Chapter 57: Hostages?

The voice echoing from the darkness could be heard far away. 

Those lower-ranked ninja who had attempted to ambush Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga originally just wanted to get rid of the obstacle posed by the ninja academy students. They had done this several times before, even against teams of decently skilled students.

However, those students ultimately lacked experience. Against the combined efforts of these five lower-ranked ninja, the students had almost no ability to resist and were easily crushed.

What was thought to be a situation that could be handled by a single person had turned into Hiashi and Hizashi instantly killing two of the enemy.

What they didn't know was that from the moment their targets were locked on by the Byakugan, these few had been viewed as prey by the Hyuga brothers.

If it had been daylight, their strength would not have allowed them to directly confront five lower-ranked ninja. But as night fell, even weak ninja could not utilize their full combat abilities.

Undoubtedly, among the nearly 300 participants in this exam, all were relatively weak ninja. Only compared to the ninja academy students did the lower-ranked ninja appear stronger.

However, in actual ninja warfare, only chunin could play a substantial role. Lower-ranked ninja at this level were merely cannon fodder meant to fill out the ranks.

But in the darkness, the strong and weak had their positions instantly reversed. The remaining three lower-ninja became the prey being hunted by Hiashi and Hizashi.

They were at least smart enough to scatter and flee in two different directions. Not only did this split the focus of the two Byakugan users, but perhaps the two who fled together could turn and counterattack while joining forces.

Within the dark forest, who knows how many teams and eliminated participants were hiding.

Most of them were ninja academy students who had been eliminated during the day. They originally felt uneasy with nightfall, barely managing to fall asleep before being startled awake again by the commotion in the forest, their faces filled with terror.

"There's a fire over there!"

One of the lower-ranked ninja suddenly felt like he had found a lifeline, because they had spotted a flickering flame in the darkness.

Those gathered around that campfire, whether fellow lower-ranked ninja or academy students, would be to their advantage. 

If they were lower-ranked ninja, even if they didn't help, they certainly wouldn't assist those two brats. And once there, their visual abilities would be restored, reversing the hunter and hunted positions once more.

On their side were two lower-ranked ninja, while behind them was only one academy student with the Byakugan.

As for the academy students, they could serve as a diversion to split the focus of that brat following behind.

From observing them today, this group of students seemed rather united.

As they gradually approached the firelight, the two sharing this idea grinned even more widely. However, Hiashi, with his Byakugan, had seen the situation at the campfire much earlier.

The Byakugan could see directly through the body, detecting the flow and amount of an individual's chakra.

Among them were two people Hiashi had observed before entering the Forest of Death earlier that day.

"Trying to escape over there? Walking right into a trap."

So Hiashi had no concerns about any issues arising from the group ahead.

Swish swish!

In front of Minato, Kushina, Akasaka, Okamoto Sa, and Nakatani Kaze, two figures suddenly emerged. Although it was currently Akasaka's shift on watch, the earlier pursuit through the forest had already put Minato on alert, promptly waking the others.

"Tch, just a bunch of brats again."

When those two lower-ranked ninja saw Minato's group, they exposed extremely displeased and disdainful expressions. They had clearly failed to learn their lesson from being chased through the forest by academy students just prior.

As the two closed in on Minato's group, Hiashi's figure also descended from above.

"You Byakugan brat, go ahead and try to come at us!"

Here, they had absolutely no reservations left. Not only could they utilize their full strength with the firelight, but in their eyes, the five people present were all hostages.

Hiashi simply stood there motionless, which to them looked like he was afraid to act.

Seeing Hiashi make no moves, the two lower-ninja grinned even wider. But still exercising some caution, they prepared to take a couple of the kids as hostages to divert his attention.

No matter what, Hiashi had instantly killed one of their comrades.

"Listen up brats, obediently become our hostages and don't resist, otherwise you'll suffer," one of the lower-ranked ninja said menacingly, thinking he could intimidate the little redheaded girl.

His partner meanwhile set his sights on Rin, figuring girls would tend to have less ability to resist.

However, just as he approached, a blond boy stepped forward in front of him with a slight smile on his face.

"Mister, isn't it going too far to lay a hand on a girl?" Minato said.

Upon hearing this, the lower-ninja's expression changed slightly, then he responded, "Fine, then today I'll just take you as a hostage!"

As he said this, he reached out to grab Minato's shoulder.

Bam!

However, before he could grab Minato's shoulder, Minato's position suddenly closed the distance dramatically, and then a straight punch landed squarely on the lower-ninja's chest, shattering his chakra seal. 

Everything happened so abruptly, he never could have imagined the boy in front of him possessing such blinding speed.

"You brat!"

When he finally reacted, his face twisted with rage. At that moment, Kushina also made her move with an angry look.

"Who were you trying to take as a hostage?" She tended to add strange verbal tics when agitated.

However, a single lower-ranked ninja posed no pressure at all to Minato. Within a few exchanges, the enemy's attacks couldn't even graze him.

Minato found an opportunity and struck the lower-ninja's neck with a chop, rendering him unconscious.

After resolving this situation, he turned toward Kushina's battle. The two of them together defeated the opponent and shattered his chakra seal within three exchanges.

While the lower-ninja could barely handle Kushina's attacks, he was completely unable to see through Minato's movements.

Once they finished off these two who had underestimated them, Kushina finally turned her head to see Hizashi's figure.

"Ah, isn't that the pupil-less guy we saw earlier today?"

(End of Chapter)