In the rain, a bubble visible to the naked eye expanded rapidly, its surface a fuzzy mist of needle-like water droplets.
The eyes of the Konoha and Kumogakure shinobi reflected a blinding flash of firelight, like a fountain of fire and light erupting forth.
And in the instant before the light surged out to swallow the Konoha shinobi, Akimichi Todo turned, shielding them from the explosion's impact with his broad back.
"Multi-Size Technique!"
Akimichi Todo let out a determined roar against the deafening blast.
At the same time, two other voices cried out in unison.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
"Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!"
BOOM!!
It was as if a small sun had suddenly exploded before them. The close-range light and roar blinded and deafened everyone.
In the silence, a frenzied wave of heat rushed toward them, the impact of the explosion instantly shattering all the glass.
Splintered wood and stone fragments shot out in all directions, their whistling sharp enough to easily pierce a human body like paper.
But the Konoha shinobi were merely thrown into the air, as if struck head-on by a charging elephant, tumbling backward through the sky.
They flew out of the inn, their bodies crashing down in various places.
Crack! Snap! The sickeningly crisp sound of bones breaking echoed from their bodies. Overwhelming pain surged through the Konoha shinobi as they lay sprawled on the ground, their ears ringing and their heads spinning.
The explosion had been sudden and swift. After about ten seconds, the black smoke slowly began to settle, and the tremors gradually subsided.
"Pfft!"
Aburame Ryoma, who had crashed to the ground, spat out a mouthful of blood, clutching his chest. It felt as if his internal organs had been displaced.
He took a long moment to recover. His vision, which had gone from black to a blinding white, began to clear. The image slowly materialized from a field of snowy static. The first color he saw was orange—the light of the fire, the afterglow of the flames that filled his view.
His hearing, filled with a sharp ringing, also started to return. He could hear the crackling of burning and the sound of groans.
"Cough, cough! What in the world is going on?"
Coughing as the thick black smoke flooded his nostrils, Aburame Ryoma struggled to his feet. He looked toward the collapsed inn in the distance and saw the charred, giant corpse of an insect.
It was his summoning beast.
If he hadn't remained vigilant and reacted in time, instinctively using the Summoning Jutsu, he would likely be dead or crippled from his proximity to the blast.
And there were two others who had been even closer than him.
Crack, crack!
A blackened arm reached out from the rubble, then suddenly heaved aside a large pile of wall bricks as a figure crawled out from beneath the wreckage.
It was Akimichi Todo, who had been closest to the explosion's epicenter.
Having used the Multi-Size Technique, he had borne the brunt of the impact and absorbed the blast's power.
If he hadn't been in the front, the others wouldn't have just been thrown back; they would have faced the explosion's full force directly.
Thump! The effort of climbing out of the ruins seemed to exhaust his remaining strength. His shrinking body pitched forward and collapsed, the skin on his back covered in blackened, swollen burns.
However, as expected of the Akimichi clan, famed for their physical secret techniques, he hadn't died instantly even after taking such a blast at close range. He had merely suffered severe internal injuries and trauma to his brain from the shock, knocking him unconscious.
In contrast, the Kumogakure shinobi inside the inn weren't nearly as lucky.
Black smoke and white steam filled the inn like a curtain, and the heatwave distorted the air, obscuring the vision of all the Konoha shinobi.
But soon, a figure was seen flying backward out of the dense smoke, landing with a pained grunt beside Aburame Ryoma.
When he saw the person's face, Aburame Ryoma's eyes widened in shock.
"Hyuga Kumo?!"
How was that possible? How could this guy have survived from that close? He was merely covered in dust and dripping with blood, and fissures cracked his exposed skin as if a vast number of his capillaries had burst from the shock, yet there were no severe burns to be seen.
A bloody gash ran diagonally across his chest, tearing through his clothes. It looked more like a wound from a sharp weapon than from flying debris.
