Draining the Earth Vein, One Roar Collapses the Mine

The steel fist grazed Chiba's shoulder and slammed into the mine wall behind him.

Half the rock layer caved inward. Cracks raced across the ceiling, and several loose chunks of ore crashed onto the Bone Vine, bending its pale supports as well.

Chiba used the vines to pull away, but he could not raise his right shoulder.

Iron Claw pulled his fist from the rock face.

"Want another round?"

"Just a little short."

"Short of what?"

Chiba sent the blood-stained vine tip stabbing toward Iron Claw's chest. This time, it did not aim for his neck. The wooden thorn slid down along his hardened skin and stopped at his abdomen.

Iron Claw reached out and grabbed it.

"Still not giving up?"

The vine tip released poison. Purple liquid spread across his abdomen before dripping onto the rubble below.

Not a drop penetrated his hardened outer layer.

"Seen enough?"

"Enough."

"Then kneel."

Iron Claw tore the vine apart and swung half the skeletal frame at Chiba.

Chiba ducked beneath it. The severed vine struck a supporting wooden pillar, snapping the rotten timber in half and sending more rubble down from the ceiling.

Iron Claw glanced up.

"Trying to crush me with falling rocks?"

"Afraid?"

"Even if the entire mine collapsed, it couldn't damage this steel hide."

Chiba did not answer. The roots beneath his feet had already burrowed deeper.

Years of seepage had accumulated in the lower levels of the mine. Water-absorbing roots spread through the cracks, opening at once when they reached the water layer as streams of water were drawn into the vine tubes.

Iron Claw stepped after him.

"Why run?"

"Looking for a place to bury you."

"That punch didn't knock any sense into you?"

"I've got enough strength now."

Chiba deliberately stopped beside the second supporting pillar and raised an arm to block the incoming steel fist.

The Bone Vine was driven into the wooden pillar, and the crossbeam supporting the tunnel shifted half an inch.

Wood chips fell onto Iron Claw's shoulder.

He did not look up. His other hand reached for Chiba's abdomen.

"Got you."

Vine bark peeled away from Chiba's waist. What the steel claws tore open was only a layer of wooden armor.

His real body had already slipped into a side passage through the underground roots.

Iron Claw tossed aside the wooden scraps.

"How many more times can you dodge?"

"Two more."

"Why two?"

Chiba looked at the two remaining supporting pillars.

Iron Claw followed his gaze.

"You want to destroy the supports?"

"You only noticed now?"

"Idiot. If the mine collapses, you and those two miners will die too."

Banging came from the direction of the explosives storehouse.

"Who's out there?"

"We heard fighting! The door's blocked by rocks, let us out first!"

Chiba pressed vine roots against the rock wall, sending his voice through the hollow spaces within.

"Get on the ground and cover your heads."

"You're a Konoha ninja here to save us?"

"Do it."

"There's explosives here! If rocks fall, they'll ignite!"

"They're already wet."

The miners took a moment before replying.

"Who soaked the explosives?"

"I did."

"Then tell us whether the roof can hold! This place has collapsed twice already!"

Iron Claw raised his foot and crushed the sound-transmitting vine.

"You still have time to worry about them?"

Chiba watched the final tremor vanish. At that moment, the roots had also circled the explosives storehouse, while bone supports closed along the walls and propped up a layer of wooden shell around the people inside.

"Not anymore."

Iron Claw charged past the fork in the tunnel. His hardened shoulder smashed through the vines blocking his way, and his speed barely slowed despite his heavy body.

Chiba retreated behind the third wooden pillar.

"Dodging again?"

"Not this time."

When the steel fist came down, the Bone Vine did not block Chiba's chest. Instead, it wrapped around Iron Claw's wrist and diverted the punch aside.

Iron Claw jerked his arm outward.

Every vine snapped taut and broke.

The punch was not diverted far, but it landed squarely on the middle of the wooden pillar.

