Sharp threads, gleaming in the moonlight. Miroku smiled sadistically as she held the threads between her fingers.
"You..."
Coming to a sudden stop, Yamato realized that everything finally made sense. He had already suspected what was happening in the village, but this was irrefutable proof.
Miroku was the monster.
"The time has come. It's a shame you can't stay any longer," Miroku said, licking her lips.
"It took me too long to realize it..." Yamato sighed, his hands still in his pockets.
'I have to end this immediately. Nothing guarantees that my students can handle this.'
Clenching his fists and looking around, Yamato searched for any available escape routes.
'There aren't any... Everything is blocked.'
The entire area was filled with sharp threads.
"You've gone quiet, shinobi of Konohagakure," Miroku said, crossing her arms. "I suppose I should have a little fun before the night is over."
—Somewhere in the Village—
Blood, a punch... Hinata's arms had barely managed to withstand the blow.
Raising his arm, Kouta threw another punch. Hinata reacted quickly and jumped backward, but Kouta appeared in front of her again. This time, she couldn't dodge the attack.
Covering herself with the palms of her hands, Hinata managed to block the attack; however, Kouta's rings pierced through her hands.
"Stop..." Hinata pleaded, but even if Kouta heard her, he ignored her and continued attacking.
'I have no choice,' she thought.
Wrapping her hands in chakra as she assumed her fighting stance, Hinata fixed her gaze on a single point and charged forward.
Kouta allowed the attack to hit him, but when he felt the horrible pain of having his insides damaged, an expression of pain formed on his face as he fell to the ground.
'What was that?' he wondered, clutching the place where he had been struck.
Getting back up a few seconds later, Kouta let out a sigh.
"Now I understand. Even though she only touched me with her palm, she managed to do quite a bit of damage. So she's from the Hyuga clan," Kouta muttered. "This is going to be complicated."
At that moment, Hinata remained staring at the man.
'What should I do? When I broke through the wall, everyone should have heard the impact, but...'
Hinata's eyes widened when she realized what was happening to her teammates.
'Toru-kun, Ino, sensei!'
She clenched her fists tightly. She was certain that the others were fighting right now.
'I have to do something!'
Hinata looked at every corner of the village. There were several escape routes available, so fleeing wouldn't be difficult, if it weren't for the man standing in front of her.
"Huh?"
Without giving her time to think, Kouta launched another attack.
"Ah!"
Blood began flowing from the cut on Hinata's cheek. With every passing second, Kouta's attacks became faster—no, Kouta's attacks hadn't gotten faster; Hinata was becoming slower.
Even with her arms injured, she continued dodging the attacks, but it was only a matter of time before Kouta landed his next blow.
"Die."
Kouta's punch connected, sending Hinata flying into a tree. When she slammed into the wooden trunk, blood spilled from her mouth. She remained suspended in the air for a second before falling face-first onto the ground.
'No... I can't move.'
She tried to get up, but now her mobility was nonexistent.
Kouta's strikes were special because, just like the Hyuga, he possessed a strange and unique ability. It had to do with the blindfold over his eyes, because he didn't have any eyes. He was completely blind, but because of this, he had developed that strange ability: the ability to sense chakra in the air. That was why his attacks were so devastating.
'I thought that blow would kill her, but her body is very resilient,' Kouta thought when he saw that Hinata was still breathing. 'Either way, this fight is already over.'
He slowly walked toward her.
'I have to get up! I can't stay here!' Hinata thought, placing her hands on the ground and pushing herself up with her forehead to stand. However, at the worst possible moment, her weakness betrayed her.
'I can't... I can't get up. I'm too weak.'
She closed her eyes, digging her fingers into the dirt.
'It's always the same... I can never get back up.'
Remembering all the training she had gone through with her father, Hinata gave up; it was what she always did during training.
'I'm so weak... I'll never be able to become strong.'
Tears fell to the ground as she resigned herself to her fate.
'I'm sure Hanabi could have defeated him without even trying.'
