"Eight Trigrams · Vacuum Palm!"
Facing the massive Shuriken that tore through the air with a sharp howl, Ryuji Hyuga poured Chakra into his arm and thrust his hand forward with fingers curled. The wind pressure pressed his clothes tight to his arm, outlining muscles drawn to their limit. His stance was steady, but the strain showed in his posture.
The compressed air slammed into the Shuriken like an invisible shell, and the clash of sonic booms and exploding wind echoed in everyone's ears. The impact rang out across the battlefield, sharp and violent. Even those farther away felt the shock ripple past them.
Bang!
Wrapped in immense force, the giant Shuriken drove Ryuji Hyuga back several steps, shattering the ground beneath his feet into spiderweb cracks. He barely managed to hold it off, stopping the blow head on. Dust andSuisui debris scattered around him as he steadied himself.
"Eight Gates · Second Gate · Gate of Healing?"
Catching sight of the veins bulging around Ryuji Hyuga's eyes, Aburame Ryoma instantly understood what he had used. A Hyuga from the Hyuga Clan actually learned the Eight Gates, and even opened the Second Gate. No wonder he could block Troy's strike, but that alone was still not enough.
After all, Troy was a Magnet Release user.
Those Shuriken were specially made, terrifyingly heavy on their own, and could only be controlled through Magnet Release. Aburame Ryoma swallowed a pill and coughed lightly as he shouted a warning. "Do not touch his Shuriken with your body!"
The other Root Ninja moved to assist, but Troy gave them no chance to form seals. Facing the force of two giant Shuriken, blocking with blades alone was far too much for them. Sparks and metal shrieks filled the air as they struggled.
In front of Ryuji Hyuga, the Shuriken he had just halted began to spin again. It screamed like a grinder, its wind howl rising as if the fangs of a beast were tearing back toward him. The pressure surged, forcing him to shift his footing.
Buzz! Buzz buzz!
Veins spread around Ryuji Hyuga's eyes as he activated the Byakugan without hesitation. Within the span of a single breath, his figure blurred into afterimages at the edge of everyone's vision. As he dodged, repeated explosive booms rang out where the Shuriken collided with Vacuum Palm.
Watching from afar, Troy kept forming seals and manipulating the Shuriken. When he noticed those Byakugan eyes, his gaze flickered. He suddenly spoke up, his voice sharp.
"Kid, are you from the Main Family, or the Branch Family?"
This level of strength did not seem like the Main Family, yet he could use Kaiten, a secret art mastered only by them. The contradiction made his eyes narrow. But Ryuji Hyuga did not answer, and it seemed he had no spare breath to do so.
Pssh!
A spray of blood suddenly splattered onto the ground. Ryuji Hyuga's body jerked to a stop as a cut split open at the corner of his eye. Blood slid down his cheek to his jaw and dripped onto his foot, warm and wet.
Seeing this, Aburame Ryoma's expression darkened as he realized the boy was reaching his limit. According to Root intelligence, once someone touched Troy's Shuriken, the Magnet Release Chakra attached to it would magnetize the body and mark them. After that, any magnetic attack would be impossible to evade.
Aburame Ryoma knew Troy's strength well. With a Kekkei Genkai, he was among the most troublesome even within the Jonin. Gritting his teeth, Aburame Ryoma weighed his options in silence.
"If my internal injuries were not this bad, I might still have a chance to coordinate a sneak attack," he thought. "But now…" His strength lay in infiltration and assassination, not head-on combat.
Bang!
Using the force of the giant Shuriken, Ryuji Hyuga pulled back and retreated to Aburame Ryoma's side. His voice was hoarse and urgent as he spoke. "Senior Ryoma, ten o'clock direction, three kilometers out, dozens of shinobi are approaching!"
Ten o'clock meant they were not from Konoha. Most likely, they were Kumogakure shinobi stationed along the border of the Land of Hot Water. The realization hit hard, and the pressure of the situation grew heavier by the second.
"Wait." Aburame Ryoma suddenly reacted and blurted out, "Three kilometers? You can see a radius of three kilometers?"
Hyuga who activated the Byakugan could normally see within one kilometer, rarely exceeding two. If focusing on a single direction, the range could increase several times. But Ryuji Hyuga was clearly observing an entire three kilometer radius.
That was terrifying.
"Senior, now is not the time for this!" Ryuji Hyuga said anxiously. "No matter what is going on with the Explosive Tag, take Tangdong and leave now. If we wait any longer, it will be too late!"
