In his previous life, Jing Xiu had rarely heard such a shrill, buzzing whistle through the air. But after coming to the Shinobi World, he had received Madara Uchiha's "loving encouragement" every day.
Even without turning around, Jing Xiu knew that a giant shuriken was hurtling toward him.
He leaned backward, bending at the waist until his body was nearly horizontal.
With his short blade bracing him against the ground, Jing Xiu kept himself from falling and got a clear look at the shuriken, which was much larger than he was.
It was the very same Fūma Shuriken that Sasuke Uchiha would use against Zabuza Momochi decades later.
At this time, the Fūma Shuriken was the Fuma Clan's signature ninja tool.
A Fūma jōnin arrived at the edge of the battlefield with three genin.
When Hyuga Kiyomei saw the newcomers, his brows creased almost imperceptibly before smoothing out again. "So it's Master Fūma Sasaki. I'm terribly sorry for making you come all this way!"
Fūma Sasaki, the Fuma Clan's jōnin, had already assessed the battle. "Kiyomei, lad, this Uchiha jōnin should be Uchiha Black Wolf, the Uchiha Clan's A-Rank Wanted Criminal."
He pointed at Jing Xiu as well. "And this brat should be the youngest son of that brute, Uchiha Tajima."
"Keep Black Wolf occupied. Once I capture the boy, neither Black Wolf nor the Uchiha Clan will dare act rashly."
"Then we'll have a bargaining chip!"
He made no attempt to hide his plan from Black Wolf or Jing Xiu, laying it out plainly.
It was an open strategy, one that relied on overwhelming strength to crush the enemy.
Even Jing Xiu could only counter each move as it came until he had the strength to stand against such overwhelming pressure.
Fortunately, he had already killed quite a few Hyuga genin and samurai guards, accumulating some source of life in the Urn of Life.
With that source of life, he could heal himself from any injury short of decapitation.
Jing Xiu used Spirit Summoning and Dispatching, making a Hyuga genin who had awakened the Byakugan possess him. Then, drawing on that genin's power, he sprinted toward Gale Gorge.
Black Wolf stopped holding back as well. The three tomoe spun wildly, and the Sharingan's innate genjutsu silently struck Hyuga Kiyomei.
He broke away and retreated, likewise racing toward Gale Gorge.
Although Fūma Sasaki was a jōnin, he was extremely wary of the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan.
The Sharingan possessed exceptional motion-tracking vision, greatly diminishing the effectiveness of the Fuma Clan's distinctive ninja tool, the Fūma Shuriken.
And the way Black Wolf had defeated Hyuga Kiyomei in an instant made his heart quail.
So he simply watched Black Wolf and Jing Xiu rush into Gale Gorge.
The two figures, one large and one small, disappeared from his sight within a few breaths.
Hyuga Kiyomei let out a long sigh of relief inwardly. I've finally gotten rid of those two hot potatoes. As long as I protect this shipment, what does losing face matter?
As it turned out, Hyuga Kiyomei had merely pretended to fall under the genjutsu.
Had Black Wolf and Jing Xiu been ordinary rogue shinobi, he would certainly have joined forces with Fūma Sasaki to capture them.
Unfortunately, Black Wolf was powerful enough that he might escape even if Kiyomei and Fūma Sasaki worked together.
And Jing Xiu had already killed Hyuga Chenxi.
Although Hyuga Kiyomei had no idea how a child like Jing Xiu had accomplished that, he was unwilling to gamble with his own life.
Besides, his mission was to escort the goods. Now that the shipment remained intact, the clan would naturally handle the aftermath for the shinobi who had fallen.
"Thank you again for your assistance, Master Sasaki. With your help, this shipment will surely reach the Land of Rain safely."
Sasaki looked somewhat frustrated, but gave a perfunctory reply. "Of course! Of course! After all, much of this shipment belongs to our Fūma family."
Inwardly, however, he regretted it. I actually let Uchiha Tajima's son escape. If I could have used him to extort some inherited techniques from the Uchiha Clan, our Fūma family would surely have risen to greater heights.
Black Wolf caught up with Jing Xiu and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Kid, Gale Gorge is full of dangers! We'd better find a cave in the gorge to shelter in!"
Jing Xiu paid no attention to Black Wolf's shouts.
The moment he entered Gale Gorge, he sensed something familiar. This is the feel of qi. Gale Gorge is actually filled with wind-nature qi.
If I trained here regularly, I could not only gain an understanding of wind nature, but also use the power of the gale with certain mechanisms to temper my body.
Countless grains of sand and stones swirled through the air. Even with his Sharingan, Black Wolf struggled to spot a cave they could shelter in.
The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan, however, had a natural advantage. That was precisely why only the Hyuga Clan could take this route through Gale Gorge to the Land of Rain.
Gravel struck Jing Xiu's body, snapping him out of his thoughts. Although his Byakugan was only the kekkei genkai of a branch-family genin, he still found a fairly large cave.
He did not turn back to say anything. He simply burned the Hyuga genin's departed soul, protecting himself while accelerating toward the cave.
The moment he entered the cave, Jing Xiu caught a rank, musky smell.
Black Wolf followed Jing Xiu into the cave. Before he could marvel at their good fortune, a silver flash of blade light swept over his head.
A bead of cold sweat slid down his temple and dripped onto the ground.
For the first time since fleeing the Uchiha Clan, he felt death looming so close.
For a moment, he had the illusion that his head had already parted from his neck.
His gaze sharpened in the next instant. Just as he was about to attack Jing Xiu, something fell onto his head.
When he reached up to touch it, he felt only a sticky mass.
"A Gale Wolf Spider. Its silk is extremely tough, just right for sealing the cave entrance. Sorry for the trouble, but please deal with this brown bear too. We'll have roasted bear paws tonight!"
Only after hearing Jing Xiu's words did Black Wolf realize he had misunderstood the child before him.
His Sharingan also revealed the situation inside the cave.
A brown bear lay on the ground, blood still streaming from its neck.
Besides the large bear, two cubs were huddled in a corner of the cave, trembling.
After eating and drinking his fill, Jing Xiu considered how to complete his mission. If Hyuga Kiyomei could call in some reinforcements to hunt Black Wolf and me down, everything would be perfect.
What a pity! I clearly saw that the chakra flowing inside Hyuga Kiyomei hadn't become disrupted, yet he pretended to be caught in a genjutsu. Looks like I can't count on him!
Then I'll have to go after that shipment. No matter how cautious Hyuga Kiyomei is, once those goods are gone, he'll bear responsibility he can't escape.
With that thought, he suggested to Black Wolf, who was practicing his standing stance nearby, "We'll return to the Hyuga camp after midnight. Our target is that shipment!"
After a moment's thought, Black Wolf understood what Jing Xiu meant. But he could not fathom why Jing Xiu insisted on targeting the Hyuga shipment.
"Why don't we just go straight through Gale Gorge to the Land of Rain? Why provoke the Hyuga again?"
Jing Xiu looked at Black Wolf as though he were an idiot. "You're planning to seek refuge with the Kaguya Clan. Once the Hyuga reach the Land of Rain, do you think they'll sell information about us to the other clans in the Land of Water?"
"And will they gather others to hunt us down?"
"So, what do you think we should do, Jōnin Uchiha Black Wolf?"