"It's really not that simple, after all." Aburame Neri's eyes darkened, and she prepared to make her move.
"Hahaha! Come on!!!" Rock Lee laughed heartily.
Boom! The two figures clashed again. This time, Suiho was a hair faster than Rock Lee. Each of Suiho's punches generated strange torrents of water that splattered onto the ground, forming bizarre hands that continuously interfered with Lee. Under these conditions, Lee found it somewhat difficult to parry. The entire underground hideout was now unrecognizable, with water droplets splashing everywhere, and Lee's body was beginning to be drenched in sweat.
"Fourth Gate, Gate of Harm, Open!" Rock Lee was already giving it his all, even resorting to opening the fourth gate, which would damage his body's foundation. Red blood vessels surfaced on his skin, and his body showed signs of breaking down. At this moment, his speed surpassed that of a taijutsu-specialist Jonin. They clashed fiercely once more, their forms moving so fast they were almost impossible to follow with the naked eye. The entire underground space was filled with afterimages. Aburame Neri also joined the fight. Due to her lack of taijutsu prowess, she could only harass from a distance using her insect ninjutsu.
Bang! After a prolonged struggle, Rock Lee, who had been barely holding on, finally revealed an opening and was blasted from mid-air to the ground, sending up a shower of debris.
"Not good, this guy is too strong. Looks like I'll have to abandon Rock Lee," Aburame Neri's expression turned cold.
"So strong..." Lee was now covered in dense wounds, his skin broken and oozing blood; he had become a man of blood. He struggled to open his eyes, weakly pushing himself up, and looked at Aburame Neri. "You, run! I'll hold him off! Quick, go find Naruto!" he yelled at her.
'He's telling me to run?' Neri froze for a moment, clearly not expecting Lee to say such a thing. In Root, such self-sacrifice was unheard of. A ripple passed through her eyes, but they quickly returned to their calm state. "I understand." She turned without hesitation.
"Trying to leave?" Suiho grinned ferociously, yanking with his right hand. The next moment, the water droplets densely covering the stone ceiling abruptly transformed into water needles, forming a net that enveloped Aburame Neri, targeting all her blind spots.
"Fifth Gate, Gate of Closing, Open!!!" Rock Lee's frenzied roar sounded at the same time. His figure instantly appeared in front of Aburame Neri, the ground beneath his feet cracking and flying apart due to his high-speed movement. He thrust out a fierce right punch, stirring up a massive gust of air that directly scattered the water needles. His entire body steamed with red chakra, already enveloped in a crimson hue. Beneath his visibly cracking skin, scarlet patterns could be seen. His flesh roiled as if it might explode at any moment.
"Hah!" Lee's figure created a sonic boom, instantly sending Suiho flying dozens of meters away. Still in mid-air, Suiho looked astonished. "Such speed! This kid looks like he's barely a teenager, how does he have this kind of strength?" Even Kikui, who had been looking bored, raised his head, a considerable amount of surprise in his eyes. "He can actually open five gates? I remember him being a Genin who participated in this year's Chunin Exams."
'Is this guy risking his life for me?' Aburame Neri's eyes quaked, an indescribable feeling welling up inside her. All her life, she had only seen mutual abandonment and betrayal. For the sake of the mission, what did a comrade's life matter? She used to despise those ninja who abandoned missions for their partners, even sacrificing themselves. Yet, deep down, hadn't she always envied, always longed for such a thing? She never expected this day to come so suddenly. A look of emotion appeared in Neri's eyes, finally solidifying into a single thought: 'What an idiot.' She turned her head, intending to leave immediately, but for some reason, her legs felt as heavy as lead.
'Rock Lee, capable of opening five gates, plus me... we should be able to defeat this guy. His tissue samples would definitely be of great research value,' she told herself internally. The insects within her body, following her thoughts, surged towards the battlefield.
Rock Lee's speed now completely surpassed Suiho's. After a furious barrage, Suiho was slammed into a giant crater, his life status unknown. And Rock Lee, finally exhausted, collapsed to the ground.
"Barely took care of one," Neri said, her gaze shifting to Kikui, her eyes darkening. Many of her insects had also been killed. If Kikui's strength was comparable to Suiho's, then this mission would be impossible to complete.
"I didn't expect Root ninja to possess such camaraderie. It's truly moving. Honestly, you should have run, though you wouldn't have gotten away anyway," a flat voice suddenly echoed through the space. An unscathed Suiho emerged from the shadows, an indifferent smile on his face. Both Aburame Neri and the nearly unconscious Rock Lee revealed expressions of despair. He wasn't dead! Even opening five gates wasn't enough to defeat him?
Suiho leisurely walked over and stepped on Rock Lee, licking his lips with a mocking gaze, then sneered, "You did very well. But... haven't you ever heard of the Water Clone Jutsu?" Lee's face was ground underfoot, making muffled sounds, pain forcing groans from him, yet his eyes remained resolute. Seeing Lee's refusal to yield, Suiho suddenly felt bored. He lifted his foot, but the next moment, Lee, who had been limp on the ground, surged up, reopening three gates.
