The Hyuga Chunin who charged into the cave first had an icy gaze. Though his Byakugan left his eyes entirely white, Jing Xiu could still sense the intense hatred and murderous intent in them.
"You damned brat! I'll rip your mouth apart!"
The Caged Bird Seal on the foreheads of the Hyuga Branch Family was a silent mockery of them, and a sore spot no one could touch.
Jing Xiu's words had undoubtedly struck that nerve in the Hyuga Chunin before him. Rage clouded the man's mind, and he charged at Jing Xiu in a fury, ignoring his companion's shouts.
"Run! It's a trap!"
The other Hyuga Chunin was equally furious, but he had not faced Jing Xiu directly. Having also detected the traps in the cave first, he remained relatively calm.
Unfortunately, his composure could not save his companion, whose pride had been trampled.
Boom! Boom!
The several Explosive Tags infused with natural chakra did not detonate simultaneously as Jing Xiu had planned. Instead, they exploded one after another, and their power varied.
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
The Explosive Tags had collapsed nearly half the cave. All Jing Xiu could see before him was half a mangled corpse, its Byakugan destroyed by the activation of the Caged Bird Seal.
"Just as I thought, the Dao patterns of the Outsider World differ from those of the Shinobi World. Even the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art can't bridge that gap."
"I only made the tiniest adjustment, yet the result deviated this far from my expectations. If I hadn't had the source of life to protect me, I'd probably have been blown to pieces!"
Although the Explosive Tags in the cave had formed a barrier and killed both Hyuga Chunin, the barrier meant to protect Jing Xiu himself had failed to work as he intended.
When the Explosive Tags at the cave entrance detonated, they triggered these tags as well.
Jing Xiu had burned up the Hyuga Chunin spirit he had been commanding, barely blocking most of the blast's force.
In the end, he had still needed to use the hundred-odd drops of source of life he had painstakingly accumulated, only just managing to stay alive.
Jing Xiu could also have used the Golden Light Mantra that Madara Uchiha had stored in the magical artifact beforehand, but he did not want to reveal his ultimate trump card just yet.
There was no one else in the cave, so even if he used the source of life, no one would notice anything.
But if he used it in the battle between elite Jōnin that lay ahead, it would be no different from telling the entire Shinobi World, "I'm special. Come study me."
After replacing his outer robe, which had been blasted into rags, Jing Xiu took out more Explosive Tags and set up the same kind of barrier as before, one that could block the Byakugan's scrutiny.
He planned to rest in the cave overnight. If Black Wolf defeated Hyuga Kiyomei, he would naturally find this cave.
If Hyuga Kiyomei won, he would most likely return to the Hyuga Clan Compound rather than enter Gale Gorge to search for Jing Xiu.
"You Uchiha madman! Witness the Fuma Clan's true ultimate technique! Ninja Art: Shadow Windmill!"
The enormous shuriken split into two in midair, hurtling toward Black Wolf from the front left and front right.
Fūma Sasaki gripped his sword with both hands and raised it overhead. Using the speed of the Body Flicker Technique to charge forward, he brought it crashing down.
Meanwhile, Hyuga Kiyomei moved like a ghost, his figure flickering in and out of sight. No one knew when he intended to strike, or from which angle around Black Wolf.
Though Black Wolf possessed the Three-Tomoe Sharingan and exceptionally keen motion perception, his attention was divided.
Fūma Sasaki occupied so much of his focus that he could not keep track of Hyuga Kiyomei's position at all times.
His expression grew increasingly fervent. Whenever he fought, he seemed to become a different person.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu."
Though Phoenix Flower Fire was only a C-rank Fire Style technique, it covered an enormous area. Cast by a Jōnin like Uchiha Black Wolf, it filled all the space before him.
Neither Fūma Sasaki, who was charging in to attack, nor Hyuga Seimei, who was waiting for an opening to ambush him, would approach Black Wolf head-on unless he wanted to become a roast chicken.
