Chapter 24 Iwagakure
Following the map's guidance, Hyuga Mirai and Kurenai Yuhi cautiously approached the Konoha Village intelligence gathering outpost; when they were still 1.5 kilometers away, Hyuga Mirai immediately activated his Byakugan.
"Four people. Their Chakra levels are all higher than yours, Kurenai."
"Mirai-kun!"
Kurenai Yuhi puffed out her cheeks and glared unhappily at Hyuga Mirai, but the next second, Kurenai Yuhi's expression froze as she recalled Kaminari Kaede's words.
"Four people? Mirai-kun, isn't there supposed to be only three people at an intelligence outpost?"
Hyuga Mirai nodded and said, "So, there's a fifty percent chance they're enemies; Kurenai, I'll watch from here, you go notify the captain immediately."
He had the Byakugan, allowing him to monitor from a distance, so having Kurenai Yuhi follow the marks Kaminari Kaede left to report was the best option.
As for tracking marks, they had practiced it many times at the Ninja School.
"Then Mirai-kun, you must be careful."
Hyuga Mirai chuckled and said, "Don't worry, go quickly and come back quickly. Be careful to conceal your tracks so you don't get targeted."
Kurenai Yuhi nodded in understanding, then immediately returned the way she came, preparing to find the marks Kaminari Kaede had left.
Meanwhile, Hyuga Mirai kept his Byakugan activated, closely watching the four people inside the outpost.
The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan could be said to be incredibly powerful; long-distance vision was just one of its abilities. The Byakugan could also see through all obstacles; Hyuga Mirai's strength wasn't enough, otherwise, he would be able to see the faces of the four people inside the intelligence gathering outpost from 1.5 kilometers away.
However, to achieve this, even a Jonin from the Main Family might not be able to do it.
The farther the distance, the worse the Byakugan's visual capability. If within fifty meters, Hyuga Mirai could see the words on a scroll through a wall.
But at a distance of 1.5 kilometers, he could only see the Chakra of four human figures, and even seeing their Chakra pathways was a bit strained.
"The Sharingan is the ultimate manifestation of Yin Release, so the Byakugan, also one of the Three Great Dojutsu, should also be related to Yin Release; if I nourish the Byakugan with Yang Release Chakra, it might enhance the Byakugan's limits..."
Hyuga Mirai mused silently in his mind. Although these were just his conjectures and had not undergone specific experiments, nourishing the Byakugan with Yang Release Chakra should not harm him.
"Let's try it."
Hyuga Mirai immediately formed hand signs, then refined Yang Release Chakra within his body.
With his exquisite Chakra control ability, he guided this Yang Release Chakra to flow towards the Chakra pathways and acupoints around his eyes.
Subsequently, Hyuga Mirai felt as if his eyes were enveloped by a warm current, and the sensation from his eyes made him feel incredibly comfortable.
"Let's test the Byakugan's limits again..."
Hyuga Mirai raised his head, and the Chakra pathways on both sides of his cheeks had dissipated quite a bit, lacking the 'ferocious' look from when he first activated the Byakugan.
"It's a bit farther than before, about three kilometers... I didn't expect Yang Release Chakra could really enhance the Byakugan's abilities, and it feels wonderful, even more comfortable than soaking in a hot spring."
Hyuga Mirai thought with a slight smile. He could feel that if he frequently used Yang Release Chakra to flow through the Chakra pathways and acupoints around his eyes, it would greatly benefit his Byakugan.
The nourishment from Yang Release Chakra not only improved the Byakugan's long-distance vision but also allowed Hyuga Mirai to barely make out the faces of the four people inside the outpost.
"As expected, they are Iwagakure ninja. It seems the intelligence gathering personnel have already been dealt with by them."
All four of them had Iwagakure headbands, but Hyuga Mirai didn't see any Konoha Village ninja corpses; after observing for a while, he deactivated his Byakugan.
The consumption was a bit high; about five minutes was equivalent to performing one Mystical Palm Technique.
