Clang, clang, clang-
Near the forest hideout, the Konoha Anbu ninja clashed with the Kirigakure ninja.
Several shuriken streaked through the air, collided, and fell to the ground.
The Konoha Anbu ninja wearing a rabbit mask quickly found his target: a Kirigakure jonin holding a short sword.
Almost without needing a word from him, the other ninja beside him charged straight at the remaining two.
Thud-
In a flash, their fists collided with a dull impact.
The Kirigakure jonin swept his gaze over the battlefield. The three who remained were all capable fighters, while of the two who had fled, one was a sensory ninja and the other specialized in concealment and speed.
Their plan had been exposed. The Kirigakure jonin knew he was unlikely to make it back alive, but at least he had to get the intelligence out. Otherwise, more problems would arise later.
The two Konoha Anbu did not pursue the fleeing pair. Neither fugitive looked particularly strong, so they left them to Mu Feng and the other Anbu member on the perimeter.
Although the three members of their squad differed in strength, any qualified Anbu ninja was far stronger than an ordinary ninja.
This time, the Konoha Anbu were fairly confident. Even without Mu Feng, their three-man squad could complete the mission.
Elsewhere in the dense forest.
An explosion boomed through the hideout as the explosive tags detonated, putting Mu Feng and the Anbu ninja beside him on alert.
The ninja responsible for sensing quickly furrowed his brow.
"Someone's coming out! Follow me!"
As soon as he spoke, he darted toward the two Kirigakure ninja.
Mu Feng followed close behind. Without him even noticing, his eyes had turned red, three tomoe spinning before settling into place.
"Three tomoe?"
The sensory Anbu ninja was startled by Mu Feng's eyes.
Mu Feng nodded without speaking.
"I'll leave one of them to you. Can you handle that?"
"No problem!"
"Good. There are two up ahead, one on the left and one on the right. I'll take the one on the right!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-
Their figures darted through the forest. With their tactics settled, all that remained was to engage.
Following the sensory Anbu ninja, Mu Feng soon spotted the two Kirigakure ninja rushing out. At the same time, their opponents spotted them.
"So there were more of them?"
"What's going on? Two more!"
The Kirigakure ninja were surprised to see two people charging toward them.
Anbu usually operated in three-man squads. Some worked alone, but groups of four were rare.
"We can't worry about that now. Let's break out first! Since they sent Anbu, Konoha probably wants to resolve this in secret!"
"Right. You take the tall one. I'll take the short... damn it, he's an Uchiha! Don't look into his eyes!"
Both sides raced toward each other and soon met. Meanwhile, Mu Feng's crimson Sharingan caught the Kirigakure ninja's attention.
The Sharingan was famous, but for many ninja, its most terrifying aspect was the genjutsu unleashed through its ocular power.
When facing an enemy from the Uchiha Clan, many ninja instinctively avoided eye contact, lest they fall under genjutsu without even realizing it. Mere paralysis was manageable; losing the ability to distinguish friend from foe was the real problem.
At this point, however, despite having awakened his three-tomoe Sharingan, Mu Feng knew nothing about genjutsu. His greatest strengths were still taijutsu and ninjutsu.
Whoosh-
The distance between them closed. The Kirigakure ninja knew that to break through, they had to defeat Mu Feng and the other Anbu member before them.
One of the Kirigakure chunin threw his kunai, then immediately began forming hand seals.
His fingers moved in a rapid blur.
"Water Release: Water Cannon!"
The next instant, a surging blue-white ball of water hurtled straight toward Mu Feng and his companion.
Mu Feng and the other Anbu ninja hurriedly split apart, dodging sideways before kicking off branches in the dense forest and launching themselves toward their respective targets.
"We'll have to fight up close!"
The Kirigakure ninja gritted his teeth. Fighting a Konoha Anbu member at close range was hardly appealing, but they had no other choice.
"Let's focus on one of them and break through!"
They exchanged signals and quickly chose their target-not Mu Feng, but the sensory ninja.
After all, Mu Feng's Sharingan was intimidating enough to make it clear he was not someone to trifle with.
Both Kirigakure ninja charged straight at the sensory Anbu member, each drawing a kunai from his waist. The Anbu ninja frowned and glanced toward Mu Feng. He was not far away, but it would still take him several exchanges to reach them.
Facing two opponents at once would not be easy for this Anbu member.
Clang, clang, clang-
Both sides flashed past each other in midair, exchanging blows in the blink of an eye.
But in that exchange, the Anbu ninja was wounded. One of the Kirigakure ninja had slashed his arm.
The Anbu member looked over in shock. A cold gleam had appeared in the eyes of the man who had wounded him, and he released a murderous intent far too intense for a chunin.
"You're... not a chunin!" the sensory Anbu member exclaimed.
"A chunin? I became a jonin two years ago. Konoha's intelligence is hopelessly outdated! Why would we send a few ordinary chunin on a mission into Konoha?" the Kirigakure ninja said, staring at the wound on the Anbu member's arm. At that moment, he actually stopped.
His teammate also darted into position opposite him.
Mu Feng frowned at the sight and immediately rushed to the Konoha Anbu member's side.
"How is it?"
"The kunai was poisoned. I'm fine for now, but I probably can't use this arm!" The Anbu member quickly explained his condition. "It seems to be a neurotoxin. Be careful!"
"All right!"
Mu Feng nodded and turned his gaze toward the two Kirigakure ninja.
Both men frowned when they saw Mu Feng, clearly intimidated by his Sharingan.
"Let's retreat!"
The next instant, they exchanged glances. Unwilling to linger, they turned and raced away.
"Leaving won't be that easy!"
Mu Feng's gaze sharpened as the chakara inside him surged.
"Eight Gates Released Formation, open!"
With a boom, chakra surged through his body and unleashed a powerful blast of air.
This time, Mu Feng opened four gates at once. A layer of energy enveloped his body, and his presence became terrifying, like a ferocious beast of the wilderness.
"This... how is this possible!"
The two Kirigakure ninja immediately panicked at the sight. The Anbu member beside Mu Feng stared at him in shock as well.
Under the three men's gazes, Mu Feng suddenly vanished from where he stood.
"Watch out..." The Kirigakure jonin's warning was cut short.
With a heavy thud, tremendous force slammed into the Kirigakure ninja's torso. Before he could even catch sight of Mu Feng, he was hurled backward. While he was still airborne, another tremendous blow struck from above, hammering him into the ground.
A dull crash rang out as the Kirigakure jonin smashed into the earth. He struggled painfully to his feet, while his teammate had already lost his nerve completely.
"This... how is this possible? You're not from the Uchiha Clan!"
He stared at Mu Feng in shock, but Mu Feng answered him with two solid punches.
A minute later, both Kirigakure ninja lay on the ground.
Neither was particularly strong. They fell far short of Hozuki Mangetsu, and with four gates open, Mu Feng gave them no chance to fight back.
By the time Mu Feng defeated the pair, the battle at the hideout had also ended. The rabbit-masked Anbu ninja walked out, wiping the blood from his ninja blade.
"Finished already? Not bad!"
The rabbit-masked Anbu member looked toward the sensory ninja, but soon noticed his injury!
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