"You..." Looking at Hyuga Kumo, who was grimacing in pain and unable to get up, Aburame Ryoma suddenly recalled the low shout he'd heard just as the explosion roared to life.
Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven. At the moment of being attacked, one releases a massive amount of chakra from the tenketsu points throughout the body and spins like a top, creating a circular motion that can repel any physical attack.
Hyuga Kumo, a member of the Branch House who was never given much regard, had actually learned a secret technique of the Hyuga Main House? "Cough, cough!"
Two ghastly, bloody gashes were carved across Hyuga Kumo's face. He suddenly reached out and grabbed Aburame Ryoma's arm, his voice hoarse. "Senior Ryoma, get Senior Todo out of here, quickly. That guy from Kumo is still..."
Before he could finish, a hoarse, terrifyingly savage roar cut him off.
"Damn you! I'll kill you all!!"
As the words fell, a dark figure followed close behind, bursting through the thick smoke.
The figure was so charred it was no longer recognizable as a person; it looked like a burnt corpse, still emitting black smoke and even a faint smell of cooked meat.
But he was alive, though in excruciating agony, covered in severe burns, and driven nearly mad by the pain.
The reason was the trickling iron sand falling around him, which had blocked most of the impact but not the burns.
"Wait! Hold on!"
Aburame Ryoma instantly realized the situation was dire. With his internal injuries, he couldn't move yet. He hurriedly shouted, "Calm down! We didn't do this! We were caught in it too. Someone is trying to provoke us!"
At his words, Toroi, who had been about to strike in anger, paused. His gaze swept over the similarly incapacitated Konoha shinobi.
But just as he was about to calm down, eight black-clad figures suddenly flickered into view from all directions.
They were the Root shinobi who had followed Aburame Ryoma, hidden in the shadows.
"Don't move!"
Seeing Toroi tighten his grip on his shuriken, Aburame Ryoma immediately roared the command.
Two of them reacted first by moving to treat the unconscious Akimichi Todo. Three others tensed, standing guard on either side of Toroi.
However, the remaining three figures appeared before Aburame Ryoma and, without hesitation, simultaneously threw the kunai in their hands.
"You..."
The sight made Aburame Ryoma's eyes fly open in horror. He never imagined the Root ninja would ignore his command.
The Anbu shinobi nearby, who was still conscious, also looked at Aburame Ryoma with suspicion, instantly realizing his true identity.
No wonder. No wonder he had that familiar, cold aura. So Aburame Ryoma really is a Root ninja?
With this realization, the Konoha shinobi subconsciously assumed that the command "Don't move!" was actually a coded signal for Toroi to lower his guard, while ordering the Root ninja to "move" and attack.
"Root... no, Danzo! That old fox Danzo hasn't given up! He wants to sabotage the negotiations and start a war between our nations!" The thought suddenly flashed through their minds.
It wasn't surprising they thought this way; as Anbu, they were all too familiar with the dark deeds and personality of the "Shinobi of Darkness."
But Aburame Ryoma himself knew better than anyone that he had given no such signal to attack! Nearby, Hyuga Kumo's head was bowed, the firelight casting a shadow across his face. A faint, unnoticed smile touched his lips.
"Shameless Konoha shinobi! I knew you were up to no good!"
Staring at the Konoha ninja throwing kunai at him, the last shred of hesitation in Toroi's heart vanished completely, replaced by a towering rage that finally drove him to act.
Voom! Voom! The moment he finished speaking, Toroi threw the three giant shuriken in his hand, and a sharp hum echoed! Their gleaming edges were sharp enough to tear through the night's rainy curtain. Two of the giant shuriken not only blocked the kunai but also instantly sliced the three attacking Root shinobi in half at the waist.
And the last giant shuriken...
The two Root ninja who had been supporting Akimichi Todo felt their hair stand on end. The reflection of the shuriken flying toward them from behind filled their peripheral vision, and a bone-deep chill enveloped them, freezing their bodies in place.
But in the next instant, a figure appeared before them.
Eight Gates: Gate of Rest.
Open!