A Change in Identity

In the dense forest, the roles of hunter and prey were constantly switching.

Caught off guard by the attack and having lost a companion, the Uchiha suddenly went from being cats to being mice.

Dressed in black tactical vests and wearing masks to conceal their identities, the two Uchiha moved through the trees like agile wildcats, their speed increasing again and again.

They spared no Chakra in pursuit of greater speed and explosive power, trying to escape Ryosuke's group's close-range attack range.

Their intention to quickly widen the distance and launch a counterattack was hardly concealed. Both Ryosuke and Souji could see it clearly.

"Fire Style, Great Fireball Jutsu."

"Wind Style, Wind Willow!"

The Uchiha who appeared to be a Jonin rapidly formed hand seals. As he widened the distance, he suddenly turned and spat out an enormous fireball, like a massive boulder, at Ryosuke's pursuing group.

Beside him, without any prior communication,

the remaining Uchiha Chunin likewise formed hand seals purely by instinct and combat experience. Chakra flowed through his body, forming a gale through a special circulation method before erupting from his mouth.

Like towering waves rising from the sea, the fierce wind swept around the fireball, stoking it to even more searing temperatures as it crashed toward Ryosuke's group.

What had been a boulder-like fireball instantly turned into a sea of flames beneath the gale.

The scorching heat within that firestorm made the already stifling air beneath the blazing sun even hotter.

Even the proud and arrogant Uchiha had no confidence in facing the Hyuga Clan's close-range taijutsu, so they could only flee and widen the distance.

Sometimes, enemies and rivals understood you better than you understood yourself.

As rivals, the Uchiha had fought the Hyuga Clan before. Whether they were Hyuga students still studying at the Ninja Academy or Hyuga who had graduated and officially become ninja, they had crossed blades with them all.

Thus, the two Uchiha knew full well how terrifying the Hyuga Clan's taijutsu was when combined with the Byakugan.

Under most circumstances where all other factors were equal, they would suffer a crushing defeat in close combat.

As long as they could awaken the Byakugan and had the talent to master the Gentle Fist Style, the Hyuga Clan was practically invincible in close-range combat. Only Ninjutsu or Genjutsu gave one a chance of defeating them.

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm."

Ryosuke calmly stopped pursuing them.

At his side, Souji and Seisai had already thrust out their palms in succession. Highly condensed Chakra burst from the Tenketsu in their palms and slammed toward the sea of flames before them.

Their Byakugan had long since seen through the flow of Chakra within the two Uchiha.

They had been on guard even before the Uchiha formed their hand seals.

Boom—

The nearly invisible, highly condensed Chakra collided with the firestorm in midair, producing a massive, muffled roar.

Then, that invisible condensed Chakra was swallowed by the flames.

That Uchiha Jonin possessed considerable mastery over Chakra nature transformation. Though it was merely a C-rank Fire Style Ninjutsu, he had unleashed power approaching that of an A-rank technique.

Moreover, under the gusts of Wind Style Ninjutsu from the Uchiha Chunin, its originally limited range had expanded, compensating for the Great Fireball Jutsu's weakness of being difficult to hit people with.

The Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm alone could no longer extinguish this sea of flames.

Fortunately, those two palm strikes had blocked the charge of the combined Ninjutsu, causing it to explode in midair.

Whoosh—

The wind howled fiercely. Centered on the explosion, sparks scattered in every direction with the gale.

The forest was already highly flammable in the dry weather. Amid the explosive force created by that firestorm, the trees became fuel for the blaze in the blink of an eye, and raging flames surrounded Ryosuke's group.

Before the thick smoke and blazing fire, Ryosuke's group remained calm.

Temporarily trapped within the firestorm, the two Uchiha concealed outside the ring of flames quickly moved around its perimeter.

Swish, swish—

Countless Shuriken shot out from all directions through the dense forest like raindrops.

The cold gleam of metal flashed through the searing flames as they lunged at Ryosuke's group.

Unfortunately, with the Byakugan, Ryosuke's group had long seen both men's movements and whereabouts. Even though their Shuriken throwing technique was exquisite and unique to the Uchiha Clan, it still could not evade the Byakugan's insight.

"You two don't need to worry about me. Follow the plan and pursue them, keep them tied down, force them to expend Chakra, and maintain distance to avoid close combat. I'll catch up as soon as possible."

Ryosuke quietly reminded them.

"This is an order."

He emphasized it again.

Given his Chakra reserves and physical condition, keeping up with a battle between Chunin and stronger opponents was already difficult, let alone when those two Uchiha were burning Chakra to increase their speed.

Making sure he did not become dead weight in this battle was the key to victory.

"Yes."

Souji and Seisai did not hesitate. After answering in unison, Chakra surged out from Tenketsu all over their bodies, wrapping their forms in what seemed like a protective film.

Braving the raging flames, they leaped into the air and chased the two black silhouettes through the forest.

Rotation was a secret technique passed down only within the main family.

Yet some gifted Hyuga clan members could still glean certain methods of using it from scattered clues.

The method Souji and the others had just used was a simplified version of Rotation.

The Chakra barrier they condensed was not as tough as the true Rotation and could not be called absolute defense, but it could still briefly shield them from the scorching flames.

Watching the four figures exchange occasional blows as they disappeared into the distance, Ryosuke turned back toward the raging flames around him. He too circulated his Chakra, condensing a Chakra barrier over his body before leaving the firestorm.

Forest fires caused by battles like this often occurred during Ninjutsu clashes, but there was no way to spare attention to deal with them in the midst of combat. They could only return to clean up after the battle ended.

Now that the four of them had left one after another, Ryosuke had gone from the open back into the shadows.

The Uchiha Clan's Sharingan did not possess the Hyuga Clan's ability to see through objects.

They could not keep an enemy locked onto at all times. Thus, Ryosuke had transformed from dead weight into a surprise weapon.

He could play a decisive role in the battle.

As long as he did not appear in the sight of those two Uchiha, they would remain under psychological pressure and would not dare retaliate too recklessly against Souji and Seisai.

Even if he was only an immature child.

"Now, the real battle begins."

Leaping through the forest alone and trailing far behind the others, Ryosuke's heart burned with excitement.

Many factors could affect the final outcome of a battle between ninja: strategy, strength, environment...

Everything planned before this had merely been to bring both sides' strength to a relatively equal level and ensure the battle remained under control.

At the same time, it was Ryosuke's attempt to turn himself, in a true fight to the death, from an armchair strategist who was only good with words into a commander capable in both letters and arms.

Now, the test of strategy was over. Next came... the test of strength.