The First Arrow After Coming Ashore

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

"When you scouted the area, didn't you pound your chest and swear there was only one main road through these woods?!"

Yi Zhongwu shrank his neck, stammering awkwardly.

"I... I found a small path, but it was too narrow. I didn't think they'd take that way.

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

"Bastard!" Yi Zhongren's vision went dark with rage as he fiercely slapped the back of Yi Zhongwu's head.

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

"Then I'll go collect the Explosive Tags from the traps first. It'd be a waste—"

"Collect my ass... cough, cough... Collect nothing, you bastard! Lead the way!"

Yi Zhongren's roar echoed through the forest.

Yi Zhongwu did not dare say another word. He carefully focused his senses for a moment.

His round body burst forth with speed utterly unfitting for his size as he charged in one direction.

Yi Zhongren followed closely behind, gritting his teeth.

As they ran, Yi Zhongwu hesitated before finally speaking.

"Big Brother... that kid's so tender-looking. Once we catch him, could you... leave me an arm or a thigh? It's been so long since I've had meat..."

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

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

Yi Zhongwu looked utterly aggrieved and did not dare speak again, simply lowering his head as he sensed the way forward.

A moment later.

His speed suddenly slowed, confusion filling his tiny eyes.

"What is it?"

Yi Zhongren quickly stopped and warily looked around.

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

There was a hint 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!" Yi Zhongren abruptly looked up. Only then did he realize it.

The air around them had somehow become damp and thick.

A dense veil of mist silently spread through the area, abruptly reducing visibility to less than ten meters!

He reached out and 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 as he began forming hand seals.

Suddenly!

An extremely faint twang of a bowstring entered his senses.

Then, he sensed a rapidly moving object speeding toward them.

"Big Brother! Behind us!!"

Yi Zhongwu's eyes nearly split open as he let out a hoarse scream.

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

The next moment!

The mist seemed to be stirred by something as a blue-white arrow tore through it and appeared before their eyes.

Like a bolt of lightning, the arrow whistled straight toward Yi Zhongren.

Damn it!

Yi Zhongren inwardly cried out in alarm. He instinctively twisted his body, trying to evade, but he had nowhere to brace himself in midair.

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

Boom!

Yi Zhongren was sent flying by the arrow like a ragged sack.

He slammed stiffly against a massive tree and slowly slid down.

After smashing his head beyond recognition, the light arrow dispersed.

Yi Zhongren did not even have a chance to tilt his head before dying completely.

Yi Zhongwu stared blankly at Yi Zhongren's unrecognizable face beneath the tree.

He could hardly believe it.

The brother he had grown up with had, in an instant, ended up sitting motionless against a tree.

"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 tried his best to dodge, the outer side of his right thigh was still instantly torn apart.

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

"Ahhh! My leg!"

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

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

Wind Release: Gale Palm.

A violent gust blasted forward, pushing away the mist before him.

The fog dispersed.

By the shore of a pond ahead stood a youth in silence.

The youth was handsome and upright, holding a blue-white Spirit Bow in his hand. His white eyes watched Yi Zhongwu coldly.

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 beside him without the slightest hesitation.

"Trying to run? You little brat are dead."

His teeth bared in fury as he lunged toward Yi Zhongren's corpse.

He roughly pulled a syringe from his pack. Seeing the golden liquid within, hesitation flashed through his eyes. "Big Brother said this stuff has side effects..."

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

Yi Zhongwu steeled himself, plunged the syringe into his body, and quickly injected the liquid.

The pallor on his face visibly turned rosy. The pain in his leg immediately faded, and he felt the strength in his body growing ever greater.

"This damned stuff really works!" He looked toward where Hyuga Qingchuan had disappeared. "One hour is enough to tear you into pieces!"

He tore all the scrolls and ninja tool pouches from Yi Zhongren's corpse.

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

The youth was Hyuga Qingchuan.

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

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

Not one to meddle in other people's business, he quickly avoided them, never expecting that he himself was their target.

In the forest.

Hyuga Qingchuan ran for his life, the trees on both sides rapidly flashing past.

He panted heavily, swallowing against his dry throat.

His chakra reserves were still far too low!

After concentrating all his chakra into the first arrow, he simply had not possessed enough chakra to condense the second arrow properly.

His condensation speed was lacking as well. Once the enemy became alert, his accuracy had dropped drastically.

If he made it back alive this time, he had to find a way to solve both problems.

He took out his last few Military Ration Pills, chewed them into mush, and struggled to swallow them with a little saliva.

Through the Byakugan's vision, he saw that although the enemy was injured, he was still relentlessly pursuing him from behind.

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

Otherwise, he would already have been caught by now.

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 abilities were far too lacking, severely holding him back.

He opened the ninja tool pouch he had seized from Han a few days earlier.

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

Soon, a series of explosions and Yi Zhongwu's angry roars sounded from behind him.

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

No!

If he kept running like this, his chakra would definitely be the first to run out.

Moreover, he did not have many ninja tools left.

The chakra restored by the Military Ration Pills also had to be saved for a critical moment.

As he sprinted, his mind constantly considered countermeasures while his Byakugan scanned the surroundings in every direction.

A moment later.

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

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

The thin steel wires attached to the kunai hilts pierced the trunks one after another, forming an interwoven grid.

Explosive Tags were secretly tied to the wires near the leaves.

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

When the enemy was nearly close enough, he suddenly stopped.

He turned to face Yi Zhongwu.

With the bearing of someone at the end of his rope, he gripped a kunai and charged at him...