Tsunade nodded: "That's the problem. Now the four great ninja villages are suspicious of each other, and the situation is on the verge of breaking out! We must find out the truth and locate the missing persons before a large-scale conflict erupts. This mission, I'm entrusting to you."
At this point, Tsunade paused briefly.
"The Anbu's preliminary investigation points all clues to a long-vanished individual—Hiruko."
"Yuhi, you are experienced; you will be in command. Naruto, your strength and sensory abilities are key. Hinata's Byakugan will handle reconnaissance and tracking. Ino, your mental sensing capabilities may be central to unraveling this mystery."
Her sharp gaze swept over the four: "Team 7, depart immediately!"
"Yes!"
The four instantly vanished from the office.
Soon after, at the gates of Konoha.
"Hey, hey, Naruto! They actually called me for such an important mission!" An excited voice approached from a distance. Karin, adjusting her iconic glasses, ran up, panting. A fresh, diamond-shaped Yin Seal mark on her forehead was particularly striking. "I just finished my final training with Lady Tsunade; it's the perfect opportunity to show what I can do!"
Karin looked eager to fight, much like a battle maniac.
Previously, when the Sky Ninja attacked Konoha Village, Karin had a small taste of battle, but it was clearly not enough. That battle, however, brought Hinata great fame.
"Don't worry, you'll have plenty of opportunities to show what you can do."
Naruto's gaze swept over the three in front of him—Hyuga Hinata, whose eyes were firm, Byakugan pure, and increasingly tinged with purple; Yamanaka Ino, with her capable demeanor and flowing golden hair; and Karin, full of vigor and drive. He offered a reassuring smile: "This mission requires us to work together. Let's go!"
All four were agile. After leaving Konoha, they moved at full speed, following the scattered clues collected by the Anbu, tracking their way to a dense jungle on the border of the Land of Fire.
Ancient trees towered here, vines intertwined, and the atmosphere was especially quiet and oppressive.
Suddenly, Hyuga Hinata, who was using her Byakugan for reconnaissance, paused, raising her hand. The team immediately stopped and entered a state of alert.
"It seems our host is already impatient to send out a welcoming party," Naruto said, his gaze calmly fixed on the shadows in the forest.
As he spoke, three figures materialized like ghosts, silently blocking their path in a triangular formation. The person on the left had a horizontal bar tattoo on his face and eyes as cold as a venomous snake; the one in the middle was the only female, wearing a red leather outfit, with a fiery figure, holding a whip, and two horizontal bars on her cheek; the person on the right was slender, his presence almost imperceptible, with three horizontal bars on his cheek.
"This path is closed."
One's voice was hoarse and low, carrying undisguised killing intent.
"Whether it's closed or not isn't up to you to decide!"
Yamanaka Ino snapped.
Without any further conversation, battle erupted instantly!
One rapidly formed hand signs, then slammed his hands to the ground: "Summoning Technique!"
"Boom, boom, boom!"
Huge white smoke exploded, and countless colorful, varied-sized venomous snakes surged out of the summoning circle like a tide. Even more horrifying, some larger snakes opened their mouths wide, spitting out smaller, faster venomous snakes from their throats, which shot towards the group like deadly arrows!
"Let me go first!" Karin, unable to hold back, was the first to charge, her target directly at One. "You snake charmer, your opponent is me!"
"Adamantine Chains!"
Karin showed no fear. Several brilliant golden Chakra chains instantly shot out from her back.
The chains, like living whips of light, danced wildly around her, forming an impenetrable defensive net.
The small snakes that shot towards them instantly shattered and bounced off the chains due to the powerful sealing force. The chains' momentum did not diminish; like spiritual snakes emerging from their lairs, they plunged directly into the snake swarm on the ground. Wherever they passed, the venomous snakes were torn apart and suppressed.
Karin herself unleashed her monstrous strength, each punch and kick carrying the power to split mountains and rocks, directly pulverizing any approaching venomous snakes into bloody mist. Her fighting style was wild and efficient.
Almost at the same moment Karin made her move, Two, dressed in red leather, turned her gaze to Ino. She licked her lips, a hint of playfulness in her expression: "Little girl, can your mental secret techniques see through my heart?"
"Summoning Technique: Lion Demon Black Tortoise!"
White smoke rose again, and an extremely ferocious composite summoned beast appeared.
It had the mighty head of a lion, with fangs bared from its gaping maw, and razor-sharp claws for forelimbs;
But its body was covered in a thick shell, like a Black Tortoise, adorned with eerie patterns, exuding an aura of solid defense.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
Ino remained calm in the face of danger, quickly forming hand signs. A sturdy earth wall rose from the ground, blocking the Lion Demon Black Tortoise's first pounce.
Immediately after, she changed her hand signs.
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
A surging stream of water erupted from her mouth, not as a direct attack, but impacting at the Lion Demon Black Tortoise's feet,
creating large patches of mud, greatly restricting the beast's movement speed.
And finally, Three sneered as he looked at Hinata: "Hyuga Clan's Byakugan, can you hit me?"
He leaped, jumping onto the back of a giant summoned eagle that had appeared in the air at some unknown time. The giant eagle flapped its wings and soared high, instantly taking the battle into the sky.
"Gentle Fist Art is indeed tricky against airborne enemies."
Hinata looked up at the sky, clearly seeing the flow of the opponent's Chakra in her Byakugan.
Three stood on the eagle's back, forming a single hand sign. The summoned eagle flapped its wings violently, and giant feathers, like spears, shot towards Hinata on the ground like a rain of arrows, accompanied by sharp whistling sounds!
Even more alarming, the base of each feather was clearly marked with the character for "Explode"!
"Eight Trigrams Air Palm!"
Hinata continuously swung her palms. The shockwaves formed by her Gentle Fist Chakra precisely detonated several nearby explosive feathers in mid-air. The roar was incessant.
But the sheer number of feathers and their wide coverage, along with the dust and shockwaves from the explosions, forced her to constantly dodge, making her appear somewhat passive.
"It's useless! Under my Exploding Feathers, you can only flee in disarray!"
Three laughed triumphantly in the air, controlling the giant eagle to constantly change position, shooting out more deadly feathers. However, Hinata's eyes grew increasingly calm.
While skillfully using her agile movements and Eight Trigrams Air Palm to block and evade the explosions, she slowly raised her right hand.
In her palm, highly compressed Chakra began to spin rapidly, forming a Rasengan that was almost imperceptible to the naked eye.
"This is—Hinata is using that move more and more skillfully—" Naruto watched from below, a hint of approval in his eyes.
Just as Three once again urged the giant eagle to dive, preparing to launch a new wave of feather attacks, Hinata's Byakugan precisely locked onto his position on the eagle's back and predicted the giant eagle's flight trajectory.