White mist enveloped the forest, immediately making it a vast expanse of white where nothing could be seen clearly.
Just as Otonashi expected, the Konoha ANBU followed strict operational rules, positioning themselves exactly one hundred and fifty meters away, no more, no less.
"We were actually discovered. This Pain is really talented."
Danzo, similarly dressed in ANBU attire but without a mask, frowned deeply. According to his plan, after the two sides engaged, he should have first observed what abilities that Pain possessed, then killed him with a single strike.
Unexpectedly, the opponent was extremely clever. Upon detecting the trap, his first action was to use the Hidden Mist Assassination Technique to obscure vision.
"Lord Danzo, what should we do now?" A person with an insect mask asked softly. Behind him, over twenty 'Root' members dressed as ANBU stood in line.
"Those idiots from the Rain Village are too slow. Tie them down first."
"Yes."
Lifting his mask, he put his fingers in his mouth and whistled. Instantly, a 'rustling' sound of leaves swept through the forest. Just then, a fireball pierced through the white mist, hitting a tree and exploding violently.
Kill!!
Kill!!
Like blowing the horn to start a duel, the people separated by a hundred meters began to charge at each other. This distance only took a few seconds for ninjas. Then, before contact, they mutually threw out a large swath of kunai and shuriken.
Puff puff puff...
Blooms of blood blossomed in the white mist, screams rising and falling one after another. Ninjas still leaping in the air fell downwards like birds that had lost their wings. But no one retreated until the enemy suddenly burst out from the white mist.
A blind volley, the casualty difference wasn't large. Otonashi did this intentionally; otherwise, the more mobile ANBU could wipe out all the miscellaneous soldiers with just shuriken. But once it entered close combat, it was different.
It depended on skill, and even more on willpower!
Clang! Puff!
Weapons clashed, sharp blades entered bodies. Five meters of visibility was only enough to draw a sword. It was nothing more than facing each other and slashing. Hit meant death, miss meant repeating the kill. In the blurry vision, no one could release ninjutsu, but the individual abilities of the ANBU were clearly higher.
Genjutsu—Slay!
A Root member with a frog mask instantly killed the oncoming Akatsuki member. His feet tapped lightly on the tree trunk before bouncing off. He could distinguish friend from foe just by the sound of clashing swords.
'Kill one more.'
He had already seen the Akatsuki member wearing a brown vest. His straight sword hidden under his ribs, he soared like a great roc, then felt a sharp pain.
Puff!
Before the sword arrived, an invisible wind blade coming from above actually cut him in half at the waist. His gaze turned dull for a moment, watching his lower body fall to the ground.
Why... so accurate?
Before closing his eyes, this was his final thought.
Ten meters directly above him, Otonashi was closing his eyes in concentration. A gentle breeze swept through the mist, transmitting the battlefield situation back like radar.
Otonashi couldn't distinguish friend from foe either, but he could judge the target's identity from their movement speed. Those moving fast were undoubtedly ANBU.
The hunter hidden in the mist prepared to form seals again. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he picked up the long spear beside him and jumped away directly.
Clang!!
A person suddenly appeared above, the straight sword reflecting cold light onto his face, then they fell towards the ground together.
Danzo himself came?
Otonashi's pupils slightly contracted. In that instant, he released his left hand, the spear shaft tilting downwards.
Zzzzzla—
Bright sparks flashed on the spear shaft. The blade edge grazed past his fingertips, almost cutting off Otonashi's fingers. And while in mid-air, his body suddenly twisted, his left hand slapping towards the side.
Wind Release: Violent Wind Palm!
"One-handed seal?" Danzo uttered in slight surprise, but saw the ground was already close. The masked person originally beneath him used the wind force to twist his waist, actually flipping above him in mid-air. And simultaneously rotating was that cross-spear (jūmonji yari)!
The spear tip tilted downwards. While letting the sword edge sweep past, he used the force to wrap it around his waist. By the time he pressed Danzo beneath him, the long spear had already swept from the side.
