Chapter 47: Melee in the Forest

Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Melee in the Forest

At the same moment the four members of Team 11 were swallowed by the flames, Kakashi unleashed a Water Release ninjutsu.

"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"

Hissss—!

The surging wall of water collided head-on with the roaring explosive flames, sending an enormous cloud of steam billowing into the air.

In an instant, thick mist spread throughout the surroundings.

Feeling the faint tremors beneath his feet, Hyuga Kagami immediately warned them.

"Everyone, watch out!"

Before his words had even faded, countless razor-sharp earthen spikes erupted from the ground, shooting toward the four of them.

Thanks to Kagami’s warning, all four immediately scattered, leaping onto the trunks of the surrounding trees and narrowly avoiding the silent barrage of earth spikes.

Guy glanced around rapidly.

"Where’s the enemy?"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The only answer Guy received was yet another series of violent explosions.

Caught in the blast, the four members of Team 11 were once again forced to scatter. In an instant, the distance between them widened considerably.

The mist filling the surrounding forest did not interfere much with Hyuga Kagami’s Tenseigan, but the continuous explosions forced him to keep dodging back and forth through the trees.

Seeing himself being driven farther and farther away from his teammates, Kagami gradually realized what the attackers were trying to do.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before a figure appeared and blocked his path.

Kagami frowned slightly.

"You!"

The person standing in front of him was none other than the captain of Iwagakure’s Beheading Unit—the same man who had previously fought alongside Kagami and the others against the monster Moryo in the Land of Demons.

Kagami had originally considered looking for trouble with this group of Iwa shinobi himself.

But with more important matters to attend to, he had suppressed his urge for revenge in order to avoid unnecessary complications.

Who would have thought that before he could go looking for them, they would come looking for him instead?

The captain of the Beheading Unit smiled.

"What? Surprised?"

Kagami asked, "I’m a little curious. How did you discover our whereabouts?"

Judging from this entire chain of ambushes, the Iwa shinobi had clearly learned Team 11’s route in advance.

Otherwise, there was no way they could have arranged such a flawless ambush.

But Team 11 had been cautious throughout the entire journey. On top of that, Kagami had periodically used his Tenseigan to survey their surroundings, so he was certain that no one had been following them.

"Squeak, squeak..."

Just then, a tiny head suddenly poked out from the collar of the Iwa Beheading Unit captain.

Looking more closely, Kagami realized that it was an utterly ordinary-looking squirrel.

"A squirrel!?"

Kagami shook his head, immediately correcting himself inwardly.

"No. That’s not an ordinary squirrel. It’s a ninja beast!"

Ninja beasts came in all shapes and forms. As long as an animal could use chakra, it could essentially be considered a ninja beast, and the seemingly ordinary squirrel before him was no exception.

"His name is Biru. He can track any scent he’s familiar with from within a range of several miles." The captain smiled before continuing, "I knew you were from the Hyuga Clan. Of course I wouldn’t personally follow you."

Kagami was slightly surprised.

"You remember me!?"

From the man’s tone, Kagami realized that he had recognized him long ago.

Apparently, during that battle in which Kagami had nearly lost his life, Kagami had not been the only one to remember his opponent. The other man had also remembered the Hyuga shinobi who had somehow managed to survive.

The captain of the Iwa Beheading Unit wiped the smile from his face and said grimly, "A year ago, you were nothing more than an ordinary brat. I never imagined you’d grow this much in such a short time. Konoha really does have so many geniuses that it makes you jealous!"

Kagami replied coldly, "Sounds like you have some regrets."

The captain gritted his teeth, hatred filling his voice.

"That’s right. I regret not killing you when I had the chance! Which is why I have to personally correct that mistake."

"I will never allow Konoha to produce a second ’Yellow Flash.’ I have a responsibility to my village!"

Before even reaching the age of fifteen, Hyuga Kagami was already capable of taking part in battles on the level of Tailed Beasts. It wasn’t difficult to imagine that if he were allowed to continue growing, he would inevitably become another "Yellow Flash."

That was something Iwagakure absolutely could not tolerate.

Iwa had never forgotten the humiliation the "Yellow Flash" had inflicted upon them!

Boom...

The faint sound of an explosion came from somewhere in the distance.

Without a doubt, the other members of Team 11 had encountered enemies as well and were now caught up in battles of their own.

Noticing Kagami’s momentary distraction, the captain of the Iwa Beheading Unit said, "No need to worry about the others. You brats will all be reunited in the afterlife soon enough."

He paused before declaring, "Remember this—my name is Iwamata, the man who’s going to kill you!"

With that, Iwamata brought his palms together.

"Earth Style: Underground Submergence Technique!"

Seeing Iwamata disappear beneath the ground, Kagami immediately leaped onto a large tree, wary of an attack from below, and activated his Tenseigan to carefully survey the surroundings.

Yet, perhaps because Iwamata had burrowed too deep underground, Kagami couldn’t detect anything at all.

Just then, the roaring sound of rushing water came from nearby.

Kagami turned toward the noise and saw an enormous torrent of water surging through the forest like a breached dam.

"This is... Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!?"

Although the Great Waterfall Technique posed little threat to Kagami while he was perched high in the tree, he didn’t dare lower his guard.

His opponent was a renowned elite jōnin of Iwagakure. There was no way someone like that would waste chakra on the battlefield for no reason.

After the Great Waterfall Technique swept through the area, the ground all around them was left completely waterlogged and muddy.

The sight of the soaking-wet earth immediately gave Kagami a bad feeling, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on why.

After all, his knowledge of Earth Style techniques was fairly limited.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Suddenly, countless thumb-sized pellets of mud shot up from the muddy ground.

Like bullets, the mud pellets tore through the air with piercing whistles as they hurtled toward Kagami in the tree.

Faced with the dense barrage coming straight at him, Kagami didn’t hesitate for even a moment.

"Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!"

Revolving Heaven could protect Kagami, but it couldn’t protect the massive tree beneath his feet.

In the blink of an eye, the towering tree—so thick that even three or four people joining hands couldn’t encircle its trunk—was riddled with countless holes by the mud pellets.

Amid a storm of flying wood splinters, the enormous tree came crashing down.

Kagami pushed off with his foot, preparing to leap toward another large tree nearby.

But at that moment, several long whips formed from muddy water swept toward him at incredible speed, wrapping around both of his legs and violently yanking him toward the ground.

Thud!

With a heavy impact, Kagami was slammed out of the air and into the ground.

"Cough, cough..."

Kagami curled up in pain and coughed out a mouthful of blood.

The fall had left him completely disoriented. His head spun, and even breathing had become difficult. It seemed that one of the ribs in his chest had been broken.

Seeing that his attack had succeeded, Iwamata rose from underground until half his body was exposed and laughed.

"Looks like I overestimated you. The Byakugan isn’t nearly as powerful as I imagined!"

At that moment, the pain-stricken Kagami suddenly curled the corner of his mouth upward, revealing a faint, almost mocking smile.

The instant Iwamata saw it, a sense of danger washed over him.

But just as he prepared to sink back underground, an inexplicable and overwhelming attractive force seized his body—

—and forcibly ripped him straight out of the earth...