Both the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique and the explosive tags were indiscriminate attacks.
Before they could strike Matsuake and Tsukuyomi, the flames had already engulfed several unfortunate ninja.
After deciding to sacrifice his subordinates and flee, the Missing-nin leader had given no thought to their lives.
“What a despicable man.” Matsuake frowned, feeling nothing but contempt.
However, these Missing-nin were all deranged individuals, and he clearly didn’t care about their lives either.
“Earth Release: Earth Shore Return!” Matsuake formed hand seals, causing a stone slab to rise from the ground.
The Phoenix Sage Fire Technique wasn’t particularly powerful, and the Missing-nin leader had been in such a hurry to escape that he hadn’t aimed it carefully.
The real threat to the two of them was actually the explosive tags attached to the kunai.
Explosive tags were extremely expensive; they had only seen them at the Ninja Academy but had never used them.
At the same time, explosive tags were incredibly powerful, making them high-risk items for students who hadn’t yet become Genin.
After being triggered, explosive tags would detonate after a short delay, making them useful for setting traps.
They could also be used in conjunction with kunai, as the Missing-nin had just done.
When facing explosive tags, one either had to escape the blast radius in time or use ninjutsu to mitigate the explosion’s force.
If caught directly in the blast, one would likely be torn to pieces.
Thus, after using his ninjutsu, Matsuake immediately scooped up Tsukuyomi beside him and retreated rapidly backward.
Only after putting some distance between them and the blast did he set Tsukuyomi down.
The girl was light, so it didn’t require much effort.
“Thank you,” Tsukuyomi said softly, her face slightly flushed.
She wasn’t particularly fast; if she had tried to retreat after realizing the danger, she might not have been seriously injured but would still have been caught in the blast.
Boom!
The deafening roar of the explosive tag’s detonation snapped her out of her daze.
“Let’s keep chasing.
Watch your step—he might have set traps,” Matsuake said gravely.
Under the force of the explosive tags, the Missing-nin had lost their lives without a shred of doubt.
Those near the center of the explosion were now scattered in pieces.
Those farther from the blast center were also severely injured, clinging to life.
Even if they didn’t finish them off, these people would soon meet their end.
After a glance at them, Matsuake and Tsukuyomi chased in the direction the Missing-nin leader had fled.
He was the most dangerous one.
If he escaped, he would likely recruit more subordinates in a few months and continue his evil deeds.
“He hasn’t escaped the range of my Byakugan yet.
He’s in that direction.” Tsukuyomi kept her Byakugan active, veins bulging near her temples.
Once they located the fleeing Missing-nin, the two of them sprinted toward his location.
A few minutes later, the two stood by a lakeside with strange expressions on their faces.
Wary of alerting their target, they still communicated only through simple hand gestures.
Following the direction Tsukuyomi pointed, Matsuake almost couldn’t hold back a laugh.
Upon closer inspection, a thin tube could indeed be seen protruding from the lake’s surface.
This method of concealment might align more with people’s preconceived notions of ninja from his previous life.
Objectively speaking, however, this hiding method was quite effective.
If someone were merely passing by, they likely wouldn’t notice anyone hiding in the lake.
However, this Missing-nin had considered everything except the existence of a Kekkei Genkai like the Byakugan.
He clearly hadn’t received systematic shinobi training, nor had anyone explained to him what Kekkei Genkai currently existed in the Shinobi World.
Perhaps when he first saw her, he might have wondered why that little girl’s eyes were white.
But he would never have guessed that the Byakugan possessed such terrifying perceptive abilities.
Tsukuyomi formed hand seals with both hands, then quickly pressed her palms against the lake surface.
“Lightning Release: Ground Walk!” A bolt of lightning shot from her hands, spreading across the lake surface.
This ninjutsu could only release a single lightning bolt, but when combined with Water Release ninjutsu or natural water flow, it gained strong controlling power that could paralyze an enemy’s body.
Seeing this, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Matsuake’s mouth.
It seemed Tsukuyomi’s talent wasn’t limited to just the Byakugan and Gentle Fist—her aptitude for ninjutsu was also quite strong.
The Hyūga Clan had always been famous for the Byakugan and Gentle Fist, but that didn’t mean they lacked talent in ninjutsu.
The lightning spread through the lake water, quickly reaching the position where the Missing-nin was hiding.
Ground Walk wasn’t a particularly lethal ninjutsu—its effect was more about paralyzing an enemy’s body through electricity to serve as a control technique.
Suddenly, ripples appeared on the originally calm lake surface, accompanied by violent splashes of water spraying into the air.
A somewhat disheveled figure, completely soaked, emerged from beneath the water surface, chakra condensed in his palms and soles.
This Missing-nin had Chūnin-level strength, so mastering such basic chakra usage techniques wasn’t surprising.
Forced out of the water by the Lightning Release ninjutsu, the Missing-nin inevitably choked on several mouthfuls of water.
Looking at the two standing by the lakeside, his expression darkened: “Cough, cough…
Couldn’t you let me go just this once?!” “Although I can’t compare to you shinobi from the big Hidden Villages, capturing me won’t be that easy for you either!” “And that village that hired you is gone now.
If you want to get your commission, I can give it to you!” The Missing-nin cautiously observed the expressions of the two.
However, he found that the silver-haired, red-eyed boy remained calm, while the little girl with white eyes slightly frowned.
“I’ll leave the Land of Fire immediately afterward and never come back in my lifetime.
Just consider the mission completed, take this money back, and no one will know you let me escape,” the Missing-nin continued.
“Fine,” Matsuake nodded faintly.
Simultaneously, he condensed chakra under his feet, steadily stepping onto the lake surface and walking toward him step by step.
Hearing this, a look of delight appeared on the Missing-nin’s face as he said, “I’ll give you the money right now.
Although it just got soaked in the water, it’ll still be usable after drying.” With that, he took the pack from his back and also began walking toward Matsuake step by step.
Matsuake’s voice remained completely flat as he said, “Just count out the commission and hand it to me.
No need to bring the whole pack.” Hearing this, the Missing-nin smiled and extended the pack in his hand forward.
“No, no, it’s better to give you the whole pack because that way you can be faster…” “Die!” Suddenly, the Missing-nin forcefully threw the pack at Matsuake with both hands, quickly drew his ninja sword with his right hand, stomped heavily on the water surface with both feet while simultaneously swinging the ninja sword forward with great force.
However, what was even faster was the short blade that Matsuake had already drawn from its sheath.
“Super Strength…
Slash!”