Into the Land of Fire

Yozuki A shook his head and rejected Chiba Shun and the others' suggestion. "Konoha is facing one against four again this time. They need to mobilize shinobi from the entire village. How could that happen so quickly?"

"I won't go too deep. Just another ten kilometers ahead."

Chiba Shun, Sakai Yushi, and Killer B exchanged looks and all nodded.

Then the four of them quickly headed deeper into the Land of Fire.

After advancing a certain distance, the four would stop and wait for Chiba Shun to use his sensory ninjutsu.

A moment later, Chiba Shun suddenly said, "Found them. There are actually two four-man squads ahead!"

Yozuki A said, "Kill our way through!"

With that, he charged in the direction Chiba Shun had indicated without even checking the enemy's strength.

The other three did not dare to delay and hurried after him.

Compared to the others, Chiba Shun specialized more in ninjutsu, so he stayed behind the three of them, keeping some distance.

After only a few steps, Chiba Shun said, "Not good. They spotted us. They have a shinobi skilled in sensory techniques too."

He did not need to point it out. The distance between the two sides was already short, and Yozuki A's group of three had noticed the enemy's movements as well.

Yozuki A was not surprised. The people they had encountered at this point had to be Konoha's scouting squads. Was it not perfectly normal for them to have sensory shinobi?

To keep those people from escaping, Yozuki A accelerated even further.

Among their group of four, Chiba Shun had the lowest rank, merely a Special Jonin. The other three were all Jonin.

Even so, including Chiba Shun, all four of them were skilled in taijutsu and extremely fast.

However, most of the Konoha shinobi in those two squads were only Chunin. They were nowhere near as fast as Chiba Shun's group.

Before long, the four of them saw the Konoha shinobi.

Knowing they could not escape, the Konoha shinobi had already formed up and prepared for battle.

Yozuki A did not slow down. As he charged at them, he said, "So it's the Byakugan. No wonder they discovered us so quickly."

That was right. Among the Konoha shinobi was a member of the Hyuga Clan.

Of course, he had to be from the Branch House.

This Hyuga Branch House member was regretting it now. The Byakugan was the foremost Kekkei Genkai for reconnaissance, far more useful than the Aburame Clan's parasitic insects or the Inuzuka Clan's ninja hounds.

However, activating the Byakugan consumed chakra, so the Hyuga Clan used it intermittently while scouting.

He had just waited a rather long time before activating the Byakugan for another look.

After all, this was already deep within the Land of Fire. He had not expected these four Kumogakure shinobi to be so bold as to penetrate this far.

By the time he spotted Chiba Shun and the others, they were already charging toward his group.

If only I'd activated the Byakugan sooner! Akira Hyuga gritted his teeth.

But this was no time to think about that. The battle had already begun.

Yozuki A charged at all eight enemies alone, while Killer B and Sakai Yushi attacked from both flanks.

All three of them unleashed powerful chakra.

The hearts of Konoha's two Jonin, including Akira Hyuga, sank.

They only had two Jonin, while the other side had three.

Moreover, judging by the presence of Yozuki A and Killer B, they did not seem like ordinary Jonin.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique! Wind Release: Breakthrough!" The two Chunin coordinated flawlessly, launching a combined ninjutsu attack at Yozuki A.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!" One Jonin used his strongest Water Release to meet Killer B head-on.

Akira Hyuga charged toward the remaining Sakai Yushi.

He believed Sakai Yushi was the weakest of the three. He planned to take Sakai Yushi down first, then support his other comrades.

Besides that, a large number of kunai, shuriken, and Explosive Tags were thrown at the three of them.

A few were thrown toward Chiba Shun as well, though not many, since his presence was the weakest among the four.

Chiba Shun already had the least chakra among the four, and he had just gone through several hard battles. He did not have much chakra left.

Chiba Shun smiled faintly. This was perfect.

He had been forming hand seals the entire time he approached those Konoha shinobi.

At last, the lengthy sequence of hand seals was complete. He dodged several kunai, slapped both hands onto the ground, and shouted dramatically, "Earth Release: Mountain Earth Technique!"

This was the first time Chiba Shun had truly used the Earth Release: Mountain Earth Technique, and also the first time he had used it in actual combat.

All his previous practice attempts had failed. Whenever he used the Earth Release: Mountain Earth Technique before, the two hemispherical rocks would run out of power before they could close together.

But this time, Chiba Shun felt that he might be able to pull it off!

Chiba Shun did not know that this was precisely the battle-forged strengthening of his will that he had thought so difficult to achieve.

Yozuki A sensed it and smiled faintly. He had never liked Chiba Shun's overly cautious way of fighting.

That was why he had chosen to take the risk of going deep into the Land of Fire: to use the dangers of the Land of Fire to give Chiba Shun a push.

The facts proved that his gamble had succeeded. Chiba Shun must have sensed the danger and decided to end the battle quickly. At last, he was willing to go all out!

Now that's what a Kumogakure shinobi should be like. Playing schemes all day long—how does that look like a Kumogakure shinobi?

With both hands pressed to the ground, Chiba Shun poured in chakra with all his might and desperately controlled it according to the instructions on the ninjutsu scroll Danzo had given him.

