The Roaring Sound Did Not Come from Battle—It Came from Haruto Saito's Clone!
Within the dense fog, both the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and the Hyuga Clan shinobi heard the deafening roar. At the same time, they sensed an overwhelmingly strong presence. This presence, without a doubt, came from Haruto Saito's clone.
They immediately accelerated, rushing toward the source of the explosion!
A few hundred meters—at their speed, they could cover that distance in less than ten seconds!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The thunderous noise erupted once again. As the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and Hyuga Domon's team charged through the fog, they were suddenly ambushed!
The attacks came from the mist itself!
"Damn it! He's noticed us!"
"Attack!"
"Kill him!"
…
"He's aware of us!"
"Hmph! Arrogant fool! Move in, but be careful—we need him alive!"
…
Both the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and the Hyuga shinobi believed they were being attacked by Haruto Saito—and they were right. However, the moment they unleashed their strongest attacks in response, the situation changed entirely!
"Wind Style: Grand Spiraling Technique!"
"Wind Style: Super Giant Sphere!"
"Lightning Style: Destruction Net!"
Violent chakra waves surged through the mist. Hyuga Domon and his men immediately sensed something was wrong—the chakra fluctuations were far too powerful!
And more importantly, it wasn't just one person!
"Defend!" Hyuga Domon roared.
"Eight Trigrams: Rotation!"
"Eight Trigrams: Rotation!"
The Hyuga shinobi spun in unison, generating powerful chakra shields around them as they rotated rapidly!
Hyuga Domon stood at the very front, enduring the strongest attacks, while the others formed a defensive formation behind him!
Boom! Boom! BOOOOM!
The violent explosions continued, shaking the entire battlefield!
The dense mist covering a one-kilometer radius was almost blown away entirely by the shockwaves. Howling winds swept through the battlefield as lightning and fire clashed in the sky!
"Wait—something's wrong!" Momochi Sekigen suddenly shouted.
The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, who were about to launch another attack, all froze in place.
At the same time, tens of meters away, the Hyuga shinobi also stopped spinning.
Silence.
The faint mist drifted in the air as both groups stared at each other, momentarily speechless.
Momochi Sekigen furrowed his brows deeply, locking eyes with Hyuga Domon.
This man wasn't some unknown shinobi—he recognized him immediately!
Hyuga Domon was a powerhouse on par with the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist!
But…
Why was he here?!
The Hyuga shinobi were equally stunned.
What the hell?!
The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?!
Why them?!
Why are they here?!
None of the Hyuga shinobi were injured—they had managed to withstand the first wave of attacks purely thanks to their "absolute defense," Eight Trigrams: Rotation.
However, the technique burned through chakra rapidly!
More importantly, they had survived because Hyuga Domon was there!
This man was a defensive monster!
Had he not been a branch family member with a flawed Byakugan, he would have been the strongest defensive shinobi in the entire Hyuga Clan!
His Rotation technique alone was capable of blocking multiple high-level attacks from the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist!
But that was all he could do—defend.
In a direct fight, he stood no chance.
Even one-on-one, he wouldn't necessarily defeat a single member of the Seven Swordsmen. But at the same time, they couldn't kill him easily either!
Defensive-type shinobi—the so-called "turtle-shell ninjas"—were always the hardest to kill!
Hyuga Domon's subordinates were already terrified.
They didn't even need to fight to know the outcome.
They were going to lose.
The only question was: how long could they last?
Konoha and Kirigakure were officially hostile. While they weren't at war, if their shinobi met in the wild, a battle was inevitable!
And the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist were notorious for their ruthlessness—they never spared anyone!
Encounter an enemy? Kill them.
No exceptions!
"That assassin… he's a Konoha shinobi!" Momochi Sekigen spoke up. He had figured it out!
But he made one critical mistake.
The Hyuga Clan wasn't here to help Haruto Saito—they were here to kill him too!
Hyuga Domon had already realized the situation.
The Seven Swordsmen were after Haruto Saito.
But so was he and his team.
Now, with Haruto Saito missing, both groups had run into each other.
"Sir… what do we do?"
"We can't beat them…"
Soft murmurs came from the Hyuga shinobi behind Domon.
Domon remained expressionless and spoke in a voice so low that only those closest to him could hear:
"If they attack… we split up and run. Let fate decide."
Scattering.
That was their only option.
But how many of them would survive?
No one knew.
Their enemy was too strong.
So strong that fighting back wasn't even an option.
"Kill them all." Momochi Sekigen suddenly ordered in a low voice.
The moment his words fell—
The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist lunged forward!
At the same time—
The Hyuga shinobi scattered in all directions, sprinting for their lives!
The Hyuga Clan had one advantage—
They were taijutsu specialists!
Their bodies were stronger!
Their sprinting speed was superior to most shinobi of the same level!
And in Poison Execution Forest, a dense tropical jungle, the complicated terrain favored those running away!
Boom! Boom! BOOOOM!
Explosions erupted, one after another!
…
Meanwhile, Haruto Saito had already submerged underground, far from the battlefield.
He had traveled for over ten kilometers, before finally emerging above ground.
The moment he surfaced, he created a thick mist—
One, to prevent Byakugan users from spotting him.
Two, to avoid detection by Blue Feather Hawk scouts.
He pressed his hands together.
Byakugan, activate!
Haruto Saito began scanning the area!
The Hyuga shinobi had completely scattered—and two Jonin had already died.
The Seven Swordsmen were still hunting them down, temporarily splitting up.
Momochi Sekigen and two other Swordsmen were jointly pursuing Hyuga Domon!
Domon was outrunning them, never letting himself be fully surrounded. But he was frequently attacked by jutsu. He focused only on defense, using Rotation to block each attack before speeding up again.
Haruto Saito kept watching, though the distance of over ten kilometers was rapidly draining his chakra.
He had no choice but to use Yin God Kunai to sustain his vision!
He continued observing.
Finally, Hyuga Domon managed to escape.
Only one target remained!
Haruto Saito made a decision—
Hunt him down!
Hyuga Domon!