Tangdong Akimichi glanced at him coldly, thinking that it might not be unrelated to Root either. Aloud, he continued his explanation. "Do you remember the group of Iwa rogue ninja we encountered on the road? The scroll holding Hiashi Hyuga's body was likely swapped at that time."
"What?" Yunchuan Hyuga froze as realization struck, his pale face turning even whiter. "So it was me…"
"This is not your fault." Tangdong Akimichi looked at him with a complicated expression.
He had clearly seen how Yunchuan Hyuga risked his life to protect him, as well as the strength and talent he displayed. When he first realized the Explosive Tag had been placed in the coffin, his instinct was to suspect Yunchuan Hyuga, who carried the scroll. But he quickly understood that Explosive Tags were critical strategic materials, not something money alone could buy.
Such a large quantity was impossible for Yunchuan Hyuga to obtain. Even attempting to purchase them would have drawn ANBU immediately, with questions about his intent. That meant the Explosive Tags were not placed by Yunchuan Hyuga, leaving only the possibility of a swap.
The boy was simply too inexperienced. Someone with such good character and promise should not die here today.
"Go, now," Tangdong Akimichi said heavily.
"No, we cannot. If we leave, then you…" Yunchuan Hyuga tried to argue, but a sharp tearing sound cut him off.
"None of you are escaping today!"
"Go!"
As several giant shuriken flew in again, Tangdong Akimichi roared and slammed out a palm wrapped in Chakra. The ground shook violently underfoot, the sound rolling like a muffled thunderclap.
This time, the shaking did not fade. Tangdong Akimichi's strike seemed to break something beneath them, and the tremors grew stronger instead. A low hum spread through the earth, making faces pale.
"What is happening?" someone cried.
In the next instant, the shaking turned into a deafening roar. The ground beneath them bulged upward, splitting open with terrifying cracks that stretched for hundreds of meters. It felt as if an unseen monster was twisting its body underground, desperate to break free.
Heavy objects nearby were thrown into the air as if gravity had failed. Bang, kacha!! The ground arched up before another earth-shaking explosion rang out. Everyone felt weightless for a moment.
No, it was not that they were lifted. The ground beneath them was collapsing.
"Fall back!"
Whether Troy or the people from Konoha, everyone halted and used Shunshin to retreat. They watched as a pitch-black gap tore open beneath the Hot Spring Inn, the ground splitting into massive stone blocks that fell into the expanding void. The solid earth crumbled like dough under pressure.
After the tremors finally stopped and the dust slowly settled, what remained was a bottomless black hole like an abyss. Everyone stared at it in shock and uncertainty, feeling as if deep darkness was stirring within.
This scalp numbing scene appeared before everyone without warning. The ground beneath their feet collapsed into a funnel shape, and buildings already shattered by the explosion found a place to pour into. Everything slid and fell toward the sinking hole.
It was like someone had poked a hole under a sand table, and with a light touch all the grains collapsed into the empty space below. Countless stones poured into the deep pit, and the huge noise filled their ears. It sounded like something large chewing through food.
"What is going on?" "Why did the ground suddenly collapse?"
They kept using Shunshin to retreat from the center of the collapse, staring into the distance with uncertain eyes. Before they could stabilize themselves, a violent gust burst out like a wave hitting the sea, breaking apart in noise and spray. The wind lifted smoke and dust more than ten meters high and completely blocked their view.
When the roar within the smoke slowly stopped, they halted and stared at its center. Rain slid from their temples and broke across hands still held in seals, and instinct told them that something was inside. The remaining lights had already gone out, and the darkness of the rainy night pressed down around them.
No one panicked, but no one spoke either. Everything fell into silence, with only breathing and wind and rain left to hear. The darkness seemed to hold its breath along with them.
"Could Kumogakure be behind this?"
Tangdong Akimichi stared into the smoke with a heavy expression and glanced at Troy in the distance. That bloodied face looked just as grim. If not them, then was it really those people from Iwagakure?
But what meaning would that have?
"Captain Tangdong."
As Tangdong Akimichi hesitated, a voice came from beside him. The trembling tone carried clear fear. He turned his head and saw Yunchuan Hyuga with Byakugan open, staring hard into the distance.
A drop, unclear if rain or sweat, gathered at Yunchuan Hyuga's temple and slid down to his chin before falling. "Something is coming out," he said, his voice shaking.
Lightning split the night sky at that moment, branch shaped arcs spreading across the clouds. In the white glare, a figure flashed through the smoke and vanished in an instant. Thunder rolled down from far away, louder than before, shaking the night.
They did not need to guess why the sky seemed angry. The answer was already walking out.
pata… pata…
The footsteps were clear and hollow, with nothing strange about them, yet each step struck straight into the chest. Every sound caused the air to vibrate, and ears, scalp, and even bones seemed to hum in response. Reflected in their eyes, a figure slowly emerged.
They finally saw the person walking toward them. He wore black robes that matched the stormy night, like an empty shadow given shape. That shadow carried a sense of decay and depth that made it hard to look at directly.
Only his eyes stood out. Those blue white eyes glowed faintly within the darkness, as if something inside them was being held back.
"..."
Troy suddenly felt a strong intuition rise for no clear reason. Even if he attacked now, he would only cut through that flowing black shadow, and his blade would not catch blood or flesh. He trusted that feeling, and his whole body tensed.
Something was wrong with that guy.
"You…"
Aburame Ryoma narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak. In front of him, the Root Ninja instinctively raised their hands and gripped their Kunai and Short Sword. At that instant, the unfocused eyes of the figure finally found a target.
He looked toward Aburame Ryoma and lightly waved a hand.
"Get back!"
Aburame Ryoma felt his scalp go numb as a bone deep chill spread through him, stirring the insects inside his body into chaos. He shouted and retreated without hesitation. The air in front of him split with a sharp sound.
An invisible blade of wind cut forward like a full moon, tearing a long arc through the air that stretched several meters. It swept straight toward the group of Root Ninja ahead. Those Root Ninja who had just started to move froze in place without warning.
Their bodies locked as if time itself had stopped, and blank looks showed beneath their masks. The parted air slowly rushed back in, and the scream of the cut dragged on unnaturally long. Then the wind passed through them.
In the next moment, it felt like a storm made of blades shoved across the field. The figures standing there were cut cleanly across the waist, as if struck by an unseen edge. Upper bodies slid away from lower halves, faces still filled with confusion, and fell to the ground.