Rout and Entrance

The short, silver-haired Anbu Ninja wearing a fox mask was Kakashi.

He pointed at Mitarashi Anko, then toward two o'clock, making a throat-slitting gesture.

After working together these past few days, Anko and Ryo had grown accustomed to the Anbu Ninja's way of doing things.

It meant to eliminate the enemy completely.

Anko vanished in a Body Flicker. As the main attacker, she always charged at the front.

Kakashi straightened his crooked Forehead Protector, revealing his scarlet Sharingan, and vanished as well.

To a ninja, eight hundred meters was crossed in an instant.

Mitarashi Anko looked stunned. Aside from two boulders as tall as a person, there was no enemy here at all.

Kakashi, who had arrived after her yet before her, was equally confused. In terms of observation, the Byakugan was more authoritative than the Sharingan. It could not possibly be wrong.

He confirmed with the Anbu Ninja responsible for protecting Hyuga Ryo that the enemy's Chakra signature was right in front of them.

Not only that, as the Sharingan in his right eye spun rapidly, seven or eight more Chakra signatures appeared within the dark forest.

This was a Hidden Mist Village trap. Their squad was likely already surrounded.

Return immediately. Find out why the Byakugan has stopped working.

I'll cover the rear.

Before the hand signals had even settled, Mitarashi Anko had vanished from sight.

Kakashi swiftly formed Hand Seals and summoned his ninja hounds.

The Hidden Mist Village possessed all sorts of strange Kekkei Genkai. Kakashi had no idea whether they had happened to encounter a bloodline ninja capable of countering the Byakugan.

In this situation, the ninja hounds' sense of smell was more reliable.

But just as the hounds left, the quiet forest suddenly stirred.

Shikotsumyaku: Ten Finger Drilling Bullets

Chilling finger bones ripped through the silence and shot toward him. Kakashi, with "no time to react," was instantly pierced through the heart.

An adult man whose bones writhed beneath his skin appeared at the edge of the moonlight, carrying a little girl as tall as his arm on his back.

"Hong Yu, your eyes aren't mistaken, are they?!"

"Nope, Cang-brother. That Hidden Leaf Village Byakugan ninja is probably still foolishly doubting herself! We can take care of this lone guy while we're at it."

Before she finished speaking, Kakashi's "corpse" burst into a puff of smoke and transformed into a dead log.

Seeing this, Kaguya Cang, who possessed the Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai, excitedly interlocked his fingers.

"Hey! Are Hidden Leaf Village ninjas only capable of using such cheap tricks? And you think you're worthy of setting your sights on the Three-Tails?"

The little girl on Kaguya Cang's shoulder let out a mocking laugh.

Kakashi had no mood to waste words on them. Blue electric light danced in his palm, and in the space of a breath, he had flashed behind Kaguya Cang.

The piercing shriek of Chidori tore through the air and pierced the enemy's back.

Yet the Hidden Mist Village ninja did not even take a step. Bones protruded from his shoulder blade, twitching as they clamped Kakashi's arm tightly in place.

"Not bad, yo! You've even got a follow-up?!"

As Kaguya Cang restrained Kakashi, Kakashi restrained him as well.

Two identical Kakashis, each clutching a kunai, leaped out from either side and launched killing strikes at Kaguya Cang and the bloodline ninja on his shoulder.

Everything happened within a single breath, as swift as lightning and thunder.

Kakashi should have succeeded. He had poured more than half his Chakra into this ninjutsu designed to kill the enemy in an instant.

"Foolish!"

Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Willow

In an instant, fleeting white bone spikes appeared, savagely tearing apart Kakashi and his two clones.

As he watched three clouds of white smoke disperse, a trace of surprise appeared on Kaguya Cang's face.

"How cautious. This guy's an Anbu Ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village, isn't he?!"

"Hong Yu! Help me find him! Any Hidden Leaf Village ninja who learns our secret must die!"

"Okay, Cang-brother~"

At the same time, Hyuga Ryo and Mitarashi Anko raced through the forest, with Kakashi and the other Anbu Ninja close behind them.

