Countless blood-red pupils gleamed in the dim light.
Screech!
At the piercing cry, they looked closer. Countless black bats, their bodies marked with blood-red patterns, hung upside down from the corridor ceiling.
Disturbed by the two newcomers, the Blood Bats spread their wings and hurtled toward them at astonishing speed.
A dense swarm of Blood Bats rushed straight at them. Without a special ability, there was no way to wipe them all out at once.
Even killing a few would make no difference against hundreds, perhaps thousands.
"Damn it."
The Blood Bats completely blocked their view.
They landed all over the pair, trying to tear into their flesh.
Thanks to Haki, the bats did little damage.
But they concentrated their attacks on vulnerable spots, especially the eyes.
The two Celestial Dragons panicked and raised their arms to shield their faces.
In truth, they could have kept the Blood Bats away by projecting Haki around their entire bodies.
But that technique wasted enormous amounts of Haki. It was not something they instinctively considered, and neither thought of it in time.
That gave the three hidden attackers their opening.
The Celestial Dragons had sensed the danger. Their instincts told them something was wrong.
By then, it was too late to retreat.
Through the Blood Bats' interference, they could feel danger approaching, but they could not pinpoint Red and the other two.
Owl and Dove were masters of assassination who excelled at concealing their presence.
With Red's strength and supreme control over his presence, he could do the same with ease.
Observation Haki was not all-powerful. It relied heavily on the five senses and weakened when those senses were disrupted or attention was focused elsewhere.
As if by agreement, all three struck at once.
Owl moved first. Short blade in hand, he appeared