The sea of Gold Dust suddenly compressed with tremendous force, making the ground tremble.
"Boom!" Gold Dust was already incredibly heavy, and with the added pressure, everything beneath it was crushed to pieces. The violent shaking had yet to end when wave after wave of pressure slammed down. "Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
"The Gold Dust will be your coffin! I'll bury you alive! [Magnet Style: Gold Dust Burial]!" The ninja controlling the Gold Dust held two fingers up before his chest. The center of the Gold Dust sea suddenly began to churn, forming a whirlpool. The Gold Dust sank deep into the earth as the surrounding dunes surged madly toward the center, all of it pouring underground and carrying everything caught in it down to be buried in the depths.
The ninja controlling the Gold Dust folded his arms and watched coldly. "Hmph! Even if you're not dead, trapped underground beneath all that heavy Gold Dust, 200 meters down, you'll never get out! Hahahaha!" he cackled. He had short black hair, and dark circles appeared around his eyes whenever he used Magnet Release to control the Gold Dust.
"Heh heh, looks like there's no need for me to step in," said another ninja carrying a giant fan on his back with a cold laugh.
"Dosa! We have you to thank for this," Ebizo said, looking at the sea of Gold Dust in the middle of the forest in astonishment.
"It was just a mission from my master. I should be thanking you for bringing over so much Gold Dust." Dosa was the Third Kazekage's prized pupil. Exceptionally talented, he possessed the Kekkei Genkai Magnet Release and could control Gold Dust, which was heavier than ordinary sand. His abilities were like those of Gaara's father.
Suddenly, pale yellow slime welled up in the middle of the Gold Dust sea. It was highly corrosive, eating away at all the Gold Dust around it and releasing wisps of white smoke. The slime rapidly spread, carving a path through the Gold Dust.
"Hm? What's that?" Chiyo and Ebizo exclaimed in surprise.
"Boom!" A gigantic slug burst out of the pale yellow slime, and Tsunade and the others emerged from its body. Unfortunately, two elite jonin who had been too far away were swept up by the Gold Dust tide. Tsunade hadn't been able to save them; they were already buried beneath the sand.
The eight remaining Konoha Ninja stared intently at their enemies. Dozens of Hidden Sand Ninja had also arrived nearby. Fearing they would be caught in the devastating Gold Dust, they stayed back and surrounded the area, cutting off the Konoha Ninja's escape route.
"Damn it, we can't retreat now. We'll be killed!" The elite Konoha jonin knew where things stood. They had already expended a great deal of chakra attacking the supply station. Now they faced several powerful enemies who had been ready for them, and their way out was blocked. Their situation was dire!
"You bastards! This was your trap!" Tsunade roared. Having lost four comrades in succession, she was consumed by grief and rage.
"That's right! You captured a Hidden Sand ninja and examined his memories. The memories were all real, but the central supply station in them was a fake! Even he truly believed that this was the real location of the central supply station! It was all to lure you here and kill you Konoha elites, Princess Tsunade!" Ebizo said with a smug smile.
Chiyo seized the opportunity to pull out a scroll and release ten puppets. "[White Secret Technique: The Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu]! Tsunade is ours to handle! Dosa, this is your specialty. Take care of the others, then come help us! Kalo will back you up."
Ebizo and Chiyo worked together to control the Ten Puppets. Another Hidden Sand ninja named Kalo prepared to join the fight, pulling the giant fan from his back. It was the Three-Star Fan. Dosa raised both hands again, and the surrounding Gold Dust slowly floated around him.
Dan Katō was protected by the giant slug. He swallowed several Military Ration Pills and focused on restoring his chakra. The remaining elite Konoha jonin exchanged glances, stood together, and shouted, "We'll fight to the death! Konoha Ninja aren't cowards afraid to die!" They had no choice but to make their last stand! (BGM: A Hundred Flowers in Riot, Yasuharu Takanashi)
As the two sides faced off, dark clouds drifted over the battlefield. Raindrops began falling from the gloomy sky, pattering against the ground blanketed in Gold Dust.
"Tch, what rotten luck! Gold Dust gets even heavier when it's wet," Dosa said with a frown. Hearing him complain, Kalo spoke up too. "Dosa, I'll take the lead. You keep them occupied!"
"Now!" Chiyo struck first, sending the Ten Puppets charging at Tsunade.
"Attack!" The Konoha Ninja clashed with their enemies.
Dosa swung his crossed hands forward. More than a dozen giant hands sprang from the Gold Dust and grabbed at the other jonin. "[Magnet Style: Gold Dust Hand]!"
"Get out of the way!" Faced with the incredibly fast Gold Dust hands, the Konoha jonin immediately leaped aside. The phantom-like hands pursued them relentlessly, closing in from every direction. The group was forced to split up and dodge. Each of them was hemmed in by several hands, with no chance to counterattack.
As Dosa deliberately drove them back, the others were separated further and further from Tsunade. Chiyo and Ebizo found it easier to deal with her.
"Damn it, you think you can isolate Lady Tsunade? Don't underestimate us! [Konoha Style Sword Technique: Sweep]!" A jonin wielding a long sword swept it sideways. A flash of steel cut a giant Gold Dust hand cleanly in two.
Then he charged at the Gold Dust hands trying to grab him, swinging his sword. "[Konoha Style Sword Technique: Cleave]!" "[Carve]!" "[Slash]!" "[Thrust]!" "[Graze]!" Sword flashes streaked through the air. The swordsman appeared behind the Gold Dust arm in a blink, and several giant hands crumbled apart.
