Precise Demolition Sets the Node, Life-or-Death Speed Lays the Killing Trap

The firelight of the Armory was left far behind, and the darkness, like a cold, gargantuan beast, instantly swallowed the figures of Mizuki Han and Haku.

The air in the underground labyrinth seemed even thinner and fouler than before. It was a pungent stench, a mixture of rust, rotting silt, and some unknown chemical agent; every breath served as a reminder that a silent feast of death was steadily closing in.

"Fifty-eight hours remaining until the poison gas injection."

Mizuki Han's voice echoed through the narrow passage, devoid of emotion, a mere statement of cold fact. The massive scroll on his back, stuffed with high-yield Explosive Tags, felt as heavy as a small mountain, forcing him to exert extra effort with every step.

Haku stumbled along behind him, two ninja tool pouches similarly packed with Explosive Tags hanging from her thin frame, nearly dragging her to the ground. She gritted her teeth, not daring to utter a single complaint, and kept her eyes locked on the back moving steadily through the darkness ahead, as if it were her only lighthouse in this hell.

Mizuki Han did not walk in a straight line, nor did he follow the shortest route on the blueprints. Like a spider familiar with every inch of its web, he wove through a complex network of pipes, fissures, and abandoned tunnels. His brain acted as a high-efficiency processor, overlaying and merging three different structural maps to construct a three-dimensional, dynamic route of action.

"Stop."

At the first target point, the periphery of the B-3 load-bearing pillar cluster, Mizuki Han suddenly raised a hand, and the two of them instantly pressed against the damp rock wall. Not far ahead, the rhythmic sound of footsteps and low conversation drifted toward them.

"...Still haven't found them? Those two guys just vanished into thin air."

"Captain Hozuki has lost contact too. The higher-ups are furious; they've ordered us to scour every rat hole we can find!"

A three-man Anbu patrol squad walked slowly past the corner, the light from their torches casting flickering, erratic shadows against the tunnel walls.

Mizuki Han held his breath, even slowing his heartbeat intentionally. He channeled a faint wisp of chakra to cover his and Haku's bodies with a layer of frost so thin it lowered their temperatures to match the surrounding environment.

Only when the patrol's footsteps had completely faded into the depths of the passage did he finally exhale a breath of stale air.

"Move fast, we only have thirty seconds."

Without a moment of relaxation, he flashed forward and arrived before the load-bearing structure composed of three massive stone pillars. These pillars stood like three silent giants, supporting half the foundation of the main Anbu office building above.

Mizuki Han did not hesitate. He pulled a dozen "Underwater-Specialized" Explosive Tags from the scroll on his back. Instead of sticking them directly onto the dry surface of the pillars, he formed hand seals with one hand and whispered, "Ice Release: Water Drawing Technique!"

The humid moisture in the air and the groundwater seeping from the cracks in the rock seemed to respond to an invisible pull, transforming into fine threads of water that silently coiled around the stone pillars and rapidly seeped into the microscopic gaps between the pillars and the foundation.

Following this, he precisely placed the Explosive Tags where the water converged. Bound by his chakra, the paper tags adhered firmly to the damp rock.

"Delayed for thirty-six hours." With chakra at his fingertips, he set a countdown accurate to the second on the trigger mechanism of each tag.

Haku watched from the side, her heart pounding; she did not understand why they didn't just blow it up now instead of waiting so long.

"The power of a simultaneous detonation and the destructive force of a chain reaction are two different concepts." Mizuki Han seemed to read her mind, his voice cold as he explained, "What I want is a domino effect. Once the first piece falls, the rest will be beyond their control."

After setting the first node, he did not linger for a second, immediately leading Haku into another, narrower, foul-smelling sewage pipe.

"Forty-five hours remaining until the poison gas injection."

The second target point, the C-5 load-bearing pillar, was located directly beneath the Anbu Interrogation Department and the prison. The environment here was even worse; knee-deep black sewage emitted a nauseating, fishy stench, and unknown filth floated on the surface.

Mizuki Han ignored it all. He stepped through the slick sludge to the massive pillar, which was nearly half-submerged in the sewage. The pillar was covered in a thick, greasy layer of moss and grime, making it impossible for standard Explosive Tags to adhere.

"Ice Release: Frost Peel."

