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"What kind of Ninjutsu is it?" Hyuga Tenkaze asked eagerly.
He had been watching from above for so long, yet he still hadn't gleaned a single piece of concrete information about this technique. All he knew was that it achieved a teleportation effect. The activation conditions, limitations, and Chakra consumption remained a mystery to him.
Hyuga Tamamo extended a jade-like finger, pointing to the kunai scattered all over the ground below.
"Haven't you noticed? Although his teleportations seem random, they all share one common point without exception: the kunai beneath his feet. Every place he teleports to inevitably has a kunai he scattered earlier."
She continued,
"I've been observing him for a long time. When he was killing those Chūnin, on the surface, he appeared right next to them. But in reality, the distance varied—close or far—depending entirely on the position of the kunai.
"The two Chūnin who managed to escape only did so because they ran out of the range covered by his kunai circle, which is why he stopped pursuing them. And when he killed the last Chūnin, he threw a kunai first. After the Chūnin dodged it, Xuan appeared behind him without warning. This confirms my guess. If he could teleport freely, why would he make the superfluous move of throwing a kunai first?"
She paused, a look of realization dawning on her face.
"No wonder he scattered kunai all over the ground at the very beginning. So that's how it works. The genius of the Uchiha clan... truly cannot be underestimated."
"Princess, now that we know the specifics of this Jutsu, is there a way to counter it? With his current movement speed, we can't even touch the corner of his clothes!"
Hyuga Tenkaze kept his eyes glued to the battle, his Byakugan locked onto Uchiha Xuan's figure, never leaving him for a moment.
Hyuga Tamamo sighed with emotion.
"I don't know if he created this Jutsu himself, but it's simply perfect. To actually use space for movement... If he were just a bit stronger—even just a standard Jōnin—dealing with him today would be incredibly difficult. One wrong move, and you would all be in danger. Fortunately, his own strength is only at the level of a Special Jōnin. Because of that, this Jutsu has a slight weakness."
"What do we do?"
Hyuga Tenkaze didn't even ask what the weakness was. He went straight to asking for orders, displaying his absolute trust in his Princess.
"It's simple. Since he needs the kunai to achieve teleportation, we just need to clear the kunai he scattered. This will gradually compress his teleportation space until, finally, he has nowhere left to go. With the strength of you Elite Jōnin, killing him then will be easy."
She paused, her expression turning thoughtful.
"However, this method has a flaw. We don't know how many of these kunai he has on him. If he brought enough sealing scrolls, he could simply scatter more kunai while teleporting. No, this method won't work. He definitely considered this possibility.
"Moreover, we don't know if this teleportation has a distance limit. What if he placed a kunai somewhere else before coming here? We'd work hard to clear the field, only for him to leave instantly whenever he wants. We'd look like fools."
Hyuga Tamamo unconsciously bit her fingernail again, a look of deep contemplation on her face.
"Assuming this Jutsu really has no distance limit, or a very large range, where is the most likely place he would have set up a kunai...?"
Deep in thought, she glanced at the battlefield again. Her pure white eyes narrowed slightly—unexpectedly resembling Xuan when he was thinking.
A moment later, she returned to normal and called out softly,
"Kazama!"
"Princess!"
A man dressed in Hyuga clan attire suddenly emerged from the shadows nearby, bowing respectfully to Hyuga Tamamo.
Hyuga Kazama. He was the personal bodyguard handpicked by the Hyuga Clan Head for his daughter. His rank: Jōnin. Over the years, wherever Hyuga Tamamo went, he followed closely as her shadow.
Therefore, although Hyuga Tamamo appeared to have brought only three Elite Jōnin and seven Chūnin to the Fujiwara Mines, she actually had her personal guard as well. In fact, if she hadn't needed some Chūnin to gather the bandits and intentionally expose "weakness," she would have preferred to bring only the three Elite Jōnin and her guard.
Hyuga Tamamo ordered,
"Go immediately to the Uchiha ninja outpost here. Kill all the Uchiha ninjas there. If Uchiha Xuan suddenly appears there, kill him without mercy. I suspect he left a kunai there. If he doesn't appear, return to the Hyuga clan on your own after daybreak. Do not linger."
"Yes!"
Hyuga Kazama nodded in acknowledgment. He transformed into a black shadow and sped off into the distance.
"Princess, is that really necessary? Even if Uchiha Xuan is a genius, he's just a five-year-old child. Unless he knew in advance that we would ambush him here, how could he have left a retreat route so early?"
Hyuga Tenkaze watched Kazama leave, thinking the Princess was sometimes overly cautious.
Hyuga Tamamo didn't mind his doubt. She chuckled lightly.
"I'm only eight years old too. besides, never underestimating any opponent and preparing for the worst-case scenario—isn't that the creed ninjas live by?
"But there's no need to discuss that now. Let's discuss how to kill this slippery loach."
Hyuga Tenkaze fell silent. He knew that since the Princess spoke like this, she must have already formulated a plan. He just needed to listen.
She pointed to the battlefield where the chase was still ongoing.
"Let's assume he did leave a retreat route. Why hasn't he fled? Logically speaking, it's impossible for him to injure any of the Elite Jōnin, let alone kill them."
Hyuga Tenkaze replied,
"That's why I believe he didn't leave any retreat. Otherwise, his continued stalling has no meaning."
Tamamo shook her head.
"No. It means he's waiting for an opportunity. He's waiting for a chance to ignore the gap in strength and turn defeat into victory."
Hyuga Tenkaze countered,
"Such an opportunity doesn't exist. His own strength is too poor. Give him a few years, maybe. But now? Absolutely impossible."
Tamamo smiled.
"Such an opportunity does exist. As long as he can subdue me, it's possible."
Hyuga Tenkaze was startled and quickly said,
"I will protect the Princess's safety."
Tamamo shook her head.
"No. We need to give him this opportunity.
"If he really left a kunai elsewhere, or has enough scrolls on him, the method of clearing the kunai won't work. What a terrifying Jutsu... completely uncrackable by other Ninjutsu! In that case, we can only work on the human heart."
She looked at the kunai not far from her feet. It was one that had landed near her when Xuan first scattered them. Originally, she hadn't cared, but now, that kunai seemed to hold a profound meaning.
"I have a plan..."
She spoke softly, laying out the plan. A faint, sly smile played on her lips. Under the moonlight, she looked like a snow-white, cunning fox.
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