Watch Your Back While Hunting

Veins bulging around his activated Byakugan, Hyūga Gōshi nodded at those words, checked the direction, and leaped forward.

Because of his "Radiant Glow" trait, Takahashi Yū was utterly exposed to sensory ninja. As long as he was within their sensory range, they would discover him.

Hyūga Gōshi had long since grown used to this. Detouring one or two kilometers around the enemy was simply unrealistic. All he could do now was skirt the limit of his Byakugan's single-direction vision and circle to a suitable position.

Once the enemy discovered them, Takahashi Yū's high mobility would let him close in before they could counterattack. Apart from the Uzumaki Clan's Mind's Eye of the Kagura, only the Byakugan's single-direction vision could reach beyond three kilometers.

After leading the Special Forces team at a sprint for some distance, Hyūga Gōshi pointed northwest and said,

"We're here. If we charge northwest from here, we can cut off a small portion of their forces."

"Good. Get yourselves ready!"

Takahashi Yū stepped to the front, steadying the surging blood aura within his body.

Behind him, the team members also worked to stretch their tense, stiff bodies. Though they were already used to Takahashi Yū's insane fighting style, human tension was not so easily overcome.

Only the captain could fight a war like this, breaking through a ninja force's combined ninjutsu with his body. No, maybe the Third Raikage could too?

The team members silently thought as they looked at the towering figure ahead.

"Brothers, let's punch straight through them in one go! Charge!"

Shouting, Takahashi Yū pumped his legs and charged fiercely forward. A thunderous roar rang out as every obstacle in his path was trampled to dust. Even the air seemed to be forced aside.

With Takahashi Yū breaking through the wind resistance and flattening obstacles in the lead, the team members only needed to put their heads down and charge.

Although Takahashi Yū had already slowed down for their sake, the distance between them still gradually widened.

They had used this combat method countless times. Takahashi Yū did not need to worry about leaving them behind. He only needed to clear a path through the enemy ranks. The surrounding enemies would naturally be blown away by the shock waves of his charge and cowed by his blood aura. His teammates' survival rate was much higher than in conventional combat.

For ninja, three kilometers passed in the blink of an eye.

The garrison ninja force, which had left Iwagakure only two days earlier to prevent an attack on their home, was slowly advancing in a fan formation.

"Captain Fengyan, why did all of us garrison ninja have to come? No matter how strong Konoha's Immortal Squad is, once Lord Third arrives, won't one blast of Dust Release take care of them?"

An Iwagakure Genin in a ninja team on the edge of the force asked casually.

Captain Fengyan held the ram hand seal, his eyes closed as he sensed his surroundings. Hearing this, he snapped irritably,

"You brat, just follow orders. If you really run into Konoha's Immortal Squad, remember to keep your wits about you. Don't..."

Before he could finish, Fengyan frowned and abruptly opened his eyes, then shouted to those around him,

"Southeast! A huge mass of some unknown red substance is approaching us at extreme speed! Based on our intelligence, confirmed as Takahashi Yū, captain of Konoha's Immortal Squad!"

"Abandon the scouting formation! Close in on the Earth Release ninjutsu unit in the center!" a communications ninja shouted.

"No! There's no time! Defend!"

Fengyan gave his team the order in terror.

Bang!

The trees in front of Takahashi Yū shattered against his body, scattering ahead.

Takahashi Yū raised one arm forward, folding his thumb into his palm and pressing his other four fingers together into a knife-hand.

Knockoff Hell Stab: Four-Finger Nukite.

Facing the Iwagakure ninja now visible to the naked eye, Takahashi Yū stamped down hard, blasting a huge crater into the rocky ground. Like a speeding locomotive, he hurtled forward without stopping.

Fengyan watched a tiny black dot, trailing endless blood aura, grow larger and larger in his vision. An enormous word-[Death]-seemed to appear on his retinas. An instant later, all he could see were four thick fingertips.

That's too fast...

Fengyan had no time to react. Only that one thought remained in his mind.