Rotate spear—twist body—downward chop!
The movements flowed like water. Danzo, whose feet had just landed, hurriedly raised his sword above his head.
Clang!!!
The impact numbed the webbing between his thumb and forefinger. He saw the masked person bring the spear down with a crash. Using the sword and spear as a pivot point, the person leaped up, heels slamming hard into his chest.
Thump thump thump...
His legs carved two trenches in the muddy earth, only stopping after a full five meters.
"Ninja Taijutsu?" Danzo suppressed the stuffiness in his chest, which bulged high.
Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!
A B-rank ninjutsu was almost instantaneous. The chakra accumulated in his mouth shot out like machine gun bullets covering the front, riddling the newly risen Earth Flow Wall with holes.
The seal speed was fast, but more troublesome—
He raised his head. The dense barrage of bullets shredded the shadow clone falling from the sky into a sieve. The ground beneath his feet suddenly exploded again, and a long spear radiating cold light pierced through the mud.
Still taijutsu!
In all these years, he had never fought an enemy using a cross-spear. This was a weapon used by declining samurai. But Danzo's reaction speed was still very fast. Flipping backward, clamping his legs together, he firmly gripped the spear shaft.
Otonashi quickly pulled back, preparing to use the spear blade to cut the opponent's legs. But Danzo, hanging upside down, had already completed the seal.
Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!
Just like the ninjutsu Otonashi used earlier to cut the ANBU member in half, the invisible wind blade immediately cut through the white mist, accurately splitting him in two from the middle.
Poof—
White smoke rose. It was still a shadow clone. Danzo, landing steadily on the ground, remained expressionless.
Pfft!
A long spear piercing through the white smoke directly impaled his chest. Otonashi, seemingly successful, saw his eyes narrow, and directly swept behind him.
Clang!!
A straight sword slashing from the shadows was blocked. The eyes under the mask met the opponent's single eye, without the slightest surprise.
Shadow clones, Danzo can use them too. If Kage-level opponents were so easy to kill, the ninja world would have long fallen into chaos.
"You are a bit stronger than the average Jonin," Danzo said slowly, suddenly releasing his force, dodging the sweeping spear tail while leaping far away.
"But far from enough! Summoning Technique—"
Slapping both hands on the ground, white smoke billowed behind him.
"Baku!"
A monster with tiger limbs, an ox body, and an elephant's head appeared, then opened its large mouth and sucked towards Otonashi.
Wooo—
A fierce wind swept past. The powerful suction force shattered the Earth Flow Wall Otonashi urgently erected into pieces. He stabbed his long spear into the ground, his body fluttering like a flag.
The spear tip carved a deep trench in the ground, his whole person sliding uncontrollably towards the monster's mouth. At this moment, he ripped open the pouch at his waist, and densely packed explosive tags flew out following the suction.
"Explode!"
Boom boom boom boom!
The explosions merged into one. The suction stopped, and the storm blew him away again. Barely stabilizing his body, he looked up again, his eyes shrinking sharply.
A pitted wall blocked the Baku, also an Earth Flow Wall. Danzo's reaction was actually so fast. Even more troublesome, the mist lingering in the forest had actually been dispersed, instantly allowing the fighting parties to see their opponents clearly.
There were still five or six standing on the Akatsuki side, while over ten remained on the ANBU side!
Furthermore, the sound of explosions behind him was getting closer and closer, proving that Nagato and the others had not only failed to kill Hanzo but were also being slowly pushed back.
He looked ahead, at the man standing at the foot of the Baku. If he wasn't mistaken, the main Rain ninja forces were probably coming soon too.
By then, this eastern forest of the Land of Rain would be the burial ground for him and the Akatsuki!
"What should we do now?" Yahiko quietly approached, his eyes flickering.
Shua—
With a flick of the long spear, blood mixed with rain sprayed out. Otonashi retracted his gaze.
"Wait here. I'll be right back."