"Finally… escaped the battlefield!"
Raizen exhaled sharply, perched atop the giant clay bird as it soared high above the chaos. The attacks from below had been brutal; without this makeshift ride, there was no way he'd have survived that mess.
"Damn it! How the hell does this kid have so many weird ninjutsu?" Ueshi Dezheng bellowed, eyes fixed on Raizen riding the massive white bird into the sky.
Raizen grinned, surveying the four ninjas still chasing him. None of them wielded Lightning Style, which meant his chakra-laced clay explosives would pack maximum impact. Not wasting a second, he dug into his ninja bag and pulled out a massive lump of clay. In an instant, it morphed into a colossal clay dragon, its jaws wide as it towered beside him. With a flick of its tail, the dragon surged downward, spitting a hail of clay bombs in every direction.
"What… is that?" Ueshi Tokusho hissed, cutting through one of the missiles with a precise knife strike. Another Hyuga ninja tensed, sensing the strange chakra flowing from the clay.
Recalling the recently detonated clay bird, the Hyuga ninja shouted a warning to his teammate. "That clay's infused with chakra! Don't get hit!"
Ueshi Dezheng's eyes widened. He pulled back just in time, but the tracking explosives were relentless, detonating again and again. The two elite Jōnin, for all their skill, found themselves scrambling, forced into retreat by a single shinobi barely their size.
Raizen wasn't done. From his bag, he molded another lump of clay into a giant grasshopper and sent it hopping toward the ground. The two Jōnin had to split their focus between the dragon's missile assault and the sudden appearance of the hopping construct, leaving them momentarily flustered.
"Pathetic," Kei Hyuga muttered, stepping forward. His palms rose, unleashing a devastating chakra storm that shredded the clay dragon midair. But the storm didn't stop—it surged toward Raizen atop the giant bird, a deadly wave of energy and wind.
"Shit!" Raizen cursed under his breath. He pushed the bird higher into the sky, narrowly avoiding the storm's full force.
"Can't stay up here much longer…" His chakra reserves were dipping fast, yet the three elite Jōnin below were mostly unharmed, just mildly inconvenienced. He considered flying straight for the Songshan mine, hoping to put some real distance between himself and the hunters.
"Hateful little bastard!" Ueshi Tokusho growled, watching Raizen ascend and then disappear atop the giant clay bird. His fists clenched in frustration—he'd been teased and humiliated by someone so young. Since becoming an elite Jōnin, he'd never met anyone like this.
"Heh… didn't expect such a thorn from a minor clan," Hyuga Kyu murmured, eyes locked on Raizen's fleeing form. The murderous intent in his gaze was unmistakable. For Kyu Hyuga, the geniuses of small families were threats that had to be erased, ensuring the Hyuga clan remained untouchable. He turned to Ueshi Tokusho, silently issuing an unspoken command: the Amamiya clan must be wiped out.
Raizen, of course, had no idea what Hyuga Kyu was plotting—though if he did, he might have sent a few detonating clay birds in Kyu's direction just for fun.
Back on the ground, the family ninjas had gathered near the Matsuyama mine, voices raised in argument. Amamiya Jane faced off against Amamiya Nagasuke, while the others tried to mediate, hoping to calm the rising tension. The rest of the shinobi stayed on the sidelines, wary of intervening in disputes between Jōnin.
Raizen's eyes narrowed as he returned on the giant bird, noticing the heated debate among his kin. Something was off. Curious—and a little irritated—he drifted closer, eager to see what all the fuss was about.