"Hehe, interesting!"
"Kid, let me see how much skill you actually have!"
Sensing Mu Feng's fighting spirit, Hozuki Mangetsu wore a smile.
Gripping the Hiramekarei in his hand, Hozuki Mangetsu launched his attack the next moment. With a sudden dash, Hozuki Mangetsu rushed in front of Mu Feng at an incredible speed, and then his right arm swept horizontally, swinging the Hiramekarei in a crescent arc through the air.
With a swish!
The sound of breaking air made one feel tense.
Fighting a Jonin for the first time, Mu Feng did not dare to lower his guard; the moment Hozuki Mangetsu moved, he activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Within his field of vision, Hozuki Mangetsu's movements suddenly slowed down considerably, and Mu Feng took a backward step, easily dodging Hozuki Mangetsu's fatal blow.
The next moment, his hands wove hand seals rapidly as chakra flowed through his body.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
He slammed his hands hard onto the ground, and immediately, the entire earth began to shake. A giant dragon rolled out from the soil, let out an angry roar, and lunged directly to bite Hozuki Mangetsu.
A flash of surprise crossed Hozuki Mangetsu's gaze; when he was Mu Feng's age, he could never have executed such a ninjutsu-leaving aside the difficulty of the technique, the sheer volume of chakra alone was something he could not match.
Looking at Mu Feng on the other hand, after executing the Earth Dragon Bullet, he showed no signs whatsoever of excessive chakra consumption, instead rapidly retreating to create distance.
Hozuki Mangetsu gripped the Hiramekarei; as the leader of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, his taijutsu was also terrifyingly formidable.
In contrast, Mu Feng had no weapon in his hands, and his taijutsu was limited to Basic Taijutsu and the Eight Gates Released Formation.
Yet the Eight Gates Released Formation, being Mu Feng's ultimate trump card, could not be casually revealed.
Therefore, creating distance now and launching attacks on Hozuki Mangetsu to wear him down using ninjutsu was the best strategy.
Hozuki Mangetsu also saw through Mu Feng's intentions.
"Want to defeat me from a distance using ninjutsu?"
"A decent thought, it's just a pity you can't pull it off..." Hozuki Mangetsu let out a cold snort.
Mu Feng's appearance indicated that he could not be very old, and ninjutsu capable of effectively injuring a Jonin was generally B-rank or above; relying purely on ninjutsu, Hozuki Mangetsu did not believe Mu Feng could pull it off.
Hozuki Mangetsu continued swinging his blade to slash at Mu Feng.
Having put some distance between them, Mu Feng stared at Hozuki Mangetsu, who was attempting to close in, a hint of anxiety welling up in his eyes as he continued to perform ninjutsu.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
He spat a massive ball of searing fire from his mouth, and the surging heat wave charged toward Hozuki Mangetsu.
This burst of fire was particularly striking amidst the night.
"Tsk!"
Hozuki Mangetsu let out a dissatisfied snort, yet he had no choice but to dodge sideways to evade Mu Feng's attack, forced from the front to the right side by the Great Fireball.
At that exact moment, Mu Feng further widened the distance between himself and Hozuki Mangetsu, fleeing away toward the left.
Meanwhile, with Mu Feng holding the enemy off, Kakashi recovered from his weak state and began to take action on his own.
At the same time, in the distance, a commotion seemed to erupt from the Konoha village.
Hearing this, Hozuki Mangetsu frowned.
"This kid intends to use ninjutsu to cause a huge stir and wait for Konoha's reinforcement!"
"Damn it!"
Hozuki Mangetsu gritted his teeth, second-guessing Mu Feng's objective. He looked toward Konoha in the distance, a retreat beginning to take root in his heart.
Kakashi plus Mu Feng-he wasn't afraid of them!
But if he got entangled by Konoha's Anbu, escaping would become terribly difficult!
"Damn it! So he was planning to outmaneuver me here!"
"Kid, you lot are lucky this time!"
Staring at the distant turmoil within Konoha, Hozuki Mangetsu glared viciously at Mu Feng.
As his words fell, Hozuki Mangetsu turned and headed deep into the jungle.
"Hah!"
Watching Hozuki Mangetsu's departing figure, Kakashi collapsed flat onto the ground, his eyes filled with the relief of having survived a catastrophe.
Then, Kakashi turned to look at Mu Feng and opened his mouth to express his gratitude.
"Mu Feng, thank you..."
Yet before Kakashi's words could finish, Mu Feng walked straight up to him and snatched the short sword right out of Kakashi's grip.
"Lend me your blade!"
Dropping those baffling words, Mu Feng actually gave chase after Hozuki Mangetsu.
Swish, swish, swish-
Within a few flashes, Mu Feng's figure vanished deep into the jungle just like Hozuki Mangetsu's, leaving a stunned Kakashi standing there, looking on at a loss.
Deep within the jungle, Mu Feng moved rapidly; aided by the Sharingan, he could clearly capture the direction and traces of Hozuki Mangetsu's departure.
Chasing Hozuki Mangetsu was not out of arrogance on Mu Feng's part; he had thought it through very clearly.
Having managed to encounter a foreign Jonin inside Konoha, he absolutely could not easily abandon this opportunity for combat.
Besides, the exchange between the two of them just now had already alarmed Konoha, and Anbu personnel were undoubtedly on their way.
At this time, as long as Mu Feng wasn't instantly killed by Hozuki Mangetsu, he remained in a safe state throughout this battle.
Moreover, Mu Feng's current strength was already equivalent to a Jonin; coupled with the Eight Gates Released Formation, Wood Release, and Hashirama's constitution, it was virtually impossible for Hozuki Mangetsu to kill Mu Feng in an instant.
Yet if Mu Feng could stall Hozuki Mangetsu, or even kill him, he would not only enhance his actual combat experience but also acquire extra corruption points.
All in all, pursuing Hozuki Mangetsu was a completely risk-free investment.
Soon, after a period of pursuit, Mu Feng spotted Hozuki Mangetsu sprinting ahead.
Hozuki Mangetsu spotted Mu Feng as well, and seeing that Mu Feng dared to be so bold, he was surprised.
Yet the next moment, a surge of anger welled up from the bottom of his heart.
He never expected that an ordinary Konoha child would have the guts to hunt him down; this was undoubtedly a challenge and insult to him.
"Since you want to throw your life away so badly, I'll grant your wish!"
Killing intent surfaced in Hozuki Mangetsu's eyes, and the next moment, he swung the Hiramekarei in his hand.
With a bang.
A gaseous orb of energy blasted out from the Hiramekarei, hurtling straight toward Mu Feng.
Mu Feng immediately braced himself, and under the Sharingan, he used a Body Flicker Technique to dodge it, continuing his pursuit of Hozuki Mangetsu.
Determined that Mu Feng was hell-bent on chasing him, Hozuki Mangetsu instead directly put away the Hiramekarei and accelerated his pace underfoot.
Mu Feng gritted his teeth and picked up his speed as well.
Before long, following Hozuki Mangetsu's footsteps, the two fled toward the outskirts of Konoha.
After pursuing for about two full minutes, Hozuki Mangetsu finally halted by a pool of water, abruptly spinning around to glare at Mu Feng.
"Konoha brat, you've really pissed me off!"
As the words fell, Hozuki Mangetsu formed hand seals.
"Hidden Mist Technique!"
As the voice settled, a thick fog dispersed across the area.
Mu Feng thought to himself that this was bad, and hurriedly raised his guard.
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