"What is that?"
Yukikaze's pupils dilated sharply as he stared at Uchiha Haruki's left palm.
A massive chakra shuriken was spinning violently in his hand, tearing through the surrounding air and producing a piercing, howling sound.
The familiar sight made Yukikaze's hair stand on end.
But by now, it was already too late to retreat.
Gritting his teeth, Yukikaze controlled the crystal ice dragon beneath him, commanding it to thrust its claw directly at Haruki.
Haruki didn't hesitate. He extended his left hand—meeting the dragon claw head-on.
Compared to the massive claw, Haruki's palm wasn't even the size of a single talon.
Yet, despite that absurd size difference, Haruki didn't retreat an inch.
Because in the very instant they clashed, the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken spiraling in Haruki's palm began to activate.
That's right—what Haruki had unleashed wasn't just any jutsu, but the S-rank forbidden technique—Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!
The enormous chakra shuriken exploded, transforming into countless microscopic chakra needles that pierced through the dragon's claw.
Fine shards of ice scattered to the ground—the claw disintegrated within the blink of an eye.
But it didn't stop there.
The Rasenshuriken surged forward and struck the dragon's torso, instantly carving a massive hole through its body.
Yukikaze desperately poured chakra into the dragon, attempting to repair the damage.
But the hole was far too large. The structure of the jutsu had already been completely destroyed—there was no salvaging it.
The ice dragon let out a final wail before shattering into pieces.
Haruki flickered away, creating distance to avoid the falling chunks of ice raining from above.
He didn't spare another glance at Yukikaze or the remaining three Mist jōnin. Instead, Haruki surveyed the entire battlefield and shouted loudly:
"Retreat!"
Upon hearing this, the Konoha shinobi—who had been prepared for the signal—immediately regrouped and, following the pre-planned route, began retreating toward Eagle Cliff.
The sudden coordinated retreat caught the Mist-nin completely off guard. Aside from a few strong and quick responders who managed to intercept a few, most failed to stop their opponents from escaping.
Once the Konoha forces regrouped, they would be much harder to deal with.
But the Mist shinobi weren't ready to let them go so easily.
A pursuit order was issued immediately.
However, they hadn't gone far before encountering resistance from Konoha shinobi stationed atop Eagle Cliff.
Swish!
A dense rain of kunai rained down from above, many laced with explosive tags, forcing the pursuers to scatter and dodge.
Additionally, some Konoha shinobi launched jutsu and Genjutsu that further disrupted the Mist-nin's pursuit.
After a round of defense, just as it seemed like the Konoha shinobi were about to launch a second wave of attacks, one of the Mist jōnin couldn't bear it any longer and quickly formed hand seals:
Water Style: Hidden Mist Technique!
Within seconds, thick mist engulfed the battlefield.
With their vision obscured, the Konoha shinobi at the cliff top could no longer launch attacks recklessly.
In contrast, Mist-nin—accustomed to operating in heavy fog due to the geography of their village—gained the upper hand.
Even if they weren't masters of Silent Killing, they could still detect subtle movements and identify enemies through the mist.
Just as the Mist jōnin was about to order a free hunt, a violent gust of wind suddenly tore through the battlefield, blowing away the mist in an instant.
He looked up sharply—only to see Haruki slowly closing his mouth and lowering his left hand.
It was clear that he had caused the gust.
With their vision restored, the Konoha shinobi, who had started to slow during their escape, immediately picked up speed once more.
Haruki glanced toward them and, seeing they'd likely reach Eagle Cliff without much trouble, turned his focus elsewhere.
Now it was his own turn to get out.
Blue light flashed around him as Haruki prepared to use Instant Blade Technique to escape.
But in the next moment, a forceless soundwave entered his ears again, causing him to stumble slightly—nearly falling.
It was that same auditory Genjutsu from earlier.
Only this time, it was even stronger.
Haruki gritted his teeth and forcibly expelled the foreign spiritual and chakra interference from his mind, turning to glare at the Mist jōnin in the distance.
That ninja was clearly the one casting the Genjutsu.
However, wary of being caught by Haruki's Sharingan illusion, the Mist-nin didn't meet his gaze directly—making it harder for Haruki to counter with his own Genjutsu.
Frustrated, Haruki charged forward.
Swish! Swish!
Two familiar silhouettes appeared, blocking his path—the same two Mist jōnin he had fought earlier.
Haruki didn't slow down and continued to sprint toward them.
Before he could get close, both Mist-nin quickly formed seals and unleashed:
Water Style: Wild Water Wave!
Two massive torrents of water burst from their mouths, cascading forward like twin waterfalls.
Haruki remained expressionless. Raising both hands, he quickly formed hand seals and countered with:
Water Style: Giant Shark Bullet!
A massive chakra-formed shark materialized and devoured the twin water torrents, swelling in size visibly before charging forward with unstoppable momentum.
The two Mist-nin halted their jutsu and dodged to either side.
BOOM!
The shark struck the sea surface, sending waves over ten meters high crashing outward—though no one was injured.
Not even the auditory Genjutsu user behind them.
Because—at some point—a towering ice wall had formed in front of him, perfectly blocking the crashing wave.
No doubt—it was Yukikaze's doing.
Seeing how well the four were cooperating, Haruki paused and suddenly changed direction—racing straight toward Eagle Cliff.
He hadn't been intent on killing the Genjutsu specialist. As long as the guy didn't stop him from escaping, letting him go wasn't a big deal.
Besides, his earlier charge had already drawn everyone's attention. Now was the perfect moment to slip away.
But—he had only taken two steps when he abruptly stopped.
Suddenly, a blue barrier appeared in front of him, rippling like water. It looked like it could be pierced with a single strike.
But Haruki knew better.
That illusion was deceptive. If he wasn't mistaken, this was a barrier seal.
He quickly looked around—left, right, and behind.
At some point, similar barriers had risen on all sides.
Soon after, the four barriers linked together, then merged above and below—forming a cube-like prison roughly 30 meters wide in all directions.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
Four figures appeared.
Clad in black cloaks and masks—they were unmistakably Mist ANBU.
Each stood at one corner of the cube, maintaining the barrier in complete silence.
Though it seemed like a lot had happened, everything had occurred within moments, leaving Haruki no time to escape—otherwise, he wouldn't have been caught like this.
It was clear these four Mist ANBU had planned this in advance.
How else could they have timed it so perfectly?
Haruki hadn't expected that what was supposed to be a small-scale probing operation by the Mist would be so thoroughly prepared.
It almost felt like the entire mission had been designed specifically to target him.