Chapter 112: Instant Kill — The Raikage's Guard Unit Eliminated
"Eagle..."
A piercing cry echoed above the valley.
The summoned giant eagle circled over the forest created by Deep Forest Emergence. Below, the densely packed trees twisted like massive serpents. It didn't dare descend, only circling anxiously in the air.
"Storm Release: Light Fang!"
"Wind Release: Wind Cutter!"
"Water Release: Water Blade!"
Aside from Damaokelisi, the other three Kumo ninja each used their specialty jutsu to attack the approaching trees.
Damaokelisi, under their protection, kept observing the situation, looking for an opening to ascend and escape the encroaching forest.
But even with most of Li Yao's attention on the Third Raikage, the wide-range assault of Deep Forest Emergence was not something four jōnin could easily overcome.
From the beginning, the four had been trapped in the vast forest and couldn't break free.
The eagle above them kept circling, waiting for a chance to pick them up, but they couldn't even get thirty meters off the ground through the trees.
"Not good!!!"
At that moment, the Raikage, locked in combat with two of Li Yao's shadow clones, heard the cry of the eagle from afar. He immediately realized—he could stall Li Yao, but his subordinates could not.
Rip!
The Raikage's One-Fingered Spear instantly shredded three trees in front of him. With a sweep of his leg, he kicked away Vajra Chains emerging from the ground and turned to dash toward his team.
"You're not getting past me."
"If you want to hunt me, then you'll pay a price."
Li Yao's two shadow clones sneered. Although they weren't as fast as the Raikage, their reaction speed wasn't inferior. They quickly began burning through chakra to control the surrounding trees and Vajra Chains, attacking the Raikage relentlessly.
"Damn it..."
The Raikage was forced to halt. Even he couldn't break through the fierce and unrelenting assaults of Li Yao's clones. His rage surged as he launched a fiercer counterattack.
But it was too late.
"Watch out—Li Yao's coming!"
Kafu, now within a hundred meters of the clone, finally sensed Li Yao's approach. The chakra interference from the trees had masked him until now.
But… he was too late.
The trees along Li Yao's path automatically parted, allowing his clone to arrive directly before the four Kumo shinobi.
"Storm—" Kafu.
"Wind—" another.
"Water—" Druid.
"Uhh—" Damaokelisi.
The four instantly began forming hand seals, ready to release jutsu—
But they didn't even get past the first syllable.
Their consciousness was abruptly plunged into darkness, completely severed from their bodies.
"Genjutsu: Sensory Deprivation Technique."
In the blink of an eye, Li Yao's genjutsu chakra invaded their brains.
None of them had the Raikage's genjutsu resistance. All four were instantly subdued and collapsed.
CLANG CLANG—
Without pause, the clone unleashed four Black Iron Chains, piercing straight through their skulls.
Then, leaping with the aid of the chains, the clone soared into the air below the summoned eagle.
At that moment, the eagle had just sensed its master's death. Before it could react—
Zzzzzt!
Thunder rumbled from Li Yao's right hand. A blade of black lightning shot forth, piercing the eagle's skull.
The black lightning coursed through its entire body, charring it inside out.
"Eagle..."
With a final shriek, the eagle's eyes dimmed, and its corpse crashed into the forest below with a thunderous boom.
Back in the valley, the Raikage, still battling Li Yao's clones, stiffened as he heard the death cry of his eagle.
"Li Yao!!!"
The Raikage roared, his body exploding with black lightning.
But before he could react further—
Puff, puff! The two clones fighting him dispelled themselves.
The Raikage's expression darkened as he spun and dashed toward his team.
When he arrived, he found the four of them lying on the forest floor, skulls punctured, blood and brain matter spilled everywhere—lifeless.
Their hands were still frozen in mid-hand seal.
They hadn't even had time to resist before Li Yao's genjutsu took them out.
"Li… YAO!!!"
Rage burned in the Raikage's eyes. He launched himself into the air, landing atop a tree, then leapt even higher.
He scanned the sky in every direction—but Li Yao was gone.
"Damn it!!!"
The Raikage descended and punched the ground, blasting open a large crater.
But even that didn't quench his fury.
No matter how angry he was, the fact remained: he had lost Li Yao.
Now, his only hope was the two ANBU from Konoha.
Turning to the corpses of his fallen comrades, he sealed them into a scroll, then climbed once more to the treetop to wait.
If those two Konoha ANBU still expected him to do their dirty work, they'd have to give him Li Yao's location.
Ten minutes later…
The Raikage's expression remained grim.
He descended and sped off toward the eastern edge of the Land of Earth.
Clearly, Konoha intended to swoop in and steal the kill.
Right now, even if Li Yao hadn't died, he'd be too weakened to resist. Even a low-level shinobi could probably finish him.
But having lost his team, the Raikage could no longer deal with an airborne Li Yao.
He could only leave it to those Konoha ANBU.
Still...
"I won't make the same mistake twice."
The Raikage's eyes burned with determination.
He'd decided: when he returned, he would declare war on Konoha.
If he couldn't capture Li Yao, then he would destroy the village that created him.
Erase the source—
Eliminate the chance of more Wood Release users being born.
Half an hour later...
High above the valley, four figures floated in the air—one small, three tall—gazing down at the lush forest below.
The blood-red soil now held a sudden oasis two kilometers wide—an unnatural phenomenon.
There was only one explanation.
"Wood Release."
The smaller figure in the middle narrowed his eyes and solemnly spoke the words that weighed on everyone's heart.
"Lord Tsuchikage… do you mean the First Hokage's famed kekkei genkai—Wood Release?"
The others looked down in disbelief.
Could a jutsu do something like this?
They were too young to know.
"What other technique could instantly generate an entire forest?"
The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, replied with visible unease in his eyes.
The scale wasn't quite on par with Hashirama's—but even so, anyone capable of creating a forest of this size had to possess massive chakra reserves.
That person might not be the First Hokage, but they were undoubtedly a top-tier powerhouse.
A ninja with such formidable Wood Release appearing suddenly in the Land of Earth…
In this volatile time of war—Ōnoki had no choice but to stay on high alert.
(END CHAPTER)
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