He pressed his palm against the pillar, and a surge of freezing chakra instantly spread out. The grime and moss in that area froze and turned brittle at a visible rate, then, with a "crack," peeled away along with a thin layer of stone, revealing the relatively dry and solid core beneath.

He took out the Explosive Tags again, repeating his previous actions, placing them with precision and setting the countdown.

Time ticked away, second by second.

They were like two ghosts walking on the edge of death, silently and efficiently executing that insane plan within the vast underground labyrinth.

Every placement was accompanied by the risk of brushing past patrol squads.

Once, just after they had finished setting a delayed Explosive Tag at a ventilation duct node, the sound of metal scraping came from above. A squad of ninjas walked directly over the pipe where they were hiding; their military boots clattered against the metal plates, shaking dust down in showers. Mizuki Han pressed Haku firmly beneath him, using Ice Release to create a visual blind spot. The distance between them and death was nothing more than a thin sheet of iron.

Haku's spirit was stretched to its limit, fear and exhaustion battering her fragile nerves in turns. But whenever she felt she could no longer hold on, the sight of Mizuki Han's eyes—always calm, always without a ripple—seemed to inject a surge of strength into her, forcing her to keep following.

"Twelve hours remaining until the poison gas injection."

When Mizuki Han recited this number, they finally arrived at the last and most critical demolition point: the F-9 composite load-bearing structure.

This was the energy hub of the entire underground base; the air was no longer cold and damp, but instead carried a hint of dryness and heat. A low, humming sound, like the heartbeat of a giant beast, emanated from deep within the rock layers—the sound of the chakra energy furnace in operation.

The scene before them was far more complex than the previous pillars. It was not a simple column, but a composite structure cast from a dozen metal and stone pillars of varying thicknesses, resembling an inverted, hideous steel tree supporting the most critical area above.

"This is the heart of the entire plan." A scorching light flickered in Mizuki Han's eyes.

He took out the final, most terrifying "High-Explosive Improved" tags from his scroll. These tags were larger, the runes on them more complex, and they radiated a pulse of energy that made one's heart tremble.

He had to place these tags one by one at the nodes marked on the blueprint, accurate to the centimeter. At the same time, he had to connect them all with chakra threads to ensure a zero-delay, simultaneous detonation at the final moment.

It was an incredibly delicate task that allowed for no errors.

Mizuki Han took a deep breath and threw himself heart and soul into this final setup. His fingers danced rapidly over the complex structure, sticking on the tags and then pulling out threads of ice, nearly invisible to the naked eye, to connect them to the previous ones.

Sweat slid down his temple, but he was oblivious to it.

Ten tags.

Twenty tags.

Thirty tags.

As he picked up the final Explosive Tag, preparing to place it on the core energy-recirculation node of the entire structure—

His movements came to a sudden halt.

A thread of ice he had set as a warning line at the entrance of a mandatory passage hundreds of meters away had snapped.

The sensation of that break, like the faintest electric current, traveled instantly to his fingertips through the network of ice threads spread throughout the labyrinth—a network only he could perceive.

Something had entered.

Moreover, the intruder's speed was blinding! Almost the very second the ice thread snapped, they had already breached the second and third lines of defense he had set up. This was no sluggish movement like a patrol squad; this was the charge of a top-tier predator!

Mizuki Han's pupils constricted instantly into dangerous, needle-like points.

He did not turn his head, nor did he call out a warning to Haku.

Because it was already too late.

An indescribable, mountain-crushing pressure descended upon the space without warning. It was not mere killing intent, but a pure, absolute suppression at the level of life itself. It was as if a dragon had silently appeared behind two ants.

The surrounding air froze in an instant.

The low hum of the energy furnace seemed incredibly distant at that moment.

Mizuki Han slowly, inch by agonizing inch, turned his head.

Less than five meters behind him and Haku, a figure stood, though no one knew when they had arrived.

The man was also wearing a Mist Anbu uniform, but the design was more refined, featuring a special flame-shaped emblem on the shoulder that denoted the rank of squad leader. He wore no mask, revealing a weathered, cold face etched with several scars. His eyes, sharp as a hawk's, gazed at them with indifference.

He looked as if he had stepped directly out of the shadows; there were no footsteps, no sound of breathing, and not even the slightest fluctuation of chakra.

He simply stood there, as if he had merged completely with the darkness.

A Jonin!