Already suffering internal injuries, Aburame Ryoma nearly spat blood when he heard this. The Explosive Tag had nothing to do with him. Why did everyone think he set it up?
Lord Danzo Shimura had allowed action, but he had not even had the chance to move yet.
"Hmph, not talking?"
Ignored by Ryuji Hyuga, Troy let out a cold snort. "Then I will cut off your limbs and ask again." He flung open a scroll, and two more giant Shuriken appeared.
"Magnet Release · Sparrow Bee Twin…"
"Do not even think about it!"
As Troy moved to hurl the two Shuriken, a violent voice suddenly rang out. The previously unconscious Tangdong Akimichi had awakened under the protection and treatment of ANBU. Seeing Ryuji Hyuga standing in front of him, he shoved a green pill and a yellow pill into his mouth without hesitation.
They were secret medicines of the Akimichi Clan. The green spinach pill could instantly release 30 percent of the body's latent potential and triple one's strength, while the yellow curry pill replenished vitality and blood. The price was pain and weakness once the effects faded, but for now it was enough.
"Baika no Jutsu · Super Push Palm!"
Boom!!
A gigantic palm descended from above and slammed toward Troy. The ground collapsed under the impact, cracking and sinking as if a landslide had struck. Several corpses were crushed so completely that blood and bone were ground into the soil.
"Annoying."
Troy reappeared farther away, his expression dark. He had been forced to cut off the connection to his Shuriken and could only recall them. The interruption clearly angered him.
"Tangdong!" Ryuji Hyuga looked up at Tangdong Akimichi, relief flashing across his face. "You…"
"Ryuji, listen to me."
Tangdong Akimichi cut him off in a deep voice. "This was most likely done by Iwagakure. You and the others must return to Konoha at once and report everything to Third Hokage."
"Iwagakure?" Before Ryuji Hyuga could speak, Aburame Ryoma's pupils shrank. "How could it be Iwagakure?"
Tangdong Akimichi glanced at him coldly, thinking that it might not be unrelated to Root either. Aloud, he continued his explanation. "Do you remember the group of Iwa rogue ninja we encountered on the road? The scroll holding Hiashi Hyuga's body was likely swapped at that time."
"What?" Ryuji Hyuga froze as realization struck, his pale face turning even whiter. "So it was me…"
"This is not your fault." Tangdong Akimichi looked at him with a complicated expression.
He had clearly seen how Ryuji Hyuga risked his life to protect him, as well as the strength and talent he displayed. When he first realized the Explosive Tag had been placed in the coffin, his instinct was to suspect Ryuji Hyuga, who carried the scroll. But he quickly understood that Explosive Tag were critical strategic materials, not something money alone could buy.
Such a large quantity was impossible for Ryuji Hyuga to obtain. Even attempting to purchase them would have drawn ANBU immediately, with questions about his intent. That meant the Explosive Tag were not placed by Ryuji Hyuga, leaving only the possibility of a swap.
The boy was simply too inexperienced. Someone with such good character and promise should not die here today.
"Go, now," Tangdong Akimichi said heavily.
"No, we cannot. If we leave, then you…" Ryuji Hyuga tried to argue, but a sharp tearing sound cut him off.
"None of you are escaping today!"
"Go!"
As several giant Shuriken flew in again, Tangdong Akimichi roared and slammed out a palm wrapped in Chakra. The ground shook violently underfoot, the sound rolling like a muffled thunderclap.
This time, the shaking did not fade. Tangdong Akimichi's strike seemed to break something beneath them, and the tremors grew stronger instead. A low hum spread through the earth, making faces pale.
"What is happening?" someone cried.
In the next instant, the shaking turned into a deafening roar. The ground beneath them bulged upward, splitting open with terrifying cracks that stretched for hundreds of meters. It felt as if an unseen monster was twisting its body underground, desperate to break free.
Heavy objects nearby were thrown into the air as if gravity had failed. Bang, kacha!! The ground arched up before another earth-shaking explosion rang out. Everyone felt weightless for a moment.
No, it was not that they were lifted. The ground beneath them was collapsing.
"Fall back!"
Whether Troy or the people from Konoha, everyone halted and used Shunshin to retreat. They watched as a pitch-black gap tore open beneath the inn, the ground splitting into massive stone blocks that fell into the expanding void. The solid earth crumbled like dough under pressure.
After the tremors finally stopped and the dust slowly settled, what remained was a bottomless black hole like an abyss. Everyone stared at it in shock and uncertainty, feeling as if deep darkness was stirring within.