Chapter 86: Forcing a Retreat
The Earth Dragon suddenly coiled its massive body into a tight ball, shielding Kael and the others. It squeezed out the last dregs of its chakra, and a thick layer of rock armor rapidly spread across its skin.
It lowered its head toward Kael, its voice rumbling, "Master, let me!"
The next instant, the terrifying net of bone-white wind blades slashed into the Earth Dragon's body. A furious gale erupted, the shockwave alone sending Kael stumbling, nearly knocking him off his feet. The storm raged around the Earth Dragon's massive frame, the pressure so intense Kael felt like a mountain was crushing his chest, making it hard to breathe.
Goldie scrambled behind him, bracing him with its large body to keep him from being blown away.
The storm lasted for nearly ten seconds before finally subsiding. Kael quickly looked up. The Earth Dragon was still standing. He let out a breath of relief. But then he felt something wet pool around his feet. He looked down and froze.
A river of crimson blood was flowing from the Earth Dragon, spreading out behind it.
Kael's face changed. "Kun Kun! Heal him!" he shouted. He scrambled out from behind the Earth Dragon and saw Danzo, his blade already coated in wind chakra, charging toward them.
"Goldie, hold him off! Explosive Flies, all of you, attack! Blazing Ants, pull back from the Root ninja, circle around and ambush him!" Kael ordered, his face a mask of grim determination.
His summons were all at their limit. The Thunder-Wind Eagle and the Earth Dragon were out of chakra from using their ultimate moves. The Earth Dragon was also heavily wounded, far beyond what a simple healing jutsu could quickly fix.
His only remaining C-rank summons were Goldie, Kun Kun, Little Gray, and the Blazing Ant Queen. Kun Kun had no combat power, and Little Gray was still a pup. Kael had no idea if the Blazing Worker Ants would be effective against a shinobi of Danzo's caliber, but he had to try.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A continuous wave of explosions erupted. A black torrent of tens of thousands of Explosive Flies swarmed Danzo, launching a relentless suicide assault.
After their secondary synthesis, they were now D-rank, and their explosive power had increased from 1% to 10% of an exploding tag.
Danzo, having already experienced their power, didn't dare let them get close. He retreated rapidly, spitting out a constant stream of wind jutsus, slicing through the swarms of flies that pursued him.
His entire view of the sky was now black. But as he moved, he suddenly felt tiny, dense pinpricks of chakra closing in on him from all sides. He looked down. A terrifying crimson tide of rice-sized ants was swarming him.
The smaller they are, the more dangerous they are. The thought flashed through his mind. He immediately formed a seal. Body Flicker Technique!
He reappeared outside the swarm, his cheeks puffed. He exhaled a powerful gust of wind, blowing the ants and flies back. Just then, Goldie burst through the black cloud, crackling with lightning, and charged him.
Danzo swung his blade, coating it in wind chakra. Vacuum Blade!
His attack clashed with Goldie's descending claws. Danzo spun with the impact, letting the force harmlessly dissipate. At the same time, he formed a spear hand, channeling sharp wind chakra to his fingertips, and thrust it at Goldie's massive eye.
Goldie's eyes widened in alarm, and it snapped its head to the side, but it wasn't fast enough. Danzo's fingers, hard as spears, stabbed deep into its cheek.
"AWOOO!" Goldie howled in pain and swiped its paw, but Danzo had already leaped back, easily dodging. He now knew the dog's weakness. It was fast, strong, and tough, but its reactions were slow. In close combat, he could run circles around it.
BZZZZZ!
Just as he was about to press his advantage, the buzzing returned. He quickly leaped back again.
Boom, boom, boom!
A few of the Explosive Flies, unable to stop their charge, detonated where he had been standing, their "art" finally blooming in a flash of red. The chain reaction of explosions was surprisingly powerful, the shockwave blasting the nearby Danzo off his feet. The remaining flies, seeing this, surged toward him with even more fervor.
"These... damn... things!" Danzo scrambled up, ignoring the trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth, and, without another word, fled.
He was a ruthless man, afraid of nothing, but he was afraid of fanatics who didn't fear death. His chakra was almost gone. A ninja without chakra was hardly better than a civilian. The wound on his chest was draining his strength, and his combat ability was dropping by the second. He finally gave up on the idea of killing Kael.
As for his Root subordinates... they were on their own.
The black torrent of flies gradually receded. Kael called back Goldie and the ants, who had no hope of catching the fleeing Jonin. A summon too far from him would sever their mental link, and he was worried Danzo might turn and finish Goldie off.
He looked at his summons, all of them wounded or exhausted, and gave a bitter smile. "Danzo must have been running on fumes. Otherwise, those flies wouldn't have been a threat to him. A single Wind Style jutsu would have wiped out thousands..."
"Chirp, chirp! —Boss, should we chase him?"
Kael shook his head. "No. He's badly injured, but he's not out of the fight. Just rest and recover. Blazing Ants, go and finish off the remaining Root ninja."
The swarm of ants turned and marched toward the other battlefield.
"They're too slow," Kael muttered, frustrated. "And now that they have chakra, they're too easy to detect. They've lost their stealth advantage." The ants were C-rank and much tougher, but they were somehow less useful than before. Without the element of surprise, they couldn't do much.
"Woof, woof, woof! —Old-timer! The shinobi from the Konoha camp are heading this way!"
Little Gray, perched on the Thunder-Wind Eagle's back, suddenly barked.
"Woof, woof! —Boss, want me to kill them?" Goldie, having tasted battle, was now eager for more.
Kael's eyes narrowed. "No," he said calmly. "Now is not the time to make an open enemy of Konoha. Killing Root ninja and killing Konoha ninja... are two very different things."