The First Arrow After Reaching Shore

He grabbed Yi Zhongwu by the collar, spittle nearly spraying onto the other man's face.

"During the earlier reconnaissance, didn't you swear there was only one main road through these woods?!"

Yi Zhongwu shrank back, stammering.

"I... I found a small path, but I thought it was too narrow. They definitely wouldn't go that way.

So... so I picked up a wooden sign, wrote 'Road Closed' on it, and used it to block the path. Who knew he..."

"Bastard!" Yizhong Ren was so furious his vision went dark. He viciously slapped the back of Yi Zhongwu's head.

"Which way did he go? Hurry up and chase him!"

"Then I'll collect the explosive tags on the traps first. Can't let them go to waste."

"Collect your—cough, cough... collect your ass, you bastard! Lead the way already!"

Yizhong Ren's roar echoed through the forest.

Yi Zhongwu did not dare say another word. He concentrated and sensed carefully for a moment.

His round body burst forth with speed utterly unsuited to his build as he charged in one direction.

Yizhong Ren followed close behind, gritting his teeth.

As they ran, Yi Zhongwu hesitated before finally speaking.

"Big Brother... that kid's got such tender skin and soft flesh. Once we catch him, could you... leave me an arm or a thigh? I haven't had meat in a long time..."

"Eat, eat, eat! All you ever think about is eating!" Yizhong Ren cursed as he sprinted.

"If we don't catch him, my hundred thousand ryo will be gone for nothing. When that happens, I'll sell you first to make up the loss."

Yi Zhongwu looked utterly aggrieved and did not dare speak again, merely lowering his head and focusing on sensing out the way.

A moment later.

His pace suddenly slowed, his tiny eyes filled with confusion.

"What is it?"

Yizhong Ren hurriedly stopped and warily looked around.

"Big Brother... that kid suddenly... disappeared from my senses."

There was a trace of unease in Yi Zhongwu's voice.

"Disappeared? Didn't you just say we were about to catch him?"

"Yeah, it was like... poof, gone." Yi Zhongwu gestured anxiously.

"Something's wrong!" Yizhong Ren suddenly looked up. Only then did he notice.

The air around them had somehow become damp and thick.

A dense layer of mist silently spread out, abruptly reducing their visibility to less than ten meters!

He grabbed a handful of vapor, sensing the unusually active Water Release chakra within it.

"It's the Hidden Mist Technique! He has to be nearby!"

"Big Brother, I'll use Wind Release to blow it away!" Yi Zhongwu said, about to form hand seals.

Suddenly!

An exceedingly faint twang of a bowstring entered his senses.

Immediately afterward, he sensed a rapidly moving object rushing toward them.

"Big Brother! Behind us!!"

Yi Zhongwu's eyes nearly split open as he screamed hoarsely.

Both men were experienced bounty hunters. Almost instinctively, they dove hard to either side to evade!

The next moment!

As though something had stirred it, the mist parted as a blue-white arrow pierced through it and entered their view.

Like a bolt of lightning, the arrow whistled straight toward Yizhong Ren.

Damn it!

Yizhong Ren inwardly cried out. He instinctively twisted his body, trying to evade, but he had nothing to push off against in midair.

He could only watch helplessly as the arrow grew larger in his pupils.

Yizhong Ren was sent flying through the air by the arrow like a tattered sack.

He slammed stiffly into a large tree and slowly slid down.

After smashing his head beyond recognition, the arrow of light dissipated.

Yizhong Ren did not even have the chance to let his head loll before he was thoroughly dead.

Yi Zhongwu stared blankly at Yizhong Ren's face beneath the tree, blurred beyond recognition.

He could hardly believe it.

His older brother, whom he had grown up with, was sitting motionless against a tree in the blink of an eye.

"Big Brother!" Yi Zhongwu let out a grief-stricken howl.

Before he could mourn, another arrow, far smaller than the first, was already flying toward him.

Though Yi Zhongwu did his utmost to dodge, the outside of his right thigh was instantly ripped apart.

A large chunk of flesh vanished, and blood gushed out!

