Chapter 87: Hyuga Hodaka VS Uchiha Mieko
Back at the starting position, Mieko and Hodaka observed each other. Hodaka was analyzing the situation.
"So what should I do? Should I also hide until Kaito comes out? Or should I track Kaito first and then fight? Or should I defeat her first, and then take on Kaito?"
"No, that would be very difficult. Moreover, Kaito loves to ambush. He won't miss an opportunity to attack when we're fighting."
On the other hand, Mieko had similar concerns. But compared to Hodaka, she was much more confident. She cast aside all doubts and made a decision.
"I just need to quickly defeat Hodaka before Kaito acts. In a one-on-one fight, I can easily defeat both of them."
After making her decision, Mieko activated her Sharingan and rushed toward Hodaka. This snapped Hodaka out of his thoughts, and he prepared for battle.
He cautioned himself, "I must avoid looking directly into her eyes. Although I can break her genjutsu with my Byakugan, it's difficult to do so quickly."
Mieko used Body Flicker to appear a few meters in front of Hodaka, quickly formed hand seals, and launched Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu at him.
Hodaka quickly dodged, then ran toward Mieko, intending to use Gentle Fist to seal her chakra points. Mieko quickly used Body Flicker to escape his attack range and launched shuriken at Hodaka.
Knowing that she used wire strings on her shuriken, Hodaka also threw his own shuriken, which collided with hers and deflected them.
Mieko used this opportunity to close the distance and used Fire Release: Flame Finger on Hodaka.
Hodaka barely dodged, but the technique grazed his shirt, burning it. A small patch of skin on the side of his abdomen was also burned.
He endured the pain and closed the distance. This time, Mieko did not retreat but engaged him in Uchiha Style Taijutsu.
She used her Sharingan to its full advantage, ensuring she would never be hit by his Gentle Fist.
Instead, she tried to use Fire Release: Flame Finger on Hodaka multiple times. However, Hodaka's Byakugan noticed it every time, and he kept dodging.
During this time, Mieko also kept trying to put Hodaka under genjutsu, but it never worked. Hodaka's Byakugan could determine when Mieko was about to cast genjutsu.
So whenever she prepared to cast genjutsu, Hodaka would avoid looking directly into her eyes and slightly disrupt his chakra flow. This prevented Mieko from ever successfully casting genjutsu on him.
But this also distracted him, which allowed Mieko to remain evenly matched with him in close combat.
However, after a few minutes, Mieko encountered several dangerous situations, and a few times Hodaka almost struck her chakra points.
So she used Body Flicker to create distance. Hodaka followed her, but she flickered again, starting a game of cat and mouse.
Mieko's control and skill with Body Flicker Technique were much higher than Hodaka's, giving her the advantage in mobility.
Hodaka couldn't keep up with Mieko's movements, gave up the chase, and stood still, thinking, "With her pride, she will come to fight me no matter what. So there's no need for me to chase her."
Seeing that Hodaka was no longer pursuing, she approached him while forming hand seals.
However, contrary to Hodaka's expectations, she maintained a medium distance and used Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!
With nothing to counter it, Hodaka used Body Flicker to dodge away from the Fire Dragon's path.
Hodaka finally grew tired of the idea of engaging her in close combat and used Earth Release: Earth Shuriken Technique.
This technique completely surprised Mieko, but thanks to her Sharingan, she was able to dodge or deflect all the earth shuriken.
Unfortunately, she had focused too much on the projectiles and ignored Hodaka, who had now appeared in front of her with two fingers extended.
Seeing this, Mieko was startled.
"Damn it, I have to block it!"
In her haste, she put her arm in between, and Hodaka struck a chakra point on her arm.
As soon as her arm was hit, she used Body Flicker to escape.
Hodaka originally thought she would return for another exchange, but she actually retreated, which greatly surprised him. He thought, "I didn't expect her to run away."
He waited there for a few seconds, thinking, "Both of my opponents ran away. So shouldn't I be declared the winner?"
He sighed and muttered to himself, "Alas, the next step depends on Kaito. Mieko and I are finally separated, and we're both tired and even injured from the fight. So the question is, who will he attack?"
About a kilometer from where the battle took place, Kaito had been sensing their chakra signatures throughout the entire conflict. When they started fighting, he wished he had some popcorn and a screen to watch the match.
Unfortunately, he had to hide far away. The battle lasted for over seven minutes, and he felt Mieko's chakra signal moving away from Hodaka.
Kaito concluded, "Oh, so Mieko lost and ran away? Who's the coward now? Hmm, who should I attack now?"
"Since Mieko retreated, it's certain she's injured. Hodaka most likely managed to seal some of her chakra points. Maybe one, maybe two. Any more, and Hodaka wouldn't have given her any chance to escape."
Hodaka was thinking at the same time, "Kaito will most likely attack Mieko because she's the one who retreated. After he fights her for a while, I should be ready to attack him."
After retreating to the other end of the training grounds, Mieko sat on a tree branch to rest. She was annoyed with herself.
"I let my guard down—that's why I got hit. Otherwise, I could have defeated him, because I was suppressing him throughout the entire battle."
She looked at her left arm—it was swollen.
"He sealed the chakra points on my left arm. I can't form hand seals properly. Even just moving this arm hurts."
She began administering first aid to her left arm. She didn't bother to hide, knowing that Kaito and Hodaka would have no problem tracking her.
While treating her injury, she thought, "Kaito will most likely attack me soon. I need to be ready."
Hodaka's Byakugan remained activated. He watched Mieko's location while waiting for Kaito's move.
Soon, he noticed something moving at an extremely fast speed toward his position.
The next second, he saw Kaito approaching him.
"So fast! Why is he coming toward me? He's already here!"
Hodaka looked straight ahead, where Kaito was already standing on a tree branch. He took a defensive stance.
Unfortunately, the moment he arrived, Kaito released a five-percent enhanced Wind Release: Great Breakthrough at Hodaka.
Hodaka quickly erected an earth wall to protect himself. He was shocked by the power of the Great Breakthrough.
"Why is it so strong? Did he learn some B-rank technique? Oh no! This is bad!"
The earth wall obviously couldn't provide Hodaka with complete protection. And at this moment, using Body Flicker above ground was not a good option either.
So he used Earth Release: Subterranean Voyage, burrowing underground, and successfully moved one hundred twenty-five meters south using Earth Release: Body Flicker.
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