"Lightning Release · Chakra Mode!"
Torrents of lightning coated Kōyō's body in the form of Chakra, every muscle and nerve instantly galvanized. He looked as though he were clad in translucent cyan armor.
The instant the words rang out, Kōyō—already at the front—surged even faster.
Like an arrow loosed with no thought of return, he charged straight at the Root Ninja ahead.
"Bzzt—!"
The forest's heavy air was torn by a sharp boom; each footfall left ripples in the earth.
At the same moment, Kōyō's elbow smashed into a blade, sending out a metallic shriek.
"Clang!"
The sword blocking him snapped like a twig; a long gash opened along his lightning-wrapped forearm.
Blood gushed, yet his elbow punched through the guard and buried itself in the Root Ninja's chest, leaving a deep, crushing dent.
Ribs shattered with a sickening crunch.
Kōyō merely brushed past the man and sprang toward the next target.
A cyan comet, he zig-zagged through the forest at impossible speed.
But the surrounding Root Ninja, faces hidden behind masks, showed no reaction to their comrade's horrific end—only numb resolve.
Though they knew they were outclassed, they slashed forward without hesitation.
One, two, three… After felling three Root in the blink of an eye, Kōyō found himself encircled by an entire squad.
Worse, fresh wounds were opening across his body faster than he could count.
Far behind, Danzō Shimura watched coldly.
The Lightning Chakra Mode might be the Raikage's signature, yet it was only B-rank—commonplace even in Kumogakure.
Its might in the Raikage's hands came from the man himself, not the jutsu.
In ordinary users it granted no "impenetrable armor," merely the speed and power of a heavily armored taijutsu fighter—overwhelm him with numbers and victory was certain.
That was all.
If lives could buy victory, never waste time on subtler plans.
That was Danzō's creed.
Watching the cyan figure buck and surge yet slowly drown in the tide, Danzō's gaze darkened further.
The Cloud envoy numbered twelve; he had forty.
Three-to-one odds—how could they stand against him?
A contemptuous smile crept across Danzō's gaunt face.
Victory was already his.
And events seemed to prove him right.
Kōyō's glowing form carved a blazing arc through the dusk, streaking past trees toward another Root.
The Ninja didn't flinch: he offered his skull to the blow while leveling his blade at Kōyō's wounded torso—life for injury.
An eye for an eye.
Yet the instant before they met, Kōyō stamped the muddy ground with titanic force, the forest floor quaking beneath him.
Using the recoil he wrenched himself upward, flipped mid-air, and shot out a hand to seize the Root Ninja's head.
Centrifugal force whirled them in a full circle above the ground.
Kōyō's arm cracked like a whip, swinging the man in a brutal arc and slamming him into the earth with a dull thud.
The body burst apart as though crushed from above, splattering in every direction.
"Liger Bomb!"
Only then did Kōyō's shout reach the others' ears.
In that brief moment the remaining Root—using their fallen comrade as bait—closed in, blades leveled at the towering figure in perfect unison.
The swords met fierce resistance from the lightning cloak, but driven by suicidal strength they pressed home, biting into chest, abdomen, and flank.
Steel slid through skin, carving vivid crimson lines.
Blood sprayed across the blades.
Kōyō threw his head back and glared.
Feeling no pain, he roared like rolling thunder: "Aaaaargh!"
Each heavy footfall sank deep into the soft soil.
With three blades lodged in his flesh, the giant pushed forward, driving the trio back.
The Root fought to keep their swords planted, yet the soil tore into furrows beneath their feet.
"Bang!"
All four smashed into a colossal tree wide enough for ten men to encircle, blasting out a crater in the trunk.
Dust and fibers whirled skyward.
At the cost of his own lifeblood, Kōyō had punched a hole through the encirclement.
"Now!"
"Follow him!"
Mekani—the Cloud envoy's only sensor—was first to spot the gap.
Covered in blood, he dove for the breach without a second thought.
Samui and Darui were right behind him.
Most of their comrades had already fallen in the first clash, now nothing more than pale corpses upon the ground.
Though the Root lacked elite fighters—most were only Chunin—every one was a fanatic ready to trade life for injury, and they fought in flawless coordination.
Against such foes, a one-for-one exchange was the best an ordinary Cloud Ninja could hope for.
"Thud."
As Mekani bolted for the gap, half a torso was flung from the crater.
