, but the blood that occasionally spilled from his mouth whenever he laughed showed that he was not doing much better.

He grinned, his mouth full of blood.

"This is the first time I've been beaten so badly that my internal organs ruptured. I almost died."

"The Gentle Fist truly lives up to its reputation."

"But..." Big Earth's grin widened, and his gaze grew even crazier.

"In the end, I won. I can still move, while you..."

"Both your arms are broken, and you can't even stand."

"I defeated the Gentle Fist!"

Hyuga Kaze's eyes were lifeless. At those words, he suddenly gave a derisive snort.

"It doesn't matter. My son already escaped."

"Escaped?"

Big Earth looked as though he had heard a joke.

"Your son, at that level, escaping from Mo Lin?"

"You really are ridiculously confident!"

He burst into laughter, aggravating his internal injuries and causing him to spit out another mouthful of blood.

"Damn it, the Gentle Fist really is insidious."

Enduring the agonizing pain in his body, he walked toward Hyuga Kaze step by step.

"No matter what, I'll give you a dignified death."

He raised his fist and arched his body back to gather strength, preparing to deliver Hyuga Kaze's final blow.

Seeing this, Hyuga Kaze closed his eyes in despair.

After fighting to this point, he no longer had the strength to retaliate.

The fact that he had managed to injure his opponent this badly was only because he had fully exploited the advantages of the Byakugan and Gentle Fist.

That was also because his opponent happened to be a taijutsu ninja whose strength lay mainly in close combat.

If he had faced someone else just now, even an ordinary chunin, he would not have had the slightest advantage.

Just as the fist was about to smash into Hyuga Kaze.

Suddenly!

Big Earth sensed something as fast as lightning hurtling toward him.

Instinctively, he swung the fist he had been about to throw at the incoming object.

His arm collided with a streak of light.

The light scattered.

But he felt something strange in his arm. It had gone numb.

He lowered his head unconsciously and saw that his entire right forearm was gone.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of something flying away. Looking closely, he saw that it was his missing forearm.

He stared blankly at the semicircular, mangled wound where his upper and lower arm had been joined.

He had yet to process it.

Then a wave of excruciating pain hit him, forcing a howl from his throat.

"Ah..."

"My hand..."

His breathing grew increasingly ragged as he panted heavily.

Enduring the pain, he turned around and looked toward where the light had come from.

The brat Mo Lin had gone after was now standing quietly at the edge of the forest.

He held an enormous spirit bow in his hand and watched him coldly.

"Brat! You're not dead?!"

"You actually dared to come back!"

Big Earth gritted his teeth and pulled out a kunai with his left hand.

He activated the Body Flicker Technique and charged at Hyuga Seisen.

A second arrow of light shot toward him.

He barely managed to deflect it aside with his kunai. Before he could regain his balance—

A third arrow of light was already before him, striking his lower abdomen.

"Gah!"

Big Earth staggered back several steps and spat out a huge mouthful of blood.

Looking down, he saw that his lower abdomen was a mangled mass of flesh and blood.

If he had not specialized in taijutsu and trained year after year, making his body stronger than that of ordinary ninja—

That strike would have killed him.

"Brat!"

He bared his teeth, hatred burning in his heart.

But the brat was already far beyond shuriken-throwing range.

He could only activate the Body Flicker Technique and rush forward again.

After blocking another incoming arrow of light, he finally entered throwing range.

He hurled the kunai in his hand with all his strength, then pulled out several shuriken and threw them after it.

Just as the hidden weapons were about to reach the brat's eyes—

Hyuga Seisen left behind an afterimage and vanished.

When he appeared again, he had retreated beyond throwing range once more.

"Bastard!"

Severely injured as he was, he simply could not keep up with Hyuga Seisen's speed.

He could only grit his teeth and chase after him again.

He had already thrown all his hidden weapons. Now, only one kunai remained.

He gripped it tightly and, after blocking several arrows of light—

He finally rushed in front of Hyuga Seisen. Putting all his strength into it, he viciously stabbed the kunai toward him.

Even after being injured so many times, he was still a jonin—and a taijutsu ninja at that. Hyuga Seisen could not withstand a full-force strike from him.

The kunai stabbed viciously into Hyuga Seisen.

"Hm? This doesn't feel right!"

The next instant, Hyuga Seisen's figure turned into a pool of water and splashed to the ground.

"Water Clone Technique?"

Big Earth's heart jolted. That brat had been holding that spirit bow in one hand the whole time.

When did he form the hand seals?

He turned his head and saw that the brat was once again beyond throwing range.

He cursed under his breath.

Just as he turned around to attack again, another arrow of light came flying toward him.

Big Earth hurriedly slashed it apart with his kunai, then used the Body Flicker Technique to appear before Hyuga Seisen.

But Hyuga Seisen flickered away again.

Then another arrow of light came shooting at him...

It continued like this. Every time he struggled to close the distance—

The brat would open it again, repeatedly firing arrows of light from that strange spirit bow.

Those arrows of light were not as powerful as the one that had struck his forearm.

But they came one after another, leaving him unable to guard against them all.

The slightest lapse would result in him being hit. No matter how strong his body was, it would still be turned into a mangled mess of flesh and blood.

Finally, after being struck by another arrow of light, he no longer had the strength to continue the pursuit.

He staggered back several steps and slammed heavily into the wall.

Hyuga Seisen did not approach. He simply kept drawing his bow and firing.

He continued adding wounds to the figure slumped against the wall.

For the final strike, Hyuga Seisen charged his shot slightly, then fired an arrow into his head, taking him out.

Seeing that the figure by the wall no longer moved, he finally relaxed.

Panting heavily, he dragged his feet over to the dumbfounded Hyuga Kaze.

"Dad, how are you?"

"Why did you come back?" Hyuga Kaze asked instead.

"How could I leave you behind?" Hyuga Seisen looked at him as if the answer were obvious.

"Where's the other one?"

"Dead. I chased him into the forest and killed him with one arrow."

Hyuga Kaze was greatly surprised by this.

That man had not been weak. Had he really died that easily?

Just as he was about to ask, Hyuga Seisen spoke first.

"Can you still move? Want me to help you up?"

As he spoke, he moved to help Hyuga Kaze to his feet.

"Hey, hey, hey—my arms! My arms are broken, don't touch them!"

Hyuga Kaze wailed.