He did not know whether he could withstand it. As long as he could endure the Caged Bird Seal, there was actually little the Hyuga Clan could do to him.
Once I get back, I can't keep interacting with the Hyuga Clan. I'm serving under Tsunade now, so they can't use force, either.
After my Class Change, I'll have to resolve the Caged Bird Seal problem faster. Then I'll farm experience in the Second War and quickly break free of the Hyuga Clan's control.
That had been Hyuga Akira's plan from the beginning.
If not for Hyuga Hiashi, no one in the Hyuga Clan would have paid him any attention. By the time he broke free of the clan, it would have been too late for them to react.
But because of Hyuga Hiashi, he would have to suffer quite a bit more.
Although Hyuga Hiashi had done nothing, how could he not hold a grudge against him?
"I'll kill you sooner or later." Hyuga Akira shot Hyuga Hiashi a fierce glare.
The team advanced swiftly.
Along the way, the three of them continued scouting with their Byakugan.
Soon, traces of flowing chakra appeared in numerous places in the distance.
"Jonin Tsunade!" Hyuga Hiashi called out a warning, and all four stopped at once.
Hyuga Akira jumped to Tsunade's side and said gravely, "There are a lot of them this time. At least five Jonin."
The sight of that surging chakra made him incredibly envious.
There were also quite a few Shinobi with Chunin-level chakra, but none with Genin-level chakra.
No matter how confident Hyuga Akira was, he had no confidence he could survive an encounter with these people.
Now it all depended on Tsunade's decision.
If they charged straight ahead, death would be their only outcome.
Although Tsunade was powerful now, she had no chance of winning against five Jonin at once.
After a moment's thought, Tsunade made her decision.
A detour.
"We'll take the long way around and get past them."
The four-person team could only try to withdraw silently.
But the moment the three moved, the Shinobi waiting in the distance also sprang into action.
"They have a sensory Shinobi, too!" Hizashi Hyuga said in a low voice.
"Split up and withdraw. Your own safety takes priority. In an emergency, you can throw away your backpacks. Rendezvous at the designated location within seven days."
Tsunade quickly issued her orders and specified the exact location.
"Retreat!" Tsunade commanded.
The four immediately split up, retreating in four different directions.
Hyuga Akira did not dare pause for even an instant, swiftly fleeing into the distance.
Hyuga Akira's gaze swept over Tsunade.
Of the four, Tsunade was actually in the most danger. With a sensory Shinobi on their side, the enemy would undoubtedly keep their eyes fixed on the Jonin.
Genin did not know much.
As long as Tsunade can keep the Jonin occupied.
Without needing to look back, he could already see several figures chasing after him.
The Byakugan's three-hundred-and-sixty-degree vision was no empty claim. There was only one angle he could not see, and as his vision extended farther, that became a large patch of darkness beyond his sight.
Damn Caged Bird Seal.
Hyuga Akira cursed inwardly and picked up his pace.
At least three Chunin were chasing him.
Chapter 28: Escape and Counterattack
Those were only the ones he could see. A patch of darkness still obscured part of his vision, and he had no idea what it concealed.
A single blind spot did not seem like much.
In reality, its effect was considerable at a distance.
This was how the Caged Bird Seal restricted the branch family.
Hyuga Akira moved incredibly fast, darting through the woods like a phantom.
His Byakugan helped him scout, preventing him from entering an enemy encirclement.
Tsunade's chakra and that of the two Hyuga brothers were completely out of sight now.
He put his backpack directly into his inventory. One backpack occupied only one slot.
His inventory had thirty-six slots in total, and assorted items already occupied nearly half of them.
Without the backpack, his speed increased considerably again.
As he kept changing angles.
Hyuga Akira also confirmed the number of people pursuing him.
Five Chunin.
If I kill all five, I'll get at least five thousand experience. That's almost enough for two levels.
Chunin gave a lot of experience. A single Chunin could yield over a thousand experience points.
If this were the game, he would not even consider turning around to kill them.
Monsters in the game all had health bars. They could not be killed without emptying those bars.
Sneak attacks were of little use.
But monsters in reality were different.
