Sudden Attack

The instant Hyuga Yuto sprang into action, Sugisaki Tetsujiro reacted.

A battle-hardened middle-aged jonin, he understood Yuto's choice in an instant—

Ignore the besieged Sato Mahiro for now and concentrate their strength on killing the enemy's only jonin first. Sacrifice the rook to save the king; it was a race to see who could eliminate their opponent faster!

In a flash, the Hidden Cloud Village jonin dodged the kunai Yuto had thrown. Using his natural adult reach advantage, he seized Yuto's elbow first and forcibly halted his attack.

As a jonin of Kumogakure, he was proficient in Lightning Release and Nintaijutsu. In this close-range contest of strength, twelve-year-old Hyuga Yuto was at a severe disadvantage.

Yet the Hyuga branch family's genius showed no fear. Instead, he used the Hidden Cloud jonin's arm as a pivot, suspended himself in midair, and planted both feet against his enemy's chest.

Enormous force erupted between them. Yuto's bones were weaker than his opponent's, and his joints began to creak as though they might be torn apart at any moment.

"Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!" Suddenly, a pair of hands shot out from the ground beneath the Hidden Cloud jonin's feet and yanked him underground, leaving only his upper body exposed.

Bang! Sugisaki Tetsujiro emerged from underground. Having temporarily restrained his enemy, he slashed his coldly gleaming kunai at the man's throat.

With his lower body buried in the earth and his arms entangled with Yuto's, the Hidden Cloud jonin had no choice but to use brute force to fling Yuto away before raising both hands to block the kunai.

Squelch!

His palm was pierced through, its bones nailed in place by the kunai.

"Aaaaargh!" In the face of danger, the Hidden Cloud jonin's ferocity was roused. His formidable physique erupted with power in an instant. Like a frenzied beast, he ignored the pain, forcibly tore free of the kunai, spread his arms, and grabbed Sugisaki Tetsujiro around the waist.

He lifted the Hidden Leaf Village jonin, unleashing chakra with the force of a dying struggle. Silver-white arcs of lightning coursed over his body as he gripped Sugisaki Tetsujiro and hurled him into the ground with all his strength!

Ninja Art: Liger Bomb!

Sugisaki Tetsujiro's head struck the ground, shattering the forest floor and rocks into terrifying spiderweb cracks.

The Hidden Leaf jonin coughed up a mouthful of blood and nearly passed out.

But a jonin was still a jonin. Even after suffering such a grievous blow, he could counterattack. With swift precision, Sugisaki Tetsujiro formed several hand seals.

An extremely thin, high-pressure stream of water shot from Sugisaki Tetsujiro's mouth. So fast that it pierced through the air in an instant, it struck the enemy squarely in the abdomen. The razor-sharp water blade bored through the Hidden Cloud jonin's body, only reverting into a pool of water after passing through more than ten trees.

—Water Release: Water Severing Wave!

This was also Sugisaki Tetsujiro's trump card, and the only S-rank ninjutsu he had mastered!

The Hidden Leaf's assault did not stop.

Yuto charged in again from behind. Seizing the instant his enemy was grievously wounded, he drove a vicious fist into the man's temple. Chakra burst forth, fully displaying the Gentle Fist's sinister, penetrating force as it utterly pulverized the enemy's soft brain.

The Hidden Cloud jonin merely let out a muffled groan before his body went limp. He died on the spot.

Yuto gasped for breath, sweat boiling off his entire body like steam.

Sugisaki Tetsujiro struggled to climb to his feet, then spat out another mouthful of blood.

"Senior Sugisaki." Yuto stood beside him. "Let me take the lead from here. Your cervical vertebra could snap at any moment."

"All right... You've worked hard, Yuto." Sugisaki Tetsujiro gave a bitter smile and did not force himself to continue.

The two faced the remaining enemies.

At that moment, the corpse of the Hidden Leaf genin Sato Mahiro slowly fell to the ground as well.

Both sides had killed the opponents surrounding them at almost the same moment.

The remaining Hidden Cloud shinobi exchanged glances, assumed formation, and waited for the final fight.

They knew that fleeing was meaningless before the Byakugan.

Thirty minutes later.

In the dense forest along the Land of Fire's border, Hyuga Yuto and Sugisaki Tetsujiro walked side by side, staggering onward. Neither knew medical ninjutsu, so they could only endure the pain and keep moving.

They had gained several more wounds. Even a genin's final counterattack before death could not be underestimated.

Still, the outcome was ultimately good. Yuto and Sugisaki Tetsujiro had worked together to wipe out the Hidden Cloud side completely, protecting the hard-won intelligence.

"You're truly remarkable, Yuto," Sugisaki Tetsujiro suddenly said.

Battle could quickly bring men closer together. At first, Sugisaki Tetsujiro had addressed Yuto by his full name, but now his tone had become quite familiar.

"Yuto, when our reconnaissance team was formed, I already knew of your reputation." Sugisaki Tetsujiro sighed. "At only twelve, you had already touched the realm of jonin. They called you Hyuga's Jade—exceptionally talented as a shinobi, diligent, intelligent, and treating the honor of your village and clan as everything... Only after meeting you this time did I realize that no amount of praise could be too much."

"Senior Tetsujiro, you flatter me." Hyuga Yuto smiled.

He had changed his form of address as well, calling Sugisaki Tetsujiro by name as he answered gently, "You held off most of their forces, along with that jonin. At the critical moment, you even used an S-rank ninjutsu to grievously wound the enemy. Without you, we all would have died, but..."

The Hyuga branch family's genius lowered his head. His tone became somewhat dejected, and his steps slowed, clearly weighed down by sorrow.

"But Sato Mahiro, Yamagata Reiro, and Hirahara Eiji... the three of them are gone. I..."

Sugisaki Tetsujiro also sighed, but he did not stop to turn back and comfort him. For shinobi, accepting the deaths of comrades was an unavoidable part of life. No one could escape it; it was a required lesson for every shinobi.

"Yuto, look ahead. You've rendered meritorious service again this time—killing enemies and protecting the intelligence. You are worthy of the title Hyuga's Jade."

"Ah... Senior Tetsujiro, thank you... That intelligence truly is important. It was worth paying such a price."

"It's good that you understand that." Sugisaki Tetsujiro suddenly smacked his forehead. Reaching into the field pack at his lower back, he pulled out a cylinder and handed it to Yuto. "Good thing you mentioned it—I almost forgot... Here. When escorting intelligence, the intelligence itself should be carried in turns by the leading jonin. You aren't a jonin yet, but my physical condition is poor right now, so it would be better for us to take turns keeping it... Making judgments based on how a situation develops is also a required lesson for shinobi."

"All right, Lord Tetsujiro."

The boy's gentle, calm voice sounded from behind him.

Sugisaki Tetsujiro felt the weight in his hand vanish abruptly. Clearly, Hyuga Yuto had already taken the intelligence scroll.

At almost the same instant, Sugisaki Tetsujiro felt something else—

Pain. Excruciating pain.

As a jonin, he instantly knew what had happened.

A kunai stabbed into me from behind. From top to bottom, it slipped between my fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae and severed the nerve center. It's an enemy! But weren't the enemies already...

Before he could make sense of it, the boy's voice reached his ears again.

Still gentle. Still calm.

"Senior Tetsujiro, what are you so surprised about? At a time like this, of course I wouldn't use Gentle Fist."

[The young Hyuga's Jade had a voice as calm as still water, revealing the unshakable resolve in his heart. As a shinobi, he would not waver in the slightest.]

Sugisaki Tetsujiro suddenly recalled those words.