The berserk pressure of the wind slammed into Baishi's face, making his ANBU Mask tremble violently as its edges emitted faint clicking sounds.
The enormous stone spear, condensed from high-density rock, rapidly enlarged in Baishi's pupils. The spearhead grated against the air, producing a shriek that made his scalp crawl. The rough stone texture along its shaft still glimmered with the dim yellow light of Earth Release Chakra.
The Underworld Swamp was viscous and cold. Mud clung tightly to his knees, as though countless ghostly hands were desperately dragging him underground. The heaviness of earth-natured Chakra pressed against his chest, leaving him stifled. Even his breathing carried a pungent, earthy odor.
There was no way to dodge.
From the perspective of an ordinary Genin or even Chunin, having both legs bound while facing such a heavy ninjutsu was an absolutely fatal predicament.
But Baishi was no Genin.
Beneath his Mask, his utterly calm eyes fixed themselves on the stone spear's trajectory. His max-level Lightning Release Chakra was compressed to its limit in an instant, transforming into hundreds of extremely fine currents that viciously stabbed backward into the meridians of his own legs.
The excruciating pain of his meridians tearing apart instantly spread throughout his body, while his muscles trembled violently from the extreme stimulation.
Using that berserk force, Baishi's legs erupted with explosive power that exceeded his physical limits, forcibly twisting half an inch within the swamp.
Squelch!
The stone spear grazed his left shoulder and viciously drove into the rock wall behind him. Its tremendous penetrating force blasted a deep crater into the Rock Layer. Fragments flew in every direction like bullets, tearing through Baishi's black cloak and spraying a line of dazzling blood.
"Gahhh—!"
Baishi let out an extremely shrill scream. His body fell backward with the momentum and crashed heavily into the mud. He clutched his bleeding shoulder tightly, his voice beneath the Mask filled with hysterical terror and despair.
With tremendous difficulty, he raised his head. His gaze pierced through the hazy miasma and focused on the towering dark-red boulder a hundred meters away. "Captain! Captain Venom Fang! Save me—! The intelligence was wrong! There aren't just three people here! Get me out!"
Above the boulder, the cold river wind whipped up Venom Fang's gray cloak.
Looking down upon the Canyon floor, Venom Fang watched Baishi struggle in the swamp like a dying dog. Beneath his Mask, his single eye flashed with intense, vicious delight.
Save you?
Venom Fang sneered inwardly. From the moment a cannon fodder like you was assigned to the squad, your name had already been written on the death list. Lord Danzo's plan could not tolerate the slightest mishap. Your only value was to use your life to pin Iwagakure's attention firmly in this Canyon.
Venom Fang not only failed to draw his Ninja Blade, but instead decisively clasped his hands before his chest. His fingers flashed through seals, leaving behind a blur of afterimages.
Tiger Seal—Snake—Dog—Dragon!
"Earth Release: Earth-Splitting Palm!"
Rumble—!
The rock walls on both sides of the Canyon suddenly shook violently. Then, the narrow escape route behind Baishi collapsed with a thunderous roar. Hundreds and thousands of tons of Boulders mixed with soil poured down, instantly cutting off the Canyon completely and raising a sky full of choking dust.
The escape route was completely sealed.
"The bait has taken the hook. Iwagakure's forces have been held up." Venom Fang turned coldly toward the concealed ANBU beside him, Wild Boar, and made a tactical hand signal. "Move. We're going to Point C to rendezvous with Wildcat and carry out the real mission of cutting off Namikaze Minato's retreat."
There was no hesitation.
There was no pity.
The two black figures shot away like arrows loosed from a bow, vanishing into the depths of the dense Redwood Forest and abandoning Baishi in this dead land like a lump of mud-covered trash.
"Hahahaha!"
At the bottom of the Canyon, the coarse laughter of the Iwagakure Jonin pierced through the swirling dust.
His massive body crossed the swamp step by step. His heavy boots crushed the loose stones with suffocating force. Every step carried the heavy pressure of Earth Release Chakra.
"Mouse of Konoha, see clearly? This is the Will of Fire you're so proud of!" The Iwagakure Jonin stopped ten meters from Baishi, his eyes full of lofty mockery. "How does it feel to be abandoned as a pawn by your comrades?"
As soon as his voice fell, a dense rustling suddenly came from the hazy miasma around them.
Immediately afterward, five figures slid down from the rock walls on both sides like ghosts, landing steadily at the edge of the swamp.
They all wore dark-red Iwagakure uniforms and identical cold forehead Protectors. Every one of them reeked of blood and gunpowder, clearly a killing machine that had spent years walking along the edge of life and death.
Together with the two Chunins who had been injured in the explosion earlier and were now gritting their teeth as they bandaged their wounds, there were a full eight elite Iwagakure ninja!
The intelligence Venom Fang had provided had nothing to do with "investigating enemy spies." This was clearly a secret relay station where Iwagakure had been lying in wait along the border of the Land of Fire!
"Captain, there was something strange about that kid's Explosive Tag trap just now. Should we kill him outright?" One of the newly arrived Iwagakure Chunins drew a Kunai and stared coldly at Baishi lying in the swamp.
"Don't rush." The Iwagakure Jonin raised a hand, his thick knuckles cracking loudly. "The minds of Konoha's ANBU often contain plenty of useful information. Break his hands and feet, then take him back to the Interrogation Department. I'll make him understand that sometimes, even death is a luxury."
Eight malicious gazes locked onto the prey on the ground like eight sharp blades.
The air above the swamp seemed to freeze.
Baishi curled up, blood from his shoulder dripping through his fingers into the mud and spreading into a glaring dark-red stain. He lowered his head, his disheveled hair covering his pale Mask, while his body trembled faintly from "fear."
From the Iwagakure's perspective, this Konoha cannon fodder, ruthlessly abandoned by his comrades and trapped in a desperate situation, had already suffered a complete mental collapse.
But what they could not see was...
Beneath the Mask, Baishi's eyes, which should have been filled with despair, were now utterly dead and cold, like an abyss.
"Finally... they're all gone."
Baishi slowly exhaled a breath of stale air inwardly, and his taut nerves finally relaxed.
Venom Fang's surveillance had been like a thorn lodged in his throat, preventing him from using his true trump cards. All his earlier misery, every scream, and even allowing his shoulder to be grazed had merely been part of the performance, all to make Venom Fang feel at ease about leaving.
As long as Konoha's people remained nearby, he would always be low-level cannon fodder who had to conceal his strength.
Now, the audience had left.
It was time to reverse the roles of hunter and prey.
"Hey, brat, stop playing dead. Stretch out your hands and feet yourself, and I'll give you a quick death." The Iwagakure Chunin sneered as he approached, the Kunai in his hand gleaming coldly.
Baishi ignored him.
With extreme slowness, he loosened the right hand that had been clamped tightly over his "wound," one finger at a time.
When his palm finally opened completely, the approaching Iwagakure Chunin's pupils suddenly contracted, and his feet abruptly froze in place.
There was no warm blood in his palm at all.
There was only a fragment of a Substitution Log crushed to pieces, along with an Explosive Tag soaked in blood, its cinnabar markings flashing furiously!
"What?!"
The Iwagakure Jonin ten meters away also sensed the violent surge of Chakra. An overwhelming sense of mortal danger pierced through his nerves in an instant.
"Retreat—!"
At the exact moment the Iwagakure Jonin roared, Baishi suddenly raised his head. Beneath his Mask, azure Lightning erupted in his eyes!