With unstoppable momentum, Takahashi Yū drove his Four-Finger Nukite straight between Fengyan's brows. His skull instantly shattered, and the scattered blood added a fresh splash of red to the blood aura surrounding Takahashi Yū.

Turning his body in midair with the momentum, he whipped his other arm upward. Violent air currents, carrying silken strands of blood-red vapor, surged toward the Iwa Shinobi team at his side.

"Ah!"

Long gashes tore through the clothes and bodies of several members of the Iwa Shinobi team, blood splattering everywhere.

As Takahashi Yū turned and landed, blood inevitably splashed onto his bare upper body. Stimulated by the blood, the surrounding blood aura grew stronger, spreading farther outward.

Bending his knees slightly, Takahashi Yū leaped fiercely and sped toward the rear of the ninja force. Framed by that bloody red, he looked like a demon that had crawled out of hell.

None of the ninja along his path could withstand even a single exchange with this demon in blood. Moving at high speed, his punches and kicks crushed all resistance. Under the intimidation of his blood aura, even the kunai of the weaker ninja trembled.

Watching Takahashi Yū rampage, Ishikawa, a Jonin among the Iwa Shinobi, could no longer hold back. Ignoring the teammates still inside, he mobilized most of his chakra and rapidly formed hand seals.

"Demon of Konoha, don't get too cocky! Earth Release: Earth Moving Core!"

As he spoke, Ishikawa slammed both hands onto the ground.

Takahashi Yū swung his right hand, striking an Iwa Shinobi reinforced with Earth Release: Hardening Technique. The violent force sent him flying, curled like a shrimp. He spat out great mouthfuls of blood mixed with fragments of his organs in midair. He clearly would not survive.

Just as Takahashi Yū prepared to leap deeper in, the ground beneath his feet rumbled. All around him, a vast expanse of earth and stone rose like walls, enclosing him.

Seeing this, Ishikawa shouted, "Earth Release ninjutsu unit, prepare Fissure Turning Palm!"

As he spoke, he gathered what little chakra he had left and formed hand seals alongside the surrounding members of the ninjutsu unit.

"Earth Release: Fissure Turning Palm!"

He slammed his hands onto the ground again with everyone else. The thick earth surrounding Takahashi Yū immediately cracked, rolling and collapsing toward the center.

Boom!

A huge cloud of dust shot into the sky. Earth and stone collapsed inward, forming something like a plowed hill.

"Did it work? Did we kill that demon?"

"As expected of Lord Ishikawa, casting an Earth Moving Core on that scale!"

The surrounding Iwa Shinobi, covered in gray dust, began speaking.

"What are you thinking?! We're facing Takahashi Yū, captain of the Immortal Squad, who can compete with the Third Raikage for the strongest spear and shield! How could this much be enough?! Earth Release ninjutsu unit, prepare Earth Flow Wave!"

Ishikawa, looking haggard from his depleted chakra, shouted.

The surrounding ninjutsu unit members began forming hand seals. Ishikawa had no chakra left to spare. The large-scale Earth Moving Core had drained this long-established Jonin dry.

Looking at the hill-like mound of earth and stone before him, Ishikawa could not help praying silently.

"Lord Ōnoki, I hope everything is going smoothly on your end. Please come reinforce us soon."

Crack, crack, crack.

Silken red vapor seeped from the gaps in the earth before him. A thin layer of sweat had already covered Ishikawa's forehead.

He staggered half a step backward, and seemed to hear a voice beside his ear.

Well done.

With a boom, earth sprayed toward Ishikawa like rain, riddling his dust-covered Iwa Shinobi uniform with holes.

Lord Ōnoki, is Iwagakure's plan to sacrifice elite training to cultivate large numbers of ordinary ninja truly right?

Ishikawa could only think silently. His body had already lost all strength, because a fist had followed the earth straight into his chest and punched out through his back.

Takahashi Yū pulled his arm from Ishikawa's body. The red blood aura seemed to make even the surrounding air heavy.

"Lord Ishikawa!"

"Damn it! Lord Ishikawa!"

"You demon! Earth Release: Earth Flow Wave!"

