Escaping the Mist Ninja starts with backstabbing your teacher.

The Land of Rivers, near the border of the Land of Fire, is located in a forest.

Knowing the true character of the Mist Ninja well, Izumi knew that if they knew he had defected, they would definitely send a pursuit force.

So, relying on the Byakugan's detection ability and the intelligence he had prepared beforehand, he managed to evade capture all the way to another border of the River Country.

But he dared not get involved in the land of rain, where the three villages were locked in a chaotic war and had become a meat grinder.

"Here, take your medicine!"

Using a simple natural cave as a temporary base, Izumi Kawa sat down by Yekura's bedside with a bowl of brewed medicine, feeding him little by little.

Seeing the other person's brows furrowed because of the bitter medicine, there was a certain sadness in her appearance.

However, the other party was also ruthless, and drank all the medicine without saying a word, not leaving a single drop.

"After you finish drinking, lie down properly. With your injuries, it will take at least half a month before you can move again."

Izumi placed the bowl aside, looked at the still silent Yekura, said nothing, and turned to walk out.

He needed to cultivate and didn't have time to have a heart-to-heart talk with the other party. If it weren't for the fact that the Mist Ninja was such a terrible place for humans, he wouldn't have had to defect.

……

Arriving at a nearby cliff, Izumi posed with a slight clench of his fist.

The bone pierced his skin, covering his palm and turning into a glove, which made him look up at the cliff in front of him and swing it fiercely.

One punch, two punches, fists slicing through the air, slammed into the rock wall, bones and rocks colliding repeatedly, like needles clashing against wheat awns.

Below, on the ground, are layers of gravel accumulated from practicing boxing over the past two days, mixed with white ashes.

Despite such intense hammering, Izumi Kai's expression remained unchanged, but the veins around his right eye bulged as he used his Byakugan ability to observe himself.

By observing the chakra flowing within his body, he could gain a deeper understanding and experience, and thus attempt to better integrate chakra training into his previous life's cultivation system.

He possesses abilities different from those in this world; these are superpowers he inherited from his previous life [optimized].

It can consume mental energy to optimize anything as needed, achieve a certain level of completion, and eliminate negative effects.

The cultivation method brought from his previous life has also been optimized, allowing him to accumulate chakra, continuously increase the amount of chakra, and gradually raise its upper limit.

He felt the chakra within his body pulsating like a second heart, as if it were breathing.

This allows chakra to flow regularly, circulating through his meridians and acupoints throughout his body, eventually returning to the original chakra pool and subtly nourishing his body.

The power he had originally cultivated was also absorbed by the chakra, and even his mental energy was incorporated into it, so that his special ability could be used by consuming chakra.

Unfortunately, due to differences in the techniques from my previous life, many of them can only be used as a reference. However, I have no problem with physical techniques and some energy utilization.

"Gather your power, then cover it on your hands to increase the burst of power."

The blue chakra, which was originally invisible to the naked eye, took on a concrete shape as it was continuously compressed, and a faint blue color enveloped his fists.

Izumi felt that the activity in his fists was increasing, especially in the area of ​​bone hyperplasia, which seemed to be growing and hardening faster.

He raised his clenched fist slightly, aimed at the rock wall, and three white bone nails shot out from the back of his hand, instantly disappearing into the rock wall, leaving only a few tails behind.

"Being able to incorporate chakra enhances its penetration and power. In the future, when I master chakra nature transformation, it should be able to add some other effects."

Nowadays, all his strength lies in taijutsu, and he only spends his spare time learning some sealing techniques and medical ninjutsu.

Learning sealing techniques is to undo the technique that Ao has placed on his Byakugan, while learning medical ninjutsu is to understand the human body and practice chakra control.

Now, he can cleverly integrate the energy manipulation techniques from his previous life into his work, allowing him to further develop his Corpse Bone Vein technique.

Similarly, he wouldn't retract the proliferating bones into his body, as who knows what they might bring into his body? Even if his body, with its bone-bloodline inheritance, is resilient, it shouldn't be wasted like this.

【optimization】!

As he whispered to himself, his ability activated, solidifying his cultivation progress into a foundation and making it a constant state, ensuring his body would always maintain the latest level of strength.

"It is said that the Corpse Bone Pulse is equivalent to the Sage Body, and the Byakugan is equivalent to the Sage Eyes, just like Hashirama cells and the Sharingan complement each other."

"And could the Shikotsumyaku bloodline allow the Byakugan to evolve?"

Izumi had some doubts in his mind. It was because he had seen similar rumors and speculations that he chose to launch a sneak attack before escaping Kirigakure, stealing his teacher Ao's Byakugan and transplanting it into himself.

The Byakugan's effects are indeed very strong, providing a 360-degree field of vision, kilometer-level farsightedness, powerful dynamic vision, and the ability to clearly see chakra pathways, making its support capabilities maxed out.

Ok?

A ninja entered his field of vision, immediately putting him on alert.

He raised his head slightly, activating the far-sightedness of his Byakugan, constantly zooming in on the distant view and revealing the aura he sensed.

He first showed surprise, then snorted coldly, his hand forming a seal as he swept it across his white eye, causing white bones to grow and cover it.

……

Not far away, the Hyuga clan members who were performing a secret technique suddenly looked up as the direction they were pointing to vanished.

"Oh no, he's found out!"

"The opponent is just ahead, hurry and catch up, then take back the Byakugan!"

This team was a branch family unit that the Hyuga clan immediately dispatched after receiving intelligence; their mission was to reclaim the lost Byakugan.

Using the Byakugan, a secret technique granted by the main family, a team arrived at the location of the intelligence to investigate.

Then, by continuously using secret techniques and searching for clues, they traced the route from the place where Izumi had defected, and eventually found their way back.

Originally, Ao had the protection of Kirigakure and was quite strong, so the Hyuga clan was unable to reclaim the Byakugan and wash away this shame.

Now, Izumi's defection and the loss of his Byakugan have given the Hyuga clan hope.

If they can't handle the Hidden Mist Village, how could they possibly not deal with a mere rogue ninja without a village?

Therefore, a team was urgently dispatched from the front lines against the Mist Ninja to come here.

……

"The Hyuga clan!?"

Izumi snorted coldly, but couldn't help but laugh at the other party's appearance.

"Alright, alright, the Mist Ninja and Sand Ninja haven't found me yet, but the Konoha ninja, the Hyuga ninja, have come looking for me first."

"That secret technique they used was probably to sense the location of this Byakugan!"

Gently stroking the right eye covered by white bone, the simple sealing spell cast on it could only temporarily prevent the other party from probing.

However, given the distance the other party is currently at, and the traces of my activities nearby, they will probably find me soon.

It seems that this battle is unavoidable, so let's seize the initiative first!

Izumi looked up in the direction of Hinata and the others, but instead of running away, he charged towards them.