"Water Style: Ten Thousand Binding Hands Technique!" Suiho, unhurried, slowly formed hand seals. The water droplets on Lee's clothes abruptly transformed into arms, instantly binding him.
Thud! Rock Lee collapsed to the ground again, his eyes wide with shock.
"Young man, never underestimate ninjutsu. Taijutsu... it's unreliable, you know." Suiho, like a cat toying with a mouse, once again placed his foot on Lee's face.
"Oh? Then you shouldn't underestimate any opponent either," Aburame Neri's cold voice sounded. The next instant, Suiho felt a sharp pain in his leg. His expression changed drastically as he yanked his foot back and retreated rapidly. What met his eyes was Neri's frigid expression and the insects swarming around her body. To Suiho's terrified face, Neri calmly narrated, "I have dissected several thousand ninja bodies and studied their cells. Ultimately, from a ninja with a poison-type Kekkei Genkai, I extracted a toxin potent enough to kill an elephant. After sufficient research, some of the insects within my body successfully inherited this toxicity, evolving into a new species I call 'Poison Bugs.'" Neri explained leisurely, and under her calm gaze, she saw Suiho's expression begin to panic. Clearly, he hadn't expected to suffer such a setback at the hands of two ninja who were barely Jonin-level.
"Though it's regrettable I can't capture you alive, rest assured, I will study your body very diligently." Aburame Neri extended her scarlet tongue and lightly licked her lips.
"This heartless girl is surprisingly reliable," Rock Lee thought, struggling to lift his head to look at Neri, blood seeping from his pores. He finally lost consciousness.
Clap, clap, clap. Kikui, who had been watching, applauded forcefully and walked over with a smile. "A truly splendid performance." He drew his sword and, with a single slash, lopped off Suiho's head. The head rolled several times on the ground, its ferocious expression finally facing downwards. He had died with a grievance.
"Perfect. I'll use you two to test my new abilities." He slowly drew the longsword from his waist. A peculiar energy surged from within him, his black robe rustling.
For Kikui, that day had been nothing short of a nightmare. The Konoha Crush began, Sand-nin invaded Konoha, and the entire village was in chaos. As a Konoha Jonin, he naturally had to engage the enemy's high-end forces. His strength among Jonin was only average, but fortunately, the Sand-nin weren't too strong, so it wasn't a major issue. On another side of Konoha, the giant snakes released by Orochimaru were rampaging, but Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, was holding the line there. He had originally thought the crisis would soon be resolved. Unexpectedly, a change occurred. A two-meter-tall, entirely black monster with a hole in its chest suddenly appeared and began a massacre. Before these monsters, ordinary Chunin and Genin had almost no resistance. They were immensely strong, their claws sharp enough to instantly shred a person's body. To protect Konoha's ninja, he was forced to join the battle against these monsters, which, despite only having Chunin-level strength, fought with a terrifying frenzy. Though their individual strength was less than his, they grew stronger as they fought, as if pain only stimulated them further. To defeat the monsters, Konoha ninja even formed a temporary truce with the Sand-nin. But during the fighting, he discovered more and more monsters appearing, eventually even Jonin-level ones. They were almost immune to physical attacks, and even ninjutsu had little effect on them. When they devoured their own kind and released terrifying light waves, the earth along the path cracked, houses exploded, and no one caught in that light wave survived. As an ordinary Jonin, he couldn't dodge in time and was blasted by the aftershock into the ruins, barely alive. As he was dying, he saw a shadowy figure slowly approach, its right hand swiping across his neck.
When he regained consciousness, he was already wearing a black robe. His chakra was weak, usurped by another power. Those terrifying monsters looked at him as if he were a delicious meal, rushing towards him one after another. He barely managed to defend himself, but due to the instability of his internal energy, he was steadily pushed back. Fortunately, due to the indiscriminate attacks of other ninja, amidst the great chaos, he stumbled out of Konoha. Passing by a stream, he finally saw his own appearance: his face was unchanged but pale, and his clothes were different. Terrified, he ran with all his might, wanting to escape that horrifying place. In the days that followed, he gradually mastered this strange energy and discovered it was no less potent than chakra. Recalling the figure that had "killed" him, he clenched his fists in hatred. He knew that everything that had happened to him was likely orchestrated by that person. Later, he met Suiho, a rogue ninja from Kirigakure. The two traveled together and came to this rogue organization. Due to their formidable strength, they easily took control of it. His heart was always filled with confusion: Who had transformed him? What was Konoha's stance? Regardless, he was now effectively a rogue ninja of Konoha. He deeply understood Root's typical methods. If Root found out he was still alive, a large number of powerful ninja would come to hunt him down. No matter what, he had to kill these two Root ninja before him.
Crack. He stepped forward, his Asauchi held horizontally before him.