Mysterious Ninja

Uzumaki Hane looked at Yamano Koromo and gave her a signal. She immediately fired two Kunai toward the ninja's location. Hane seized the chance to vanish from where he stood, while Hyuga Tanaka shielded Yamamoto Satoshi and Yamamoto Naka behind him.

The Kunai flew into the bushes, and a masked ninja leaped out. He hadn't expected to be discovered so quickly and was thinking of a way to escape when a sudden rush of air sounded behind him. He hurriedly turned around and saw that Uzumaki Hane had somehow appeared behind him, his right foot kicking toward his head. The masked ninja raised both hands to block Hane's foot, but quickly realized he couldn't withstand it at all. What incredible strength, he thought in shock, before his whole body slammed hard into the ground.

Yamano Koromo moved forward to check on him, but the ninja on the ground turned into smoke with a puff.

Hyuga Tanaka shouted, "Careful, that's a clone. He's underground." He added, "This is bad. Two more ninja are approaching."

Uzumaki Hane landed and said, "Tanaka, forget the others for now. Where's the enemy?" Suddenly, a hand reached out of the ground and grabbed Hane's foot, trying to pull him underground.

Uzumaki Hane's lips curled upward. "You're courting death." Both his feet turned directly into lava, and the scorching lava melted the surrounding earth. The ninja in the ground let out a scream, then fell silent.

After dealing with the masked ninja, Uzumaki Hane said, "Tanaka, where are the other ninja?"

Hyuga Tanaka looked ahead and said, "Careful, they're here." Uzumaki Hane looked in the same direction. Before long, two ninja appeared on the tree trunks ahead.

Both ninja looked middle-aged. Though they weren't masked, their clothes resembled the previous ninja's, so they were probably from the same group. The ninja in the lead said, "I didn't expect to run into Konoha ninja, including a ninja from the famous Hyuga Clan. I assume you've already defeated our companion. Where is he now?"

The other ninja said, "Sato, are you joking? Aren't these just a few brats? How could they possibly defeat Takahashi?"

Sato said, "Yamada, don't be careless. They're Chunin too, and one of them is from the Hyuga Clan."

Uzumaki Hane stamped on the ground beneath him. "You mean that masked ninja from earlier? He died down here."

Hearing this, Yamada shouted, "Impossible! Takahashi specializes in Earth Release. How could he be killed by a brat like you?"

Uzumaki Hane's lips curled upward. "That's because you're all trash." He gave Hyuga Tanaka and Yamano Koromo a signal, telling them to protect the two Yamamotos, then charged toward Tanaka.

Uzumaki Hane was so fast that he reached him in the blink of an eye. Seeing this, Sato stepped forward and blocked Hane's path. Hane shouted, "Lava Super Heavy Fist!" His right hand rapidly turned into lava and expanded to ten times its original size, striking at Sato. Sato offered no resistance and was hit, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Uzumaki Hane cried out, "Damn, it's a clone!"

The other ninja, Yamada, wore a bloodthirsty smile as he stabbed a Kunai in his right hand toward Uzumaki Hane's chest. Hane didn't resist and let the Kunai pierce his chest. Yamada sneered, "A brat's still a brat. Too scared to move, huh?" But Yamada soon sensed something was wrong. His opponent's expression was still calm, and no blood flowed from the wound.

A mocking smile appeared on Uzumaki Hane's lips. He reached out with his right hand and grabbed Yamada's hand. Both his feet turned into lava, melting the surrounding earth into a small pool of magma. Yamada tried to wrench his hand free from Hane's grip, but couldn't. Suddenly, magma appeared beneath his feet, and the scorching magma drew repeated screams from him.

Uzumaki Hane didn't let him off there. He reached out with his left hand and pushed him into the magma on the ground. Yamada couldn't resist at all. He screamed, "No..." His whole body was pushed into the magma and reduced to ashes.

Meanwhile, Sato appeared behind Hyuga Tanaka and stabbed at him with a Kunai in his hand. Tanaka had activated his Byakugan and naturally spotted him. He turned and shouted, "Eight Trigrams: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!" Both hands struck Sato in rapid succession. With a puff, Sato vanished, leaving only a wooden log in his place. Tanaka said, "Damn, it's the Substitution Technique! Koromo, watch out!" Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Sato charging toward Yamano Koromo.

Hearing Hyuga Tanaka's warning, Yamano Koromo immediately went on high alert. Sato appeared to her left and kicked at her. Koromo raised her arm just in time to block the kick. Sato then stabbed his Kunai toward her chest, but she flipped backward and dodged his attack.

Sato formed Hand Seals, about to use Ninjutsu. Suddenly, Yamada's scream came from behind him. The scream cut off abruptly, and Sato looked back to see the red-haired ninja push Yamada into a scorching liquid, where he melted. Sato couldn't believe it. Even he couldn't have dealt with Yamada in such a short time.

Sato knew he had no chance of winning and was already thinking of retreating. Just then, Hyuga Tanaka rushed up behind him and shouted, "Eight Trigrams: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

Three minutes earlier, Hyuga Tanaka had seen Sato trick him and attack Yamano Koromo, and immediately charged after Sato. By the time Tanaka reached him, Sato was shocked and unsettled by Uzumaki Hane killing Yamada and failed to notice Tanaka right away.

Hyuga Tanaka naturally wouldn't let such an opportunity pass. He used Eight Trigrams: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, striking Sato. Bang, bang, bang! Sato flew backward, slammed hard into a tree trunk, and fell to the ground, dead.

Hyuga Tanaka then used his Byakugan to scan the surroundings. Finding no enemies, he said, "It's safe now." Uzumaki Hane came over to Yamamoto Satoshi and said, "Yamamoto Satoshi, tell us where the bandits are. We'll take advantage of the fact that they haven't noticed anything, launch a surprise attack, and rescue the villagers. If they notice these men have been gone too long, they'll definitely become alert and might hurt the villagers."

Yamamoto Satoshi said, "All right, I'll take you there now."

Uzumaki Hane waved his hand. "No need. Just tell us where it is, and we'll go ourselves. Taking you along would only get in the way."

Yamamoto Satoshi also knew he would only hold them back if he went, but he still felt embarrassed to hear Uzumaki Hane say it so bluntly. Satoshi composed himself and told Hane and the other two the location.

After learning the location, the three began discussing their plan of attack. Uzumaki Hane said, "I'll go straight there and kill the bandits. Tanaka, Koromo, you two are responsible for rescuing the villagers."

Hyuga Tanaka and Yamano Koromo said, "No problem." Tanaka cautioned, "We all need to be careful. Three Chunin have already appeared one after another during this mission, and we don't know how many more ninja are with the bandits. I also think there's something unusual about this mission. Yamamoto Satoshi is still hiding something."

Uzumaki Hane said, "I have the same feeling. Everyone, be careful."