He did not have much chakra left, so he should not have been able to succeed. But he had swallowed a Soldier Pill while running over and forcibly refined chakra without regard for the damage as he continued channeling it.

Finally, two massive hemispherical rocks rose from the ground on either side of the tight defensive formation made up of Konoha's six Chunin.

The enormous hemispherical rocks rapidly squeezed toward the shinobi in the middle.

This time, the rocks closed far faster than they had in any previous attempt.

Seeing hope of success, Chiba Shun was invigorated and increased his chakra extraction speed once more.

Konoha's six Chunin were terrified. Why were the Kumogakure shinobi going all out from the very beginning?

Had that Kumogakure shinobi gone mad? His ninjutsu had trapped even his own companions inside its range.

Moreover, the enemy's chakra fluctuations were abnormal. It seemed he was using a ninjutsu beyond his own capabilities.

Was that really necessary?!

You clearly had the advantage, so why were you risking your lives from the start?

Konoha's tightly packed formation immediately fell apart. They could no longer spare any attention for Yozuki A's charge and scattered in every direction.

But that was exactly what Chiba Shun wanted. Yozuki A completely ignored Chiba Shun's Earth Release: Mountain Earth Technique and continued charging into the Konoha shinobi.

He took them down almost one punch at a time. Those Konoha shinobi had neglected their defenses in their rush to flee.

Of the six Chunin, four died at Yozuki A's hands. The last two avoided Yozuki A's attacks but failed to escape the Earth Release: Mountain Earth Technique's range and were crushed into meat paste.

Yozuki A, Sakai Yushi, Killer B, and Konoha's two Jonin, all of whom had also been caught in the attack, escaped in time.

Chiba Shun did not stop his ninjutsu just because Yozuki A had successfully broken through. He knew his current state was rare. Once he gave it up, he might not have another opportunity like this for years.

"Ahhh!" He completed the Earth Release: Mountain Earth Technique amid a roar.

His chakra was drained completely in an instant, including the chakra supplied by the Soldier Pill and the chakra he had forcibly refined during battle.

Watching the two hemispherical rocks close successfully, Chiba Shun collapsed onto the ground and panted heavily.

Even so, a smile appeared on his face.

Whew. I finally succeeded!

On Konoha's side, Akira Hyuga and the other Jonin exchanged glances and prepared to flee.

Akira Hyuga had originally planned to kill Sakai Yushi first, but his subordinates had been dealt with so quickly that his plan had fallen apart.

But it was obviously too late to flee now. Killer B and the other two had already entangled them.

Akira Hyuga truly deserved to be a Jonin of the Hyuga Clan. Facing Sakai Yushi's Five-Sword Style swordsmanship and Yozuki A's attacks, he was not killed immediately.

The remaining Jonin, on the other hand, was directly taken down by Killer B alone.

Perhaps Yozuki A felt embarrassed that his younger brother had beaten him to it. He was about to put in some effort and kill Akira Hyuga when he heard Chiba Shun say weakly, "Senior A, hold back. Yushi, stop. Keep this Hyuga alive!"

Sakai Yushi stopped immediately upon hearing that. Yozuki A hesitated for a moment, then did not attack again.

However, he moved directly to block Akira Hyuga's path back to the village to prevent him from escaping before looking at Chiba Shun, wanting to know what he intended.

Chiba Shun was still gasping for breath and could not speak for the moment. He pointed at Akira Hyuga, then at his own eyes.

Yozuki A frowned. "He's from the Hyuga Branch House. You can't obtain his eyes!"

Given Yozuki A's status, he naturally knew about the Caged Bird.

And he did not believe Chiba Shun was ignorant of something like that.

Sure enough, after catching his breath for a while, Chiba Shun said, "Of course I know that. But..."

Chiba Shun looked at Akira Hyuga and asked, "Senior of the Hyuga Clan, may I ask your name?"

Akira Hyuga frowned and did not answer.

Chiba Shun continued on his own. "Not long ago, I went to Konoha, and I was deeply impressed by its prosperity. Every shinobi and civilian in Konoha Village exudes confidence and unity. The Will of Fire truly is powerful. But I also noticed that amid this harmonious atmosphere, one group of people seemed completely out of place."

Akira Hyuga's heart stirred. He knew Chiba Shun was talking about him and the others.

Sure enough, Chiba Shun said, "That's right. Those people are your Hyuga Branch House. Konoha is one big family. Everyone is free—except you. You are a flock of caged birds!"

"You are slaves of the Hyuga Main House! Your lives and deaths are controlled by a single thought from the Hyuga Main House!"

After a pause, Chiba Shun said, "Senior of the Hyuga Clan, do you want to break free from the cage?"

Akira Hyuga's breathing became hurried. Of course he did. What Hyuga Branch House member had never entertained such thoughts?

But when he thought of the Cursed Seal on his forehead, his heart fell silent again.

He did not believe Kumogakure's Sealing Technique could undo the Caged Bird.

The Caged Bird had no solution.

And he did not have much time. Once the village learned he had gone missing, the Main House could activate the Caged Bird remotely and kill him instantly!

This was not as though it had never happened before!