Danzo Must Be Trying to Sabotage the Negotiations!

In the rain, a visible bubble rapidly expanded, its surface covered in prickly, rough water mist.

The glaring firelight reflected in the eyes of Konoha and Kumogakure's people, like a fountain of flames and light erupting forth.

Just before the firelight surged out and swallowed the Konoha group, Akamichi Chodo turned around, placing his broad body between them and the blast.

"Multi-Size Technique!"

Akamichi Chodo let out a determined roar over the deafening explosion.

At the same time, two other voices rang out together.

"Summoning Technique!"

"Rotation!"

Boom!!

It was like a tiny sun exploding right before them. The close-range flash and thunderous blast blinded and deafened everyone.

In the soundless world, a violent wave of heat rushed toward them, while the shockwave instantly shattered every pane of glass.

Splintered wood and stone fragments sprayed in every direction, their shrieks unending. Anyone caught in their path would have been pierced through as easily as paper.

Yet the Konoha group was merely hurled into the air, as though struck head-on by a charging elephant, tumbling backward through the air.

Only after they had flown out of the inn did their bodies crash down in different places.

Crack! Crack!

Their bodies made teeth-grating sounds of breaking bones. Intense pain surged through the Konoha group, leaving them sprawled on the ground amid ringing ears and dizziness.

The explosion had come suddenly and ended quickly. After around ten seconds, the black smoke slowly settled, and the tremors gradually faded.

"Pfft!"

Aburame, who had slammed onto the ground, spat out a mouthful of blood. Clutching his chest, he felt as though all his internal organs had shifted out of place.

After resting for quite a while, his vision, which had gone from black to pure white, slowly began to recover. Images emerged from countless snowy specks of static. The first color he saw was orange—the firelight, the lingering glow of flames filling his sight.

His hearing, filled with piercing ringing, also started to return. He heard crackling flames and groans.

"Cough, cough! What the hell happened?"

Thick black smoke flooded his nostrils, making Aburame cough. He struggled to rise and looked toward the collapsed inn in the distance, where he saw the charred corpse of a giant insect.

That was his Summoning Beast.

If he had not remained alert and reacted in time, instinctively using the Summoning Technique, he would have been dead or crippled at that close distance.

And two people had been even closer than him.

Crack! Crack!

A blackened arm stretched out from the rubble, then suddenly lifted a mass of broken bricks as its owner crawled out.

It was Akamichi Chodo, the closest person to the explosion.

Having used the Multi-Size Technique, he had endured the strongest impact and blocked the force of the blast.

Without him standing at the very front, the others would not merely have been blown away—they would have faced the explosion head-on.

Thud!

The effort of crawling out from the rubble seemed to have exhausted the last of his strength. His shrinking body toppled forward onto the ground, while the skin on his back was covered in charred, swollen burns.

Still, the Akimichi Clan was renowned for its body techniques. Even after taking such an explosion at close range, he had not died outright. His internal organs and brain had merely been badly injured by the impact, leaving him unconscious.

Compared to them, the Kumogakure group standing inside the inn had not been nearly as fortunate.

Black smoke and white mist filled the inn like a curtain, while the heatwave distorted the air and blocked the vision of every Konoha shinobi.

But soon, a figure came flying backward out of the dense smoke, crashing beside Aburame with a pained grunt.

When Aburame saw who it was, his eyes widened sharply.

"Hyuga Yunchuan?!"

How was that possible? He had been so close and had actually survived?

He was merely filthy and covered in blood. The exposed skin of his body was split with cracks, as though countless capillaries had burst from the shock, yet there were no serious burns to be seen.

A bloody gash had torn through his clothes and run diagonally across his chest. It did not look like it had been cut by flying debris, but rather by something sharp.

"You..."

Looking at Hyuga Yunchuan, who wore an expression of pain and could not get up for a long time, Aburame suddenly remembered the low shout that had sounded when the explosion went off.

