An exceedingly faint buzz suddenly swept across the battlefield, yet it seemed to resonate directly within the soul!
Then everyone's vision blurred-whether they were attacking, defending, or lurking in the shadows to observe!
Countless tiny silver "petals," gleaming with a cold light, seemed to fill every inch of the surrounding space without warning!
Those "petals" were as thin as cicada wings, yet their edges were incomparably sharp.
They were not still. They drifted and spun along mysterious paths, seemingly slow, yet actually moving faster than the eye could follow!
"What the hell are these things?!" a Mist Ninja cried in alarm, swinging his blade at a "petal" drifting before his eyes.
The instant the blade touched the "petal," a grating metallic screech rang out. That seemingly delicate "petal" had cut a deep notch into his tempered-steel ninja blade!
And more "petals" were already drifting toward his vital points as though they were alive!
"Scatter! It's a trap! Is this genjutsu?!"
The attackers panicked, abandoning their attacks to dodge or defend.
But the silver "petals" were everywhere, gentle yet deadly, slicing effortlessly through armor and skin and sending sprays of blood into the air.
Though the wounds were not fatal, they severely restricted the attackers' movements and placed them under immense psychological pressure.
Naruto and Sakura were stunned as well.
But they soon discovered that these strange silver "petals" seemed to consciously avoid their position.
They merely formed an impenetrable, slowly rotating "wall of flowers" around them, shutting the attackers out.
"This is..." Naruto stared wide-eyed at the dreamlike yet murderous sight before him.
He had never seen "ninjutsu" like this. No, this feeling... was completely different from chakra! More... refined? More... "advanced"?
A tall, aloof figure approached at a leisurely pace from beyond the "wall of flowers," from the direction