She opened her eyes, and at that moment, she remembered what Toru had told her the day they met: "I wish I had eyes like yours."
Hinata's eyes widened.
'It's true... Toru-kun is very strong. He saved me... He saved me so many times.'
All her life, she had lived in the shadow of others.
'I can't wait for someone to save me again...'
She was wounded, broken to pieces, but even so, she stood up, staggering weakly.
'I promised myself I would become strong...'
Kouta sensed Hinata's chakra increase slightly, and a sigh escaped his mouth.
'I promised myself I would change because this is the path I chose.'
She raised her palms.
'Becoming strong. That's my path.'
With a frown on her face, she looked directly into Kouta-san's eyes.
"That is my ninja way."
'Ninja way? What is she talking about?' Kouta thought. 'I suppose the blood loss is making her say nonsense.'
Kouta raised his arm once again, ready to end Hinata's life with that final blow, but...
Blood splattered, staining the ground scarlet red.
And at that moment, Kouta stepped backward.
Hinata had managed to block Kouta's punch with the palms of her hands. The expression on her face was fierce, like that of a wild animal.
'What did she do?'
Kouta clenched his fist. Hinata's strength had suddenly increased.
"I'm not done," Hinata said. Now she was the one charging forward.
Using the palms of her hands, Hinata attempted to strike Kouta; however, he managed to block every attack with his fists, but it didn't end there.
Waves of chakra spread through the air as fists and palms collided.
The sound of their blows caused the birds hiding among the trees to take flight, frightened by the magnitude of the ninja battle.
'I don't understand. The shape of her chakra hasn't changed. I can feel it. So why?'
Kouta grew nervous. Hinata's strength continued increasing, slowly forcing him backward under the girl's attacks.
That was when Kouta's weakness worked against him. He was blind, so he couldn't see his opponent's movements in detail. A grimace of displeasure formed on his face.
"Agh!!"
The first blow struck Kouta in the chest, right at the central point of his chakra network. Blood spilled from his mouth as he tried to protect himself from the attacks, but Hinata kept pressing forward.
"No! I won't let you!"
Kouta raised his arms, bringing his hands together and smashing them downward, but Hinata jumped backward, dodging Kouta's hammer-like strike.
"Damn it!"
Once again, as blood flowed from his mouth, Kouta threw a punch with all his strength, but something made him stop instantly—a sharp pain in his chest.
"Cough, cough..."
A large amount of blood came out. This made Kouta furious.
'Damn it! I can't understand it. Why does she have so much strength?'
What Kouta didn't understand was that it wasn't simply about strength. Hinata was going to make him understand that the hard way.
"Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Kouta brought his fingers together, forming a cross. Immediately, multiple intangible clones appeared, but this only gave Hinata the advantage, as she could see the real Kouta among all the clones.
Fists and palms collided once again, causing waves of chakra to dissipate into the air.
More blood spilled from Kouta's mouth. His senses were beginning to fade, and it was becoming harder for him to sense chakra.
'I can still do this!'
Kouta tried to throw another punch, but a sharp pain ran through his body. At that moment, he fell to the ground and lost consciousness.
Hinata looked at the man collapsing in front of her and let out a sigh.
—Somewhere—
While Hinata fought Kouta, Yamato was already fighting Miroku.
"This is fun!"
Miroku raised her hand, and the threads bound Yamato.
"Where did all that strength you showed at the beginning go?" she said, laughing.
At that moment, the threads broke, and the trees around them began rising, closing off every escape route.
"I don't have time to waste."
Yamato looked Miroku in the eyes.
"Really? I suppose you're a very responsible teacher."
Time was running out for Yamato. Hinata, Toru, and Ino were fighting at this very moment.
—In Front of Miroku's House—
Toru got up from the ground and took his daggers in his hands. His gray eyes shone intensely in the darkness of the night. While Ino closed her eyes, waiting for her imminent death, the sound of metal clashing reached her ears.