"Konoha shinobi? They remind me of a certain annoying guy."
As Team 8 remained on high alert, the group of black raincoat-clad figures walking toward them muttered these words. The leader, whose back bulged unnaturally under his coat, seemed particularly agitated.
Sensing his mood shift, a youthful voice emerged from the lump beneath the raincoat: "Shall we hold a funeral for them?"
"Heh…"
The raincoat-wearing man didn't answer—only grinned.
Soon, Team 8 and the black-clad group passed each other.
As they did, both sides kept a sharp watch on the other from the corners of their eyes, ready to strike at the slightest provocation.
Fortunately, neither party seemed eager for conflict, and the moment passed without incident.
Just as Kurenai was about to lower her guard—
A thick white mist suddenly filled the air, instantly obscuring Team 8's vision.
"Damn it, this is the Hiding in Mist Technique!" Kurenai's expression darkened.
"Byakugan!"
Hinata immediately activated her Byakugan, then spun around and unleashed a distorted wave of chakra: "Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!"
The distorted air shot forth like an invisible cannonball, striking one of the raincoat-wearing figures and sending him flying.
"Agh—!"
A pained scream echoed through the mist.
But in the next instant, Hinata's face paled. "It's an ambush! There are at least a hundred of them!"
Through her Byakugan's vision, she could see—despite the thick mist—a massive group of people, their chakra networks glowing clearly.
"Don't panic. Those are illusions."
Shino remained eerily calm, observing the insects crawling on his finger. "It's unbelievable that an illusion can deceive the Byakugan, but… my insects confirm their scent hasn't changed."
Hearing this, Ryūsei—who had already activated his Sharingan and also saw the "hundreds" of chakra signatures—paused mid-hand seal.
Then, his hand signs shifted. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Boom!
With the world shrouded in white, Team 8 only heard a sound like a balloon popping.
"Spiral Water Tornado!"
Ryūsei took several steps forward, raising his right hand above his head, palm facing upward.
Blue whirlpools materialized in the air, rapidly forming a small cyclone.
The moment it took shape, a massive wave of water crashed down from above.
The sheer volume of water was enough to sweep Team 8 far away—but instead of drowning them, the liquid was magnetically drawn toward Ryūsei's palm, rapidly expanding into a colossal waterspout.
Without waiting for it to fully form, Ryūsei hurled it forward.
The moment the water vortex left his hand, its core—like the tip of a spinning top—dug a massive trench into the ground.
As debris was sucked into the vortex, its lethality skyrocketed.
The terrifying suction force pulled in the surrounding mist, acting like a giant vacuum.
Meanwhile, the ever-growing waterspout—now packed with swirling rocks—raced toward the black-clad figures at terrifying speed.
Between the vortex's speed and the mist obscuring their vision, the raincoat-wearing men had no time to react.
By the time they realized what was happening, they were already being dragged into the whirlpool.
"Aaaah—!"
Screams echoed through the mountains.
As the mist dissipated, Team 8 watched as the massive waterspout—filled with debris and spinning bodies—rapidly shot into the distance.
Unless it crashed into a mountainside, the vortex would likely keep going for a long time before dissipating.
Seeing its power on land, Kurenai and Shino could only imagine how devastating it would be at sea.
Hinata, her Byakugan veins bulging, was stunned. "They really were illusions… How is that possible?"
Like the Sharingan, the Byakugan was supposed to be immune to genjutsu.
By activating it, Hinata could see the chakra pathways in a person's body—meaning any real shinobi would have visible chakra flow.
Unless it was a physical clone, illusions should be useless against the Byakugan.
Yet just now, Hinata had clearly seen hundreds of chakra networks.
Those weren't illusions—yet somehow, they were.
For the first time, she began to doubt her clan's legendary eyes.
BOOM!
A thunderous roar suddenly filled the air.
In the next instant, Ryūsei and Kurenai sensed something and shouted in unison: "Scatter!"
Without hesitation, Ryūsei grabbed Hinata and vanished in a shunshin.
CRACK!
A massive bolt of lightning struck where Team 8 had been standing, blasting a crater into the ground.
Blue-white electricity crackled across the scorched earth.
Team 8 regrouped in a clearing, forming a triangular formation as they scanned their surroundings.
Kurenai's voice was tense. "Hinata! Use your Byakugan—find the one using Lightning Release!"
Still in Ryūsei's arms, Hinata shook her head frantically. "I can't! Other than the ones caught in the vortex, I don't see any chakra signatures!"
"My insects can't locate him either," Shino added grimly.
Ryūsei, however, seemed to have spotted something with his Sharingan. He gently reassured Hinata, "Don't panic. It's not that your eyes can't see him—it's that he has a way to counter the Byakugan and sensory techniques."
Then, he pointed toward a mountain path. "Look there."
Following his finger, Team 8 saw a lone figure—the leader of the black-clad group.
Now, he had removed his raincoat's hood, revealing spiky green hair and two uniquely shaped swords crackling with blue-white lightning.
Recognizing both the man and his infamous blades, Kurenai broke into a cold sweat. "That's… one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Kurosuki Raiga."
Without hesitation, she drew a kunai, her expression resolute. "I'll hold him off. You three—run!"
"Kurenai-sensei, you're not coming with us?" Hinata asked urgently.
"I can't!" Kurenai's voice was firm. "He's a missing-nin from Kirigakure, a master of their assassination techniques. If we all flee, he'll pick us off one by one."
"In that case," Ryūsei said with a confident smirk, "let's take him on as Team 8. I've been wanting to test a new jutsu anyway."
Hinata stepped forward, standing beside Ryūsei with determination.
Shino, though silent, took his place on Ryūsei's other side.
"You…"
Kurenai stared at them, stunned by their refusal to retreat. Then, warmth filled her chest as a faint smile touched her lips.
"Alright then. Let's take down this missing-nin—together!"
BOOM!
Thunder roared once more, shaking the mountains.
Another colossal lightning bolt descended—this time, aimed straight at Team 8.