Rotation. At the instant one was attacked, it released a large amount of chakra from the body's chakra points, then spun in a circular motion like a top, capable of deflecting all physical attacks.

Hyuga Yunchuan, an overlooked member of the Hyuga Clan's Branch Family, had actually learned a technique secretly passed down by the Main Branch?

"Cough, cough!"

Two vicious bloody cuts ran across Hyuga Yunchuan's face. He suddenly grabbed Aburame's arm and said hoarsely, "Senior Aburame, take Senior Chodo and leave. That Kumogakure bastard hasn't..."

Before he could finish, a hoarse, savage, terrifying roar entered their ears and cut him off.

"You bastards! I'll kill you all!!"

As the words fell, a black shadow followed close behind, bursting through the smoke.

The figure no longer looked human. He resembled a charred corpse, still emitting black smoke, and there was even a scent of cooked flesh in the air.

Yet he was still alive. Though he was living in unbearable agony, his entire body covered in severe burns, pain had driven him nearly mad.

The reason was the Iron Sand falling in a steady drizzle around him. It had blocked most of the impact, but it had not protected him from the burns.

"Wait! Wait a second!"

Aburame instantly realized something was wrong. With his internal injuries, he could not move at the moment, so he hurriedly shouted, "Calm down! We didn't do this! We were caught in the blast too! Someone is deliberately trying to provoke us!"

At those words, Toroi, who had been about to strike in fury, paused and swept his gaze over the Konoha group, who had likewise lost their fighting ability.

But in the second before he could calm down, eight black shadows suddenly used Shunshin to arrive from all directions.

They were the Root shinobi who had followed Aburame here and concealed themselves in the darkness.

"Don't attack!"

The instant he saw Toroi tighten his grip on his Shuriken, Aburame roared.

Two of them immediately moved to treat the unconscious Akamichi Chodo, while three others stood tensely at Toroi's sides, watching him warily.

However, the other three figures appeared before Aburame and, without hesitation or prior coordination, flung their Kunai.

"You..."

This sight made Aburame's eyes widen in terror. He had never expected the Root shinobi to ignore his orders.

The still-conscious Anbu shinobi beside him also looked at Aburame in alarm and uncertainty, instantly realizing his true identity.

No wonder. No wonder he had that familiar, chilling aura. Aburame really was a Root shinobi?

Realizing this, the Konoha group instinctively assumed that his words, "Don't attack," were actually a signal to make Toroi lower his guard, an order for the Root shinobi to attack.

Root... no, Danzo! Danzo still refuses to give up. He wants to sabotage the negotiations and start a war between the two nations! The thought suddenly surfaced in their minds.

They could not be blamed for thinking that way. As Anbu shinobi, they knew the misdeeds and temperament of that Shinobi of Darkness all too well.

But Aburame himself knew perfectly well that he had not given any signal to attack!

Beside him, Hyuga Yunchuan lowered his head. Firelight cast shadows across his face, and an unnoticed smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Shameless Konoha shinobi! You really were up to no good!"

Watching the Konoha shinobi fling Kunai at him, Toroi's last trace of hesitation vanished completely. Overwhelming fury replaced it, finally driving him to act.

Buzz! Buzz!

The moment he finished speaking, Toroi hurled the three enormous Shuriken in his hands, and several sharp hums suddenly rang out!

Their cold, gleaming edges were sharp enough to tear through the rainy curtain of night. Two of the enormous Shuriken not only knocked aside the Kunai, but instantly sliced the three attacking Root shinobi in half at the waist.

And the final enormous Shuriken...

The two Root shinobi supporting Akamichi Chodo felt their hairs stand on end. In the corner of their eyes, they saw several Shuriken flying toward them from behind. A bone-chilling cold seemed to blot out the sky, freezing even their bodies.

But in the next instant, a figure appeared before them.

Eight Gates Released Formation—Second Gate—Gate of Healing.

Open!