Meanwhile, Takumi and the others were still stuck in place, held up by Guren's Crystal Release clones.
Takumi, using his Fire Release amplified by his Flame Body, had forcefully broken through Guren's barrier.
This action caused Guren to flee in fear.
Of course, he didn't know that yet.
However, his main reason for doing this was for Hinata's sake.
An intact barrier would restrict sensory abilities.
Especially Hinata's Byakugan; her line of sight extending into the distance would be reflected by the crystals, preventing her from opening up her field of vision.
After using her Byakugan, all she could see were countless overlapping images of herself.
That kind of chaotic feeling had a very strong mental impact on a Byakugan user.
It was like being trapped in a mirror maze.
One would quickly lose their sense of direction.
This was the feeling Hinata had experienced when she used her Byakugan earlier.
And because of the Byakugan's 360-degree, blind-spot-free vision, this feeling was even more intense and transmitted even faster into her perception.
For Hinata, experiencing this for the first time, it was undoubtedly a very painful thing.
"Alright, you can use your Byakugan now."
Takumi deactivated his Flame Body to avoid accidentally burning the girl in his arms.
Although, with his control, this kind of thing was basically impossible.
He looked down and said softly to the still shaken girl, "Don't worry, the barrier is broken. Your Byakugan won't be restricted anymore."
"Mm."
Hinata responded softly. After the pain in her eyes subsided, her face gradually flushed.
Because she realized something that made her incredibly shy.
She was currently lying in Takumi's arms.
A beautiful dream she had countless times in her sleep was now becoming reality.
This immediately filled her with immense happiness.
Even though they were still in the middle of a battle,
Hinata's little mind could no longer bother to think about too many things.
Her brain felt like it was about to be scorched by the high temperature.
Poof!
A puff of steam seemed to rise from her head.
Takumi found it amusing to see Hinata's dazed, deeply flushed face and quietly shook his head.
He suddenly dodged, avoiding sharp crystal pillars sprouting from the ground.
"It seems I need to deal with these troublesome ones first."
Takumi frowned.
In front of him were two of Guren's Crystal Release clones.
If he remembered correctly, there should have been four clones.
In his earlier Observation Haki, he had seen four Gurens attacking.
Now two were here with him.
That meant Kiba and Shino were each facing one Guren clone.
He wasn't worried about Shino.
Although Shino's strength was still immature, his personality was very steady and cautious.
At the very least, he could hold out until Takumi got there.
He was more worried about Kiba.
If Kiba accidentally got hit by the Crystal Release, he would probably directly turn into crystals and shatter, disappearing.
To prevent this from happening, he had to deal with the two Guren clones in front of him as quickly as possible.
At this moment, Hinata in his arms had instead become a burden.
He had to use one hand to hold the dazed Hinata.
And he had to be careful to avoid the Guren clones attacking her.
"Although it's a bit troublesome, it's still within controllable range."
Guren's strength was considerable, and her unique Crystal Release clones could fully display Guren's unique Crystal Release.
This also meant he absolutely could not be hit by the Crystal Release.
Even if Takumi's skin could withstand the attack, he couldn't be sure if he would be affected by the Crystal Release, causing the touched part to crystallize.
Crystal Release was truly a troublesome thing.
He was thinking about how to deal with them.
But the enemy wouldn't just stand still.
One of the two clones charged directly at him, a giant blade formed from Crystal Release in her right hand.
The blade was extremely sharp and very durable.
Most critically, this clone viciously aimed at Hinata in Takumi's arms.
The clone behind used Crystal Release to attack from a distance.
Since the clones themselves were products of Crystal Release, there was no need to worry about friendly fire.
Takumi quickly dodged, but the enemy relentlessly pursued.
Their movements were extremely fast, giving Takumi no chance to catch his breath.
And Takumi couldn't find an opportunity to counterattack in a short time.
Even if he dodged the close-combat clone's attack, the distant clone would timely attack to prevent him from countering.
If this continued, he would eventually be hit by the Crystal Release.
If Takumi's strength were only this.
But how could that be?
His figure flickered and instantly disappeared.
With his extreme speed activated, everything around him seemed to be extremely slowed down, even falling leaves froze in mid-air.
Not only that, but everything around became silent.
Because at this moment, even the speed of sound couldn't catch up to Takumi.
And in this silence, Takumi quickly moved behind the distant clone.
To avoid touching her body, he directly summoned one of Susano'o's hands.
A single fierce punch shattered the clone, which disappeared in a puff of white smoke.
The close-combat clone suddenly turned back, horrified to see Takumi, who had been right in front of her a moment ago, now behind her.
And he had already shattered the other clone.
This speed was just too unimaginable.
Seeing the shock on the clone's face, Takumi couldn't help but smile slightly.
"I'm sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry. Otherwise, I could have played with you a little longer."
Takumi apologized, but the next instant, he was already in front of the close-combat clone, and Susano'o's giant fist shattered the clone with one punch.
Watching the clone shatter and disappear,
Takumi finally set Hinata down.
But Hinata was now completely limp; the moment her feet touched the ground, they went soft and she started to fall.
Fortunately, Takumi caught her in time, preventing her from sitting down hard.
He helped her to a large tree and sat her down, saying softly, "Rest here for a bit. I'll go help the others deal with the enemy."
Hinata's eyes were spinning; she hadn't heard a word Takumi said.
Takumi smiled gently, then his figure flickered and disappeared from the spot.
…
Swish, swish, swish, swish!
A series of sounds came.
Kiba and Akamaru fled in panic.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
Kiba growled through gritted teeth, but was helpless against the enemy.
The enemy was just too strong.
Especially her strange Ninjutsu, which filled him with horror.
Just a small scratch on his arm, and then he witnessed a horrifying sight.
The blood flowing out actually turned into crystals and scattered.
Just like those people they had seen earlier, completely shattered, trapped within the crystal pillars.
This ability was just too strange.
So strange it was frightening.
That's why Kiba didn't intend to fight the enemy head-on at all.
Not only was the enemy stronger than him, but her strange Ninjutsu also made it difficult for him to get close.
If he got hit by that Ninjutsu, he would really lose his life.
If he truly died, shattering into pieces like those people, not even Takumi, who could revive the dead, would probably be able to bring him back.
Thinking about this, he had even less intention to fight.
It wasn't that he was too cowardly, but there was no necessity to fight to the death.
After all, their mission was reconnaissance. Protecting their own lives and bringing back the intelligence was the right path.
He wasn't backed into a corner, forced to fight to the death either.
Although he was very unwilling, he also knew there were many, many Shinobi in this world stronger than him.
After all, he was just a Genin who had graduated less than a year ago.
Maybe he had some talent, but compared to those truly gifted people, he was just an ordinary Shinobi.