"Seal off the carriage! Nobody touch that eye!"
Sasuke's order rang through the Communication Array Stone. Neji immediately raised his palm, and his Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm struck the carriage door, flipping the entire transport wagon into the roadside ditch.
The coffin nails inside rolled loose, and the Rinnegan turned with them, fixing its gaze on the Konoha ninja at the front.
The man formed hand seals, and twenty-six guards lunged at the supply wagons at once.
"Rotation!"
Neji spun, spreading a chakra barrier. Kunai and explosive tags were all deflected, while Naruto's shadow clones charged into the crowd from both sides and pinned several guards in the mud.
The restrained men did not struggle, but white markings unfurled across their skin from their necks.
"They're all White Zetsu," Neji said into the Communication Array Stone. "Their identity records and forehead protectors are real. They ate the original guards."
Sasuke stared at the Rinnegan in the water mirror.
The eye showed no signs of life, but the same chakra lay hidden inside the coffin nails. Someone had slipped them into the supply lines solely to make the Allied Forces misidentify their source and detain one another's village caravans.
"Don't attack the coffin nails with ninjutsu. Cut the chakra threads beneath the wagon."
"There are thirty-six threads underneath," Neji said.
"The last one connects to the eyeball. Leave it for now."
Naruto raised his hand and tore away the carriage's iron plating. A golden chakra arm reached underneath and ripped through thirty-five black threads at once.
The Rinnegan turned toward him.
The force of Banshō Ten'in surged from inside the carriage, dragging Naruto toward the coffin nails.
Neji darted ahead and struck the axle with his palm, shifting the entire wagon several feet sideways. Naruto seized the opening to plant his