Chapter 89 (Patreon)

“BOOM!”

Thunder rolled across the forest.

The rain had poured down throughout the night, but after one final burst, it suddenly stopped.

The strange thunder immediately caught the attention of Kakashi and the others sheltering inside the cave.

Even Nara Shikamaru, who had been about to sleep, stepped out of his tent. All six of them left the cave together to see what was happening.

The moment they looked up, they stopped in their tracks.

It was still before dawn, and the entire forest was covered in darkness.

Thick clouds hid both the moon and the stars. Without sharp eyesight, moving carelessly through the forest at this hour would have been dangerous.

Even so, the strange sight above them was impossible to miss.

A massive crack stretched for thousands of meters across the night sky, as though something had sliced it open.

The air around it twisted violently.

Clouds were being pulled toward the crack from every direction. As they gathered around it, flashes of lightning began flickering inside them, causing the entire opening to glow with a pale white light.

Against the dark sky, it stood out even more clearly.

Kakashi’s group was not the only one who noticed it.

Anyone inside the forest could see the enormous crack overhead.

The heavy rain had stopped the moment it appeared.

Not far from the cave, Hinata paid little attention to the sky.

Her eyes remained fixed on Nerona Mihawk.

Only after Mihawk returned his sword to its sheath did she hurry over to him.

“Mihawk-kun, are you all right?”

The worry in her voice made Mihawk smile.

He reached out and lightly pinched her cheek.

“Do I look hurt?”

Hinata was still not completely convinced.

She suddenly stepped forward and wrapped both arms around his waist. Pressing her cheek against his chest, she listened carefully to his heartbeat before looking up to check his breathing.

His heartbeat was steady.

His breathing was calm as well, without the slightest sign of strain.

Once she was certain that he was truly fine, Hinata finally relaxed.

Then she realized what she was doing.

Her face quickly turned red, and she hurriedly stepped away from him.

Watching her reaction, Mihawk could not help but smile.

No matter how much time they spent together, Hinata was still just as shy as ever.

He reached out and gently pinched her cheek again.

“I told you before,” Mihawk said. “I wouldn’t try something unless I was sure I could handle it.”

“...Right.”

Hinata answered in a voice so quiet that it was almost impossible to hear.

She lowered her head in embarrassment.

Her actions just now almost made it seem as though she did not trust him.

Mihawk did not take it that way.

He knew that she had only reacted like that because she was worried about him.

He pulled her back into his arms and looked down at her flushed face.

“Hinata,” he said softly, “show me how much you’ve improved.”

“Yes!”

Hinata nodded firmly.

A moment later, however, she looked around the dark forest in confusion.

“But how are we supposed to find them?”

Both Hinata Hyuga and Shino Aburame trusted Mihawk completely.

Their faith in him was so strong that even if one of his decisions seemed strange at first, they believed there had to be a reason behind it.

That included Shino.

Despite being highly intelligent and cautious by nature, he trusted Mihawk just as much as Hinata did.

Mihawk’s strength was only one reason.

Shino also respected his judgment, composure, and intelligence. Those were qualities Shino himself hoped to develop further.

After spending so many years together as teammates, Mihawk had never led them into failure.

That was why, when Mihawk explained that the bats they had encountered were someone’s summons, both Hinata and Shino immediately understood that enemies were nearby.

“Don’t worry,” Mihawk said. “You’ll have someone to test yourself against.”

He looked toward one side of the forest and smiled confidently.

“The bats flew in that direction. As long as we follow the same path, it won’t matter whether their summoner is hiding in the trees or underground.”

“They won’t escape my Observation Haki.”

He began walking deeper into the forest.

“Let’s go. We can finish the mission while we’re at it.”

“Okay.”

The two of them immediately picked up speed and disappeared into the darkness.

...

Deep inside the forest, an abandoned building stood in the middle of a clearing.

Several people emerged from it and looked up at the enormous crack in the sky.

Shock covered their faces.

Ghost Mist stared upward in disbelief.

“Hey... That has to be some kind of natural phenomenon, right?”

One of his companions looked at him as though he had said something ridiculous.

“What are you talking about? Do you seriously think a person could do something like that?”

Ghost Mist swallowed nervously.

“But doesn’t it look like something cut the sky open?”

“Stop overthinking it, Ghost Mist.”

Flame was the calmest person among them.

She studied the crack for a moment before speaking.

“If someone really created something that large, they would have enough power to destroy this entire forest.”

“And even if they wanted to show off their strength, no one would waste an attack that powerful by firing it into the sky at a time like this.”

“The amount of chakra needed would be ridiculous.”

Her explanation sounded reasonable.

Ghost Mist slowly began to calm down.

At that moment, Flame’s expression suddenly changed.

“Be careful. Someone’s coming!”

“Konoha shinobi?”

The others trusted Flame’s sensory abilities, so they immediately raised their guard.

“Whoosh! Whoosh!”

Before Flame could answer, two figures shot out from between the trees.

“Eight Trigrams Air Palm!”

There was no warning.

A girl’s clear voice rang through the clearing as one of the figures thrust her palm forward.

“BOOM!”

A massive burst of compressed air tore across the clearing.

The blast was nearly as tall as a person, far larger and stronger than an ordinary Eight Trigrams Air Palm.

It clearly showed how much Hinata had improved.

The attack came too quickly for Flame’s group to react.

“Ahhh!”

Several of them were struck at once.

The compressed air exploded on impact, shattering the ground beneath them. Gravel flew through the clearing as a thick cloud of dust rose into the air, accompanied by a violent gust of wind.

Hinata did not follow up with another attack.

Instead, she remained where she was and stared at the fallen enemies in surprise.

“They’re so weak...”

The words slipped out before she could stop herself.