No! That's not right!
Hizashi Hyuga instantly detected the chakra fluctuations of that figure.
It is a Shadow Clone.
"Shinichi-kun?!"
Hizashi Hyuga blurted out, then frowned: "What's this?"
The Shadow Clone waved his hand while wearing his usual gentle smile as he walked up to the crowd.
"The main body won't die for now, everyone, don't worry."
"What do you mean, won't die for now?!"
A middle-aged ninja exclaimed urgently. "Those are hundreds of elite Sunagakure ninjas! Shinichi, do you know how dangerous this is?!"
"I know."
The Shadow Clone nodded. "It's precisely because of the danger that I need to lure them away. I can't just stand by and watch them rush in."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's expression changed repeatedly.
"But....."
"Everyone, their target has always been me. Whether I leave or not, I will still face the hunting of the Village Hidden in the Sand."
The Shadow Clone interrupted him, its voice still calm: "Speaking of which, it is I who has dragged you all into this."
"You bastard! How could you say that?!"
"Without you, Shinichi, I would have died from that old hag's poison long ago!"
"Shinichi-kun! You saved us! We're the ones who dragged you down!"
"Without the antidote you created, we don't know how many more people would have died!"
"It's our fault! We failed to protect you!"
The Shadow Clone listened quietly while looking at the excited, lively, and sincere faces before him, and at the concern, trust, and determination to live and die together in their eyes. His usual gentle smile seemed to deepen slightly.
"Alright, everyone, let's stop arguing about this."
"Since no one feels that anyone has implicated anyone else, let's put it another way and make an agreement."
"I will fight with all my might to survive the Village Hidden in the Sand's pursuit and interception, I definitely will! And everyone, you must promise me that you will do your best to protect yourselves and survive."
"After this battle is over, and after we can all return to Konoha safely, I will treat everyone to a meal, and I will cook it myself."
At this point, the Shadow Clone glanced at everyone while revealing his signature clean and warm smile.
"What do you all think?"
After the words were spoken, there was a brief silence, and then…
"It's a promise, Shinichi-kun! You can't go back on your word!"
"Captain Shinichi, it's a deal!"
"We're waiting for you!"
"You must come back!"
"We will all make it back alive!"
The sounds rose and fell, initially chaotic, but gradually coalesced into a unified wave of sound.
Hizashi Hyuga stood there, looking at the boy in front of him with an extremely complicated expression.
It was he who, in order to protect everyone present, to protect these wounded and comrades, unhesitatingly chose to use himself as the most conspicuous bait, drawing away hundreds of the Village Hidden in the Sand's elite troops and powerful enemies like Pakura on his own!
What a perilous situation that was!
Then, with the calmest tone and the gentlest smile, he turned around to reassure everyone.
He took on the most dangerous responsibility with his actions, yet gently comforted everyone with his words, giving them a reason and hope to continue.
"Then it's a deal."
The Shadow Clone's voice interrupted Hizashi Hyuga's thoughts. His gaze swept over everyone present, finally settling on the ninjas whose wounds were still bleeding.
"Let's get back to work."
After saying that, he lowered his head, and his hands once again glowed with green medical chakra light as he continued to treat the wounds of the injured ninja in front of him.
His movements remained steady, precise, and gentle.
It's as if that conversation and that agreement had never happened at all.
The Medical Ninjas exchanged glances, wiped their eyes vigorously, and returned to their posts.
No one spoke anymore.
But some people can't help but look up and glance in Shinichi's direction.
Take one look, then another.
Confirm that the figure is still there, confirm that he is still there.
It was as if his very existence could bring a kind of power to everyone present.
Hizashi Hyuga took a deep breath, turned his head, and looked into the distance.
There, the smoke of battle still lingers, and the shouts of battle still resound.
He didn't say anything, but silently recited a sentence in his heart.
'Shinichi, you absolutely must come back. We agreed on it, and I'm still waiting to eat the meal you cook.'
...
At the same time, in the wilderness.
A streak of blue-white lightning was speeding across the wilderness at an alarming pace.
Shinichi glanced behind him; the orange afterimage was still hot on his heels, moving at an absurdly fast speed.
Pakura is still chasing him!
The three elite Sunagakure ninjas behind them had already been left behind by a considerable distance. After all, not everyone has the abnormal speed of Pakura and Shinichi.
The Jonin were still okay, but the Chunin had been left far behind and could only continue to chase based on the general direction.
However, Pakura herself was like a stubborn plaster; no matter how he tried, he could not shake her off.
Even so, Shinichi had not the slightest intention of stopping to entangle with Pakura.
Once he was held up by Pakura, even if it was only for a brief dozen seconds of entanglement, the dozens of Sunagakure Jonin behind would swarm in and complete an encirclement.
At that time, he will face Pakura, who possesses both Scorch Style and Quick Style, along with dozens of experienced and well-coordinated Sunagakure Jonin, and more than two hundred elite Chunin who will arrive later.
Despite his great confidence in the strength of his clone, Isshin, which incorporated the characteristics of the Adamantine Monkey Clan's bloodline, he knew that facing Pakura and dozens of Jonin, plus over two hundred Chunin behind them, a direct confrontation was not a wise choice.
His goal was never to defeat Pakura or this elite assault force.
Instead, it diverts, delays, and exhausts resources.
This elite assault force, capable of altering the course of a local battle and potentially delivering a fatal blow to Konoha's defenses, was firmly kept behind him.
Incidentally, it also adds a rich and irrefutable touch to his carefully crafted and deeply ingrained image of caring for his companions, being courageous in taking responsibility, and being willing to sacrifice himself.
Thinking of this, Shinichi glanced behind him with the corner of his eye at the figure that was chasing closely.
Pakura's straight-line speed was not as good as his, but her agility in changing direction was much better than his current level.
"I need to find a way to enhance my reaction speed."
Shinichi thought to himself.
With the enhancement of various talents, Shinichi has reached an extremely high level in terms of pure strength, speed, endurance, and chakra reserve. In particular, the linear speed of this clone under the stimulation of Lightning Style can even surpass that of Pakura's Quick Style by a slight margin.
However, how fast one can burst out with speed and whether one can perfectly control that speed are two different things.
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