People died when they were killed. Whether it was the heart, neck, or brain, a severe injury would kill them, rather than merely reduce their health bar.
In the game, an Explosive Tag could take off five hundred of a monster's health at most.
A monster in the real world could be killed with a single Explosive Tag.
Hyuga Akira gritted his teeth. "Let's do it."
His forward sprint suddenly slowed, and the five Chunin behind him gradually closed in.
Through the crisscrossing trees, both sides could already see each other.
An enemy Shinobi used ninjutsu first.
"Wind Release: Refined Wind Bullet!"
A Shinobi spat a powerful wind bullet from his mouth, sending it hurtling toward Hyuga Akira.
Hyuga Akira flickered out of everyone's sight.
The five Chunin suddenly stopped. Four stood on the outside, protecting the Shinobi in the middle.
"Watch out for traps!" the Shinobi in the middle suddenly warned.
Swish! Steel wires suddenly appeared around them and rapidly tightened. Shuriken flew in circles around them as well, with wires attached, forming loop after loop as the Shuriken circled.
One man had dark skin and wore a Sand Ninja Forehead Protector.
That disguise was rather unconvincing.
Lightning flashed along the blade in the dark-skinned man's hand.
"Lightning Release: Lightning-Fast Slash!"
His blade flashed with lightning as it swiftly cut through the wires.
The Shinobi in the middle suddenly pointed in one direction. "He's over there."
The dark-skinned Shinobi charged straight toward Hyuga Akira.
He quickly locked onto Hyuga Akira, who was hiding in the bushes.
The one in the middle is the sensory Shinobi? Hyuga Akira also decided whom he should eliminate first. Shuriken appeared in both his hands.
"Pulling the mobs."
"Heavy firepower mode!"
Kumate.
Countless Shuriken flew toward the charging Shinobi.
His pupils contracted when his blade collided with a Shuriken.
Although the Shuriken was deflected, his blade was knocked away as well.
There was no time to wonder why the Shuriken carried so much force.
He quickly formed hand seals.
Bang!
Smoke flashed past, and a log replaced the dark-skinned man.
Bang, bang, bang!
The Shuriken tore the log apart almost instantly.
"Such power."
The expressions of the other four, who had yet to act, changed. This was the first time they had seen a log used for the Substitution Technique get smashed like that.
By then, Hyuga Akira had already hurled Shuriken at them.
The trees were pierced in an instant, and the ninja could only scatter quickly.
Two tall Shinobi moved away directly, regrouping with the man who had attacked first.
The remaining two Shinobi, wearing Cloud Ninja Forehead Protectors, guarded the sensory Shinobi as they fled in the other direction.
"Two groups, huh," Hyuga Akira remarked.
"Cloud Ninja?"
The things Cloud Ninja dropped were very useful to him.
His figure swiftly vanished from where he stood.
"Over there." The sensory Shinobi quickly pointed at the ground.
Having just landed, Hyuga Akira raised a hand and hurled several Shuriken at the sensory Shinobi.
The three quickly jumped to another tree.
The two Shinobi who appeared to be Sand Ninja but were actually Cloud Ninja rapidly approached Hyuga Akira.
Hyuga Akira had no intention of fighting them at close range. Although Gentle Fist was a powerful form of Taijutsu, it was still no match for Chunin.
Substitution Technique.
His figure flickered away, leaving only a Shuriken behind.
By the time the three arrived, Hyuga Akira was already nowhere to be seen.
"He's over there! He's trying to escape!"
The sensory Shinobi also quickly located Hyuga Akira in the distance.
The five continued their pursuit.
As Hyuga Akira leaped between branches, he considered what ninjutsu the enemy was using to detect him.
Those brief exchanges had already confirmed that the sensory Shinobi was not using a Kekkei Genkai, but some kind of ninjutsu to quickly pinpoint him.
The five behind him remained hot on his heels.
He took an Explosive Tag from his equipment inventory, stuck it to a tree trunk, and continued moving rapidly forward.
His Byakugan watched their movements. Several of them jumped onto the tree with the Explosive Tag at the same time, yet the sensory Shinobi did not notice it.
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