Chapter 121: Escape
The beam from the Titanium Alloy Dog Eye melted a bottomless, tiny hole near the head of the fallen ninja. Wisps of steam rose from the ground as the moisture evaporated.
High in the air nearby, Kael narrowed his eyes. He was a bit surprised that this combo hadn't killed Dodai.
Although Dodai was a supporting character who appeared only a few times in the original story, he had never seemed particularly impressive.
"Perhaps he didn't get much screen time, but to be valued by the Third Raikage, he must have some skill. Pity..."
His gaze fell on the fallen Cloud ninja, and the corner of his mouth curled up.
"Your master Dodai insisted on provoking me. If you want to blame someone... blame him when you get to hell..."
Only then did blood gush from the center of the ninja's forehead. The high temperature left by the seven-colored beam had finally dissipated, allowing the cauterized wound to bleed.
"It's a shame this guy didn't have a Kekkei Genkai. I'm curious what kind of creature I could synthesize using a Kekkei Genkai as a material!"
Kael turned his gaze to Dodai, a burning look in his eyes.
Or rather than burning, it was the light of curiosity and greed.
He was very interested in the Cloud's Lava Release user. After all, Lava Release was a rare Kekkei Genkai!
In the dimly lit jungle, a dozen ninja were fleeing at high speed.
Dodai was leading the way.
Under the faint moonlight, Dodai's expression was grave, and he frequently looked back to check for pursuers.
"Lord Dodai, are we just leaving like this?"
A Cloud ninja running beside him asked indignantly.
Dodai frowned and glanced at the subordinates around him. Sure enough, the faces of these Cloud ninja showed suppressed anger.
The Hidden Cloud had always been arrogant in the Shinobi World, showing no respect even to Konoha. With the backing of the hot-tempered Third Raikage, Cloud ninja had never felt this humiliated in years!
Dodai's expression remained unchanged, but he gritted his teeth secretly.
If not for bringing these elite ninja back to the village intact, would he, Dodai, need to run away like a stray dog?
The problem was that these simple-minded subordinates didn't understand his painstaking efforts.
"Are you confident you can defeat that Summoning Ninja's beasts?" he shouted coldly, his voice devoid of warmth.
The anger on the Cloud ninja's faces froze, and their expressions turned ugly.
"Summoning Beasts of that size aren't something ordinary Jonin can handle, not to mention the giant eagle capable of flight!"
Thinking of the Earth Dragon that blotted out the sky and the eagle that covered half the heavens, everyone lost their temper.
"Is that the terrifying summon with the petrification ability? Such a bizarre and large-scale jutsu is truly frightening..."
"Regardless, be careful. Seeing how ruthlessly that guy attacked, he must have killing intent toward us. He might be chasing us right now!"
Dodai took a deep breath, looked around, and said in a deep voice.
"Yes!"
The group fell silent, burying their heads and running away from the Hidden Frost Village.
A few minutes later, Dodai, at the back of the group, seemed to sense something. He stopped abruptly, turning his solemn face toward the dark jungle behind them.
Seeing this, the other Cloud ninja also stopped, assuming defensive stances.
"What's wrong, Lord Dodai?"
A close aide stepped forward and asked.
Dodai shook his head slightly, brows furrowed. He turned to face the rear, slowly stepping backward, his eyes vigilant as if facing a great enemy.
Before long, Dodai saw trees falling in the distance on the path behind them, as if something massive was approaching rapidly.
The dense branches and leaves were quickly swept away, revealing the massive figure of the Earth Dragon. In the dim light, a young man in a black trench coat stood atop the giant beast's head, arms crossed, looking down at them condescendingly.
"Summoning Ninja, Kael Cross! Do you really want to make an enemy of the Hidden Cloud?"
Dodai took a deep breath, stepped forward, and spoke slowly. The dozen or so Cloud ninja followed suit.
"Summoning Ninja..."
Kael's mouth twitched. This title sounded too much like that famous Copy Ninja...
But his face remained expressionless. He looked like a harmless boy, but surrounded by his menacing summons, he put immense pressure on all the Cloud ninja.
"It seems... you attacked me first..."
Standing on the Earth Dragon's head, Kael spoke lightly from dozens of meters away.
Dodai gritted his teeth, feeling regretful.
He had heard the sounds of fighting and chakra disturbances in the Hidden Frost Village and followed Kael's tracks here. After carefully analyzing the characteristics of Kael and his summons, he quickly confirmed Kael's identity.
It was the Second Leader of the Hidden Hot Water Village—Kael Cross—who had caused the Hidden Cloud a great loss!
The Cloud's secret plan to send an army to ambush the Konoha border camp was thwarted by Kael alone. How could the Cloud higher-ups not be furious? But as the Ninja War was breaking out, they had swallowed this bitter pill as if nothing had happened.
But when Dodai discovered Kael's tracks during this secret mission, seeing his enemy, he attacked without hesitation, regardless of the consequences. Now, this had put his group in a dilemma.
With flying summons, Kael's mobility was far beyond what they could match on foot.
After a moment of silence, Dodai suppressed his frustration.
"You killed one of my Cloud ninja. If you retreat now, it's not too late!"
No one knew that Dodai was extremely wary of Kael right now.
From the strength displayed by his summons, destroying a small ninja village would be child's play for Kael.
Although he didn't know how Kael managed to cultivate such powerful summons, it didn't stop Dodai from being highly vigilant.
In his mind, purely in terms of destructive power and lethality, Kael's summons combined might not lose to the Eight-Tails. But based on the Cloud's intelligence on Kael, the abilities of his summons couldn't be judged by strength alone. Those bizarre jutsu never seen before in the Shinobi World had already slapped one dangerous label after another on Kael!