Midnight approached, but the rain showed no sign of easing. Instead, it poured harder. Rain hammered sheet metal and concrete in a dense drumbeat, perfectly masking the faintest sounds.
Ling, Xi, and Araki slipped silently through the tangled pipes and abandoned buildings of northwestern Amegakure, like three shadows blending into the night. Araki knew the area inside out and led them past one open sentry post and hidden lookout after another. The closer they drew to the target valley, the more violent the Ryūmyaku energy in the air became. They could even feel faint tremors rising from the ground beneath their feet.
At last, they reached the edge of the valley. Below lay a sunken basin. At its center stood a tower roughly three stories tall, built from steel and an unidentified material. Runes resembling those on the Six Binding Pillars were carved into its surface, radiating an eerie blue glow that mingled and entwined with the dark purple Ryūmyaku energy surging from underground. This was a secondary Ryūmyaku node, as well as an auxiliary energy source for the Rain Tiger at Will Technique.
Four Amegakure ninja guards were visible around the tower, patrolling in two pairs along intersecting routes. Aside from them, no other obvious defenses were apparent. Just as Araki had expected, Pain's main forces were all tied down in the core area.
"Now!" Araki said in a low voice, a fierce glint flashing through his single eye. "I'll draw the guards away! Make it quick!"
Before Ling and Xi could respond, Araki shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. At the same time, he hurled several shuriken fitted with explosive tags straight at the four guards!
"Enemy attack!" The guards reacted swiftly, immediately dodging and raising the alarm!
Boom! Boom! The explosive tags detonated, flames and smoke briefly obscuring their vision. Araki's figure flashed through the smoke and vanished. Deliberately exposing his whereabouts, he raced in the opposite direction from Ling and Xi, constantly throwing ninja tools to sow confusion.
"After him!" Two guards immediately pursued Araki, while the other two remained near the tower, keeping a wary watch on their surroundings.
An opening! Ling and Xi exchanged a glance, then charged out of hiding without hesitation, heading straight for the tower!
"Intruders!" The remaining guards spotted them immediately and shouted a warning while forming hand seals. "Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
Two raging streams of water rushed toward Ling and Xi like giant pythons!
"Stay close!" Ling growled. His Sharingan activated instantly, its scarlet pinwheels spinning at high speed! Just as the water was about to strike, he precisely anticipated the gaps and weak points in its impact. With astonishing flexibility and speed, he brought Xi through the converging streams by the narrowest of margins!
At the same time, he flicked his right hand. Several shuriken whistled sharply through the air, aimed not at the guards but at several crucial rune junctions channeling energy through the tower's base!
Clang, clang, clang! The shuriken struck the tower with clear metallic rings. Though they failed to damage its structure, they successfully disrupted the energy's stability, making the light across the tower flicker erratically for an instant!
"You're dead!" Enraged at the sight, the two guards abandoned their ninjutsu, drew their ninja blades, and charged!
"Xi!" Ling shouted, moving to meet one of the guards himself. With his left arm injured, he could not clash head-on. He relied entirely on the Sharingan's perception and anticipation, combined with nimble footwork, to hold his own. His kunai collided with the ninja blade, scattering a string of sparks.
The other guard charged at Xi, who looked weaker.
Yet although Xi was weakened, the Uzumaki Clan's powerful vitality and fighting instincts remained! She bit her fingertip and swiftly formed hand seals. A simple sealing barrier glowing pale red instantly spread out before her!
"Sealing Jutsu: Mirror Reflection!"
The guard's ninja blade hacked hard into the barrier. Not only did it fail to break through, but a rebounding force numbed his arm and sent him staggering backward! He stared at Xi in horror, seemingly never having expected this seemingly frail Miko to possess such power.
Seizing the opportunity, Ling had already used the advantage of his Sharingan to find an opening in his opponent's defense. His kunai sliced precisely across the guard's wrist, forcing him to drop his ninja blade!
"Now! Destroy the node!" Ling shouted to Xi, throwing all his strength into keeping the two injured guards occupied.
Without the slightest hesitation, Xi turned and rushed toward the tower. She pressed both hands against its cold wall, a trace of resolve flashing through her dark red eyes. She summoned the last of the power in her bloodline, along with the lingering contractual connection to the Ryūmyaku that had not yet been completely twisted!
"In the name of Uzumaki, hear my prayer... sever these twisted shackles!"
A gentle yet tenacious stream of pale red chakra flowed from her palms into the tower. Like drops of water falling into boiling oil, it immediately triggered a violent clash of energies within! The eerie blue rune light and the pale red power of Uzumaki eroded and canceled each other out. The tower began shaking violently, and more and more cracks spread across its surface!
The Fragment tucked against Ling's chest seemed to answer a summons as well. It grew scorching hot, pitch-black light spilling from it of its own accord, faintly resonating with Xi's power and accelerating the node's collapse!
It worked! Joy stirred in Ling's heart.
Yet just as the node was about to be completely destroyed-
Countless sheets of white paper appeared out of thin air amid the falling rain. As though alive, they gathered and folded, instantly forming the figure of a cold-faced woman with short blue-violet hair, dressed in an Akatsuki cloak. She stood directly between Xi and the tower!
Konan!
She hovered in midair, a pair of enormous paper wings made from countless explosive tags spreading behind her. Her icy eyes swept over the scene before finally settling on Xi, who was destroying the node.
"God Defiler, this ends here."
She raised a hand lightly. Countless sheets of paper swept toward Xi like a blizzard, moving at astonishing speed!
"Watch out!" Ling's eyes stretched wide with fury. He tried to come to her aid, but the two guards desperately entangling him blocked him completely!
Xi watched the sheets of paper bearing lethal chakra come sweeping toward her, filling her vision. A flicker of despair crossed her eyes. She no longer had the strength to cast another powerful defensive seal.
At that critical instant!
A figure shot in from the side like a cannonball and shoved Xi away! It was Araki! He had actually shaken off his pursuers and returned at the most desperate moment!
Shhk, shhk, shhk, shhk-! The dense sheets of paper swallowed Araki's figure in an instant like razor-sharp blades! Blood bloomed like red plum blossoms, painfully vivid amid the rain of white paper!
"Mr. Araki!" Xi cried out involuntarily.
Ling, too, was deeply shaken!
The paper scattered. Araki lay in the mud, covered in blood and barely breathing, yet his single eye remained fixed on Konan with unyielding hatred.
Konan glanced coldly at Araki, then turned her gaze back to Xi and Ling. The paper wings behind her beat slowly as more sheets circled her.
"The struggles of ants are meaningless."
The node had yet to be fully destroyed, and the strongest enemy had already arrived. In an instant, the situation took a drastic turn for the worse!
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