Hyuga Aokawa narrowed his field of vision as he spoke, shifting his ocular power to focus on the visual range and scanning down the mountain.
As expected!
Except for the cliff at the back, about ten Ninjas were rapidly approaching from each of the other three directions. They were led by three Jonin, while the rest were Chunin and Genin.
After seeing the signal flare, they galloped up the mountain like a pack of wolves that had caught the scent of blood.
After his initial panic, Hyuga Aokawa's eyes grew brighter and brighter, as if he were seeing many walking energy crystals.
"I was wondering why this mission seemed so perfectly suited for the Hyuga; turns out they're coming for us!"
He licked his dry lips. "In that case, let's have them all stay here!"
Beside him, Hyuga Fu also adjusted his Byakugan and saw the same scene.
He looked at the enemies frantically climbing the mountain with a face full of disbelief, even pulling out the mission scroll to confirm once more.
"This really is a C-Rank Mission! Which heavenly law did I break?"
He hurriedly took out a rescue signal and fired it into the sky, hoping against hope that some Konoha Ninjas nearby might see it.
Then he looked back at the leg-weakening cliff behind him. After a moment of calculation, he shook his head inwardly.
"At this height, my Chakra would be bottomed out halfway up."
Seeing the enemies swarming up from the foot of the mountain like a tide, Hyuga Fu gritted his teeth and made a firm decision. "Aokawa, Kurenai, stay on the summit and find a place to hide. I'll go lead them away."
With that, he was about to rush down the mountain.
"I'll do it!" Hyuga Aokawa grabbed Hyuga Fu. "Wait for my word on the mountain."
"Aokawa, you—" Just as Hyuga Fu was about to stop him, Hyuga Aokawa's figure suddenly blurred for a moment, causing his grasp to miss.
The next moment.
Hyuga Aokawa had already appeared on the canopy of a large tree below.
Following a few flickers, he vanished into the forest below.
"What... is this?"
Hyuga Fu was dumbfounded. How could it be that after not seeing him for a while, he couldn't even understand his son's Body Flicker Technique anymore... "S-Senior, I sense the target coming toward us."
During the raid, Akiyama Shugo uneasily gripped the Kunai at his waist, his voice trembling slightly.
In the past two years, friction between nations had become increasingly severe, and the volume of commercial missions had plummeted. Small countries like the Grass Ninja Village couldn't get any decent missions at all.
Many people had no choice but to take on black market missions.
Akiyama Shugo stayed at home for half a year before finally being forced to take off his forehead protector and head out to find a way forward.
After being badly swindled a few times, he was finally introduced by an acquaintance to follow a Senior and perform bounty missions.
"A single person?" Hino Kousuke's brow furrowed upon hearing this. "Wasn't it said that a Hyuga father and son took the commission?"
He rubbed his smooth head, somewhat puzzled.
But the opportunity was not to be missed!
He gestured to a burly man behind him. "Yuya, fire a signal flare to have the captain and the others surround them..."
"Don't worry, I've already prepared it." As Mizutani Yuya spoke, a signal flare had already shot into the sky.
Hino Kousuke looked back to see Akiyama Shugo's face full of tension and immediately scolded him with a stern face, "What the hell are you nervous about? We have over ten men here, what's there to fear?"
"Yes, it's just that since the opponent is from the Hyuga Clan..." Akiyama Shugo replied sheepishly.
Today was Akiyama Shugo's first time participating in a bounty mission, and right off the bat, he was asked to help capture Ninjas from the Hyuga Clan.
As a prestigious Family, the Hyuga Clan was famous throughout the Ninja World.
Although not as famous for combat power as the Uchiha, their Gentle Fist had few rivals in Taijutsu.
In the process of fighting, they would continuously use Chakra to cut through Meridians, and before one knew it, they would be finished.
This time, they had deployed nearly thirty people. Even for Ninjas from small countries, dealing with a Chunin should logically be more than enough.
