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Chapter 150n
🕑 Added 2025-09-04 21:57:31 +0000 UTCChapter 150n
2-in-1-chapter
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Darui’s left arm bone was fractured.
That was the conclusion he reached after checking himself. It was hardly good news. An arm that could not weave hand seals properly meant a severe drop in combat ability. For a shinobi, the speed of hand seals was crucial. Even if he clapped his hands together and called out a jutsu, a fractured arm would still send waves of pain through him and potentially distract him for a fraction of a second... If he were a lesser Shinobi.
“Where did that monster come from?”
He did not let the pain distract him. His attention stayed fixed on the thick-browed man who had kicked him away. That speed and that strength were terrifying. Darui knew his own body was not on the same level as the Raikage’s, but he too had mastered Lightning Release Body Activation. It should not have been so easy for someone to fracture his bone with a single kick.
And yet, the man in the ridiculous green bodysuit with thick eyebrows had done it. One kick had cracked the bones in his left arm.
Darui glanced at his empty right hand. His sword was still lodged in Hyūga Hiashi’s shoulder, and he had not had the chance to pull it free. He was not in the habit of carrying three or four spare blades, so he reached into his ninja pouch and pulled out a kunai as a substitute.
What troubled him most was that he did not know who this thick-browed man was. Over the years, his village had sent countless spies into Konoha and the Land of Fire to investigate their strongest shinobi, yet none of their reports mentioned a man like this.
A shinobi this strong should not be an unknown.
Guy helped Hiashi to his feet. “Senior Hiashi, are you all right?” His gaze lingered on Hiashi’s shoulder. Even though Hiashi had tightened his muscles to keep from bleeding out, such a piercing wound could not be ignored.
“It’s terrible,” Hiashi sighed. “But I won’t die right away. You’re the only reinforcements who came? What about Rēn? Is he here?”
“Lord Rēn has not arrived yet,” Guy shook his head. “But we didn’t come with just me. Senior Shikuro, Senior Gaku, Senior Tōdō, and Shisui are all here—more than a dozen in total.”
Hiashi’s face fell in disappointment at the absence of Uchiha Rēn, but he let out a breath of relief when he heard the names of Aburame Shikuro, Inuzuka Gaku, and the others. With such fresh strength joining them, perhaps they could hold out a while longer against the Cloud-nin assault.
At this point, he no longer had the chakra to maintain his Byakugan. Without Guy’s support, he would not even have been able to stand. He could not see what was happening around him, but the Cloud-nin who had been closing in with Darui had suddenly gone quiet. That meant there were others nearby, striking from the shadows, while Guy openly saved him.
Clearly, Hiashi was not the only one who had noticed.
Darui, too, had sensed his subordinates falling one after another. That was why he had not rushed to attack. He activated the radio device hanging on his ear, but only a few responded to his commands. Switching channels, he tried to reach another squad. His left arm might be fractured, but he was still calm.
He was still three months away from turning seventeen, yet his lazy disposition had long since stripped him of the recklessness and hunger for glory that most young men carried. He would not throw his life away just to play the hero, especially when his side still held the advantage.
They had Yugito, the Two-Tails Jinchūriki, as their trump card.
That did not mean he would sit around waiting for Yugito to arrive. He could not just watch Konoha’s shinobi rescue Hyūga Hiashi. After all the effort they had spent driving Hiashi into a corner, to let Kumo obtain the Byakugan was within reach. He had no intention of letting it slip away. If that thick-browed man tried to retreat with Hiashi, Darui would be ready to respond.
A fractured left arm was not enough to make him give up the chance to capture Hiashi alive.
If the arm had been cut off completely… well, in that case, he would probably have to run. But for a fracture, he would fight on.
“Senior Hiashi, you can’t walk, can you?” Guy asked, checking on him.
“That’s right. Right now, just standing takes all the strength I have,” Hiashi admitted. He did not speak the full truth. It was not only exhaustion. The backlash from consuming too many soldier pills had erupted as well, making every chakra pathway in his body spasm in pain. Only sheer willpower kept him upright.
“Guy, don’t be reckless,” Hiashi warned. “Even if you use the forbidden technique your father taught you and defeat Darui here, the Cloud-nin have also brought out the Two-Tails Jinchūriki, and their forces are superior. If this turns into a battle of attrition, they will wear us down.”
Eight Gates.
The origins of this forbidden taijutsu were unknown.
The first record of the Eight Gates appeared in the Hyūga clan’s archives more than two centuries ago, which suggested that it must have originated around that time. No one knew how Might Duy had obtained the transmission of such a technique.
