Night fell quietly, the sky sinking into darkness.
Yue popped a few military ration pills from his ninja pouch and swallowed them dry.
In a situation like this, he had to keep himself in peak condition. They had already been lying in wait for half a day. If the scouting squad they were supposed to extract still didn't show up by dawn, it meant they had already fallen—and the squad would have to move on to the next extraction point.
After resting a moment, Oita opened his Byakugan again to scout the surroundings.
But barely a few seconds passed before his expression twisted—face pale, sweat beading across his forehead.
He saw people coming from every direction, sealing off all angles.
Oita immediately signaled to the others, teeth clenched:
"Bad news—we're exposed. We're surrounded. At least fifty enemy shinobi."
There was no time to figure out how they'd been compromised—whether the squad they were meant to extract had betrayed the intel, or had been captured and forced to reveal the location.
The fact remained: Team Oita was surrounded and facing life-or-death.
"Our only option is to break through. No matter what."
Oita made the decision instantly. As he spoke, he shot Yamato a meaningful look, then flicked his eyes toward Yue—a silent order:
Even if we die here—you must ensure Yue escapes.
Yamato gave the slightest nod. He understood.
The squad sprinted toward the thinnest point of the encirclement.
It took only seconds before several Cloud-nin intercepted them, and the two sides clashed.
"Don't get bogged down! Our priority is to break through!" Oita shouted as he fought.
A lazy voice drifted out of the darkness:
"Trying to break out from my direction? I can't tell if you're unlucky… or just unlucky."
A man stepped into view—white hair, tanned skin, a lollipop in his mouth, completely laid back.
Yue's heart tightened the moment he recognized him.
Omoi.
Future aide of Killer Bee. A high-level Cloud jonin.
In a straight 1v1? Yue felt no fear.
But right now—surrounded, with Omoi able to stall them—Team Oita was basically doomed. Their lives were about to become forced-service fees paid to a Cloud ninja special technician.
With a burst of chakra, Yue flashed behind the Cloud-nin he was fighting and finished him with a Rasengan, then shot straight toward Omoi with a full-powered punch.
Omoi slipped aside with ease, Yue's fist obliterating a massive tree instead.
"Wow, wow… kid, where'd you get that kind of insane strength? A punch like that could kill someone!"
"Are Konoha kids always this terrifying now?"
"What do I do… If a kid kills me, I'll never be able to face Killer Bee-sensei again!"
Omoi rambled gloomily—but his eyes sharpened. He pulled out his sword.
This was a battlefield. He would kill this kid.
"Cloud Style: Crescent Yue Slash!"
A huge crescent blade of chakra swept toward Yue.
"Wood Release: Wood Golem Technique!"
Yue couldn't afford to hide his Wood Release anymore. A wooden giant rose up—small compared to Hashirama's legendary behemoth, but still towering—and blocked the crescent slash with ease before counterpunching, driving Omoi backward several meters.
Omoi's eyes widened. Then he glanced at Yamato, who was also using Wood Release.
He broke into a mad grin.
"Well now—what are the odds? Two big fish in one night! Since when did Konoha have two Wood Release ninja?"
He knew perfectly well what Wood Release meant. If he killed the two here, he'd be removing massive future threats. Everyone knew Wood Release could suppress and control tailed beasts.
His strategy was clear—stall them. Prevent a breakout.
That way, the enemy reinforcements could close in and wipe out the squad.
"Lightning Release: Scattershot Murudo!"
Omoi jammed his sword into the ground and fired off a storm of lightning bolts toward Yue's position.
The Wood Golem shielded Yue, taking the blasts head-on.
"Damn it, we're running out of time."
Yue grew more anxious. Oita and Yamato were locked down, unable to disengage.
If this dragged on, they'd be swallowed whole by the incoming encirclement.
That looming sense of being forcibly serviced by enemy shinobi pressed down on him.
"There's only one option… that jutsu!"
He poured everything he had into his final gamble.
"Wood Release: Advent of the World of Flowering Trees!"
"Wood Release: Thousand-Handed Grasping Sack!"
His vision blurred. His chakra bottomed out instantly.
So this was what Kakashi felt every time he hit zero chakra… miserable.
Gigantic wooden hands erupted from the ground, sweeping across the forest.
Cloud-nin were snatched up and crushed in an instant.
Only Omoi, dodging desperately, managed to stay alive.
"Move! Now!" Yue shouted.
Oita bolted to Yue's side, threw him over his back, and sprinted out of the zone at full speed.
The jutsu collapsed quickly, unable to be sustained with Yue's empty reserves.
So Yue forced the fading Wood Golem to clash with Omoi for a few more seconds—anything to buy time.
Exhausted and practically unconscious, Yue felt his eyelids grow heavy.
He couldn't afford to pass out. On this battlefield, that was basically choosing death—or becoming a prisoner.
As soon as the Wood Golem dissolved, Omoi fired a flare into the sky, calling every Cloud shinobi nearby to converge.
Killing two Wood Release users was top priority.
Then he gave chase.
Team Oita tore through the forest at full speed—their lives hanging by threads—knowing full well:
If they wasted even a single second…
They were dead.
~------------------------------------
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