Battle erupted at the edge of the Mycelial Carpet Forest!
"Wood Release: Thorn Rampage!" Yamato slammed both hands onto the ground, trying to counter the sinister forest with his own Wood Release. Yet the instant his wooden vines touched the dark purple Fungal Mat, they seemed to become infected. They rapidly lost their vitality, turning gray and brittle, and were even assimilated and absorbed by the Fungal Mat!
"It's no use! The energy here is too corrosive. It's suppressing my Wood Release!" Yamato's face paled as he hastily retreated.
"Then we'll use fire! Wind Release: Great Sickle Weasel!" Temari swung her Three-Star Fan, unleashing a raging whirlwind laden with sand and dust to disperse the poisonous mist and clear the way for Fire Release.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!" Several Sunagakure ninja proficient in Fire Release formed hand seals alongside Kakashi, sending roaring fire dragons plunging into the Mycelial Carpet Forest.
The flames and fierce winds temporarily checked the Fungal Mat's spread, and a foul burning stench filled the air. But the Fungal Mat's vitality—or rather, its ability to contaminate—was extraordinarily tenacious. Fresh fungal threads quickly surged in from behind to cover the scorched sections. Dark purple light rippled across them, and the damaged areas began slowly repairing themselves!
"These things just never stop!" Tenten summoned a mass of kunai fitted with explosive tags from her scroll and scattered them deep into the forest in a dazzling shower. A chain of explosions briefly cleared a small area, only for the writhing Fungal Mat to fill it again.
"Watch above!" Neji kept his Byakugan fixed on the sky.
Riding his Giant Clay Bird, Deidara kept tossing Clay Spiders and Clay Birds from both hands. These explosives targeted not only the ninja but, more insidiously, the Mycelial Carpet Forest itself. The