I Feel Like I Could Die at Any Moment

"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!"

"Secret Technique: Kikaichū!"

"Chaotic Gale Swordplay!"

Surrounded on all sides, the three of them weren't about to sit back and wait for death. They immediately used their respective techniques to disperse the pollen.

Those techniques were effective against enemies, but did little against the shapeless, invisible cloud of poisonous pollen. At best, they could only buy them some time.

"Lord Danzo, at this rate, we'll all be affected. Even if we stop breathing, we won't last much longer." The Aburame Guard sensed the danger posed by the pollen through his Kikaichū.

The giant trees had almost completely filled the space below, leaving them nowhere to stand, so they had no choice but to take refuge above.

But the air above was already thick with pollen, leaving no safe place there either.

The main problem was the barrier. It trapped all the pollen inside, preventing it from dispersing.

The longer this dragged on, the greater their danger became.

"Lord Danzo, we should retreat! There should already be plenty of reinforcements outside the barrier. Even if we take down Mo Chen, we probably won't be able to fight our way out. We can only give up for now and look for another opportunity next time!"

Seeing Danzo's gloomy silence, the Swordsman Guard knew he couldn't bring himself to back down. He could only take the initiative and suggest it himself.

"Retreat!" As soon as the Swordsman Guard finished speaking, Danzo gritted his teeth and gave the signal.

Just as expected, he'd wanted to withdraw all along. He'd only needed someone to give him a way out.

The Swordsman Guard and the Aburame Guard exchanged a glance and nodded. Each formed a hand seal, then fired a finger beam toward the distant barrier.

But before the beams could hit, the barrier suddenly shook violently, then shattered with a boom, scattering into countless points of light.

Someone had broken the barrier from the outside!

With the barrier destroyed, the pollen that had been trapped inside immediately spread outward, diluting the concentration in the area around Danzo and the others.

"Go!"

Without even checking what awaited them outside, Danzo waved his hand and dashed out with the two guards.

The mission had already failed. If they didn't leave now, they'd only run into even more trouble.

Mo Chen had of course seen what they were planning. He immediately channeled his Chakra, controlling a mass of vines to lash toward them and try to stop them.

Unfortunately, they were too far away. His attack lacked force and couldn't stop Danzo and the others.

"Who's there?"

"Stop them!"

A commotion rose in the distance. There was a clatter of weapons, and then the noise quickly died down.

Clearly, Danzo and the others had still managed to get away. Mo Chen just didn't know whether the people outside had recognized who he was.

Mo Chen knew that with his current strength, he couldn't deal Danzo a fatal blow. He'd only wanted to cause him a little more trouble.

So they'd gotten away. It didn't matter. Mo Chen hadn't lost anything this time, and he had plenty of time to play this out.

The longer time went on, the easier it would be for him to deal with Danzo.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

A large number of figures rushed over, heading straight for Mo Chen.

Mo Chen recognized them as Konoha Ninja, most of them Anbu.

Before they reached him, Mo Chen's presence suddenly weakened. He slumped to the ground, barely conscious.

"He's dressed as Anbu. He's one of ours!"

Several Anbu quickly reached Mo Chen. One examined him, then turned to report to Anko, who had arrived right behind them. "He's exhausted his Chakra. There are no injuries on his body, but we can't rule out mental trauma."

Anko had compared the person on the ground with the video in the Chat Group and confirmed that he was indeed Mo Chen. Still, she'd need to see his face to be completely certain.

But Mo Chen was wearing an Anbu mask, and the true identities of Anbu couldn't be made public.

Under the circumstances, it wouldn't be appropriate to take off Mo Chen's mask.

Fortunately, Third Hokage arrived with a group of people just then.

After hearing what had happened, Third Hokage turned to Mo Chen, who was struggling to get up and bow, and asked gravely, "What happened?"

Mo Chen replied weakly, "I'd just finished a mission and was on my way back when I was ambushed here. They were all dressed as Konoha Anbu, but their masks and clothes had slight differences."

"The leader was a man with bandages on his face and right arm. He had two guards with him: one used Kikaichū, and the other was skilled with a sword."

"They wanted me to submit to the bandaged man. Otherwise, they said they'd eliminate me."

Mo Chen gave a brief account of what had happened, without going into too much detail.

Third Hokage was only questioning him here to confirm his identity. The specifics shouldn't be discussed in front of everyone.

But what Mo Chen had said already revealed plenty. Those nearby could more or less figure out what had happened.

Third Hokage was furious, though he didn't show it. He simply waved a hand and said, "I'll have someone take you to the hospital for an examination. Once you've recovered, you can tell me everything in detail. I'll make sure you get an explanation for this."

"Third Lord, I'm also responsible for what happened. Let me look after him!" Anko volunteered.

She'd been in charge of patrolling outside the village that day. Someone being ambushed here meant she did bear some responsibility.

Of course, the main reason was that the person was Mo Chen. If it had been anyone else, Anko wouldn't have bothered.

Third Hokage didn't think much of it and nodded in agreement.

Third Hokage had people clean up the battlefield. Looking at the marks left by the fighting, he couldn't help but feel moved.

The entire surrounding landscape had been transformed. That was the power of Wood Release!

But he truly hadn't expected Mo Chen to become this strong after only a few days of training with Yamato. Even Danzo, leading the operation in person, hadn't managed to take him down.

This only strengthened Third Hokage's resolve to cultivate Mo Chen with all his might—and to make sure Danzo never got his hands on him.

Third Hokage was astonished by the marks left by the battle, and the Anbu cleaning up the scene were even more so. Some recognized them as traces of Wood Release, and every one of them was shocked.

But they were Anbu directly under the Hokage. Even without Third Hokage's orders, they knew what they should and shouldn't say.

Meanwhile, Anko scooped Mo Chen up in a princess carry and raced toward Konoha Hospital.

"How are you feeling?" Anko asked, resisting the urge to take off Mo Chen's mask.

Mo Chen's breathing was weak, and his head lolled against Anko's chest. He put on a feeble act and said, "I don't have any strength at all. My whole body hurts. I feel like I could die at any moment!"

He said that, but inwardly he couldn't help thinking: Mature women really do have a special charm.

What an amazing figure—so soft and springy!

Anko didn't notice Mo Chen's little scheme. She simply sped up, her voice tinged with worry. "Hang in there a little longer. We'll be at the hospital soon. I won't let anything happen to you!"

He was the Group Leader of the Chat Group, after all, and the Chat Group might well exist because of him!

Anko had only just begun to enjoy the fun of the Chat Group. There was no way she'd let anything happen to Mo Chen.

[ Ding! Congratulations to group member Mitaraishi Anko! Group level increased from LV0 to LV1. All attributes increased by 200%! ]

A system notification suddenly rang out. Anko's speed surged, and even though she was traveling by leaps, her body left a long string of afterimages.

"Huh?" Anko was stunned. "So this is what the boost does?"