Chapter 90 (Patreon)

The situation became slightly awkward.

After taking a direct hit from Hinata’s Eight Trigrams Air Palm, every one of Orochimaru’s men had lost consciousness.

None of them could continue fighting.

Hinata stood frozen, clearly not expecting the battle to end with a single attack.

Even Mihawk was somewhat surprised.

That attack just now...

He had seen the chakra clearly.

The Eight Trigrams Air Palm was one of the Hyūga clan’s long-range Gentle Fist techniques. By releasing highly compressed chakra from the palm, the user could send an invisible shock wave toward the enemy.

Normally, the attack could not be seen with the naked eye.

Hinata’s attack had been different.

The chakra she released had been dense enough to remain visible even in the darkness. More importantly, just before she thrust her palm forward, chakra had gathered around both of her hands and briefly taken the shape of two lion heads.

Mihawk immediately recognized it.

Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists.

It was a high-level Gentle Fist technique taught within the Hyūga clan’s main family. The user shaped the chakra released from both hands into two lion-headed shrouds, increasing the reach and power of every palm strike.

In the original anime, Hinata had revealed the technique when she stepped forward to protect Naruto from Pain.

However, what Mihawk had just witnessed was already different from that scene.

The chakra surrounding Hinata’s hands had been larger and denser. The shapes of the lions were also much clearer, from their manes to their open jaws.

She had not fully activated the technique, but she had already begun applying its chakra-shaping principles to the Eight Trigrams Air Palm.

That was why the normally invisible attack had become visible.

The power behind it had also risen far beyond that of an ordinary Air Palm.

Hinata was steadily learning the Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists, and her current version already appeared stronger than the one she had originally used against Pain.

Realizing that, a pleased smile appeared on Mihawk’s face.

There had been no sudden change in her bloodline and no outside power forcing her growth.

This was the result of Hinata’s own training.

She was progressing steadily.

Hinata turned toward him, looking somewhat embarrassed.

“Mihawk-kun... They all fainted.”

Mihawk smiled.

“That only means you’ve become stronger.”

“Hehe...”

Hinata lowered her head with a shy smile.

The confidence she had shown while attacking resembled Hanabi, but their reactions to praise were completely different.

Hanabi would have proudly accepted the compliment and immediately tried to show Mihawk something even more impressive.

Hinata, on the other hand, still became embarrassed whenever he praised her.

Mihawk formed a hand seal.

“Shadow Clone Jutsu.”

Several shadow clones appeared beside him.

They lifted the unconscious Sound shinobi and carried them back through the forest while Mihawk and Hinata followed.

...

A fire burned inside the cave, filling the area with a warm orange glow.

Mihawk and the others stood behind Ino as she knelt beside Rinji.

Using one of the Yamanaka clan’s secret techniques, she entered his mind and searched through his memories for useful information.

After a short while, Ino slowly opened her eyes.

She turned toward Kakashi and the others, who were waiting for her report.

“These men are all Orochimaru’s subordinates,” she said. “They belong to a group led by a woman named Guren.”

Shikamaru showed little interest in their identities.

“What are they doing in this forest?”

Ino’s expression became tense.

“Their target is the Three-Tails.”

“What?!”

Shikamaru, Chōji, and the others stared at her in shock.

Even they needed a moment to understand what she had just said.

Kakashi’s visible eye narrowed.

Beneath his mask, his expression had become grim.

The mention of the Three-Tails stirred memories he had spent years trying to bury.

Ino repeated herself.

“They’re trying to gain control of the unsealed Three-Tails—the legendary tailed beast known as Isobu.”

Once they understood the situation, Shikamaru and the others became serious.

The cave fell silent.

Only the crackling of the fire and the occasional snap of burning wood could be heard.

After nearly half a minute, Kakashi finally spoke.

“This has gone far beyond our original mission. We need to report this to the Fifth Hokage immediately.”

“Man... what a drag.”

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head.

“We were only supposed to locate Orochimaru’s hideout. I thought the worst-case scenario would be running into Orochimaru or Sasuke.”

He looked toward the unconscious Sound shinobi.

“I didn’t expect a tailed beast to become involved.”

Chōji nodded in agreement.

“Neither did I.”

The members of Team Eight, however, showed little concern.

Shino moved closer to Mihawk and lowered his voice.

“That cut across the sky was your doing, wasn’t it?”

Mihawk glanced at him in mild surprise before giving a small nod.

Shino adjusted his sunglasses.

“You continue to become more dangerous.”

Meanwhile, Kakashi had already written the information down using a special code.

He formed a series of hand seals and placed one hand on the ground.

“Summoning Jutsu!”

A cloud of smoke appeared.

When it cleared, Pakkun stood before them.

Kakashi secured the coded message to Pakkun’s vest before briefly explaining the situation.

“Sorry for calling you out this late, Pakkun.”

“It’s fine. Leave it to me.”

Pakkun looked around at the group.

“You should all stay alert. I’m heading out.”

With that, he ran out of the cave and disappeared into the forest.

Kakashi watched him leave before standing upright.

“All right. Everyone should get some rest while they can. Tomorrow is probably going to be busy.”

“Yes.”

Both teams answered together.

Ino pointed toward the unconscious Sound shinobi lying on the ground.

“Kakashi-sensei, what should we do with them?”

Kakashi scratched the side of his head.

Taking them along would slow the group down, but leaving them inside the cave carried its own risks.

After thinking for a moment, he looked toward Mihawk.

“Mihawk, you captured them. What do you want to do?”

“Kill them.”

Mihawk answered without hesitation.

“There’s no reason to waste people and supplies guarding Orochimaru’s men.”

Kakashi and Shikamaru had already expected that answer.

Ino’s face paled slightly, but Hinata and Shino showed no visible reaction.

This was not the first time they had seen Mihawk deal with an enemy.

His swordsmanship was meant to kill.

When Mihawk drew his blade against someone he considered an enemy, he rarely left them alive.

Some of his attacks did not even leave behind an intact body.

Hinata and Shino had witnessed it enough times to understand what kind of shinobi he was.

Kakashi gave a small nod.

“Then I’ll leave them to you.”

Mihawk used the Shadow Clone Jutsu again.

Several shadow clones lifted the unconscious men and carried them out of the cave. Mihawk followed them into the forest.

A short while later, he returned alone.

There was no blood on his clothes or sword.

Once he sat down beside the fire, his gaze briefly shifted toward Hinata.

She was still examining her hands, as though trying to understand how her Eight Trigrams Air Palm had become so much stronger.

A faint smile appeared on Mihawk’s face.

The long night had not been wasted.