Escaping the Mist Ninja starts with backstabbing your teacher.

With his arm withdrawn, under the Byakugan's vision, this Hyuga branch family Jonin, at the moment of his death, had the [Caged Bird] ability activated in his eyes.

The burst of chakra inside the eyes caused the Byakugan to quickly turn grayish-white. Apart from the seemingly intact eyes, the inside had long since become a mess.

"Is this what they call a caged bird?"

Izumikawa whispered to himself, "Not only are my eyes destroyed, but my brain is also destroyed, making it impossible to extract any information from them."

It must be said that the person who invented the "Caged Bird" was quite thoughtful, completely blocking the possibility of the white eye falling into the hands of others.

In that case, the remaining Hyuga branch family ninjas, barely clinging to life, are of no value whatsoever.

With a stomp of his foot, he leaped up and landed on a tall tree nearby, looking down and raising his hands.

"Corpse Bone Pulse. Ten-Finger Bomb!"

A series of explosions rang out, completely engulfing the entire battlefield, destroying all traces of the battle, and also shrouding the last remaining Hyuga branch family ninja who had been hiding.

At this point, the entire squad was completely wiped out; not even a single intact body remained after the explosion—they were all reduced to fragments.

Amidst billowing smoke and dust, after confirming the remains of everyone, he finally left.

……

Are you injured?

Having dealt with the Hyuga branch family squad, Izumi had just stepped into the cave when he heard Yekura's question.

Seeing Ye Cang's pale face, barely supporting his body, holding a kunai, he clearly sensed the battle in the distance.

However, upon seeing him, Ye Cang, who had been on high alert, could no longer support himself and collapsed back down, seemingly relieved.

"Just a minor injury, nothing serious!"

"But we can't stay here anymore; we have to move somewhere else."

Izumikawa, who was shirtless, had all his clothes damaged in the battle, even his pants were now ripped.

However, he had already made preparations before his defection, forming a hand seal and slapping the ground.

"Spiritualism!"

Smoke rose, and a huge scroll appeared on the ground. Izumi slowly unrolled it, revealing the character "封" (seal) inside.

This is a sealed scroll, which he has [optimized] and inscribed with a spirit contract, to be used as a personal storage.

"untie!"

He made a hand seal again and pressed it onto the scroll. As the smoke rose, a set of clothes appeared in front of him. He deftly took off his battle-damaged trousers and changed into a new set of clothes.

Yekura watched indifferently, but continued to press Izumi Kawa while he changed clothes, asking, "Is it a Sand Ninja or a Mist Ninja?"

"Konoha, Hyuga!"

"Konoha!?"

Ye Cang exclaimed in surprise, utterly astonished, before quickly realizing what was happening.

"Rolling your eyes?"

"It seems you're in quite a bit of trouble."

The Mist Ninja and Sand Ninja would hunt them down, but now it is the Hyuga clan in Konoha who have found them first.

It has to be said that by directly provoking the three great ninja villages, their future seems rather bleak.

"Scared?"

Izumi chuckled and asked a question with interest, while Yekura slowly shook his head, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

"Without you, I would have died long ago, so what is there to fear?"

After learning the whole story on her journey, she realized that she had become a pawn of the Sand Village and couldn't help but feel sad.

She fought and sacrificed for the ninja village, becoming a key force in the fight against the Mist Ninja, only to end up like this. The ugliness of the Sand Village disgusted her.

"Aren't you very aware of your situation?"

"At least there was no angry questioning about why the Sand Village ninja treated you this way."

Izumi made a joke, which was met with a moment of silence from Yekura. She also wanted to do the same, but she knew it was pointless.

Since it has already happened, and I have been so easily abandoned, it means that this is the village's decision.

If you must ask questions, ask those who made the decisions, not blame others.

"If I remember correctly, we're currently located in the Land of Rivers, near the border of the Land of Fire!"

"right!"

Izumikawa responded to Yekura's question while simultaneously canceling the summoning jutsu and sending the giant scroll back.

"Any other questions?"

"Why save me? I'm just a burden now."

After pondering for a while, Ye Cang finally asked the question, intending to decide her future based on the other party's answer.

"Because you are strong enough, and you, abandoned by Sunagakure, had no other choice."

"So I chose to save you, to make you my person, to make you my ally."

"As for being a burden, I can make you no longer a burden, but if you choose to do so, then your future will be subject to my control."

That's life. Now, Yekura has no other path to choose from.

Having been abandoned by Sunagakure, if she were to return, no one would support her, and the higher-ups would only try their best to get rid of her and eliminate this unstable factor.

Izumikawa's [Optimization] can easily heal the opponent, but Yekura is very strong, and even now he may not be able to deal with her.

Therefore, the severely injured Yekura is the best option, and whether her condition improves or deteriorates will depend on Yekura's final choice.

"I understand, you saved me, so my life belongs to you."

After much deliberation, Yekura finally made a decision. The greatest sorrow is a broken heart. From now on, she and Sunagakure will only have an enemy relationship, with no other feelings between them.

"Very well, then I will replace one of your bones with mine, but it will still completely heal your injuries. Do you...accept?"

Izumi slowly raised his hand, and a bone shrouded in chakra appeared in his palm, covered with sealing technique patterns.

Ye Cang looked at the other person, a pale, cold smile appearing on his face, a hint of madness deep in his eyes, and replied in a deep voice, "Come on!"

Izumi remained silent, but stepped forward, looked at the other's bandaged back, and spat out a bone spur from his fingertip, slicing it open.

The bandages tore apart, revealing a back covered in granulation tissue, riddled with wounds from kunai.

"Byakugan, activate!"

With veins bulging in his right eye, Izumikawa peered into Yekura's body, pressing down the bones enveloped in chakra in his palm.

Sharp bones pierced the skin, transforming into flowing water like living things and constantly replacing a vertebra on Yekura's back.

The pain from this replacement caused Yecang's pupils to shrink, and he let out a miserable scream as the excruciating pain, as if his marrow had been ripped out, swept over him relentlessly.

【optimization】!

As Izumi's chakra entered Yekura's body through the bones, it began to exert a healing effect through the [optimization] released by the chakra.

He continuously eliminated any potential rejection reactions, then integrated his chakra and the bone into Yekura's body.

A wave of warmth swept over Yecang's entire body from her back, accompanied by pain and an incredibly strange feeling that surged into her heart.

Yecang, his forehead covered in sweat, gripped the edge of the bed tightly with both hands, leaving marks on his skin.