It was only after learning that Might Duy, the so-called “eternal Genin” of the village, had single-handedly defeated the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist that Hyūga Hiashi investigated the clan’s documents and uncovered information about this fearsome taijutsu.
Unfortunately, this forbidden art was so harsh that it was nearly impossible to master.
Even though the Third Hokage had obtained the complete secrets of the Eight Gates from Guy, claiming it was for the sake of the village, the brutal training regimen was so severe that even ANBU—those heartless, relentless tools of assassination—could not endure it. No usable subordinates were ever cultivated through this forbidden art. From that perspective, Might Duy and Might Guy were nothing less than men of iron will.
“If you cannot bring me back alive, then take away my corpse. Remember—never let my body fall into the hands of the Cloud shinobi.”
Hyūga Hiashi had already prepared for death.
Reinforcements had arrived, but by his calculation, this small number would not be enough to defeat the forces of Kumogakure completely. Especially when facing a Jinchūriki—without sealing techniques, it was nearly impossible to fight one. Otherwise, Konoha would not have been left so battered during the Nine-Tails Incident.
Many factors had contributed to that disaster, but the truth remained: a Tailed Beast was not something easily subdued.
One must not be misled by the example of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, those sworn comrades turned rivals, into thinking that a Tailed Beast was some tame household pet.
To subdue the rampaging Eight-Tails, the Third Raikage had fought it for three days and three nights.
Hiashi understood that, in this battle, he was a burden. Worse, his presence could very well endanger his own comrades. Better, then, to harden his heart from the beginning.
“Senior Hiashi, please rest assured. Someone has already gone to face the Two-Tails Jinchūriki. As long as we repel these Mist-nin here, we can withdraw.”
Guy’s words left Hiashi momentarily dazed. If Rēn had not come, then who else in Konoha could possibly stand against the Two-Tails Jinchūriki?
Was it Aburame Shikuro, whose poisonous insects might penetrate a Tailed Beast’s chakra cloak? Or Akimichi and his comrades, combining their strength in the Ino–Shika–Chō formation?
“Guy, who are you talking about? Who can face the Two-Tails Jinchūriki?”
“It is Shisui.”
Guy gave the answer without hesitation. Straightforward as ever, he saw no need to keep anyone guessing.
“Shisui? Uchiha Shisui?”
Hiashi was still turning the thought over when Guy sprang into action.
Seeing the group of Cloud shinobi near Darui, Guy bent his knees, the ground cracking beneath his feet, and launched forward like a cannon shot. His speed was so great that Darui’s expression grew grim.
Darui had already prepared to fight once his own men arrived, but Guy’s sudden charge left him no reason to delay further.
“Scatter!”
Darui swept his arm, and the Cloud shinobi around him split apart. His voice rang out harsh and commanding: “Attack as planned!”
Though not a sensory-type shinobi, his observation skills were first-class. He had already noted from watching that Guy was a taijutsu specialist. Engaging in a contest of hand-to-hand skill would be foolish. The logical choice was ninjutsu.
His men acted in unison, their attacks tightly coordinated.
Water Style: Wild Water Wave.
Lightning Style: Wave of Inspiration.
The Cloud shinobi did not unleash scattered, uncoordinated jutsu. Under Darui’s command, their strikes worked in combination: half of them using Water Style, the other half using Lightning Style. The unit itself had been assembled for this very synergy. After all, it was no simple task to gather so many shinobi skilled in Water Release.
Water cascaded through the air, and lightning leapt along the streams, weaving a great net in the sky.
Yet—
Within the net there was no prey.
“Missed? He dodged it?”
Darui frowned. He was certain his men had timed their strike perfectly. Given the speed of that thick-browed man, there should have been no way to avoid it.
Unless—he was even faster still?
And more importantly, where had he gone?
“Lord Darui, behind you!”
Even as he heard his men’s warning, Darui sensed the killing intent rushing from behind.
“Leaf Strong Whirlwind!”
The shout came with explosive force as Guy’s devastating back-spin kick swept toward Darui’s head. His heel was about to strike when a piercing chirp of lightning split the air. With a flash, Darui’s figure vanished from beneath Guy’s foot.
The missed kick smashed into a tree with a resounding crash, splintering the trunk clean in two.
“So fast!”
Though his strike had failed, Guy’s eyes gleamed with excitement.
“Konoha shinobi, don’t underestimate me. When it comes to speed, I won’t lose to you.”
Crackling thunder flared as Darui appeared at Guy’s back. Just as Guy had tried to strike him, Darui now slashed forward, his kunai wreathed in Black Lightning, driving it hard toward Guy’s spine.
