Purple Lightning's caution was correct. The instant she retreated, a long blade swept through the spot where she had just been standing from an uncanny angle.
Purple Lightning was startled and retreated even faster, while looking toward the Root ninjas.
Only then did she realize that the one who had struck was actually the ninja who had been poisoned by the Puppet Master's Deadly Poison, the one she had classified as having no combat power left.
He was actually a Jonin. To slash out with such terrifying force while poisoned—if he had been at full strength, she probably would not have been his match.
So the Root members' discussion of how to deal with her had all been an act. They had been covering for that Jonin.
Fortunately, she had not let her guard down.
However, the price of that strike had likely been steep. The poisoned Root Jonin's complexion was clearly several shades greener than before.
At that moment, Shironeko and Little Stone arrived as well. However, at Purple Lightning's signal, neither of them attacked.
Instead, they surrounded the Root ninjas from three directions.
The two sides faced off for quite a while before Yichen arrived. Having gone around the Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall, Yichen took in the situation and, without hesitation, immediately performed a jutsu under Purple Lightning's command, targeting the poisoned Jonin.
Yichen's Water Style: Water Pressure Line Jutsu was immensely powerful, no weaker than a B-rank Ninjutsu. Having been struck by it once before, the Root ninjas did not dare be careless. The uninjured Chunin immediately threw a kunai in an attempt to disrupt Yichen, but Purple Lightning, standing beside Yichen, easily knocked it away with a kunai of her own.
Yichen cast the Water Style: Water Pressure Line Jutsu three times in succession, but