"Orochimaru-sama once said that the Hidden Mist Village's Red Eye Kekkai Genkai Clan is the natural enemy of the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan."

Even while fleeing, Hyuga Ryo did not forget to analyze the enemy's origins. It was a good habit for staying alive on the battlefield.

"X-ray vision, Chakra detection, danger sensing, even creating Chakra illusions to deceive sensory-type ninjas."

As a student of the Orochimaru Squad, Hyuga Ryo's knowledge and experience even surpassed that of the Anbu Ninja.

"In other words, because of that Red Eye ninja, our Chakra-sensing methods have become meaningless."

"And the enemy has only shown two ninjas so far."

Kakashi lowered his Forehead Protector and frowned. The squad's mission was merely to locate Isobu, the Three-Tails. When encountering Hidden Mist Village ninjas, their principle was to avoid battle whenever possible.

"Yeah, Captain! The Hidden Mist Village only has two ninjas, so why are we running?"

"There are four of us!"

Mitarashi Anko cracked her knuckles. Not encountering any combat during this mission had left her very dissatisfied.

Hyuga Ryo rubbed her forehead. Even she only knew a little information about the Hidden Mist Village's bloodline ninjas.

As for ways to counter them, the Kekkai Genkai Clans of the Hidden Mist Village had kept themselves hidden during the Third Shinobi World War. There were no established methods to draw on; they could only figure things out in the midst of battle.

And such attempts would likely cost them their lives.

That was why the Anbu captain had chosen to avoid their edge for the moment, but Mitarashi Anko did not seem to realize any of this.

Sometimes, Hyuga Ryo rather envied girls as thick-nerved as her. At least they could live happily.

Unlike herself. Hyuga Ryo subconsciously touched her Forehead Protector. Beneath it was the Caged Bird Curse Mark, which caused a slight blind spot in the Byakugan's field of vision.

Fortunately, the squad was retracing its original route, which was safe territory. The blind spot behind her did not matter at all.

When will I finally be able to—

"Stop! There's an unfamiliar Chakra signature eight hundred meters ahead!"

The moment Hyuga Ryo spoke, the unfamiliar Chakra signature closed in at an eerie speed.

The temperature around them dropped, as though winter had suddenly arrived.

Several ice crystal mirrors glinting with cold light appeared around them.

An adult man wearing wooden sandals and shoulder-length hair emerged from an iced-over pond.

"As expected, you Hidden Leaf Village ninjas know nothing about the methods of our Hidden Mist Village Kekkai Genkai Clans!"

"Because of your stupidity and ignorance, you can die here!"

"Ice Release Kekkei Genkai!"

Hyuga Ryo's expression turned grim.

Uchiha Yuan was awakened by a strange urge to urinate. When he opened his eyes, Kurama Shion was sitting cross-legged with her back to him, resting with her eyes closed.

Compared to a few days ago, the substitute teacher's Chakra signature was much weaker, and bandages were wrapped around her neck and elbows.

That was also why Kurama Shion had so easily fallen for Uchiha Yuan's genjutsu.

Looking at the restless Demonic Statue Fragment in his underwear pocket, Uchiha Yuan felt extremely uncomfortable.

Fortunately, the agitation quickly subsided. What followed was violent shaking of the earth and an enraged beast's roar.

By the time everything calmed down, Kurama Shion had already awakened and was examining Uchiha Yuan with concern.

Orochimaru silently emerged from the shadows.

"Seeing how harmonious the relationship between teacher and student is, I, as your teacher, am truly jealous."

Kurama Shion opened her mouth, yet did not know how to explain. She could only turn her head away.

But Uchiha Yuan's heart sank.

A week ago, he had already been able to separate his soul from his body for three minutes and use Phantom Lotus Kill two or three times during that period. He had met the requirements.

Now that Orochimaru had appeared, it was highly likely that he needed Uchiha Yuan to take part in the mission to seal Isobu, the Three-Tails.

"So, Yuan-kun, are you ready?"

Orochimaru lowered his head and leaned closer, examining the student who always managed to surprise him.