With a dull crack, the last main pillar broke in two.

Iron Claw looked up and saw the crossbeam sliding down. At last, his steps stopped.

"You used my fist to tear down the mine?"

"Saves chakra."

"You're down here too!"

Chiba pressed one hand against the ground.

The water-absorbing roots contracted at once, drawing the pooled water from the mine strata into his Wood Release. The dried clay layers shrank inward, and the gaps that had wedged the rocks in place loosened one after another.

A series of sharp cracks rang out overhead.

Iron Claw turned and rushed toward the eastern exit.

"Old Earth, clear the way!"

The Earth Release ninja sealed by Poison Vine could only raise half his face.

"I can't move my hands. Cure the poison first!"

"Useless trash."

Iron Claw punched the stone wall. The first blow only left a half-foot-deep dent, but as the second came down, the ceiling beam finally slipped free.

Chiba stood where he was and curled his five fingers downward.

All the Bone Vines embedded in the support points tightened at once.

"Collapse!"

The entire mine sank down a layer.

The crossbeams fell first, followed by sheets of rock. The furnace was smashed over, glowing coals rolling into the pooled water as white steam surged toward the ceiling through the cracks.

Iron Claw raised both arms over his head, his hardened back withstanding the first wave of falling rocks.

More boulders came crashing down after them.

The ground at his feet caved inward as well. He had just pulled free his right leg when his left foot sank into the shattered tunnel, and several massive rocks pinned his waist in place.

"Senju Chiba!"

His roar was cut off by the layers of stone.

Chiba did not look at him. Bone Vines closed in from all directions, shielding his chest and abdomen first before adding supports along his shoulders and back. Layer upon layer of wooden shell enclosed his body.

Before the final gap sealed shut, no light could be seen at the mine tunnel entrance.

Rocks hammered against the wooden cocoon.

The first layer caved inward. The framework of the second bore the weight, while rocks pressing down close behind forced cracks into the third.

Chiba poured his remaining chakra into the root network.

The wooden cocoon sank into a small water pocket that had been drained beforehand, avoiding the mine roof collapsing directly overhead. Yet the outer vines were crushed apart one after another.

All he could hear was stone shifting and wooden supports groaning under pressure.

Who knew how much time passed before the tremors gradually weakened.

Chiba pushed against the wooden shell in front of him.

It did not move.

"You alive?"

A miner's shout came from the direction of the explosives storehouse. Separated by thick layers of rock, only half the words could be heard clearly.

Vine roots drilled out from beneath the wooden cocoon, following the cracks until they found the room protected by the supports.

"Alive."

"Where are you?"

"Under the rocks."

"So are we! The doorway's completely blocked!"

"Stay there."

"You can get out?"

"Yes."

Chiba had the Bone Vines brace the rocks overhead as the front of the wooden cocoon split apart layer by layer.

A piece of rubble slipped down through the gap and scraped his forehead. Blood ran to the corner of his eye. He wiped it away and continued widening the exit.

The dust outside had not yet fully settled.

Roots drilled out of the rubble first, finding points that could bear the weight before lifting both the wooden cocoon and the rocks above it.

Chiba crawled out through the crack. When his left foot touched the ground, his knee buckled once, and he could only grab the broken beam beside him.

Iron Claw's punch had struck his chest. Every breath pulled at his ribs.

He waited several breaths before straightening his back.

The former furnace room had become a slope of rubble. The four hunters remained protected by vine shells, but they were still unable to move, while the explosives storehouse retained an intact space.

At the center of the ruins, a dark gray arm stuck out.

Iron Claw pushed twice, but the rocks pinning his waist and abdomen shifted only half an inch.

Chiba stepped onto a broken crossbeam and walked toward the steel hand.

Iron Claw raised his dust-covered face.

"You think a few rocks can trap me?"

The moment he finished speaking, the hardened legs buried deeper below exerted force once more.