Chapter 19: Pursuit, Judgment, and Danger
The Anbu monitoring Naruto had stopped their surveillance a week ago under the instructions of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
And Danzo Shimura, after Hiruzen Sarutobi's nearly bridge-burning, forceful words, had also early on withdrawn the Root's surveillance of Naruto.
While this gave Naruto more freedom, it also added a touch of danger, such as the current situation.
Although Naruto tried his best to avoid vital organs, the puncture wound in his chest was still dangerous; the thrown Kunai had almost passed clean through his chest, with only a tiny bit of the end exposed.
"As the saying goes, opportunity knocks but once. If you encounter a perfect chance, Yier, remember to seize it!" Liu Renju's past teachings echoed in Naruto's ears. "No matter what happens, as long as you don't die, it's worth taking a risk. But the premise is that you must have a thorough plan and think thrice before acting."
"Ah...!" Naruto grabbed the exposed end of the Kunai and pulled it out of his chest with force. He chose to believe in his freakish recovery ability; after all, the System shouldn't lie to him.
Fortunately, Naruto hadn't chosen wrong. The moment the Kunai was pulled out, blood splattered, but it only lasted for less than ten seconds before the gushing blood gradually stopped.
After acclimating for a moment, Naruto clutched his wound and chased forward, not forgetting to leave markers along the way during the pursuit.
However, during the pursuit, Naruto discovered an anomaly: the Ninja who kidnapped Hinata was far too unprofessional.
Yes, unprofessional!
Although Naruto had undergone relatively systematic early training from the Old Butler, there was still a gap between him and a true Ninja. Yet even so, Naruto could still clearly discover the clues left by the kidnapper.
"Strange... truly strange!" Naruto muttered to himself while pursuing. "He can't even manage the most basic Ninja skill of hiding his tracks. What kind of confidence supports him, an outsider Ninja, to kidnap the Young Miss of the Hyuga Clan?"
"Moreover, these tracks haven't been dealt with. Is he intentionally luring someone to pursue, or is there another ambush?" Naruto felt apprehensive. "Such obvious flaws... is he attracting certain people to go there... for example... Hiashi Hyuga?!"
Naruto's mind raced, analyzing the limited intelligence in a few thoughts and arriving at an answer that was relatively close to the actual situation.
"Right! That's most likely it!" Naruto recalled the kidnapper's behavior when attacking him. "At that time, it wasn't that I avoided it myself, but that he intentionally or unintentionally spared me. Was it to let me go and deliver a message?"
"That's a possibility!" Naruto touched the wound on his chest and nodded to himself. "However, if I rush back to report now, setting aside whether I'd make it in time, simply wasting this opportunity to get close to the Hyuga Clan is unforgivable."
"Besides, that kidnapper is clearly targeting Hiashi Hyuga. My risk in going there isn't great, and I can maximize the benefits. Let's do this!"
After reaching a conclusion, Naruto gritted his teeth, and his pace became even more rapid, his speed suddenly increasing by a large margin.
At the same time, Hiashi Hyuga also learned of Hinata's kidnapping. He didn't have time to gather the Hyuga Clan members, let alone seek help from the Village, so he rushed alone to the rescue in a state of extreme anxiety.
One must know that Hinata was the Eldest Daughter of the Main House; she didn't have the Caged Bird Seal inscribed on her forehead. The kidnapper's goal was clear at a glance.
The Byakugan lost in the Land of Water was an eternal pain for the Hyuga Clan, and the one kidnapped this time was his own flesh and blood. Combining these two points, it was normal for Hiashi Hyuga to be so urgent.
And this played right into the kidnapper's hands.
The Leader of the Land of Lightning Delegationnot only intentionally exposed his escape route but also slowed down his speed, even feeling that the Hyuga Clan's reaction was too slow, so he intentionally stopped not far from the outskirts of Konoha Village.
Because of this, even though Naruto didn't have a speed advantage, he actually managed to catch up two steps ahead of Hiashi Hyuga.
"You've come far too slowly. I must say... kid! I didn't expect you to be the first one to arrive!"
The Leader of the Land of Lightning Delegation, who thought someone from the Hyuga Clan had caught up, turned around. After seeing that it was Naruto, his triumphant smile instantly vanished, replaced by a thick killing intent on his face.
"Since you're in such a hurry to die, I'll send you on your way first!" Having said that, the Leader of the Land of Lightning Delegation tossed Hinata onto the ground, drew a ninja sword from his back, and walked toward Naruto with a sneer.
Naruto was a bit speechless; this person talked far too much. However, if he had talked less, Narutoreally would have died on the spot.
Before the Land of Lightning leader could even raise his sword to kill him, Naruto began throwing Kunai at him, even using his half-baked "Uchiha Style Throwing".
Given the massive gap in strength, all of this was in vain. Even though two Kunai were thrown perfectly by Naruto, curving to flank the Leader of the Land of Lightning Delegation from front and back, they were both easily blocked by his ninja sword.
"Whoosh!"
A dark shadow flashed before Naruto's eyes; this was the afterimage left after the Leader of the Land of Lightning Delegation used the Body Flicker Technique.
"Thud!"
The ninja sword slashed across Naruto's neck, but the Leader of the Land of Lightning Delegationdidn't feel the slightest sensation of a sharp blade entering flesh; instead, there was only the hard, woody texture.
"Substitution Jutsu? Just when did he do it?!"
Naruto naturally wouldn't make the low-level mistake of explaining to the enemy during a life-and-death struggle. After the Land of Lightningleader hit his substitute, Naruto released the Transformation Jutsu, changing from a Kunai back to his main body. In a few bounds, he reached Hinata's side, picked her up, and hurried to escape.
"You indeed amazed me..." A cruel expression appeared on the Land of Lightning leader's face. "But stifling a Genius is my hobby. I'll take your life today!"
Before his voice had even faded, Naruto felt a gust of vicious wind coming from behind. He didn't have time to think and threw Hinata to the side, only managing to take out a Kunai to block slightly before feeling a sudden chill on his back.
A thin, long gash was opened on Naruto's back, extending from his shoulder to his waist!
And the Kunai in Naruto's hand had long since snapped into two pieces!
Naruto thought to himself that this was bad, but he instinctively turned his body slightly. Using his waist as an axis and his shoulder to transmit the force, combined with all the power from his lower body muscles, he launched an Iron Mountain Leanwith all his might, hitting the Leader of the Land of Lightning Delegation right in the chest.
"Thud! X2"
Two dull sounds rang out almost simultaneously. Naruto was sent flying by the rebounding force, while the Leader of the Land of Lightning Delegation was also shaken back two or three steps, his breathing becoming labored for a few moments.
Yes, this was all Naruto could manage for now. Even with all his strength, he could only make the enemy briefly short of breath...
But this was entirely enough!
Using the force of being sent flying, Naruto pulled Hinata into his arms again and took advantage of the momentum to roll twice on the ground, while simultaneously throwing the only three remaining Shuriken to momentarily delay the pursuit of the Leader of the Land of Lightning Delegation.
Naruto was waiting for Hiashi Hyuga's arrival, but could Hiashi Hyuga make it in time?
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