Chapter 24: Swift Victory

As the two parted, the area fell silent.

Guy's face was solemn. His body bore more than a dozen shallow cuts, some barely breaking the skin, but he was still injured nonetheless.

Zabuza, gripping his sword horizontally, was breathing heavily, his expression twisted. He had taken a solid kick to the ribs from Guy, likely breaking a few, making it hard for him to straighten up and causing pain with every breath.

Seeing an opportunity, Hyuga Kyou called out, "Guy, step back."

Without protest, Guy retreated to the side.

The brief exchange had allowed Guy to gauge Zabuza's strength. He knew that without using forbidden techniques, it would be difficult to defeat him.

Leaping down from the branch, Hyuga Kyou began walking toward Zabuza, speaking as he did so, "Unlike Guy, I don't need to take you Kirigakure trash too seriously."

His tone was casual, his expression disdainful, as if facing a mere insignificant foe.

Zabuza, never having been so belittled, roared, "You dare call me trash, brat...!"

Whoosh...

Hyuga Kyou's figure blurred as he lunged forward.

This was the moment he had been waiting for!

Though Zabuza was furious, he wasn't a novice. Realizing he had been baited, he immediately fell silent, swinging his long sword horizontally to intercept Hyuga Kyou.

Whoosh...

The sword's wind produced a sharp whistling sound.

But Hyuga Kyou wasn't fazed. No one noticed that his Tenseigan, hidden under his goggles, was glowing brightly.

With the Tenseigan's unparalleled insight, he saw the chakra flowing into Zabuza's arms, but not his legs, and his leg muscles weren't tensed for movement.

This all revealed Zabuza's tactical intentions.

The horizontal slash was merely meant to force Hyuga Kyou back. Without power in his legs, there would be no follow-up strike.

Meanwhile, the chakra gathering in Zabuza's arms indicated he planned to abandon the blade and weave signs for a Ninjutsu after forcing Hyuga Kyou back.

In that brief instant, Hyuga Kyou predicted Zabuza's next moves through the chakra flow and the subtle shifts in his muscles.

Thus.

He halted!

He leaned back!

Hyuga Kyou's sequence of movements was almost seamless, effortlessly dodging Zabuza's slash without losing any ground.

"How...?"

Seeing Hyuga Kyou narrowly avoid his slash, without fearing a follow-up, Zabuza felt a chill in his heart.

He realized Hyuga Kyou had seen through his tactics, but it was too late to change his plan.

While Zabuza was caught in the aftermath of his swing, unable to transition, Hyuga Kyou ducked low and closed in, unleashing a flurry of Gentle Fist strikes.

Watching Hyuga Kyou's chakra-coated palms, Zabuza's heart sank.

It was too late to either counter or abandon his sword to weave signs.

Thud thud thud...

The sound of palm strikes against flesh echoed, and Zabuza's body convulsed before he collapsed to the ground like a deflated balloon!

Gasp...

Both the Kirigakure and Konoha ANBU members sucked in a breath.

It wasn't because of Hyuga Kyou's speed but because he had dispatched Zabuza so effortlessly.

A skilled ninja like Zabuza, even a talented fighter like Kakashi or the ANBU with him, wouldn't be confident of an easy victory.

But Hyuga Kyou had taken him down with a single exchange, as if facing a mere novice.

Standing amidst them, Hyuga Kyou maintained his calm demeanor.

He glanced at the remaining three Kirigakure ninjas, then kicked Zabuza's unconscious body toward them.

"Take him and leave!"

Two Kirigakure ninjas caught Zabuza, while the third said, "We're under orders to hunt down defectors!"

Hyuga Kyou raised his head slightly, looking down at the Kirigakure ninjas with disdain, "Those defectors are my targets. If you interfere, I won't mind taking you down as well."

Seeing Zabuza unconscious and the two Konoha ANBU watching menacingly, the Kirigakure team exchanged glances before retreating with Zabuza in tow.

After they left, Hyuga Kyou didn't speak to the two ANBU, instead calling Guy, who had bandaged his wounds, and continuing their pursuit of the rogue ninjas.

The two ANBU exchanged looks.

The older one muttered, "Hey, was that kid using Gentle Fist? Is he from the Hyuga clan?"

The ANBU with the fox mask, Kakashi, nodded, "Yes, I know them both. We were classmates. One's named Might Guy, the other Hyuga Kyou."

The older ANBU was surprised, "I remember your class didn't have anyone exceptional besides you. How...?"

Most of Kakashi's peers had died in the war, and those who survived were typically low-level Chunin. Kakashi was considered the best of his class, with no one even close.

Kakashi, too, was confused.

He didn't have a strong impression of Hyuga Kyou, recalling him as average and unremarkable. But today, Hyuga Kyou's performance had been stunning. Especially his confidence, treating the renowned Kirigakure assassination squad as if they were nothing, reminded Kakashi of his teacher, the Fourth Hokage.

The older ANBU sighed, "We should report this to the Hokage. A talent like this should be prioritized for recruitment into the ANBU."

Back on the road, Guy couldn't help but ask, "Kyou, why didn't we ask those ANBU for information about the rogue ninjas?"

Hyuga Kyou smiled, "There's no need. The presence of Kirigakure's assassination squad confirms they are defectors. The ANBU were probably just monitoring them. Otherwise, they would have intervened."

It didn't take much thought for Hyuga Kyou to piece together the situation.

Kirigakure's assassination squad was likely there to clean up their own mess and take away the bodies, indicating that the defectors might include Kekkei Genkai users.

Kakashi and the other ANBU were probably sent to monitor the Kirigakure team. Their lack of action suggested that.

Guy nodded, seeing the logic.

If the ANBU were only monitoring the Kirigakure team, they probably didn't have any more information about the rogue ninjas. Since they had already locked onto the trail, there was no point wasting time.

Guy then said, "Kyou, you were amazing back there. That guy seemed really strong, but he couldn't even take a single move from you."

Hyuga Kyou smiled slightly, a hint of pride in his expression...