Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Within the Eastern Path forest, a figure in a wretched condition fled swiftly through the mountain woods.
It was a Rock ninja, his face devoid of color. The wound treated with healing ointment showed no signs of improvement; instead, it had begun oozing dark red, foul blood. It was likely the weapon that injured him was coated with enemy-prepared poison.
The Rock ninja felt dizzy. Suppressing his physical discomfort, he looked back to check on his pursuers.
From time to time, he created a few clones heading in different directions to mislead the enemy, while his main body chose a new path to continue fleeing.
Not far behind this Rock ninja, a team of Cloud ninjas followed closely, tracking the subtle clues left during his escape.
"Kai, which way did he go?"
A Cloud ninja with a brutish face asked the sensory ninja in the team.
Cloud ninja Kai closed his eyes slightly. Waves of invisible mental energy spread outwards, sensing the Rock ninja's chakra. He immediately replied,
"Captain Haro, he changed direction. He's fleeing north into the forest."
"Good, keep pursuing," Cloud team captain Haro ordered the chase. At the same time, he instructed another Cloud ninja beside him who carried a tachi:
"Reina, detour from the west and block him. We must not let him reach the Cloud Platform Highlands."
"Understood, Captain. Leave it to me."
Cloud ninja Reina acknowledged, broke away from the team, and headed to ambush the entrance to the Cloud Platform Highlands.
"Damn it, those Cloud ninjas have noses like dogs."
Hearing the sounds of pursuit behind him again, the fleeing Rock ninja cursed inwardly. Though anxious, he was at his wit's end and could only desperately flee towards the Cloud Platform Highlands before losing consciousness.
Seeing his destination not far ahead, before any joy of escape could even rise in his heart, he spotted Reina's figure appearing in front of the Cloud Platform Highlands entrance.
The Rock ninja's pupils contracted. He halted, his eyes filled with resentment, stopped his frantic flight, and stood there in despair.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Captain Haro and Kai caught up. Seeing Reina had successfully intercepted the Rock ninja, they praised excitedly,
"Well done, Reina!"
"Damn Cloud ninjas, ambushing us while we were fighting that fierce beast... how despicable."
Knowing death was certain, the Rock ninja didn't hide his hatred, glaring furiously at the three Cloud ninjas.
"Haha, failing to notice us at such close distance just proves you're too stupid," Captain Haro said disdainfully, dismissively. "Hand over the pass token, and I'll give you a quick death."
Cough, cough.
The injuries the Rock ninja had been suppressing suddenly flared up, causing him to cough involuntarily.
Clutching a slash wound on his chest, the Rock ninja spat out a mouthful of dark red, foul blood. Gnashing his teeth, he glared at Captain Haro and stated firmly,
"Don't even dream of getting the token my captain and Atsuki risked their lives to find!"
"In that case, I'll just take it myself."
Upon hearing this, Captain Haro's face remained calm, but a deep killing intent rose in his eyes. Lightning Release chakra surged around his body, and he instantly appeared before the Rock ninja.
"Nin-Taijutsu: Raging Lightning Claw!"
Lightning chakra flowed to Captain Haro's right hand, coating his five outstretched fingers like the talons of a lightning-wreathed eagle, deeply piercing the Rock ninja's chest.
Zap, zap, zap...
Not only that, the lightning energy attached to Captain Haro's right hand violently erupted, charring and cracking the flesh around the Rock ninja's chest, even exposing the bone.
"Ahhh!!!"
Excruciating pain made the Rock ninja scream. He vomited blood profusely. However, he didn't try to evade. Instead, he clung tightly to Captain Haro's arm, a strange, insane smile appearing on his face.
"Hahaha, let's die together!"
Under Captain Haro's horrified gaze, the dozen or so explosive tags the Rock ninja had secretly activated detonated.
"Damn it! Nin-Taijutsu: Steel Body!"
Captain Haro never expected the Rock ninja to be so ruthless, willing to use explosive tags for mutual destruction. He only had time to activate a largely ineffective defensive secret technique.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
After a series of loud explosions, raging flames consumed everything around, leaving only a large crater steaming with smoke and heat.
Cough, cough, cough... Pfft.
Near the crater, Captain Haro, who had used a secret technique to escape death, landed heavily on the ground. His face was unusually pale. Although not life-threatening, he was severely injured.
Kai and Reina gasped in shock, rushing to Captain Haro's side.
"Captain, are you alright?!" they asked with concern.
"I'll live. I never expected him to be so vicious. Almost capsized in a ditch." Captain Haro smiled bitterly, pain occasionally shooting from the parts of his body burned by the flames. He instructed the two, "Kai, give me basic treatment. Reina, find the pass token. Then we'll head to the Cloud Rock Platform immediately to deliver it to the staff there."
"Okay, Captain. Healing Technique!"
Kai knelt beside Captain Haro. Emerald green medical chakra glowed on his hands as he placed them above Captain Haro's wounds, beginning treatment.
However, Reina did not follow the captain's order to search for the token. A glint of mockery flashed in his eyes. He looked at the two before him with a smile and said softly, "No need for that trouble."
Thud.
A black-red blade pierced through the unprepared Kai from behind, then continued downward, pinning Captain Haro to the ground.
Kai didn't die immediately. With difficulty, he turned his head to look at the completely altered 'Reina', his mouth opening as if to say something, but he lost consciousness before any sound could emerge.
"So it's a Konoha ninja... It seems Reina was killed by you..."
Captain Haro held Kai's body, which had fallen onto his chest, and smiled bitterly, understanding everything.
Just moments ago, he had mocked the Rock ninja's stupidity for being ambushed by their team due to carelessness, suffering heavy losses. He never imagined the tables would turn so quickly, making them the foolish ones in someone else's eyes.
After the life faded from both men, Uchiha Kazuhiko, who had transformed into Reina using the Transformation Technique, withdrew the Bloodwing Black Blade. He began searching the nearby area for the pass token.
The pass token was made of special material. The explosive tags' blast hadn't destroyed it, only covering it in a layer of black soot. It didn't take long for Uchiha Kazuhiko to find it, blasted beneath a large tree.
He stored the pass token in his space. Then, he began searching the Cloud ninjas' tool pouches. As for the Rock ninja's pouch, it had long turned to ash in the explosion.
Among the three Cloud ninjas' pouches, only Kai's contained a ninjutsu scroll: the medical ninjutsu [Mystical Palm Technique].
Returning to his campsite, Uchiha Kazuhiko created a shadow clone to catch live fish and immediately began learning this medical technique.
Several hours later, when faint green light successfully revived a gutted grass carp, Uchiha Kazuhiko smiled with relief. He finally possessed the ability to heal ordinary injuries.