Even a Chunin couldn't sustain it for long; and in the Hyuga Clan, those with slightly outstanding talent would focus on Gentle Fist training, rather than actively learning Medical Ninjutsu like Hyuga Mirai.
Because there might be a fight soon, Hyuga Mirai didn't keep his Byakugan activated all the time, but rather observed from a distance, only activating it occasionally to check the situation inside the outpost.
Before half a day passed, Hyuga Mirai sensed someone approaching from behind. Under his Byakugan, the person's Chakra level belonged to someone he was familiar with, but even so, Hyuga Mirai did not lower his guard until Kaminari Kaede approached and exchanged the secret signal, only then did Hyuga Mirai put down the Kunai in his hand.
"Good vigilance."
Kaminari Kaede praised Hyuga Mirai after approaching, then asked, "What's the situation here?"
"They are Iwagakure ninja."
Hyuga Mirai said with certainty, "Just now, one person came out wearing an Iwagakure headband. From their Chakra levels, all four of them are probably Chunin level."
After hearing Hyuga Mirai's words, Kaminari Kaede turned to look at Hyuga Kiyomi.
Hyuga Kiyomi activated her Byakugan to look at the intelligence gathering outpost, then nodded to Kaminari Kaede, signaling that Hyuga Mirai was correct.
"Four Chunin..."
Kaminari Kaede pondered. The situation in Grass Country was very complex; although nominally a neutral country, it was treated as a buffer zone by the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth. Konoha and Iwagakure continuously infiltrated Grass Country with agents and spies.
It could now be confirmed that the personnel at Konoha's other intelligence gathering outposts were all killed by Iwagakure ninja, but it was unknown how much intelligence they had intercepted.
"Hyuga Mirai, Hyuga Kiyomi, you two use your Byakugan to circle this outpost. Do not trigger any traps. Once we engage, I will kill two of them in the shortest time possible; Hyuga Kiyomi, you hold one, and Hyuga Mirai and Kurenai Yuhi, you two hold the other."
After pondering for a while, Kaminari Kaede began to lay out the battle plan.
Hyuga Kiyomi usually displayed the strongest combat ability; her Gentle Fist was exquisitely executed. Once in close combat, even a Chunin would quickly fall into a disadvantage if caught off guard.
Kurenai Yuhi and Hyuga Mirai, a perfect long-range and close-range combination, did not aim to kill but only to hold off the Iwagakure ninja for a moment, allowing Kaminari Kaede to deal with his opponents and come to support them.
"Understood!"
The three responded, then dispersed to prepare.
Checking for surrounding traps and Iwagakure ambushes all required the Byakugan to complete.
After Hyuga Mirai and Hyuga Kiyomi quickly checked the surrounding five-kilometer radius, they returned and gestured to Kaminari Kaede, then prepared to engage in battle.
By now, the Iwagakure ninja in the outpost still hadn't noticed the commotion outside. Perhaps they simply didn't believe that Konoha Village could react so quickly and send people to Grass Country right after they had just wiped out Konoha's intelligence gathering personnel.
Kaminari Kaede slowly infiltrated near the outpost, then quickly formed hand signs with both hands.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Divide!"
After Kaminari Kaede formed the hand signs, he placed his hands on the ground. As Chakra was transmitted, the Konoha intelligence outpost immediately experienced violent tremors and shaking.
The ground instantly cracked into a dozen fissures, and the intelligence outpost collapsed and sank into the fissures.
"Enemies! Go out and engage!"
The Iwagakure ninja inside the house reacted immediately the moment Earth Flow Divide appeared, and quickly called their companions to escape from the small house.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!"
Kaminari Kaede seized the opportunity and immediately used Fire Release to split the formation of the four-man Iwagakure squad. Subsequently, Hyuga Mirai and the other two, seeing the Fire Release, also simultaneously attacked, rushing towards the two Iwagakure ninja closest to them!
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