Inside the cave, Haruto Saito once again walked up to Tsunade.
Tsunade raised her head to look at him, her lips slightly parted, eyes fixed on him, looking anxious as if she couldn't wait for Haruto to speak.
"Don't move!" Haruto instructed before moving behind Tsunade. He sat down cross-legged, bringing his hands together to form a series of quick hand seals. His fingers blurred in motion, and within a single breath, the jutsu was complete.
"Ninjutsu: Transparent Healing Technique!"
A hazy glow appeared on both of Haruto's hands. The light was gentle, pale white, or perhaps even colorless.
Bang!
Haruto firmly pressed both hands onto Tsunade's back. A cool energy immediately surged into her body, flowing through her meridians, quickly reaching the severed points within.
Tsunade let out a muffled groan, seemingly in pain, but she endured it without moving.
The first ruptured meridian was swiftly repaired. Haruto continued channeling chakra, allowing the healing energy to travel further along Tsunade's meridians, soon finding the second damaged spot and proceeding to mend it.
This technique consumed a fair amount of chakra, but as a B-rank jutsu, it wasn't overly demanding. Haruto could sustain it without issue, given that his chakra reserves were slightly higher than those of an average Jonin.
Whoosh!
The sound of wind rushing close.
Jiraiya had entered the mine tunnels and sprinted the whole way, twisting and turning through the labyrinthine paths until he reached the largest cavern in the mountain's depths.
"There's trouble! We need to move now!" Jiraiya urged urgently.
Neither Tsunade nor Haruto moved—Haruto was still in the process of healing her wounds.
Jiraiya quickly assessed the situation. Haruto was using a medical ninjutsu to treat Tsunade's injuries. Given that Tsunade had been teaching Haruto earlier, Jiraiya easily deduced that the brat had already mastered the Transparent Healing Technique.
Monster!
He supposedly needed a day, but in reality, it only took him half a day!
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. Jiraiya was practically panicked, but he couldn't interrupt. Weighing his options, he realized that waiting a minute or two for Haruto to heal Tsunade was the smarter choice. If she had to flee while still injured, her speed would be affected, and the wounds might worsen.
One minute later.
Haruto finally withdrew his hands.
"Is it done?" Jiraiya asked anxiously.
"Let's go, I'll explain on the way!" Tsunade jumped to her feet.
Jiraiya hadn't elaborated on the exact situation, but his urgency made it clear that immediate escape was necessary—it had to be something incredibly troublesome.
...
"They're just ahead! Their scent is still fresh!"
"They're hiding in the mines."
Two large ninja hounds darted out of the forest, leaping onto the barren rocky slope in front of the mine entrance. They sniffed carefully before turning back and barking.
More than a hundred ninjas followed close behind, pouring in from the forest like a black tide, surging toward the mine.
Once inside, they spread out in the vast network of tunnels to search. Since Jiraiya had passed through every passage, his scent lingered everywhere, making it difficult for the hounds to determine if their targets had already fled.
Before long, they gathered in the largest cavern within the mine.
This was the Third Unit of the Rain Ninja Village's vanguard forces. Currently, the vanguard corps had been temporarily disbanded, and the units were operating independently, making them highly mobile. They didn't need orders from above to take action—upon receiving intelligence, they immediately pursued their targets, which was why they were the first to catch up.
"The fire is still burning. They left only moments ago," said a bald ninja in his forties, standing beside the smoldering campfire.
This man was the captain of the ninja unit, Lu He, an elite Jonin with vast experience.
"We approached from the north, so they must have detected us and fled south. Send word immediately… We pursue! Ninja hounds, move fast!" Lu He ordered swiftly.
...
Abandoned mine, southern forest.
Three figures moved at high speed, staying within the shadowed areas beneath the tree canopy. Occasionally, they leaped from branch to branch in rapid succession.
Above the forest, a rain falcon circled the sky. With its speed and keen vision, it could scout an immense area. From a thousand meters high, its sharp eyes could make out details several kilometers away.
"Over a hundred enemies?" Tsunade furrowed her brows deeply after listening to Jiraiya's report. "How many of them are strong?"
"They should be a standard ninja unit with no special elites. Their leader is likely just an elite Jonin," Jiraiya analyzed. He had seen them firsthand, and given his experience, the chance of him being wrong was slim.
"Then why not fight back?" Haruto immediately asked. "With your strength, dealing with them shouldn't be an issue, right?"
"It wouldn't be," Tsunade admitted, "but you need to understand—this is just the first wave! We can't waste any time here. If we turn back and engage, we'll probably win, but how long would the battle last? An hour? By then, who knows how many more enemies will arrive?"
"In this situation, we absolutely cannot afford to get bogged down," Jiraiya added. "Even if we run into enemies, we have to flee, no matter how strong they are! News of our presence has spread, and more foes are on their way."
"Fine!" Haruto nodded, albeit reluctantly.
He truly wanted to fight—to sharpen his skills through battle. Killing enemies dropped valuable loot cards, accelerating his growth.
But Jiraiya and Tsunade were right.
Stopping was not an option.
Not to mention, what if Hanzo himself arrived mid-battle?
That would be a death sentence!
The three of them sprinted at full speed.
Ten minutes later.
"There are people ahead!" Haruto suddenly warned, sensing their presence. "Three hundred meters away—a group of ninjas…"
"Turn right!" Tsunade ordered sharply.
If they could avoid a fight, they had to.
Not long after, a river came into view in the forest ahead. It was over twenty meters wide, its surface open and exposed. The rain falcon still circled nearby, scanning the terrain.
"Hand seals! Body Flicker!" Tsunade reminded them.
The three of them performed the seals just before breaking through the forest's edge. In a blink, they vanished in a puff of smoke, reappearing on the opposite bank before continuing their escape.
This was true desperation.
Not because their current pursuers were overwhelmingly strong, but because getting caught up in a fight now would only stall them. More enemies would soon arrive, and then it would be over!
Two hours later, midday.
Inside the mine where Haruto and the others had stayed for over ten hours, the fire was nearly extinguished but still glowed faintly.
A figure suddenly materialized near the fire, appearing as if from thin air. Cloaked in a black robe with a hood obscuring his head, his presence exuded an eerie chill—an aura of deep mystery. He had arrived!
This was Jidou.
Jidou took slow steps around the fire, inhaling deeply as if observing something—or tracking a scent.
Suddenly!
He crouched and picked up a stick-like object from beside the fire… It was a bone. Not human. Jidou could tell it was from the hind leg of a wild rabbit.
The meat had been stripped away, leaving only the bone. The end closest to the fire was charred black, while the other half remained intact, complete with bite marks.
Jidou lifted the bone to his nose and inhaled deeply. Under the shadow of his hood, his eyes gleamed with a bloodthirsty excitement.
"Found you!"
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