Tap, tap, tap—
Hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor.
With Hyuga Hiaka at the lead, Qian's group of four wound through the underground space, drawing closer and closer to Namikaze Minato's position.
Suddenly, Hyuga Hiaka stopped.
Seeing this, Qian immediately asked, "What is it?"
But before she could answer, a sensation like the sky was shaking and the earth was trembling swept over them. Qian gathered Chakra under his feet and only then barely managed to steady himself.
Crack after crack rang out nonstop. Splits appeared across the corridor and the vaulted ceiling, and the entire underground space shook.
This was not the kind of localized tremor caused by their earlier battle at all. It felt more like a major earthquake, with every place affected.
In truth, that was about right.
When the shaking stopped, Hyuga Hiaka spoke rapidly. "Someone above used Earth Release Ninjutsu to tear open the ground. Right now, four enemy groups are entering this underground space through the cracks."
At this point, her gaze swept ahead, and she continued, "One of those enemy groups is right in our path."
Hearing this, Qian frowned slightly and asked, "Can we go around them?"
Hyuga Hiaka scanned their surroundings, shook her head, and said, "There's no way around. There are Rock Ninja in other areas too. The enemy seems to know our approximate location."
"Is that so..."
After a moment's thought, Qian immediately said, "Then don't worry about it. Lead the way according to the original plan. Leave the enemies to us."
"Mm."
Hyuga Hiaka answered, then continued rushing forward. Qian and the other two did not hesitate at all and immediately followed.
At the same time, the Jonin of the Yamanaka Clan was also sensing Namikaze Minato's position. Once he sensed him, he could use the "Telepathy Technique"