"Ahhh! My leg!"

Yi Zhongwu let out a pig-slaughtering scream. The agonizing pain nearly made him unable to stand.

Dragging his leg, Yi Zhongwu endured the pain and gritted his teeth as he formed hand seals.

Wind Release: Gale Palm.

A fierce gust erupted forward, pushing away the mist before him.

The mist dispersed.

On the bank of the pond ahead stood a boy in silence.

The boy was handsome and straight-backed. He held a blue-white spirit bow in his hand, his white eyes coldly fixed on Yi Zhongwu.

Water dripped from his soaked body. He had clearly just come ashore.

"Bastard, so you were hiding in the water." Yi Zhongwu gritted his teeth.

The moment the other party saw him disperse the mist, he immediately turned and darted into the woods to the side without the slightest hesitation.

"Trying to run? You're dead, brat."

His teeth were bared in fury as he lunged toward Yizhong Ren's corpse.

He roughly pulled a syringe from his pack. Seeing the golden liquid inside, a hint of hesitation appeared in his eyes. "Big Brother said this stuff has side effects..."

Then he gritted his teeth. "I'm not even afraid of death, so why should I fear side effects?"

Yi Zhongwu steeled himself, jabbed the syringe into his body, and rapidly injected the liquid.

The pallor on his face visibly gave way to a healthy flush, and the pain in his leg immediately subsided. He could feel his strength growing by the second.

"This stuff is damn useful!" He looked toward the direction Hyuga Seisen had vanished. "One hour is enough to tear you to pieces!"

He tore every scroll and ninja tool pouch from Yizhong Ren's corpse.

Ignoring the blood still pouring from his wound, he chased after him wildly with bloodshot eyes.

The boy was Hyuga Seisen.

After escorting Keiko and her daughter for part of the journey, he had parted ways with them, agreeing to meet again someday.

On his way back to the village, he discovered that the road ahead was littered with traps.

Not one to meddle in others' affairs, he had quickly avoided them, never expecting that he himself was their target.

In the forest.

Hyuga Seisen fled forward at full speed, the trees on either side rushing past him.

He panted harshly and swallowed against his dry throat.

His chakra reserves were still far too low!

After concentrating all his chakra into the first arrow, he simply did not have enough chakra left to condense the second arrow.

His condensing speed was not good enough either. Once the enemy became alert, his accuracy dropped drastically.

If he managed to return alive this time, he had to find a way to solve both problems.

He took out his last few soldier pills, chewed them to a pulp, and swallowed them with difficulty along with a little saliva.

Within the Byakugan's field of vision, the enemy was injured, yet still relentlessly pursuing him from behind.

He felt somewhat fortunate. Though the second arrow had missed the enemy's vital spots, it had at least struck his thigh.

Otherwise, he would have been caught already.

Even so, the distance between them was steadily shrinking.

A ninja's combat ability depended on overall capability. Though he possessed the power of a Quincy,

his other aspects were too lacking, severely holding him back.

He opened the ninja tool pouch he had seized from the big man a few days ago.

As he ran, he searched for suitable spots, occasionally using steel wire to rig explosive tags and shuriken.

Before long, explosions rang out one after another behind him, accompanied by Yi Zhongwu's enraged roars.

The crude traps caused Yi Zhongwu plenty of trouble, but they did not widen the distance between them by much.

This won't work!

If he kept running like this, his chakra would definitely be depleted first.

And he did not have many ninja tools left.

The chakra restored by the soldier pills also had to be saved for critical moments.

While racing forward, he continuously thought of countermeasures, his Byakugan scanning the surroundings above, below, left, and right.

A moment later.

He suddenly grabbed a handful of kunai and fired them toward the surrounding tree trunks.

The thin steel wires attached to the kunai tails lodged one after another into the trunks, forming a crisscrossing web.

Near the leaves, explosive tags were secretly tied to the steel wires.

He did not stop. Instead, he ran farther ahead.

When the enemy had drawn close enough, he suddenly stopped.

He turned to face Yi Zhongwu.

With the air of a man driven into a corner, he gripped a kunai and charged at him...