The collapsed Earth Moving Core had produced a vast quantity of earth. Guided by Earth Flow Wave, it seemed to come alive, rushing toward Takahashi Yū like a great river.

Takahashi Yū pushed off, and the ground exploded beneath him. He vanished without a trace. Within an extremely short time, the ground beside the ninjutsu unit members shattered one spot after another as well.

"I was only playing with you. Did you really think your sluggish Earth Release could hit me?"

Coming to a stop, Takahashi Yū flicked the hot blood off his hand. Behind him, bursts of blood suddenly erupted from the Iwa Shinobi controlling Earth Flow Wave, one after another, and they fell to the ground.

Takahashi Yū checked his direction and charged at the scattered Iwa Shinobi remaining. This was the drawback of Iwagakure's pursuit of ninja numbers. They had quantity, but few truly outstanding fighters.

As a result, no ninja could effectively hold Takahashi Yū back. Against these comparatively weak ninja, his spreading blood aura alone could intimidate them.

Without lingering, Takahashi Yū swiftly fought his way toward the rear. The air currents produced by each punch and kick were enough to put these Iwa Shinobi out of action. The Undying Squad members behind him could finish things up properly.

Watching Iwa Shinobi reinforcements arrive from the side, Takahashi Yū willed the scattered blood aura around him to gather rapidly on that flank. The silken blood aura gradually converged and thickened, forming a wave that pressed sideways.

Several Iwa Shinobi teams took the brunt of it. After the blood-red wave swept over them, their members slumped to the ground, eyes rolling back.

The blood aura that comes with [Radiant Glow] is this powerful?

Takahashi Yū was stunned. This was his first time using the blood aura around his body this way. After all, whenever he got excited, it just kept pouring out uncontrollably.

That was, of course, if one ignored the fact that the once-brilliant [Radiant Glow] trait had already turned black tinged with red.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Several shuriken precisely struck the Iwa Shinobi sprawled on the ground, coldly harvesting their lives.

His Undying Squad teammates arrived at Takahashi Yū's side, looking slightly exhausted, with scattered bloodstains on their bodies.

They had sprinted at full speed the whole way, doing their best to keep up with Takahashi Yū, while also watching and listening in every direction to finish off ninja left defenseless by either the wind of his punches or the intimidation of his blood aura.

Not to mention that they were beside the enemy's main force, their mental strain pushed to the limit.

Takahashi Yū looked over his teammates. Seeing no losses eased him slightly, and he said,

"The Iwa Shinobi garrison force isn't much. Takeshi, check whether they have any heavy hitters in the middle."

Hearing this, Hyūga Gōshi focused his Byakugan toward the center of the garrison force. After examining it closely, he said,

"Captain, several dozen people in the center have Jonin-level chakra. They should be the elite of the Iwa Shinobi ninjutsu unit, but that's all. I don't see anyone else with much chakra."

As he spoke, Hyūga Gōshi began to frown. Something seemed wrong.

A ninja force of this caliber would face a completely one-sided slaughter against the captain. It would only take some time.

Without Nara Yūma present, Hyūga Gōshi was the steadiest person among them. He had already been a veteran Chunin when he joined the Special Forces.

He voiced his concerns to Takahashi Yū.

"Captain, something the village's strategists didn't anticipate must have happened. They wouldn't possibly serve up a ninja force like this to you."

"And I still can't see Iwagakure's main force coming from Amegakure. Why don't we head straight to the ambush site and meet up with Ino-Shika-Cho now?"

After hearing Hyūga Gōshi's worried words, Takahashi Yū smacked his lips and looked at the Iwa Shinobi force before him, which lacked anyone capable of holding the line. He hesitated no further.

"Brothers, retreat. Let's meet up with Ino-Shika-Cho. Who knows what that old bastard Ōnoki is thinking? Let's play it safe."

"Don't worry too much either, Takeshi. We have two pairs of Byakugan. No matter how good Ōnoki is, he can't suddenly appear right in our faces, can he?"

Takahashi Yū had only dashed two steps toward the Land of Waterfalls when he suddenly stopped.

A green signal flare rose far in the distance. Takahashi Yū's eyes widened in fury.

