Hinata Haruki's figure appeared in midair, carried forward by the momentum of a Shunshin. Twisting his body violently, he spun around mid-flight, forcing his chakra to surge backward from the tenketsu along one side of his body, while on the other side it erupted forward. The opposing chakra bursts generated recoil that suddenly doubled his rotation speed!(BGM: Sarutobi, 634)
At the same time, his hands were far from idle—lightning-fast, his fingers shot out toward the vital points of all three enemies.
"Philtrum! Yamen! Fengchi! Rengyou! Danchuu! Kyubi! Kyoketsu! Shinketsu! Kikai! Kangen! Chūkyoku! Kyokkotsu! Eagle Window! Chūnyū! Nyūkon! Kimmon! Shoumon! Shoukoku! Kenkei! Taiyuan! Ashi Sanri! Sanyinjō! Yongsen! Hiyu! Ketsuin! Shinyu! Jinyu! Meimon! Shishitsu! Kikaiyu! Biryū! Hyakue! Shintei! Taiyō! Jimon! Seimei!!"
Haruki's rapid midair spin formed a faint blue sphere of chakra, drawing the surrounding air into concentric currents. Around the sphere's edge, countless afterimages of fingers and limbs flickered—an optical illusion caused by sheer speed.
His twin fingers stabbed down like a torrential storm—thirty-six strikes in a single second—each strike hitting a vital point on the three Sunagakure shinobi around him before they could react.
Haruki abruptly retracted his hands, spinning another full 720 degrees before flipping to land on the ground. Using his left foot as a pivot, he swept his right foot into a half-circle and came to a stable stance.
The three Suna shinobi fell from the air like stones, hitting the ground with a sickening impact. Blood streamed from all seven orifices—lifeless before they even touched the dirt.
By now, the remaining ten Suna shinobi had finally deflected the sudden hail of shuriken Haruki had thrown earlier. They stared at the boy—no more than six or seven years old—who had just cut down three comrades in an instant. Fearful of possible ambushes, none dared to move recklessly.
"Haruki!" Mizuki called out, seeing the small boy standing protectively before her. She was both relieved and anxious—relieved that he had arrived in time to save her from certain death, anxious because it looked like he was alone, facing an enemy force they could not possibly match.
"Don't be afraid, Mizuki-nee! I'll protect you! Reinforcements will be here soon!" Haruki said with a calm expression, though inside his heart was heavy. He had no idea when the squad Tsunade had sent would actually arrive—at least ten minutes at best.
When Haruki had arrived, Mizuki had been the only Konoha shinobi still standing, and she was badly injured. Thirteen Suna shinobi remained, three of them jōnin. Seeing them about to capture Mizuki, Haruki had made an immediate decision to strike first.
Using a concealment technique, he had crept close, creating two shadow clones to join him. Together, the three of them hurled thirty-six shuriken to pin down the ten remaining enemies, especially locking the three jōnin in place for a precious moment. Haruki then seized the opening to strike from midair—no one would have guessed he could release chakra from his entire body and unleash a finishing technique while airborne.
Still, killing those three had been a surprise attack. Now that his abilities were exposed, taking down even one more under the watch of three Suna jōnin would be nearly impossible. Worse, Mizuki was injured—escape itself was uncertain.
"What a strong little Hyūga brat… Surround them!" the Suna jōnin ordered. His initial shock quickly faded; they still had ten fighters. No matter how talented this kid was, he couldn't overpower all of them. The group moved at once, trying to flank Haruki and Mizuki.
"Think you can surround me? Not that easy! Die!" Haruki's palms, long brimming with chakra, came together, parallel and level. He thrust them toward the first charging jōnin—chakra erupting in an instant.
"Eight Trigrams Twin Vacuum Palm: United!"
Two powerful shockwaves merged into one, forming a far larger blast than normal. It ripped through the air in a massive cylindrical trajectory marked by concentric ripples, laced with chaotic stream-like currents. The wind-charged chakra roared toward its target.