Kōyō—body latticed with wounds—stepped from the dust, lightning still crackling across his skin.
Yet as if the agony did not exist, he glared like a ravenous wolf at the encircling Konoha Root.
Lightning flared again, choosing a direction and diving forward, giving the Leaf Ninja no time to react.
"Surround them."
"No one escapes."
"Darui and Samui are the cream of the Cloud's younger generation; the intel is probably on them."
Watching the scene, Danzo Shimura issued orders with perfect composure.
"Yes, sir."
The surrounding Root agents answered in unison.
Danzo knew full well that Kōyō's ferocity was merely the last struggle of a cornered beast.
On any other day they would barely need losses—just wear him down with wolf-pack tactics.
Even now, pressed for time, Danzo remained utterly confident.
At last contact the Raikage's force was still over a hundred kilometres from the Hot-Spring/ Fire border, the whole Land of Hot Springs between them.
No Ninja, however fast, could close that gap before the pursuit ended.
They had all the time they needed.
Danzo Shimura always kept his own brand of leeway.
And so the chase went on, both sides racing through the forest.
But as the distance grew, the Cloud team's desperate breakout left ever-widening gaps.
Bleeding steadily, Kōyō slowed, new wounds multiplying under the Root encirclement.
Exhaustion spread across his face; the earlier vigor was gone.
He wasn't alone.
Behind him, Darui, Samui and the rest also lost speed.
In contrast,
the Root Ninja, rotating in waves, attacked like a disciplined wolf-pack.
They kept tearing mouthfuls of flesh from their quarry.
Then, at a certain moment—
"Cloud Style—"
Samui swept her blade backward, hoping as usual to parry a Root Kunai and slit the attacker's throat.
But the instant their weapons crossed—
"Clang!"
Her reversed grip faltered; her pupils shrank.
The opposing Kunai pressed down, forcing the tip toward her shoulder, then her neck.
She sucked in a breath, shoved the blade upward and deflected the strike.
Even so the Kunai grazed her cheek with a whistling slice.
Yet the fair skin showed no blood.
Instead a rubbery seam split open.
The sight made even the hardened Root Ninja freeze for an instant.
In that heartbeat Samui's blade flashed back, burying itself in his heart.
But her face held no triumph—only bitter resignation.
"Sorry, Lord Kōyō."
Her voice had changed; she stopped running, turned to face the closing Root, and spoke wearily: "We old-timers can only hold them here."
She was not the only one who had noticed.
From afar Danzo, watching intently, saw it clearest of all.
The instant he spotted the seam on Samui's face his heart lurched.
A fake?
Which meant—
"No matter!"
Kōyō panted, the thin flicker of lightning about to fade from his ravaged body.
His skin bore crisscrossing gashes so deep an amateur could see death was near.
That he still stood was a miracle.
Yet he had no time for miracles.
He laughed wildly, swaying, and cocked an eyebrow toward Danzo.
Idiot.
I played you.
And he wasn't alone.
The instant the disguise was exposed, Mekani and Darui beside him also halted, turning to face the Root Ninja.
In that moment Danzo's confident expression turned livid.
"Damn it!"
A lifetime of hunting geese, pecked at last by sparrows.
Such a crude feint had duped him—an insult he could not swallow.
Furious, he snapped, "Squads Four and Five, double back at once; link with the rear unit and seal the original field!"
He formed seals, a translucent Wind Release blade condensing in his palm, and strode toward Kōyō, veins bulging, voice like cold steel: "The rest, with me!"
At the command both forces halted, facing each other.
No shouts, no challenges.
In silence they sprinted straight for one another.
Soon the Cloud delegation's final moments were drowned in the scream of steel.
Elsewhere—
"Shnk!"
A Kunai burst from a corpse, piercing a Root Ninja's throat as he gathered bodies.
The same sound echoed beside several other corpses.
Samui shoved aside the half-body pinning her, rising with a cold face.
She glanced at Darui and Mekani, then swiftly handed items from her pouch: "Lord Kōyō can't stall long. Each of us carries one set; only Darui has the original."
"Mekani, you delay first when chased, then me—no one stops to help."
"Whatever happens, get the sealed intel to the Village."
"Understood?"
No one argued; every second counted. They simply nodded.
Mission over life—made real in that instant.
The trio vanished again into the forest depths.