"Hanabi, don't even try to fight these puppets. Their shells are incredibly tough. Ordinary methods can't break through their defenses."
Neji Hyuga worried that Hanabi Hyuga would attack the puppets in her agitation.
As she was now, Hanabi simply didn't have the strength to hurt these puppets.
It wasn't as though Hanabi hadn't tried during the fight just now.
She had coordinated with Neji to attack one puppet, but her normally powerful-looking attacks hadn't inflicted the slightest damage on it.
That alone made the problem clear enough.
Although Hanabi was unwilling to accept it, she knew she should listen to Neji at a time like this.
"Yes, I understand, Neji."
"Now we have to do everything we can to hold out until reinforcements arrive!"
Neji shouted hoarsely, pushing hard off the ground with his left foot and sliding half a step to the left.
A tearing pain shot through the wound in his leg, but he gritted his teeth and focused all his attention on his Byakugan's field of vision.
Five melee puppets, four directions.
Their movements were too well coordinated. They worked together as a single unit.
The one on the left raised its green blade and slashed down, two on the right flanked them, one feinted from the front, and another was above them.
What a headache, Neji cursed inwardly. He drove back the puppet lunging at him from the front with his left palm, barely mustering strength in his right foot to leap backward with Hanabi.
Bang!
The puppet descending from above smashed a shallow crater into the spot where they had been standing, sending dirt flying.
Another puppet lunged at them.
Neji turned sideways to evade it and barely managed a palm strike with his right hand, hitting the puppet squarely in the shoulder.
Although the