The night wind passed through the bare treetops, letting out shrill wails like crying ghosts.
Thirty miles outside Konoha lay an abandoned iron mine.
This was Root's Secret Transfer Station No. 3.
Hyuga Xiao stood atop a towering rock, his dark gray cloak snapping in the wind. From his elevated position, he looked down at the mine ahead. On the surface, it was nothing more than a heap of rusted iron frames and collapsed mine shafts, so silent that not even insects could be heard.
Yet within the Tenseigan's azure vision, this seemingly barren land was bristling with deadly spikes like a hedgehog.
"Master." Qiye dropped down like a ghost from the treetops, landing steadily behind and to Xiao's side. Lowering his voice, he pointed at the seemingly flat wasteland around the mine.
"The four watchtowers in plain sight are all decoys. The real defensive line is underground." Qiye's voice carried Root's characteristic cold hardness. "Ten steps ahead from where we stand is the first sensory barrier. The slightest unfamiliar chakra fluctuation will instantly activate the chained Explosive Tag Formation buried underground."
Kurenai Yuhi drew her short blade, her silver-gray Eye of Time glinting coldly in the darkness. She stared at the wasteland. "How many Explosive Tags are there?"
"At least thirty thousand." Qiye swallowed. "Danzo gave a death order: if they encounter an assault they cannot repel, the guards will detonate them directly. If thirty thousand Explosive Tags go off at once, they can not only blast the invaders into ash, but bury the imprisoned 'experimental materials' underground as well. They will leave absolutely no evidence behind."
Thirty thousand.
Hong's eyelid twitched. Even if she used the Eye of Time to freeze time, she would not be able to save everyone before an explosion of that scale.
"What if