Pursued and Cornered

By then, Neji had followed Hyuga Keisuke out of the encirclement under the lead of three Branch Family Jonin, plunging into the dense forest outside Kirigakure.

Kirigakure had focused most of its efforts on hunting down the mysterious Masked Man, Obito Uchiha. Its attention on the Hyuga Clan had slackened considerably, giving them a chance to break out.

"Come on. We're leaving the Land of Water immediately!" Hyuga Keisuke ordered.

Using their Byakugan, they effectively avoided Kirigakure's large patrol units. They could always find weak points in its defenses, then overwhelm them in a single strike.

The sixteen members of the Hyuga Clan raced toward a dock in the Land of Water without stopping. They needed to board a ship and leave before word from Kirigakure reached the docks.

Meanwhile, Obito Uchiha slaughtered Kirigakure's ninja in the mist. Although the mist restricted his Sharingan, even those proficient in the Silent Killing Technique continued to die at his hands.

Obito Uchiha had extraordinarily keen instincts, and his attacks were blindingly fast. Kirigakure ninja who ambushed him rarely returned alive.

"Ridiculous!" Obito Uchiha knew perfectly well what Kirigakure intended. They merely wanted to hold him here long enough for Mizukage Karatachi Yagura to hide.

"Utterly pointless." Obito Uchiha sneered. Having controlled Kirigakure for so many years, he had long since used White Zetsu's unique abilities to plant numerous covert assets.

"It's time." With a thought, Obito Uchiha's entire body turned fluidlike and was drawn into a transparent vortex, entering the Kamui Dimension.

When he appeared again, he was already back in the Land of Rain, materializing inside a pitch-black cave.

No sooner had Obito Uchiha appeared than the strange, pitcher-plant-shaped figure formed by the combined Black and White Zetsu emerged from underground.

"Zetsu, have the White Zetsu in the Land of Water