But that left the two enormous Demon-Sealing Shuriken charging unchecked like runaway horses, smashing through the sea of flames straight toward Uchiha Black Wolf.
Uchiha Black Wolf's powerful, battle-hardened body looked almost frail before those two enormous shuriken.
Just as the Shadow Windmill approached Uchiha Black Wolf, one Demon-Sealing Shuriken suddenly transformed into Hyuga Kiyomei. An enormous Eight Trigrams diagram seemed to appear beneath his feet.
"Heaven, lake, fire, thunder, wind, water, mountain, earth" spread out in all eight directions around Hyuga Kiyomei.
Uchiha Black Wolf happened to stand in the earth position. The Hyuga Clan's dread-inducing whisper sounded in his ears: "Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
Black Wolf's blood-red eyes narrowed as alarm flashed through his mind. This is bad! One moment of carelessness, and the Eight Trigrams Palm has locked onto me.
He held a kunai in each hand, his arms moving as swiftly as the wind. His footwork was nimble, like a butterfly weaving among flowers.
"Eight palms!"
"Sixteen palms!"
"Thirty-two palms!"
When Hyuga Kiyomei struck with his forty-fifth palm, Uchiha Black Wolf could see the path of the blow, but his limbs would no longer obey him. He took nine palm strikes head-on.
Several chakra points in his body were sealed by the distinctive chakra force of the Hyuga Gentle Fist.
"Surrender, Uchiha Black Wolf! You've already betrayed the Uchiha Clan. As long as you're willing to join the Hyuga Clan and become my Hidden Ninja Leader, I can guarantee your life!"
Hyuga Kiyomei looked down at Uchiha Black Wolf, who knelt on one knee, his eyes brimming with ambition.
"Kiyomei, boy! Hurry up and kill him! Take his Sharingan! According to legend, those eyes are connected to the founder of Ninshu, the Sage of Six Paths!"
"What are you still hesitating for?"
Fūma Sasaki's face was full of greed. He failed entirely to notice the change in Hyuga Kiyomei's expression.
Just as Sasaki prepared to kick Black Wolf down and then plant his foot on Black Wolf's face, the six tomoe in Black Wolf's eyes began spinning wildly.
Sasaki was a Jōnin, after all, and one of the Fuma Clan's elders. He hurriedly mobilized the chakra in his body, trying to delay falling under the genjutsu.
At the same time, he roared, "Kiyomei, boy! What are you waiting for? Hurry up and inject your chakra into me! Disrupt the chakra flow in my body!"
Hyuga Seimei simply stood where he was, showing no intention of intervening.
As he saw it, Uchiha Black Wolf had taken only nine strikes, and the Gentle Fist had sealed only some of his chakra pathways.
But with his body in that condition, Black Wolf was certainly no match for him.
By using Black Wolf to eliminate Fūma Sasaki, he could give Black Wolf a chance to vent his pent-up frustration while also bringing the Fuma Clan over to the Hyuga Clan's side, so they could resist the Uchiha Clan's imminent attack together.
Why would he pass up a chance to kill two birds with one stone?
Uchiha Black Wolf also saw through Hyuga Kiyomei's ambitions. He simply played along and cut off Fūma Sasaki's head with a single stroke.
Panting heavily, Black Wolf lay down on the ground. Hyuga Kiyomei once again looked down at him from above. "Well, Jōnin Black Wolf? Are you satisfied with my gift?"
"We have a common enemy: the Uchiha."
"You should understand your situation better than I do."
"With me covering for you, you can slip out of sight and operate from the shadows. Once war breaks out between the Uchiha and the Hyuga, you'll be free to vent all the hatred in your heart on the battlefield."
"Even Uchiha Tajima isn't beyond our reach. We may have a chance to kill him!"
"We both stand to gain from working together, Jōnin Black Wolf. What are you still hesitating for?"