The two Grass Ninja inhaled the powder and immediately felt as if their throats were on fire. They coughed violently, tears streaming down their faces, unable even to finish their hand seals.
Lu and Kenji seized the opening, charging in from either side and striking the backs of their necks with clean, precise knife-hand blows.
The fight ended in just thirty seconds.
All four Grass Ninja lay motionless on the ground.
Lu stepped forward, searched inside one of their shirts, and pulled out a scroll. He unrolled it and found a large character written on it: "Heaven."
"Got it." Lu put the scroll away and turned to his panting teammates. "Nicely done.
We didn't waste any extra chakra, and our coordination was perfect."
Aoi patted her chest. Though her face was still a little pale, her eyes had grown much more resolute. "So I can fight too-I didn't even shake when I threw the powder."
"That's because you've gotten used to controlling your panic." Kenji grinned and restored the muddy ground to its original state. "My dough-kneading technique is perfect for trapping people."
"Let's go. The noise and firelight will draw other people here soon," Emi reminded them.
Without lingering, the four quickly cleared away their traces and headed deeper into the forest toward the Central Tower.
Less than ten minutes after they left, a deafening roar suddenly rose from deep in the distant forest.
It didn't sound like an exploding tag going off. It sounded more like some enormous natural disaster.
The ground began shaking violently, and countless birds shrieked as they burst from the trees into the sky.
Lu immediately leaped onto a tall tree and scanned the distance.
About five kilometers away, a vast stretch of old-growth forest was collapsing before his eyes.
An enormous column of