Chapter 177: Light and Shadow in the Forest

Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Light and Shadow in the Forest

With a heavy heart and a complicated mix of emotions, Shisui led the shadow clone—transformed to look like Hyuga Kagami—and quietly returned to the Kumo delegation’s residence.

At this point, only two Kumo genin remained behind to guard the residence. Everyone else in the delegation had followed the other Kumo jonin out to search for Gloya.

"We’re one step too late!"

When he reached the other side of the delegation’s residence and found no trace of Kakashi or Guy, Shisui immediately frowned.

The estate Konoha had arranged for the Kumo delegation was enormous. Including the front and rear courtyards, it practically stretched across several streets. Because of this, Team 11 had split into two groups while standing guard tonight.

Hyuga Kagami and Shisui had been stationed at one corner of the estate, while Kakashi and Guy had been stationed at the opposite corner.

Shisui quickly found a Konoha shinobi who had temporarily come over to maintain order and asked, "Where are the ANBU who were originally guarding this place?"

The Konoha shinobi replied, "All the ANBU in the area went out to search for the chief of the Kumo delegation."

Shisui shook his head helplessly, silently hoping, "I just hope Senpai doesn’t get cornered by Captain and the others!"

......

In the forest beyond the village wall.

With Kakashi and Guy blocking his path, Hyuga Kagami folded his arms across his chest and chuckled.

"You really think the two of you can stop me?"

Provoked by Kagami’s taunt, the young Guy immediately moved to step forward and fight.

"Stay calm!"

Kakashi blocked Guy with his body, though his gaze never once left Kagami.

At Kakashi’s warning, Guy reined in his anger.

Guy wasn’t someone who normally lost his composure. But as an ANBU assigned to protect the Kumo delegation, their chief had somehow been abducted right under his nose. The moment Guy thought about the consequences this incident could bring, he found it difficult to remain calm.

Kakashi didn’t rush to attack. Instead, he asked, "Who exactly are you?"

"Isn’t Konoha supposed to be the strongest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages? Figure it out yourselves!" After a brief pause, Kagami chuckled again. "I know what you’re trying to do. You want to stall me until reinforcements arrive.

"But with just the two of you... I’m afraid you won’t be able to stall me for very long."

Seeing that his intentions had been seen through, Kakashi’s expression sharpened. He immediately formed a series of hand seals and shouted,

"Earth Style: Multiple Earth-Style Wall!"

Whoosh...

In an instant, four tall, sturdy earthen walls rose around Hyuga Kagami, trapping him within.

Having just finished casting his Earth Release, Kakashi didn’t pause for even a moment. His hands immediately formed another series of seals.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A fierce ball of flame erupted from Kakashi’s mouth and shot toward the space above the four earthen walls.

With Kakashi’s hand-seal speed, there was barely a single breath between the Multiple Earth-Style Wall and the Great Fireball Technique. If Kagami tried to escape the enclosure by leaping over the walls, he would inevitably run straight into the Great Fireball Technique with nowhere to dodge.

But Kagami had the Byakugan!

The moment Kakashi began forming the seals for the Great Fireball Technique, Kagami had already figured out what he was planning. So he never even attempted to escape from above.

Instead, he formed hand seals at the same time as Kakashi and shouted in a low voice,

"Water Style: Water Flow Wave!"

Pshhh!

A thin stream of water shot from Kagami’s mouth. Like a razor-sharp water blade, it sliced straight through Kakashi’s earthen wall as easily as cutting through tofu, severing it cleanly in two.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

At that moment, the sound of something tearing through the air suddenly intensified!

Kagami didn’t even need to look closely to know that Guy was charging toward him. He immediately halted just as he was about to rush through the opening in the Multiple Earth-Style Wall, deliberately lowered his body, and twisted sideways to dodge.

BOOM...

Guy’s powerful flying kick narrowly missed Hyuga Kagami.

