In Hakushi's eyes, the situation in the arena wasn't exactly clear.
Although it was a two-on-two scenario, Ayane had already lost her combat capability, and the remaining Chakra in her body was barely enough to activate the Byakugan, let alone attempt to fight with the Gentle Fist.
The Root Ninja had two members eliminated by his preemptive strike, but of the two remaining, one was the captain, undeniably a Jonin-level ninja.
The other, having entered Root, certainly wasn't a simple ninja either.
It's now very difficult to exploit their carelessness to kill them.
After that last scene, their vigilance must have reached its peak.
After calming down, the anger in the eyes of the two Root members opposite returned to composure. Despite their eyes being colder and wanting to kill Hakushi quickly, they couldn't act rashly considering Hakushi's unknown strength.
The member next to the Root captain ninja suddenly extended his palm, and a large number of black insects flew out from his sleeve, surrounding Hakushi from all directions.
An Aburame clan member? Hakushi thought to himself.
Seeing the opponent use insects to fight, Hakushi understood which clan the opponent belonged to.
In Konoha, only the Aburame clan possesses such Insect Secret Jutsu.
This clan was allocated a forest in Konoha specifically to cultivate battle-appropriate insects, each with varying species and characteristics, adept in reconnaissance, defense, and offense.
It's said there are even more special poisonous insects, an encounter with which could become a real hassle.
Seeing the black cloud of insects forming an irregular shape to surround him, Hakushi wasn't overly panicked and disappeared from his original spot.
The insects hovered momentarily in the air where Hakushi vanished before beginning to swarm towards where he moved.
In Hakushi's eyes, the speed of the insects could only be considered quite fast, but compared to his own speed, their actions were relatively clumsy.
Thus, escaping the insect assault wasn't a difficult task.
However, his opponent wasn't just the Aburame clan member; the captain was the strongest among the four.
Sure enough, he could see Hakushi's movements and drew a ninja blade from his back, holding it in one hand while performing a seal with the other.
Hakushi's eyes narrowed slightly.
Minute breezes swept past the area.
Hakushi sidestepped to dodge the blade and swung his own blade towards him.
The captain ninja's eyes gleamed coldly, retracting his sword to clash with Hakushi's ninja blade.
A crack appeared on Hakushi's ninja blade, and the opponent's blade produced a very peculiar sound as it sliced through the air.
That sound was as sharp and piercing as a pebble scraping against glass.
"Konoha Swordsmanship: Shock!"
Hakushi frowned, instinctively turning his head, but a gash still appeared on his face.
Not only on his face, his calf and arm were also cut by the invisible blade.
Wind? Unable to land a hit, Hakushi immediately retreated, contemplative.
Looking at his ninja blade, it seemed that a few more clashes would break it.
Seeing Hakushi retreat, the captain ninja tightened his grip on the sword and aggressively pursued him.
Hakushi had no choice but to continue dodging, hearing again that strange, sharp sound of a pebble scraping against glass.
"Dodged?"
The captain ninja saw Hakushi evade so timely and precisely that he avoided all the invisible air blades, speaking with surprise.
He was even more astonished internally.
Gazing at the expressionless Hakushi, there was no sign he was a formidable youngster, yet he saw through his swordsmanship in just one attempt.
Such a person being close to those Uchiha people must be eliminated quickly in accordance with Danzo-sama's will, the captain ninja thought.
"You're the first to see through my swordsmanship so quickly."
Though they were enemies, the captain ninja wasn't stingy with his praise for Hakushi's talents.
Hakushi modestly replied, "It's nothing, just a bit of understanding about wind attribute swordsmanship, and those air blades, were they triggered by sound? I just happened to have seen a similar attack."
"Is that so?"
Ignoring the cold undertones in their voices, it seemed like they were having a casual conversation between friends, so relaxed and effortless.
"Although it's unfortunate the second attack failed, it might be a good thing for you because this way you can die less painfully."
The captain ninja naturally lowered his ninja blade, relinquishing the battle.
Hakushi was slightly startled, and immediately from the wounds cut by the air blades, a massive amount of blood spurted forth, scattering in the air, as his body powerlessly fell.
"It's a pity, if a young ninja like you followed Danzo-sama, you'd surely be well-utilized. But sticking to the path you chose, even in agony, is something you have to persevere through to the end."
The captain ninja sheathed his blade back, sighed regrettably.
"Your biggest mistake was comparing swordsmanship with me. In Konoha, the only one who can surpass me in swordsmanship is White Fang."
Hakushi's talent at such a young age made the captain ninja regretful.
Not only that, but he was also a very rare Medical Ninja, and if he could truly join Root, their Root's endeavors might even be completed faster.