Fūga hastily roared at the gate guards: "All personnel, secure the city gate! Not even a fly gets out."
As he spoke, he rapidly formed hand signs: "Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
The mist was violently pushed aside by the fierce hurricane.
But it was too late.
A figure, taking advantage of the mist, skillfully stepped over the caravan's cargo and, in just a few steps, vanished outside the city gate.
"Damn it!" Fūga cursed loudly.
He looked at the chaotic scene and turned to a man and a woman beside him:
"Hayan, Sae, you two go chase him down."
Immediately turning back: "The rest of you, follow me!"
...Once outside the city gate and entering a relatively shaded section, the female Ninja named Sae impatiently undid the clasps of her cloak.
"I'm boiling!"
She complained, throwing off the outer cloak to reveal an extremely hot outfit underneath.
She was wearing hot pants that reached her upper thighs, her long, fair legs striding forcefully.
The upper part was a minimal vest, semi-openly covering two massive headlights.
They shone richly and generously.
With her powerful running stride, the headlights seemed to constantly switch between high and low beams.
Hayan beside her was momentarily stunned repeatedly.
He nearly tripped and face-planted several times from not watching the stones underfoot.
"What's wrong with you? You seem completely distracted today," Sae frowned, blaming him.
"It's... it's too big..."
"What's too big?"
"Too... the sun is a bit bright, and there aren't many clouds to block it, it's making me dizzy."
Hayan explained with a strange expression.
"Big?" Sae looked up at the sun, half-obscured by clouds.
She wondered where it was big.
However, she didn't dwell on the issue.
Instead, she redirected her anger toward the fleeing figure ahead:
"Don't interfere later. This brat made this old lady sweat buckets in broad daylight."
"When I catch him, I'm breaking his legs first to vent my frustration."
Hayan's attention was still on the sun, and his eyes lit up upon hearing this.
There was such a good thing?
He hadn't wanted to get involved in the first place; why was border patrol work being assigned to him?
Now, it was perfect.
No need to work, and he had scenery to watch.
Later, he could even watch Sae's fighting stance.
It couldn't get any better.
He readily agreed, looking forward to the journey ahead... Not long after leaving the city gate, Aokawa noticed two tails closely following him.
"Such a big mobilization, something really happened!"
He didn't rush toward the assembly point.
Instead, he kept taking detours.
He needed to shake off these two before meeting up with Yūhi Shinku and the others.
Suddenly, through his Byakugan, he discovered
a masked person appearing out of thin air between himself and the pursuers!
Aokawa's heart tightened, and he observed carefully.
The Chakra meridians inside that person were surprisingly composed of fine Chakra Threads.
There were obvious seams at the joints and limb connections under the mask.
"Is it a Puppet?"
He shifted his gaze, following the lines of connection.
He indeed found countless subtle Chakra Threads connected to the hands of the female Ninja behind.
"It really is a Puppet."
Aokawa was quite surprised.
He had thought that Puppets nowadays would all be bizarrely shaped like those used by Sasori and Kankuro.
He believed fully-limbed ones capable of running and moving like living humans wouldn't appear until the Uchiha Sarada exam in the Boruto Era.
He didn't expect they had already appeared now.
His mind raced, and he concealed his hands in front of him.
He secretly summoned his Spirit Bow and began condensing a Holy Arrow.
His Byakugan operated at full capacity, continuously scanning the surrounding environment and the movements of the pursuers behind him.
Behind him, Hayan and Sae, being tall, were gradually closing the distance.
Sae noticed Aokawa suddenly bringing his hands forward, fiddling with something.
She knew he must be plotting something bad.
As expected!
After running a short distance, the youth ahead suddenly leaped up, turned around, and a brilliant light erupted from his hands, rapidly expanding.
What he held was clearly a blue and white Chakra Bow.
A blue arrow shot out from the light and rapidly flew toward her Puppet.
"Tricks!"
Sae sneered, skillfully manipulating her fingers as countless Chakra Threads intertwined and surged.
The Puppet in front tilted its head slightly, deftly evading the light arrow.
Seeing the light arrow miss its target, it inevitably shot toward a large tree.
She coldly snorted: "Brat, I'm here, where are you shooting?"
The next moment!
Her mocking expression froze on her face.
That light arrow, like a red-hot iron rod melting ice, effortlessly pierced the trunk of the large tree that required two people to encircle, continuing unabated at extreme speed straight toward her face!
Sae's pupils contracted violently, and the hair on her body stood on end!
This arrow had been aimed at her from the very beginning.
She tried her utmost to move her body to dodge.
But everything happened in a flash; she didn't have time to make an effective evasion.
The arrow rapidly enlarged in her pupils.
The next second!
Boom!
Sae, who had been running fast, was struck head-on as if by an invisible heavy hammer.
Without even managing a scream, her entire body was sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the ground.
Hayan beside her hadn't grasped what happened.
He only saw the youth's arrow miss and hit the tree.
Then, in his peripheral vision, the headlights beside him seemed to jiggle once.
The beautiful view in his eyes was suddenly removed.
Hayan subconsciously turned his head.
The next second.
His eyes widened, and his breathing became ragged.
He saw Sae lying stiffly on the ground.
Her body was intact, still maintaining those alluring curves.
But her head was like it had been run over by a fully loaded carriage.
It was a complete mess, utterly gruesome!!
Shocked, he scrambled and crawled to hide behind a large tree.
He vividly recalled the terrifying sight of the arrow piercing the large tree.
Frightened, he quickly ducked down.
His heart pounded wildly, almost bursting out of his chest.
It wasn't until a while later that there was still no movement ahead.
He cautiously forced himself up.
The woods before him were very quiet; the brat's figure was long gone.
"It seems the other party doesn't want to get entangled further," Hayan breathed a sigh of relief.
Konoha was truly terrifying; even a mere kid possessed such terrifying strength.
Fortunately, he was lucky, and that arrow didn't target him.
He resolved not to pursue further; the death of one companion was enough to report.
Patting the weeds off himself, Hayan stood up, turned, and walked toward Sae lying on the ground.
Looking at her curvy figure, he inwardly sighed at the waste.
Such a beautiful person died so inexplicably.
Truly, beauty is fleeting.
"Consider it sacrificing herself for the country. I'll take you back for burial."
Hayan sighed, picked her up, and slung her over his shoulder.
Only then did he realize Sae wasn't light at all. Fortunately, it hadn't been long, and her body hadn't completely cooled or stiffened yet.
He managed to carry her up without much effort.
Feeling the softness on his shoulder, Hayan's steady heartbeat gradually accelerated again.
He shook his head, clearing the chaotic thoughts from his mind, and started walking back the way he came.
-------------------------------
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