"Tch, it seems this guy doesn't know anything."
Kiba curled his lip, looking at Nurari, who had completely passed out.
After waking Nurari up to interrogate him, Nurari had acted very tough.
Even though he was aware that his body was restricted and he couldn't use Ninjutsu, his expression didn't change much.
Despite his whole body covered in burns, which should have been extremely painful,
He remained very calm, as if he didn't feel pain at all.
In reality, after enduring Orochimaru's cruel experiments, they had probably become oblivious to this level of pain.
However, that calmness completely disappeared without a trace after Shino appeared.
Watching countless insects crawl onto his body, even gnawing at him, he completely lost it.
He screamed and yelled as if breaking down, tears streaming down his face as he shouted, "I don't know anything!"
Until just now, he reached his breaking point and fell unconscious.
"It seems he really doesn't know much."
Shino retracted his insects and said to the three of them.
In fact, the insects were gnawing away the burned, necrotic parts of Nurari's body. Those necrotic parts would need to be removed during treatment anyway, otherwise, they would only further damage the body if left on.
But the visual effect was something ordinary people simply couldn't accept.
And Nurari certainly couldn't have imagined they would be treating him.
"Forget it, there are still others anyway."
Takumi was somewhat mentally prepared.
These few were just temporarily chosen by Guren to protect her dignity; the information they knew was limited.
Even Kabuto's inside agent probably didn't know much.
However, Takumi had forgotten what that person's name was.
He only remembered that he seemed to be able to control bats; nothing else about him was worth noting.
"Hmm?"
He suddenly felt something was wrong and looked up at the sky.
The sky was still clear, but there was a strange feeling.
"Byakugan!"
Seeing Takumi's expression, Hinata immediately understood there was a situation.
But after using her Byakugan, she only saw countless reflections of herself and couldn't extend her vision at all.
Moreover, after using her Byakugan, her vision was restricted, and her head felt a sharp pain.
"Ugh."
She quickly closed her eyes, deactivated her Byakugan, and held her head, swaying slightly.
"What's wrong?"
Takumi quickly hugged her, while Shino and Kiba also looked at her.
"We're trapped."
Hinata said painfully. "My Byakugan can't see anything."
"How is that possible?"
Kiba exclaimed in surprise. This was the first time he had seen someone able to restrict the Byakugan.
If he knew about a little girl named Ranmaru temporarily living in the Hyuga Clan's compound, he would understand.
Sometimes, you can't take things too absolutely.
The Hyuga's Byakugan was indeed very strong, but there would always be some strange abilities that counter it.
Like this Crystal Release this time.
Takumi already understood who had arrived.
The user of Crystal Release under Orochimaru, Guren.
Also an opponent he was relatively wary of.
Fighting Guren, he absolutely cannot be hit by her technique, otherwise, the Crystal Release would attack from inside the body.
It was hard to defend against.
"Don't separate."
Takumi frowned and instructed, "Being able to restrict the Byakugan means the enemy knows something about us. Don't act rashly."
"Shino, Kiba, have you found anything?"
Kiba and Shino immediately began searching for traces.
"No scent."
Kiba frowned and shook his head.
This time, he was certain his sense of smell hadn't been interfered with.
But he could only smell the few people present, not anyone else's scent.
"I haven't found anything either."
Shino said calmly.
The insects he had previously scattered had been recalled into his body, with only a few left outside for surveillance.
But those insects hadn't detected anything unusual.
'Wait?'
"No!"
Shino suddenly said, "Some insects haven't returned."
He turned to look in the direction the insects hadn't come from.
The others also turned to look.
Swish, swish, swish!
Countless shuriken flew rapidly towards them.
These shuriken were actually pink crystals.
"It's that Kekkei Genkai!!"
Shino quickly dodged, identifying the newcomer.
"I can see that!"
Kiba and Akamaru also nimbly dodged.
Takumi, holding the unwell Hinata, dodged as well, his gaze serious as he looked in the direction the shuriken came from.
"Ugh!"
Hinata in his arms let out another muffled groan.
Takumi looked down and saw her holding her head in pain, immediately knowing she had used her Byakugan again.
"Don't push yourself."
He said, "Leave the fighting to us."
"..."
Hinata's expression immediately fell.
As a member of the team, she was supposed to scout for the enemy, but now she could only lie in Takumi's arms, becoming a burden.
'Wait?'
'Lying in Takumi-kun's arms?'
She suddenly realized this fact, and her face instantly flushed bright red.
The pain from earlier had made her overlook this situation.
Now seeing Takumi holding her tightly, a long-held dream was coming true in this way.
Her face gradually flushed, and her gaze became dazed.
The pain caused by using her Byakugan seemed to disappear without a trace.
Around her, she fell into a peaceful calm.
Takumi didn't notice the series of changes in Hinata's expression.
He was focused on the enemy.
"Four?"
Suddenly, he saw four identical Guren appear.
And they had no intention of conversing; they directly charged.
This situation was not right.
"They're clones!"
Takumi loudly warned, but he didn't relax his vigilance.
As long as the enemy could use Crystal Release, the threat to him wouldn't diminish much.
And he also needed to protect Hinata now, so he had to be cautious.
Crystal Release might not be able to break through his external defense, but Hinata's defense wasn't as strong.
As the team's leader, he wouldn't let his team member die here.
"It might get a little hot. Bear with it."
He said softly to Hinata.
"Mm."
Hinata's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz as she nodded, her mind already a blank.
Takumi activated his Flame Body, but controlled the surface temperature to prevent Hinata from being burned.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Instantly, an amplified hundreds of meters wide fireball appeared.
The enormous size and power of the fireball instantly destroyed Guren's Labyrinth Technique.
'This Fire Release?'
Guren's main body, outside, frowned.
The Fire Release she had seen earlier with her Telescope Technique couldn't compare to this at all.
She had originally thought the enemy was only moderately strong, but she didn't expect him to be so troublesome.
Now, she no longer had certainty of victory either.
'No, getting held up here will only delay Orochimaru-sama's plan.'
Guren immediately made a decision. 'I need to leave immediately.'
Although she knew Takumi would probably follow,
Without confidence in beating Takumi, she didn't dare to act rashly and delay Orochimaru's plan.
Thinking this, she directly turned and left.
Without her support, the Crystal Release barrier soon gradually shattered under the hundreds-of-meters-wide Great Fireball.
"It's shocking every time I've seen it."
Shino looked up and sighed slightly.
Then, his figure flickered, dodging an attack from one of Guren's clones.
Takumi's attack had only destroyed Guren's labyrinth, not killed the Guren clones.
At this moment, the four clones were fighting with all their might to delay Takumi and the others' advance, allowing Guren to escape as quickly as possible.