In a forest tens of kilometers away from the Hidden Leaf Village, three ninjas wearing ninja vests and Konoha forehead protectors stood on thick tree trunks, their white Byakugan sweeping the surroundings.
"No discoveries."
"No discoveries."
Two of them reported their observations. The third, clearly the captain, slowly deactivated his Byakugan and whispered, "They might not be lingering here here anymore. Expand the search area. Wait!"
As he spoke, he seemed to recall something and reactivated his Byakugan, locking onto a specific spot.
"Found them, over there."
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!!
The three of them leaped up simultaneously, heading in the observed direction.
Shortly after they left, a small figure suddenly appeared on the tree trunk where they had stood.
"It seems things are progressing."
Several minutes later, the figure moved again.
...
Clang!!!
A flying shuriken was cut down mid-air, and several Kunai quickly followed.
"Ah!"
A ninja from the Cloud Village, wearing a Cloud Ninja forehead protector, was caught off guard and hit in the shoulder by one of the Kunai, letting out a low cry.
Another Cloud ninja broke free and quickly came to his side.
"What's the situation?"
"Cannot fight."
The message was concise and clear. There were three enemies, all possessing the Byakugan, and their strength was considerable.
Damn it, how did these guys track them down? It had only been a few days. They had thought that lingering near Konoha would make them less conspicuous, but they never expected the Hyuga Clan to dispatch more personnel for another carpet search.
The three Hyuga Clan ninjas had them surrounded. They had no chance of winning.
A look of determination flashed in the uninjured ninja's eyes. He pulled out a scroll, shoved it into his companion's arms, and whispered, "Take this and go first. You must deliver it to Lord Raikage and tell him that Konoha has become aware of our plans. The plan cannot be executed in the short term! Wait until Konoha settles down before taking action!"
"Lord Raigoku..."
The injured elite Cloud Chunin froze for a moment, then gritted his teeth and fled with the scroll.
"Don't even think about escaping!"
Seeing this, the Hyuga Clan members immediately rushed forward, attempting to intercept the enemy.
However, Raigoku had already charged forward, his Chakra surging wildly, enveloping his body in a thin layer of lightning Chakra.
"With me here, no one is getting past!" Raigoku roared, slamming his fists onto the ground. "Doreiō!"
In an instant, countless bolts of lightning, like galloping cheetahs, surged towards the three Hyuga Clan ninjas.
"Damn it!"
The three ninjas saw this and could only temporarily retreat. This Special Jonin, who was fighting with his life on the line, was not easy to deal with and proved troublesome.
However, they were not to be underestimated. After avoiding the Doreiō's attack, they hurled all their shuriken and Kunai.
Whoosh, whoosh!!
Splat!
The fleeing ninja's body stiffened, and he stumbled slightly. Gritting his teeth, he endured the pain and continued to flee.
Two shuriken were embedded in his lower back, and fresh blood continuously streamed from the wounds.
Ultimately, they failed to intercept him. The three Hyuga Clan ninjas were enraged. Regardless of the cost, they had to complete their mission this time!
With their Byakugan assisting them, the three ninjas engaged the Special Jonin in a fierce, evenly matched Gentle Fist battle, gradually gaining the upper hand.
Hundreds of meters from their battle, Rakawa hid behind a tree, observing their fight. His Byakugan was activated. Noticing the ninja's escape, he decisively pursued, circling around from the outside.
...
"Huff! Huff! Damn Konoha ninjas, damn Hyuga Clan, I almost didn't make it."
The ninja, who had run continuously for over twenty kilometers, stopped. He leaned against a tree and sat down, then pulled the Kunai from his shoulder and the shuriken from his back. Three streams of blood immediately shot out.
The Cloud ninja, resting against the tree, let out a sigh of relief. The battle over there wouldn't end so quickly. He was quite exhausted now, so this was a good opportunity to recover a bit before continuing his journey.
He looked around. This place wasn't exactly safe, but it wasn't particularly dangerous either.
He had taken several detours during his escape, which should buy him enough time before the three ninjas found him.
With his mind at ease, the ninja began to quickly recover his Chakra. But just as he inadvertently looked up, the sight before him made him jump in fright.
On the tree he was leaning against, a child was hanging upside down from the trunk, staring directly at him with wide eyes.
"Ah!!!"
The Cloud ninja shrieked in terror, scrambling backward.
"You, you..."
His composure regained, the frightened Cloud ninja stared at the child with horrified eyes. Encountering such a bizarre scene right after relaxing had severely rattled his nerves.
Just then, the child suddenly flashed a strange smile, then abruptly launched himself from the tree trunk, appearing before him in an instant.
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
Bang, bang, bang!
Rakawa condensed Chakra into his palms, delivering a continuous barrage of strikes, as swift as the wind and as fast as lightning.
Enveloped by a flurry of palm strikes, the Cloud ninja finally came to his senses. Just as he was about to retaliate, the palms had already landed on his body.
"Pfft!"
The Cloud ninja had no time to resist. The sixty-four palms were completed in an instant. Already injured, and now with the solid impact of the Gentle Fist, he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of old blood, his body stumbling several meters away.
"How... how could this be..."
Lying on the ground, the Cloud ninja looked at Rakawa, who was slowly approaching, his eyes filled with obvious shock and fear.
A child, how could a child possess such immense power?
Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, this was not a technique a child could possibly use.
However, everything before him forced him to believe it.
Splat!
Three Kunai flew, instantly piercing his head, throat, and heart.
The Cloud ninja's body twitched, then fell silent.
A Chunin-level Cloud ninja vanished completely in that instant.
Rakawa walked over to his side, reached down, and took a scroll from the corpse. He opened it, formed a hand sign, and then pressed his palm onto the scroll.
"Release!"