Chapter 85: Wounded
The violent crackling of lightning faded, and the widespread gray light beam dimmed as the Earth Dragon closed its mouth, finally dissipating into motes of dust.
The Thunder-Wind Eagle and the Earth Dragon both looked visibly drained. Goldie shut its eyes in pain as two streams of crimson blood flowed from its eye sockets, pooling on the ground beneath it.
Kael's brow furrowed. He looked at Kun Kun.
Before he could say anything, Kun Kun began to sing, its voice enveloping Goldie, healing the high-temperature burns on its corneas.
Kael then nodded at Little Gray. "That guy might not be dead. Go and collect any blood he might have dropped."
"Woof, woof, woof! —Yes, old-timer!"
Little Gray shot off in a gray blur. A few seconds later, it dashed back and shook its head.
"Woof, woof, woof! —Old-timer, there's no blood. The lightning must have evaporated it all!"
Kael frowned, forced to abandon the idea of using the curse. He turned his gaze back to the blast zone. The ground in a several-dozen-meter radius was now covered in a thick layer of gray rock, which was itself charred black. Unstable, wild chakra still radiated from it, preventing even the Chunin from approaching.
His eyes scanned the perimeter of the scorched earth, and he suddenly froze, his expression turning icy.
Danzo's figure appeared not far behind the blast zone, crouching behind a charred rock. His face was deathly pale, but his cheeks were puffed out. His hands were clasped at his chest, forefingers extended, forming the Dog seal.
"Not good!" Kael's blood ran cold. He recognized that seal.
The next moment, Danzo spat out a barrage of high-pressure wind orbs, like cannonballs. The dense volley of orbs grew in the air, rapidly forming a massive, spiraling, bone-white wave of wind that howled toward Kael's position.
Wind Style: Vacuum Great Sphere!
The jutsu's attack radius was nearly a hundred meters. Even before it arrived, a suffocating, razor-sharp aura washed over them.
"Can't dodge it! Kun Kun!" Kael roared.
Kun Kun immediately stopped singing. As if reading his mind, it clasped its wings together, closed its eyes, and began to pray.
"Cluck, cluck, cluck! —By my two and a half years of faith, I beseech the protection of the true god! Cease and Desist! Descend! And warn these mortals who do not understand art!"
KRA-KOOM!
A blinding golden light flashed high above. A mountain-sized, inverted "V"–shaped lawyer's letter fell from the sky, completely shielding Kael and his summons. One side of the letterhead was embossed with imposing, black, tassel-like characters: "Cease and Desist Order." In the bottom corner, a massive golden seal was imprinted, its shining characters vaguely legible: "Divine Realm Law Firm."
The overwhelming storm of high-pressure wind orbs smashed into the barrier. The sound of a violent, high-pitched shriek filled the air as the two opposing forces met. The sound of the explosion echoed for a hundred miles.
The surging wind orbs shattered and dissipated, deflected by the lawyer's letter's streamlined defense, crashing into the ground. The earth in a hundred-meter-diameter circle beneath the barrier was ripped apart, carved with deep, dark trenches. The ground trembled as countless rocks and debris were flung into the air, kicking up a massive dust cloud.
A violent shockwave visibly expanded from the center of the blast.
Danzo's figure slid backward, his chakra in turmoil. His face was pale, his feet digging deep, ugly trenches in the ground. He had put his full power into that Wind Style attack. Now, the battlefield for two hundred meters around was completely obscured by dust.
He had no idea what the situation was, but seeing as his initial blast hadn't broken that bizarre defensive jutsu, he wasn't optimistic.
After sliding back another hundred meters, the shockwave finally weakened. Danzo quickly shoved several military food pills into his mouth to restore his stamina. As the pills took effect, his body's natural healing was bolstered. His breathing steadied, and he looked up at the distant battlefield. For the first time, his expression became incredibly grave.
In the distance, the towering lawyer's letter shimmered with a holy, inviolable aura that struck fear into his heart.
This defensive jutsu... Danzo thought, it feels even more terrifying than Lord Tobirama's Five-Layer Rashomon...
He was now in a stalemate. He knew the enemy's summon could fly, which was why he hadn't tried to escape. He had used almost every jutsu in his arsenal to no effect. His chest throbbed from the piercing wound, and the constant pain kept a sheen of sweat on his forehead.
But... judging by the chakra fluctuations from those large summons, that Hidden Hot Water brat must be at his limit, too!
Danzo's expression turned cold. He knew the score.
Retreat means death. Advance means life.
With a flying enemy, he couldn't escape. His only chance of survival was to kill that Hidden Hot Water ninja.
Just as Danzo was staring at the shimmering golden letter, feeling helpless, it dissolved into motes of light and vanished.
His face lit up. Without hesitation, he charged, his chakra flaring to life once more.
When he was a hundred meters away, Danzo lowered his stance, his gaze fixed on the ground in front of him, refusing to make eye contact with Kael. He was adopting the stance used to fight an Uchiha.
"To push me this far, Kael Cross... you should be proud!"
As he spoke, he lunged forward. His body coiled like a bow, and his hands, held at his stomach, blurred through a complex series of seals. The next moment, he spat out several fine vacuum blades, which expanded rapidly in front of him. A net of bone-white, arcing wind blades, seemingly powerful enough to split the heavens, tore through the air and raced toward Kael.
"This jutsu again!" Kael's face grew ugly. He vividly remembered this was the Wind Style that could even cut through a Susano'o. It was incredibly fast, incredibly powerful, and its attack radius covered both him and his summons.
He looked at Kun Kun, but the chicken-god shook its head.
"Cluck, cluck, cluck! —Faith Power needs time to recover! In this realm's time, it needs about two and a half days."
Kael's heart sank. He was about to order the Thunder-Wind Eagle and the Earth Dragon to scatter, to get as many of the summons out as they could. The attack's range was too vast to dodge completely, but scattering was better than taking a direct hit.