"That's dangerous! Dodge!" the jōnin shouted. The Suna shinobi scattered.
The chūnin charging in front was not so lucky. The massive shockwave, closing the distance in a heartbeat, struck before he could react—he hadn't realized it could reach so far or cover so wide an area. In an instant, it hit him head-on, erasing him from sight.
BOOM! The wave hurled the unlucky man back like a ragdoll, smashing into a giant tree ten meters away with a deafening crack. The tree split in half, but the shockwave didn't stop—three more trees shattered before the blast slammed into a towering stone cliff.
BANG!! Rock exploded outward, leaving a deep crater. The cliff face fractured and collapsed in chunks, the shockwave scattering in all directions like a spherical gale. Even dozens of meters away, the force was palpable. Shards of rock sprayed in every direction. The chūnin's body was embedded deep within the rubble—unrecognizable.
Haruki didn't escape unscathed. The recoil sent him sliding several meters back, his breathing heavy, his arms numb. That single strike had burned through nearly a third of his chakra and taxed his body heavily.
The Eight Trigrams Twin Vacuum Palm was built on the base technique of Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. Firing with both palms in sequence was the standard Twin Vacuum Palm. Striking in opposite directions was "Twin Vacuum Palm: Split." But merging both palms together created an effect similar to the "Eight Trigrams Air Wall Palm" used by Hinata and Neji—Haruki's personal variant, "Twin Vacuum Palm: United."
Combining both palms greatly increased the technique's range and destructive power. The only difference between Air Wall Palm and Haruki's version was that the former required two people, while Haruki could execute it alone.
The Suna shinobi froze at the sight of the carnage. One chūnin, wiped out instantly by a massive, fast, wide-range technique—more terrifying than when Haruki had just killed three in one breath. None knew if he could launch that attack again. Even the three jōnin stood stiff, unsure they themselves could have evaded it.
Haruki's goal was accomplished—buying time. With such a noise in the forest, Konoha reinforcements should surely see or hear it.
"Mizuki-nee, can you still run?" Haruki asked quietly.
"Haruki… my chakra won't gather. I can't move. You should run alone…" Mizuki said without fear.
"Don't be stupid! I'm taking you with me!" Haruki's refusal was sharp, carrying an unshakable will.
"Alright… then let's start!" He pulled several smoke bombs from his pouch and smashed them to the ground. Thick black smoke billowed up, and as it spread, a dozen shuriken shot outward toward the enemy.
"They're trying to escape! Stop them!" The jōnin led the others in deflecting the shuriken and charged forward—just as Haruki had planned. More kunai, each tied with smoke bombs, shot from the haze, filling the air with choking clouds laced with mustard and pepper powder. The Suna shinobi coughed violently inside, unwilling to move blindly.
In that moment, a dark figure burst from the smoke, sprinting away in the opposite direction from the enemy.
By the time the smoke cleared ten seconds later, the clearing was empty.
"After them! Don't let them escape!" the Suna jōnin barked, and the squad rushed to pursue.
Carrying Mizuki on his back, Haruki leapt from branch to branch. "Damn! Looks like they're still on us." He closed his Byakugan and veered into a dense patch of foliage, setting Mizuki down.
"Mizuki-nee, stay here. I'll draw them away." Without waiting for her to argue, he dashed off, leaving obvious tracks behind.
"There! After him!" The Suna shinobi spotted the trail quickly and gave chase.
Haruki fled through the forest, his pursuers closing in.
Swish, swish! Two kunai sliced toward his back. Reaching down to his thigh holster, he hooked a finger through a kunai's ring and whipped it out.
Clang! Clang! He spun midair, deflecting both blades, locking eyes with the nearest Suna chūnin. The man had pushed ahead of his comrades by over ten meters.
"You're not getting away, brat!" the chūnin sneered.
Haruki's lips curved into a faint smile. (BGM: Rising Fighting Spirit, 634)
"Now that I've made some distance… it's my turn to strike back."