"Green? Mission failure, emergency?"

Before Takahashi Yū could think further, his body was already racing forward. What little reason remained made him shout back,

"Decide what to do based on the situation!"

The others exchanged looks, their faces covered in the dust Takahashi Yū had kicked up.

After parting from Takahashi Yū's group, the Ino-Shika-Cho team led the others straight toward the designated location.

Hyūga Ryūhei kept his Byakugan active along the way, continuously watching in every direction, until they reached a low-lying basin.

The basin, which lay at a relatively low elevation, was dotted with explosive tags planted by the Special Forces. They had specially requisitioned these one thousand tags for this operation, not to kill, but simply to increase the number of wounded Iwa Shinobi.

"Byakugan kid, take a break. Check at intervals and conserve your strength."

Yamanaka Ayano spoke to Hyūga Ryūhei, who had already begun sweating.

"But Ayano, I haven't seen any forces. No, I haven't even seen a single person."

Hyūga Ryūhei spoke while turning his head from side to side. Instead of the usual 360-degree view, he was using single-direction vision to see farther.

The group moved to the center of the depression, with a massive boulder at their backs.

Hyūga Ryūhei scrambled onto the boulder in a few bounds, constantly turning his head to look around like a meerkat.

Young as he was, he did not want to hold back the other Special Forces members, especially those who spent every day with him and took such good care of him.

Seeing that she could not persuade him, Yamanaka Ayano sighed softly and turned toward Nara Yūma, who had already spread out a map and was pinching his chin.

"What's wrong? Why the long face?"

Nara Yūma's eyes were slightly closed, and the fingers pinching his chin gradually tightened.

"Something's wrong. Going by the timing, the captain's group should already have engaged Iwagakure's garrison force, but the main force led by Ōnoki still hasn't appeared..."

"If I were Ōnoki, would I let my front and rear become disconnected like this? No. Against an enemy team that has already caused chaos within the country, I'd definitely want to wipe them out without any chance of failure. First, use the village's ninja to make contact and check the enemy's movements. If nothing else changes, surround and kill them."

"If the enemy splits into two groups, then I'd definitely hold one group in place, track the other, and adjust the encirclement..."

Sweat from Nara Yūma's forehead flowed into his half-closed eyes, making them sting slightly.

"But all of that depends on being able to determine the enemy's movements, and being close enough to ensure orders reach your own forces immediately..."

A chill ran down Nara Yūma's back. He looked up at Hyūga Ryūhei, who was still turning his head atop the boulder.

The sun spilled its light freely across the sky. Here in the desolate Land of Earth, it was especially dazzling, forcing Nara Yūma to close his eyes.

Shadow Imitation Technique!

Nara Yūma was already in the boulder's shade. The shadow beneath him connected to Hyūga Ryūhei at extreme speed. He rose and leaped fiercely backward, shouting,

"Scatter! Scatter, now!"

A beam of white light descended from the sky, striking the boulder where the team had gathered. Enveloped in white light, the boulder turned to dust in an instant.

"Datong! Ryōsuke!" Gekko Yūma, who had evaded the Dust Release, cried out in anguish.

Nara Yūma dove onto the ground and released the shadow connecting him to Hyūga Ryūhei.

"Byakugan kid, look up!"

"Never mind. There's no need to look anymore..." Nara Yūma's voice trembled slightly.

A short figure slowly descended from the sky with an Iwa Shinobi. On the shinobi's back was a communications device connected to a long antenna.

The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki!

Nara Yūma understood now. The fact that their team had two pairs of Byakugan was no longer a secret, and their reconnaissance had always focused on large forces. By simply keeping his distance in the sky, Ōnoki could use the sun as cover and see their movements clearly across the almost completely unobstructed terrain of the Land of Earth.

After all, neither Takeshi nor Ryūhei would focus their single-direction vision on the sky. At most, they would scan it with their 360-degree view.

And how high could the Byakugan see in its 360-degree view...?

"Only got three? Not bad, Konoha ninja," Ōnoki said slowly.

"But this is where it ends!"