"Don't just stand there! Snakes don't digest their prey that fast. Let's get him out quickly!"
Yuta's sharp shout snapped Hana Inuzuka and Hiroki Hyuga out of their shock.
Then he took out two small pills resembling Military Rations Pills and shot them into their mouths respectively.
After doing that, he swallowed one himself as well.
"These are Antidote Pills. They can temporarily halt the spread of poison."
"Hiroki, you paralyze that snake while I tear its body open," Hana said after swallowing the pill.
Yuta moved behind them to guard both.
Hearing her words, Hiroki, who had his Byakugan activated, stared at the giant serpent that was still eyeing its next target and preparing for another deadly strike.
That's all Hiroki could think — Hana knew *something* about the Hyuga clan, but clearly not enough.
It's a *snake*! How am I supposed to hit its pressure points?!
You can't treat a snake like a human...
However, inside the snake's body, he could clearly see where Itachi Uchiha was located.
Itachi was lodged between the serpent's trachea and esophagus, coated in thick digestive mucus.
From the state of Chakra flowing around him, Hiroki could tell that Itachi was releasing Chakra to stick himself onto the inner walls, preventing himself from sliding down the esophagus while preparing to perform a jutsu.
Hiroki Hyuga could clearly tell — Itachi's eyes were still normal.
He hasn't even switched on the Sharingan yet. Judging by that, the situation wasn't urgent. Even without help, Itachi would probably manage to get out on his own eventually.
It was only a matter of time.
Hiroki Hyuga couldn't help feeling a bit curious about what Itachi was really capable of.
Although they'd been teamed up for a while now, Itachi had always been quiet and reserved, never showing his true strength.
"Snakes usually kill before eating, right? So why is it—?" Hiroki slightly furrowed his brow, puzzled.
"Forget it for now."
Hana activated her clan's secret technique.
[Beast Humanoid Combination: Two-Headed Wolf]!
Hana merged with one of the Gray Trio, shifting into a massive wolf with two heads sharing one body.
The other two ninja hounds assisted from either side.
Hana had three ninja hound companions. If she refined this combination transformation further, she could become a wolf with four or even more heads.
The more heads she could control, the more powerful the jutsu would be.
Unfortunately, she hadn't reached that level yet. Controlling even a two-headed wolf was somewhat difficult.
The transformed wolf stood shorter than the coiled-up serpent, and under Hana's control, its movements were clumsy. Its sharp claws could barely scratch off the scales, unable to cause serious damage.
It looked fierce but lacked real power.
Reality didn't quite match her dreams.
At this moment, Yuta, though a chunin, couldn't really offer much assistance.
"Aim there!" Hiroki threw a kunai at the serpent's body, indicating the exact spot for the two-headed wolf to strike.
Through his Byakugan, the internal organs of the giant snake were clearly visible. The targeted area contained the gallbladder.
Letting out a howl, the two-headed wolf lifted Hiroki onto its back.
Then it kept attacking the same spot on the python, pressing the assault relentlessly.
Seeming to sense their plan, the python thrashed violently, trying to shake them off.
At one moment, spotting exposed flesh and an open wound on the python, Hiroki Hyuga leapt down from the two-headed wolf.
[Eight Trigrams – Thirty-Two Palms]
He could see the Eight Trigrams' impact as a trembling oval shape beneath the python's skin.
At the same time, Itachi Uchiha inside the python was manipulating flames to burn its inner lining.
The two-headed wolf opened both mouths wide, preparing to bite down on the python.
Just then, the python opened its mouth, spat out Itachi Uchiha, and lashed its tail toward Hiroki Hyuga clinging onto its body.
Hiroki Hyuga easily dodged the attack, watching as the python fled in a certain direction.
Lying on the ground, Itachi Uchiha's clothes were soaked in digestive fluids; his entire body was drenched, still maintaining the hand seal position.
Yuta handed him an antidote pill. "Itachi, are you okay?"
Itachi Uchiha exhaled slightly, stood up, and shook his head. "I'm fine."
"I guess we do have some teamwork after all," Hana Inuzuka, now back in her human form, said between breaths.
"This is called micro-control; it has nothing to do with teamwork," Hiroki Hyuga replied.
"Thanks. You guys were impressive," Itachi Uchiha said.
He wasn't taken aback by Hana using her clan's secret technique.
What surprised Itachi, however, was Hiroki Hyuga himself—dodging the python's attack using the Shifting Body Technique.
Using the Shifting Body Technique without forming any hand seals—was that actual Taijutsu-based movement? This clearly went beyond what a typical Genin should be capable of.
Still carrying unknown toxins on their bodies, they didn't linger and immediately left, returning to Konoha Camp to report what had happened to the other ninja.
"Snake?" Shisui Uchiha, who came to hear about the situation, couldn't help but feel concerned after listening to Itachi's account. "Could it be that person?"
"Besides the snake, did you find anything else?"
"No." Itachi Uchiha shook his head.
The medical station remained brightly lit within Konoha Camp.
When Hiroki Hyuga and the others entered, medical ninjas were already tending to the injured.
He noticed that besides those wearing forehead protectors identifying them clearly as ninja, there were also several simply-dressed children helping treat people's injuries.
The youngest child looked about six or seven years old, while the oldest appeared to be around ten.
"Are you here for treatment too? Let me check you over," a girl approached and asked.
"It's poison."
"I can't handle poison. I only know the Mystical Palm Technique. Wind Physician, come heal him!" the girl shouted toward one direction.
"If I've mastered this, then learning other techniques should be easier too," Hiroki Hyuga said.
The little girl looked confused and showed no intention of answering.
Responding to the girl's call, the approaching medical ninja began extracting the toxin from his body using [Fine Needle Extraction Technique] while explaining, "Each Medical Ninjutsu has its own method, and not everyone can master every technique."
While this was happening, Hiroki Hyuga took the opportunity to observe how this group treated injuries.
He noticed that the trainees without forehead protectors mostly used the [Mystical Palm Technique].
As he understood it, the principle of the Mystical Palm Technique was cellular activation — in other words, exactly as he had previously assumed in a simple and direct way: stimulating the patient's cell division.
The Mystical Palm Technique didn't demand any particular chakra nature, which was why it had become so widespread. Its main challenge was simply mastering chakra control.
As for the other medical ninja, the medical ninjutsu they used ranged from simple to complex techniques.
"Is the ultimate secret art of medical ninjutsu transferring life force?" Hiroki asked curiously.
The medical ninja treating him gave a knowing smile and said, "If you're that curious, come lend a hand."
Meanwhile, Orochimaru arrived at the spot where the injured large python lay.
Smelling a familiar presence, the python raised its head, continuously flicking its tongue with a hissing sound.
Even though it couldn't speak, Orochimaru seemed to understand it clearly.
"I see," he murmured. "You encountered some people with unusual chakra?"
"A few kids actually managed to leave you like this..."
"Return now."
After briefly treating its wounds, Orochimaru let it go.
With a sudden puff, the python vanished.
If only Manda were this obedient, Orochimaru mused, watching the lingering smoke.
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