When Kaito noticed another team nearby, he didn't immediately rush to them.
Through the limitless perception of his Six Eyes, the dark forest was completely stripped of its secrets.
He could clearly see the small flow of chakra from three individuals resting about two miles to the north.
Initially, Kaito had a very tempting thought.
He had wanted to break Gaara's legendary exam record.
In the original anime timeline, Gaara of the Sand finished this exact stage in the Forest of Death in one hour and thirty-seven minutes.
And he did it without getting a single speck of dirt on his clothes.
With his current Taijutsu speed and the absolute power of Infinity, Kaito could probably reach the Central Tower in less than thirty minutes.
It would be a flawless victory!
However, Kaito quickly abandoned the idea.
With Ame ninjas actively lurking somewhere inside the Forest of Death, he definitely couldn't afford to be reckless.
Even if he already possessed Gojo Satoru's Infinity, which made him practically immune to any conventional attacks, his friends did not.
Infinity only protected the space directly around his own body.
Mirei and Hiashi were still highly vulnerable.
They could be harmed, ambushed, or taken hostage at any moment if he ran too far ahead and left them behind.
Besides, arrogance was always the greatest enemy of a shinobi.
Kaito knew it perfectly.
Even the great Madara Uchiha, a man who possessed god-like power and the Ten-Tails, was eventually played and killed by Black Zetsu.
All because he thought he was already strong enough and let his guard down.
Kaito definitely wouldn't make that same stupid mistake.
He refused to let his new overpowered abilities blind his judgment.
He turned to his teammates, who were waiting for his command.
Kaito pointed his finger toward the northern tree line and said, "There! I can sense someone."
Hiashi frowned, finding it hard to believe.
He immediately formed a hand seal and activated his Byakugan in response.
Thick veins violently bulged around his pale eyes as his vision pierced through the endless rows of giant trees and thick roots.
A moment later, Hiashi gasped softly.
He said, "There are people! Exactly where you pointed."
Hiashi turned to look at the white-haired boy with a complicated expression.
"How did your sensory skill surpass even the Byakugan's range? I couldn't even detect them until I fully concentrated."
Kaito didn't answer outright.
Instead, he grinned playfully and said, "Some things are better kept secret."
Hiashi scoffed heavily, but he didn't press the issue.
He was slowly getting used to Kaito's deeply mysterious nature. The boy was simply a walking anomaly.
"They seem to be resting off their guard," Kaito explained, quickly formulating a plan in his head.
"Mirei, Hiashi, I want the two of you to handle this ambush. I will watch your backs from the trees and intervene only if things go wrong."
Mirei nodded enthusiastically. "Leave it to us, Kaito!"
Hiashi simply adjusted his combat stance. "I will show them the true power of the Hyuga."
After making up a solid plan of attack, they leaped onto another tree instantly.
They moved silently like ghosts through the dark canopy, leaving no trace of their presence.
Soon, they arrived right above the unsuspecting team.
It was a squad of Genin from Amegakure, the Hidden Rain Village.
They were sitting around a large tree root, busy eating their dry rations and checking their breathing masks.
Kaito sat comfortably on a high branch, crossing his legs as he casually watched the show unfold below.
Mirei made the first move.
She silently drew three kunai coated with explosive tags and threw them directly toward the Ame ninjas.
"Enemy attack!" the Ame team leader shouted, drawing his weapon in panic.
Boom!
The violent explosion kicked up a thick cloud of smoke and damp dirt, completely scattering the enemy team.
Before the heavy smoke could even clear, Hiashi dropped down from the sky like a descending predator.
"You're wide open," Hiashi stated coldly.
He landed right in front of the disoriented team leader.
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!"
Hiashi's hands moved in a fluid, relentless blur. He struck the Ame Genin's chakra points with terrifying pinpoint accuracy.
The leader coughed up saliva and instantly collapsed to the ground, his entire chakra network completely shut down.
The other two Ame Genin tried to retaliate with Water Jutsu, rapidly forming hand seals.
However, Mirei had already flanked them from the bushes.
Her Single-Tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly, perfectly predicting their hand movements before they even finished.
She didn't even need to use her exhausting Scorch Release for this.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!" Mirei shouted.
A massive ball of roaring flames engulfed the damp forest floor, instantly evaporating the moisture and forcing the remaining two Genin to dive for cover.
Hiashi smoothly closed the distance and knocked them out cold with swift, precise strikes to the back of their necks.
The entire ambush lasted less than a single minute.
"Excellent," Kaito praised, dropping down lightly from the tree.
Mirei smiled proudly and quickly knelt down to search the unconscious leader's ninja pouch.
She rummaged around before pulling out a scroll with a green kanji written on it.
"Kaito! It's the Earth Scroll!" Mirei cheered, holding it up high for him to see.
"We did it. We have both the Heaven and Earth Scrolls now."
Hiashi wiped a speck of dust from his shirt and nodded firmly.
"We should immediately head to the Central Tower before any other teams try to intercept us."
Kaito agreed. "That's right. Come, Mirei, let's leave quickly."
They quickly packed up their gear and leaped back into the high branches of the giant trees.
The mission was going perfectly.
Perhaps a little too perfect.
However, just as they wanted to depart toward the center of the forest, the ground suddenly shook violently.
It wasn't a normal earthquake.
The tremor was highly concentrated, accompanied by a terrifying, booming roar that rattled the leaves off the trees.
A massive shockwave of displaced air washed over the thick canopy, bending the branches backward.
Mirei lost her footing on the slippery moss of the giant branch.
She was thrown from the tree they were on with a shocked expression.
She screamed as she plummeted toward the dark forest floor below. "Aaahh... Kaito!"
Fortunately, Kaito's reflexes were insanely fast.
With his Taijutsu Mastery kicking in, he kicked off the trunk, his body blurring into motion.
He managed to reach her in mid-air just in time, grabbing her firmly by the waist.
He twisted his body gracefully and leaped to another solid branch, landing safely with Mirei in his arms.
Mirei panted heavily, clinging tightly to his high-collar shirt in sheer panic.
Kaito looked toward the epicenter of the massive tremor.
His bright blue eyes narrowed as the Six Eyes detected a chaotic, massive surge of dark chakra in the distance.
"What happened? Why is the ground shook?" Kaito wondered.