Naruto: Hyuga Warlord

At this moment, all three of Hyuga Soushu's skills had fully cooled down and were ready for use.

But that wasn't enough—he still needed something to jump off so he could use his [Jumping Slash] and close in on them.

Unfortunately, his accessory [Watchtower Totem] was still on cooldown, requiring about half an hour before producing another ward. With no other options, Soushu blinked rapidly and opened the shopping panel, visible only to him. There he found a Control Ward—an item he hadn't purchased since reincarnating!

The steep price of 75 coins immediately reduced Soushu's coin stash from 152 to a mere 77!

And it didn't stop there. Soushu also grabbed a [Life Potion] just in case—after all, what kind of suicide mission would this be without healing items?

With that, his coin reserves plummeted straight down to a pitiful 27!

If I don't take them down now, I'm out a fortune—and then some!

Soushu took a deep breath and tightened his grip around Mahiru Uchiha's waist.

[Control Ward!]

Just as two Sand ninja entered the forest, a sudden flash of white light radiated from within the woods!

At first, the fleeing Sand ninja were startled by the light, but soon they sensed no chakra fluctuations and couldn't identify its source. As long as they didn't directly charge into the bush where Soushu had placed the [Control Ward], they wouldn't detect its presence.

Meanwhile, the pursuing Konoha ninjas only briefly noticed a flash of light—as if the once-dark and deep forest had suddenly brightened slightly—but they paid it no mind, assuming it was just a trick of the moonlight.

Captain Soushu!

Yechame Hamako couldn't help but urge forward.

He just didn't get what Soushu was thinking.

After all, this was the critical moment of pursuit—what kind of situation was this to be hugging his girlfriend?

Ignoring Hamako's call, Soushu simply looked down and asked Mahiru Uchiha, Ready?

During this time, the cleanup squad closely followed behind, preparing to enter the forest.

Even though the cleanup squad included multiple scout ninjas, tracking the Sand ninjas became extremely difficult the moment their figures could no longer be visually locked onto.

Besides, those two escaping Sand shinobi weren't slow runners—if they managed to pull off any tricks to lose their pursuers, there'd be no way to catch them again!

Mmm!

Mahiru Uchiha responded with a low hum, clenching her blade between her teeth as she formed the Tiger seal with her hands.

Good!

Activating his Byakugan, Soushu wasted no time—and regardless of chakra consumption—he once again used the Shifting Body Technique to close the distance with the Sand ninjas.

Yechame Hamako felt somewhat confused.

The Shifting Body Technique was indeed a very useful ninjutsu, but the issue was its heavy chakra cost. Additionally, its range varied from person to person and wasn't suited for long-distance travel—making it highly inefficient for covering ground!

Moreover, the two fleeing Sand ninja occasionally threw down some rather powerful puppet devices as traps. Step on one of those traps with your Shifting Body Technique, and you're asking for a big mess of trouble!

But all Hyuga Soushu needed was to close the distance—just slightly—between himself and the Control Ward!

So as soon as the Body Flicker technique closed the gap, Hyuga Soushu immediately activated his skill.

[Jumping Slash!]

In Yechame Hamako's eyes, Hyuga Soushu—who had stood over a hundred meters away—immediately vanished from sight!

"Wha—"

Even though Yechame Hamako didn't get it, one thing was clear—this wasn't just some normal Shifting Body Technique!

As for the two Sand ninja who were retreating in an orderly fashion, they couldn't help but get startled!

From their perspective, two Konoha ninja suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the bushes about seventy meters away, hugging each other!

That kind of sudden appearance? Scary as hell!

[Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!]

Although Mahiru Uchiha's chest felt extremely pressured from the incredible speed during the Body Flicker movement and the [Jumping Slash] skill activation, she still quickly targeted the flustered Sand ninja with her pre-prepared ninjutsu!

Seventy meters wasn't far, and the fire technique's projectile speed wasn't particularly fast either—but even so, hitting enemy ninja caught mid-panic wasn't exactly difficult!

"Watch out!"

The Mū Puppet dashed forward, positioning itself directly in front of the Female Red-haired Sand ninja, attempting to block the incoming fire technique!

[Gray Secret Technique: Round Mirror Organ Reflection!]

The headless puppet extended both arms forward. A grayish gel-like substance sprayed outward from its palms, forming a circular mirror just in time before the fire attack arrived!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A violent explosion of jutsu erupted!

The previously dim forest was instantly illuminated by raging flames!

Although the two Sand ninja avoided major injuries thanks to timely defense, their retreat had definitely been slowed down.

Hyuga Soushu immediately released his grip around Mahiru-chan's waist and swung his torch pole weapon toward the two Sand ninja!

"Be careful of his Body Flicker technique!"

The male Sand ninja hidden inside the puppet's abdomen issued a warning.

He was deeply worried his wife might fall victim to Hyuga Soushu's strange offensive methods. Of course, the main reason was he had no idea that Hyuga Soushu's [Flash] and [Smite] were both currently on cooldown!

"Let's finish off these damn Konoha bastards!"

The Female Red-haired Sand ninja roared furiously as she charged straight at Hyuga Soushu!

[Counter Storm!]

[Power Strike!]

Still starting with those two familiar skills, Hyuga Soushu advanced straight into the red-haired female Sand ninja's attack, moving to her left side!

At the same time, hidden mechanical arms within the Female Red-haired Sand ninja's puppet launched a barrage of poisoned needles toward Hyuga Soushu!

However, these physical attacks were immediately blocked by a wind barrier. And right after blocking the attack, Hyuga Soushu triggered [Counter Storm] again!

Bang!

With a sharp crack only Hyuga Soushu could hear, the Female Red-haired Sand ninja hiding inside the puppet's belly was suddenly seized by tightness in her chest and shortness of breath, her body reeling into another brief dizziness!

Now familiar with the tactics from his earlier fight with the Male Red-haired Sand ninja, Hyuga Soushu instantly swung the torch pole sideways into the puppet's belly!

"Crack!"

In the blink of an eye, the puppet housing the Female Red-haired Sand ninja had its abdominal armor smashed by Soushu's crushing strike. But at the same time, she maneuvered the puppet to leap backward, narrowly avoiding a direct fatal blow to the head!

Her Puppet Technique wasn't as advanced as her husband's—she couldn't control the puppet through clones. Therefore, it was her real body curled up and hidden inside the puppet's abdomen!

Although she hadn't been killed outright by that powerful blow, jagged shards from the shattered puppet armor stabbed into her curled form, causing blood to spray out violently!

"Ayue!"

Inside the Mū Puppet, the Male Red-haired Sand ninja rushed toward Hyuga Soushu like a madman.

"This is it!"

Hyuga Soushu's face lit up with joy!

After this brief skirmish slowed them down, the Cleanup squad finally caught sight of the two stubborn Sunagakure ninjas retreating down the path!

[Earth Release: Earth Spike Spear!]

Yechame Hamako was the first to jump into action, launching a Ninjutsu—summoning rows of jagged earthen spears beneath the two Sand ninja and throwing off their footing!

Though it didn't land a killing blow, the Earth Release jutsu bought them precious time!

And after yet another delay cutting into their escape window, these two tough-as-nails Sand ninjas were soon completely surrounded by the Cleanup squad!

<><><><><><><><>

Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!

~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!

<><><><><><><><>

~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!

~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!

patreon.com/Tansnovel

<><><><><><><><>