But the Hyuga had always been good at fighting against superior numbers. He had heard that casualties were significant when trying to capture them alive in the past, so he couldn't help but feel apprehensive.
"What about the Hyuga?" Hino Kousuke interrupted him impatiently. "The team the captain assembled was specifically for catching the Hyuga Clan."
"Do you really think he alone can take us all down before the captain arrives?"
As he spoke, he looked around at the team behind him and laughed triumphantly.
This caused the people behind him to burst into laughter as well.
Akiyama Shugo could only manage a forced smile and laughed along.
Beside him, Mizutani Yuya also patted his shoulder. "Kid, don't worry. Our team has already caught three or four members of the Hyuga Branch Family recently."
"The team has expanded from the initial seven or eight people to over twenty now. There's no need to risk our lives, and millions of Ryo are easily earned."
Hino Kousuke snorted. "The Hyuga are no big deal. Now, they're just money in my eyes. Catching one is equivalent to an A-Rank Mission. Life couldn't be better."
Akiyama Shugo nodded. The confidence in their words gave him a lot of assurance, and he wasn't as nervous as before.
Seeing that Akiyama Shugo had taken it to heart, Hino Kousuke's stern face softened.
"Of course, opportunities are running out. Those major clans have been acting crazy lately, taking down many Bounty Stations regardless of the cost. Many capture teams have fallen."
"We were originally thinking of stopping, but we couldn't resist now that a Branch Family member's price has risen to three million."
Hearing 'three million,' a greedy light flashed in everyone's eyes.
Three million!
Not to mention that small countries have no commissions to take right now; even if they did, how many missions would they have to complete to earn that much?
"This clan's strength lies entirely in the Gentle Fist, and it's rare to see them learn Ninjutsu. If you encounter them, keep your distance and greet them with Ninja Tools and Ninjutsu."
Speaking of this, Hino Kousuke's mouth felt dry. He took out the canteen at his waist, gulped down a few mouthfuls, and let out a satisfied sigh.
Only then did he continue, "But don't kill them; just exhaust their Chakra."
"With so many of us, are we afraid of not being able to outlast them? In short, the advantage is ours."
He was calm and composed, appearing very confident.
Akiyama Shugo looked at him gesturing and talking eloquently, feeling a sense of longing, and a look of admiration appeared on his face.
"It would be great if I could be as powerful as Senior one day," he thought.
Having gained a little fan, Hino Kousuke suddenly became interested.
To completely eliminate Akiyama Shugo's fear of the Hyuga, he began to brag about his glorious past.
"During the Second Ninja World War, I was ordered to infiltrate the border of the Land of Fire and ran into a three-man Hyuga squad."
"Those Byakugan brats all used the same Gentle Fist starting stance, waiting for me to go up and fight them."
"I didn't indulge them. After throwing all sorts of Ninjutsu and Hidden Weapons, I turned and ran."
"They followed behind, but they couldn't even catch my shadow."
Hino Kousuke laughed heartily, his face full of pride.
Mizutani Yuya and the others also laughed along.
Akiyama Shugo was even more full of admiration and pressed, "What happened after that?"
"After that?"
Hino Kousuke sneered, his voice full of contempt. "After that, I kept leading those so-called great clan disciples in circles."
"I can still vividly remember how exasperated their captain looked."
"Like a monkey being teased, his face was flushed red, yet he was powerless."
Everyone burst into laughter, and Hino Kousuke laughed until tears came to his eyes.
Once things calmed down a bit, Akiyama Shugo continued to ask.
"And what about after that?"
Hino Kousuke chuckled. "After that, of course, it was..."
Boom!
Hino Kousuke's words came to an abrupt halt.
While he was chuckling, his body suddenly seemed to be struck by a cannonball, and in an instant, his body was bent and sent flying backward...
more chapter available in p@tréøñ(Atoki_29)