"Not bad! [Wind Style: Wind Cutter]!" Kalo, who was supporting Dosa nearby, saw that someone had broken free and immediately swung his fan at him, sending a large blade of compressed air flying. The swordsman leaped aside to avoid the wind blade.
"Take this! [Fire Style: Great Flame Bomb]!" Another Konoha jonin dodged several Gold Dust hands reaching for him and spat out a massive fireball, sending it toward Kalo.
"[Wind Style: Great Sickle Weasel]!" Kalo swung his fan hard. A violent whirlwind surged forward, its cylindrical body filled with countless wind blades. The gale blew the Great Flame Bomb back, and the blades sliced the flames into pieces.
"What? Fire Style is supposed to counter Wind Style!" the Konoha jonin cried in alarm. The violent whirlwind was already bearing down on him. It swallowed him up along with the flames, and countless wind blades tore through him.
Kalo sneered. "Hmph! Foolish Konoha Ninja. Powerful Wind Style can counter Fire Style too, especially when it can create a vacuum."
"Damn it!" Seeing his comrade in danger, Tsunade tried to rush over and help while fighting the puppets.
"Tsunade! We're your opponents!" Chiyo immediately used the puppets to block her. A female puppet wielding two swords struck, and Tsunade dodged to the side.
Meanwhile, the Konoha jonin caught in the Great Sickle Weasel's attack crashed to the ground dozens of meters away, covered in wounds. Then his body turned into a pool of brown mud.
"Oh? An [Earth Substitution]? You're not getting away!" Dosa, who had the others hemmed in with Gold Dust, immediately spotted the jonin. Two giant Gold Dust hands shot toward the Konoha ninja who had escaped the attack. He hurriedly jumped aside, but the hands followed like shadows. After several leaps, the Konoha ninja was a fraction too slow, and the Gold Dust caught his foot.
Several teammates saw what had happened and rushed to help him.
"You want to save him? Not a chance! [Wind Style: Pressure Damage]!" Kalo took a deep breath and exhaled a raging gale that formed into a gigantic ball of wind. It expanded rapidly, shredding everything in its path. As the wind tore through the battlefield, the Konoha jonin were blown backward.
The Konoha swordsman braced himself against the gale and charged forward. The wind slashed several holes in his clothes, but he used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside his teammate. "[Konoha Style Sword Technique: Slash]!" He severed the Gold Dust arm with one blow and rescued his comrade.
"Die! [Magnet Style: Gold Dust Killing Spear]!" Dosa had already formed a Gold Dust spear in his hands. He threw it with all his strength at the Konoha ninja trying to break free. The spear shot forward like a bullet, pinning the ninja who had just escaped the Gold Dust to the ground. The Konoha jonin was killed after all. Only seven remained!
"No!" Seeing her teammate killed, Tsunade was overcome with fury. She smashed the white-haired puppet attacking her to pieces with one punch. Ebizo immediately pulled out a scroll and brought out another puppet to replace it, tying Tsunade down once more.
The rain on the battlefield grew heavier. Raindrops the size of beans battered the Gold Dust, making Dosa's Gold Dust extraordinarily heavy and difficult to control. Its speed slowed considerably, and he had to expend several times more chakra just to keep it moving.
"Kalo, I need a little time to prepare this technique! Keep them busy for half a minute!" Dosa fell back and pressed his palms together, building up chakra.
"Heh heh, I'll take them all on myself! One move should finish you! [Shadow Clone Technique]!" Kalo created two Shadow Clones. The three of them stood in a triangular formation facing the Konoha jonin, then swung their Three-Star Fans in unison!
"[Wind Style: Great Net]!"
The instant the Three-Star Fans swept forward, the gale in front of them formed a towering wall of wind. Countless wind blades inside it wove together into a dense net. The wall swept toward the group with irresistible force, slicing even the falling raindrops out of the air. The technique covered a huge area and moved so fast that even the Third Raikage couldn't have dodged it, let alone the Konoha Ninja!
"Damn it! [Earth Style: Earth Wall]!" The Konoha Ninja barely managed to raise a wall of earth, but the wall of wind swallowed it in an instant. The wind net sliced the Earth Wall into neat little blocks. The elite Konoha jonin were on the verge of being cut to pieces!
At the critical moment, the giant slug split into several smaller slugs, which appeared in time to wrap around them and burrow underground, saving them. But two of them were too slow to escape and were shredded by the wind blades.
Heavy rain now poured over the battlefield, soaking everyone, but no one paid it any mind. The Konoha Ninja had been driven to the brink!
"You all retreat! I'll hold them off!" Tsunade shouted to the others. Only five Konoha jonin remained. Dan Katō had yet to recover his chakra, leaving just four who could still fight. Tsunade decided to have the giant slug protect them as they withdrew while she stayed behind to cover their escape.
"No! We'll never abandon our comrades and save ourselves!" one Konoha jonin said without hesitation. The three of them charged back into the fight.
Protected by the slug, Dan Katō was frantic. "No, at this rate, everyone will die!"
He glanced at Tsunade, then fixed his gaze on Dosa, who was building up chakra. He made up his mind. If we take him out, we'll have a chance. I have no choice... I'll have to force myself to use the Spirit Transformation Technique!
Before you continue