The shallow stream was surrounded by several hundred Hōzuki and Kaguya shinobi.
The densely packed enemy ranks made Shigure’s scalp prickle.
“What the hell?
Are the Uzumaki blind?
How did this many enemies make it ashore?” He badly wanted to use the Body Flicker Technique and flee, but the enemy had sealed off every possible escape route.
Forget the Body Flicker Technique—even the Transformation Technique would not get him through an encirclement this tight.
Deeply uncertain of their chances, Shigure instinctively leaned backwards.
With enemies on every side, the slight adjustment placed him and Akira back-to-back.
Senju Akira’s expression was equally grim as he carefully surveyed their surroundings.
His elbow discreetly nudged Shigure in the back.
“Elder Shigure… hold on tight to me.” Akira’s low voice made his intentions clear.
He was preparing to escape.
The phrasing sent Shigure’s thoughts in a rather unfortunate direction, but this was hardly the time to dwell on it.
Just then, a figure emerged from the densely packed crowd of shinobi.
A young man wrapped from head to toe in bandages glared hatefully at the two Senju, who were standing in a decidedly undignified position.
“I am Gengetsu Hōzuki!
You didn’t expect this, did you?
I’m still alive… Today, I’m going to—” Shigure and Akira stared at him in bewilderment.
Who was this person?
Why had he started introducing himself the moment he appeared?
Neither of them seemed to know him at all.
Shigure had noticed a young man during the previous battle because that youth had commanded the combined Hōzuki-Kaguya force.
However, the person before him was covered in bandages from head to toe.
Who could possibly recognise him like this?
Shigure had no idea that Gengetsu was one of the survivors of the earlier explosion.
Gengetsu’s skin had been severely burned in that earth-shaking blast, leaving him almost completely disfigured.
That was why he had appeared before them in such a state today.
Unfortunately, Shigure still failed to recognise him.
Faced with the hatred in the stranger’s voice and eyes, Shigure’s fear abruptly gave way to irritation.
He bristled and shouted, “Whose dog slipped its leash?
Hurry up and drag it away!
Damn it—you nearly scared me to death!” “And who are you supposed to be?
Gengetsu something?
Never heard of you.
You and your whole clan can go to hell!” Shigure burst into delighted laughter, gave Akira a hard pat and smugly swept his gaze across the hostile faces surrounding them.
“Pikachu, let’s go!” “Water Release: Ground-Shrinking Technique!” Almost instantly, an immense surge of chakra erupted from Akira’s body.
Countless minute droplets of water appeared throughout the air.
At that moment, all the moisture in the surrounding atmosphere seemed to become a medium linking one point to another.
Shigure and Akira dissolved into a spray of water in the blink of an eye and vanished without leaving a trace.
Ten kilometres in an instant!
The moment the two disappeared, Gengetsu sensed a peculiar fluctuation in the surrounding water-nature chakra.
It was as though the scattered raindrops in the sky had suddenly connected, forming continuous threads of water through which the two men had escaped.
Gengetsu’s expression became extremely ugly.
He had never imagined that Water Release could be used in such a manner.
Even more infuriatingly, several hundred shinobi had surrounded only two people, yet they had still allowed their targets to escape right before their eyes!
“What does it matter if you escaped for the moment?
The Senju aren’t the only clan capable of using Water Release!” Gengetsu clenched his fists until his knuckles creaked, then released a piercing whistle from his lips.
A ninja hawk answered his call.
At the same time, more than a dozen sensory shinobi followed the lingering trail of water particles through the air, leading squad after squad in rapid pursuit.
Judging by the enormous burst of chakra that had accompanied the technique, such a secret movement technique could not possibly be used repeatedly.
Once he caught those two again, Gengetsu would make them understand what it meant to beg for death.
More than thirty ten-man squads raced in the same direction—the route leading towards the Senju compound.
… Ten kilometres away, on a mountain road, two figures slowly coalesced from water and dropped onto the ground.
However, the moment they fully materialised, one of them collapsed with a thud.
“What the hell, Akira?
Why are you kneeling?” Shigure hurriedly helped the younger clansman up and stared at him in disbelief.
Akira’s legs were trembling, his face was deathly pale and his breathing came in short, ragged gasps.
No matter how Shigure looked at him, Akira appeared to be on the verge of death.
“I never expected… carrying another person with the Water Release: Ground-Shrinking Technique to consume three times as much chakra as usual…” Akira released a long breath, looking as though he was about to collapse from exhaustion.
In the past, he had always used the Water Release: Ground-Shrinking Technique alone.
As a shinobi specialising in Water Release, its chakra consumption had naturally never been too severe for him.
This time, however, he had brought along Shigure, who knew no Water Release ninjutsu.
The additional burden had nearly drained Akira’s chakra reserves completely dry.
“Ah, this is bad.
They’re chasing us…” Shigure sighed as he looked at the exhausted young man.
He promptly hoisted Akira up and sprinted forwards with all his strength.
Whoosh!
The wind roared past his ears as Shigure pushed his speed to its current limit.
However, carrying another person inevitably made him slower than the unburdened enemy shinobi pursuing them.
Barely more than ten minutes later, Shigure’s Wide-Range Sensory Perception told him that the enemy was less than three kilometres behind them.
That was not all.
Two black birds were circling high above their heads, releasing piercing cries.
There was no need to guess—they were enemy ninja hawks.
Screech!
As the hawks called out repeatedly, Shigure sensed the pursuers behind them moving faster and faster.
“Goddamn it!” Unable to restrain himself, Shigure cursed as his left hand formed a seal.
Chakra erupted violently from his body.
“Clone Technique!” Five identical copies of Shigure immediately appeared beside him before rapidly scattering towards both sides.
“Akira, hurry and recover your chakra!” Shigure did not forget to remind the younger clansman even as he continued running.
After all, carrying Akira had slowed him down far too much.
And so, Shigure desperately fled towards the Senju compound while Akira closed his eyes and focused on restoring his chakra.
Meanwhile, their pursuers drew closer and closer.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Several minutes later, the indistinct outlines of enemy shinobi appeared behind them.
It seemed Shigure’s clone diversion had failed completely.
He pulled out several kunai and, without even looking backwards, hurled them behind him with all his strength.
His pace did not slow in the slightest.
Pfft!
The sound suggested that one of the kunai had struck someone, but Shigure did not turn around.
There was no need.
He had already sensed it.
Shigure expanded his Wide-Range Sensory Perception once more.
The next moment, his expression became extremely ugly.
“Oh, fuck!
They’re circling around to cut us off?!”
Add to library.
Send some Power Stones.