Unable to hit his intended target, Guy’s foot instead slammed into Kakashi’s Earth-Style Wall, shattering an earthen wall a full two palms thick into pieces!

Amid the spray of shattered rock, Kagami’s figure flickered.

His speed was so great that he almost left an afterimage beneath the moonlight as he swiftly broke free of Kakashi’s Multiple Earth-Style Wall.

Kagami had no intention of getting tangled up with Guy. Even he wasn’t particularly fond of fighting Guy at close range.

Guy’s instincts when it came to taijutsu were so sharp that Kagami often secretly wondered whether Guy possessed some kind of hidden talent.

Because at times, Guy’s instincts were so keen that they could even rival the perceptive abilities of the Sharingan and Byakugan.

It simply made no sense!

Seeing Kagami charging straight toward him, Kakashi’s right hand immediately erupted with dazzling lightning.

Crackle... crackle...

At the same time, a piercing sound like the cries of countless birds filled the forest.

Whoosh!

Two black shadows moving too fast for the eye to follow shot directly past each other in an instant, accompanied by the howl of rushing wind and the shrill cry of lightning!

Drip...

Kagami lowered his gaze and discovered that Kakashi’s Chidori had actually grazed his right arm. A section of his sleeve had been torn apart, and blood trickled down from the cuff before dripping onto the ground.

On the other side, Kakashi’s body swayed.

He stumbled several steps before dropping to one knee.

Guy hurried over and caught Kakashi, asking with concern, "Are you all right?"

Kakashi shook his head, but his hand remained pressed tightly against his abdomen.

Guy glanced down and discovered that crimson blood was already seeping through the gaps between the fingers of the hand Kakashi held over his stomach!

At that moment, Hyuga Kagami turned around and looked at Kakashi.

"I didn’t expect you to actually manage to injure me."

Having finally caught his breath, Kakashi rose back to his feet.

"You won’t get away!"

Looking at Kakashi standing before him, Kagami’s thoughts suddenly grew hazy.

For a moment, it was as though he had returned to their days at the Ninja Academy—to that time when he had sparred with Kakashi...

......

At the Hyuga estate.

Hiashi sat before a long table, leisurely sipping his tea.

After hearing that something unexpected had happened, Hizashi hurried over. Seeing how calm his elder brother was, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief and asked,

"What happened? Why is the Kumo delegation searching our clan grounds?"

Hiashi replied calmly, "Sit. Have some tea first."

Hizashi sat down, picked up the cup of tea on the table, and took a small sip.

Whoosh...

At that moment, a Hyuga clansman flickered into view outside the room and reported,

"Clan Head, we’ve received word. The Kumo delegation and the ANBU discovered traces of the delegation chief at one of the training grounds. It appears their chief was attacked by a mysterious individual."

Hiashi nodded and ordered, "Keep gathering information!"

Beside him, Hizashi was shocked by what he had just heard.

"What? The chief of the Kumo delegation was attacked inside the village?"

Hiashi, however, remained perfectly composed and said nothing more.

A short while later, another Hyuga clansman appeared outside the room and reported,

"Clan Head, we’ve received the latest news. The ANBU failed to capture the mysterious individual. He has already crossed the outer wall and escaped the village."

Hiashi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good thing I had Kagami handle this. Otherwise, things would’ve become troublesome."

But once he calmed down and carefully thought it over, Hiashi felt a lingering sense of dread.

If Kumo had discovered Gloya’s corpse inside the Hyuga clan grounds, the consequences would have been unimaginable. The entire Hyuga Clan might even have been dragged into an irreversible catastrophe.

Unaware of what had truly happened, Hizashi suddenly slammed his hand against the table and sprang to his feet.

"Damn it! I’ll go after him!"

Hiashi stopped Hizashi and leisurely raised his teacup once more.

Just then, yet another clansman appeared outside the room and reported,

"Clan Head, Lord Hokage has personally gone after the mysterious individual!"

Pfft—!

The instant Hiashi heard that, he spat out his mouthful of tea...