Ten minutes earlier—at the clearing where Mizuki and her group had been ambushed, the Sunagakure shinobi were already chasing after "Mizuki," who was being carried on the back of "Haruki."
At that moment, Hinata Haruki emerged quietly from a dense clump of bushes, Mizuki on his back.
"Hiding Technique really is a wonderful thing," Haruki murmured. "Mizuki-nee, let's hurry. My two shadow clones don't have much chakra—they can only stall them for a short while."
"…Alright." Mizuki nodded.
It turned out that the shadowy figure who had first burst out of the smoke earlier had been one of Haruki's two shadow clones, which he had stationed nearby in advance. Together, they had thrown thirty-six shuriken.
One of the low-chakra clones had transformed into Mizuki, while the other carried "her" away, successfully drawing off the Sunagakure shinobi.
The reason Haruki hadn't used any large-scale techniques during the counterattack was simple—those clones didn't have much chakra left. They could only employ techniques like Five-Finger Heartbreaker, Spirit Shock, and Five Elements Collapse—all precise Gentle Fist palm strikes.
"Let's move!" Haruki urged, running toward Konoha with Mizuki on his back, hoping to encounter reinforcements soon.
Once Haruki and Mizuki left, a figure dropped down into the clearing they had just vacated.
"Heh… I knew you'd use that trick. Those Suna shinobi are utterly useless! Too bad for you, this time you're burdened with extra weight—you won't escape me, Hinata Haruki!" sneered Hinata Ame, who immediately followed after them.
Haruki dashed through the forest with Mizuki on his back, running at full speed.
He finally understood what it must have felt like for Naruto when he carried Princess Koyuki while fleeing.
This was… way too heavy!
"Mizuki-nee… you need to go on a diet," Haruki puffed.
Mizuki glanced at him from over his shoulder, turned her head away, and said nothing—clearly displeased.
So it was true—weight was the ultimate forbidden topic with women. Fortunately, Haruki's training in climbing mountains under heavy loads and controlling chakra was paying off; otherwise, he really wouldn't have been able to carry her. Even so, he was drenched in sweat, and his speed was much slower than usual.
"Haruki, can you still keep going?" Mizuki asked anxiously.
"No problem, Mizuki-nee!" Haruki wiped the sweat from his brow and kept running.
A few minutes later, Haruki suddenly froze.
His two shadow clones that had been distracting the Suna shinobi had vanished. The battle memories flowed back into him.
"Already taken out? Damn… my Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm didn't manage to finish off that Suna jōnin. Four Sunagakure shinobi left… looks like we're still not out of danger. Keep moving!"
Just as Haruki decided to push on—
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Over a dozen shuriken whistled toward them from behind!
Haruki reacted instantly, forcing a Body Flicker.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—the shuriken grazed his clothes, narrowly missing. He quickly set Mizuki down against the base of a tree and fixed his gaze in the direction the attack had come from.
"Who's there?!" Haruki barked.
"Tsk tsk… Hinata Haruki, today you die here."
Hinata Ame stepped slowly out from behind a tree.
Haruki's brow furrowed. A member of the Main House… this is bad. Mizuki-nee's injured, and I've only got a quarter of my chakra left. Fighting a jōnin under these conditions will be tough.
"Haruki, go! Don't worry about me!" Mizuki called out.
But Haruki didn't move.
"Hmph! So this is the Main House elders' plan, huh? What a scheme! Lure Mizuki-nee out, strike her down… then leak intel to draw Suna shinobi here to kill her. All just to make me come to her rescue, so they could use Suna's blade to kill me. But when Suna failed, the Main House sent their own lapdog to finish the job. A textbook case of murder by proxy!" Haruki's tone was cold.
"Sharp kid! You guessed it. No point stalling. This was indeed the elders' idea. Blame your father for crossing the wrong people!" Ame shrugged indifferently and activated his Byakugan.
"Hmph! And you touched the wrong person! For hurting Mizuki-nee… you'll pay!" Haruki's Byakugan flared open, his eyes brimming with killing intent.
This man had injured Mizuki—Haruki would never let that stand. And against a Hyūga jōnin, Haruki knew the techniques inside and out. This fight wasn't hopeless.
His palms, already brimming with chakra, shot forward.
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
A wave of turbulent air spiraled from his palm toward Ame.
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!" Ame countered, launching his own wave.
The two compressed blasts collided with a thunderous BOOM! A violent gust erupted, the pressure forcing Haruki to raise both arms to shield himself as he staggered back.
"My Vacuum Palm still lacks the force of a jōnin's…" Haruki switched hands and launched again.
"Eight Trigrams Consecutive Vacuum Palms!"
A second blast roared toward Ame, who barely managed to dodge, the attack smashing a crater into the boulder behind him.
Chakra's running low… I need to end this in one strike. Haruki charged forward, aiming to lock Ame in close combat before he could threaten Mizuki.
The two clashed—palms striking, fingers thrusting at vital points, each deflecting the other's blows.
For twenty rapid exchanges, Haruki's Byakugan-reading of Ame's muscle movements kept him from taking serious hits.
"Not bad, kid," Ame admitted, surprised that Haruki's Gentle Fist could keep pace despite being weaker and slower.
"But this ends now!" Ame shoved Haruki back and lunged for Mizuki.
"Damn it! Coward!" Haruki leapt to intercept—
But Ame feinted and spun, slamming a full-force palm into Haruki's chest.
"Die!" Ame roared.
At the instant of impact, Haruki let his body bend backward like a spring, arms out, chest pulled in. Soft chakra surged from his chest's tenketsu, cushioning the blow. The force dispersed harmlessly, his modified flak vest absorbing much of what remained.
"What?!" Ame felt like he'd struck a pillow—no solid feedback, no chakra penetrating Haruki's body.
Before Ame could recover, Haruki's bent form snapped forward.
"Gentle Fist: Taijū Reverse Counter!"
Chakra burst from Haruki's chest as he pushed Ame's arms aside and drove all stored and borrowed momentum back into him.
"Urgh!" Ame staggered, arm numbed.
Haruki had deliberately let the blow land, using soft chakra to absorb it, then returning the force with his own. Ame, having never seen such a technique, was completely caught off-guard.
"Now! Gentle Fist: Thirty-Six Death Point Strike!"
Haruki's left hand formed a sword-finger.
"Tanzhong!" He thrust at Ame's chest—but Ame retreated and blocked. Haruki instantly redirected to strike the Taiyuan point on Ame's hand.
"Taiyuan!"
Hit. Ame's chakra flow stuttered.
"Shenque!" Haruki pressed at Ame's navel point, then slid behind him with a ghostlike step—
"Mingmen!"
Hit again. Ame's body convulsed, losing control.
Haruki flowed seamlessly, striking Ermen, Guanyuan—
"Ermen! Guanyuan!"
Both landed. Ame reeled, ears ringing, abdomen aflame.
From dominance to total defeat—in the blink of an eye. Haruki's blindingly fast strikes left no opening.
Shadowed afterimages surrounded Ame, and death was certain—
When suddenly, a stabbing pain tore through Haruki's skull.
The green mark beneath his forehead protector flared.
Without warning, his Caged Bird seal had been triggered remotely.
"Ahhh!" The agony split his mind, halting his attack.
Ame collapsed, coughing blood, utterly spent but still alive—saved by sheer luck.
From behind a tree, a voice drawled mockingly:
"Ame, you're pathetic. A jōnin… and you couldn't even finish off trash like him?"
A man stepped into view, fingers poised in sword-hand, smirking at the downed Haruki.
Haruki's eyes locked onto the newcomer, burning with unquenchable fury.