The immediate reversal lifted the spirits of the Rogue ninjas. They began making hand signs to use more Lightning jutsus. However, Korenaga was frowning, 'My entire body is hurting. This poison is very troublesome. We will need to win this fight or escape successfully within 5 minutes. Otherwise, we all might die here.'
While the rogue ninjas were making hand signs, someone watched them like a hawk. Fujin's eyes were glowing as he watched the only Rogue ninja who got shocked. Vacuum cores began forming in his mouth.
He shot 2 Vacuum bullets at the same time. During the last 2 months of training, Fujin had finally learnt to use 2 Vacuum bullets at the same time.
One vacuum bullet was shot at Korenaga while the other was shot at the paralyzed rogue. Korenaga noticed the attack and immediately moved out of the way while weaving hand signs. However, there was another ninja just behind him who didn't notice the attack. The bullet hit his right thigh and pierced through it.
As for the paralyzed rogue, the Vacuum Bullet pierced through his head and killed him. The deadly attack shocked them once again and reminded them of the seriousness of the situation. Korenaga launched False Darkness once again. This time it was aimed at Fujin.
Fujin noticed it and used Vacuum Bullet jutsu once again and shot 2 bullets at the incoming Lightning Spear. His bullets tore through the lightning spear and dispersed it. Korenaga had to dodge them once again. He frowned, 'Wind user. Things just keep getting worse!'
Tamotsu, Tadashi, Ryota and Kenta exited the water. Katsumi helped them to get on the shore. All breathed heavily. Tadashi gritted his teeth and complained, "Shit! That bastard is strong!"
Ryota agreed, "Yeah. And the Lightning element restricts me too much! Luckily Tamotsu at least neutralized it. Otherwise, we might have been in a lot of trouble."
Tamotsu said, "Though our movement will be hindered a bit, they are poisoned by Katsumi's bugs. We just have to hold on for around 5 minutes and they will begin losing their ability to move."
Katsumi nodded and said, "Four more minutes left. It will be best if they escape. That way we can just hunt down their unconscious or dead bodies."
Fujin noticed that all his team were on the shore. The Rogue ninjas who were under the water were approaching him. And the SealMaster from the group was weaving hand signs for a water jutsu. Not wanting to be surrounded, he flickered to his team. When he reached them, he heard Katsumi softly whispering, "Focus on stalling them. It's fine if they escape."
A second after he flickered, a Water Dragon formed where he was standing. The Rogue group exited the river and stood behind the Water Dragon.
As soon as they exited the river, Katsumi's bugs attacked them. His bugs had already spread over the river and swarmed them. The rogues had noticed the bugs when they were underwater. They immediately launched Explosion tags on them. Mokuami launched his Water Dragon at the Konoha ninjas.
However, Fujin countered with a giant ball of wind. It hit the Water Dragon's head and exploded, neutralizing it. Fujin followed it up with a dozen Air bullets. However, the enemy managed to dodge.
The Konoha ninjas who were electrocuted earlier stood up on their feet. However, their movement wasn't very fluent. Korenaga observed their movements. He analyzed, 'We could attack and try to kill them, but the Wind user will be tough to overcome. He can keep neutralizing our jutsus and keep us at a distance.
Every second that he stalls will be lethal for us. While that bug user is probably responsible for our poison. His bugs are an even bigger threat than the Wind user. We should escape while their mobility is hampered. No, I should!'
Without saying anything, Korenaga suddenly flickered away. Mokuami had expected him to do this and flickered away as well. The other two were shocked. However, within a second, they tried escaping as well.
Fujin was surprised at how they suddenly ran away. He thought, 'Wow! That leader just abandoned them and ran.'
He made a hand sign. A shadow clone with 10% of his chakra appeared. He flickered immediately. Just two flickers and he appeared behind the rogue who was running away on one foot.
The rogue ninja noticed him and threw a few shurikens at him and began weaving hand signs. However, the clone dodged all shurikens with extreme ease. A sword appeared in his hand and he swung the sword at the enemy. Realizing the threat, the rogue ninja moved backwards. However, a sword slash was released from the sword. The clone watched as the enemy's head was split from his neck.
While the clone was fighting, Fujin created another shadow clone and 10 Wind clones which chased after the remaining 3. After finishing off his opponent, the first clone also joined the chase.
Tamotsu looked at it and said, "Good work."
Fujin nodded and asked Katsumi, "Did you plant your bugs on them?"
Katsumi nodded and said, "All except the guy who used the Water jutsu. They are poisoned as well."
Fujin and Katsumi stayed on guard while the others warmed up to get rid of any issues they might have in moving around. After a couple of minutes, they began chasing.
Fujin said, "The one who was injured is dead. The others are escaping in different directions."
Tamotsu looked at Katsumi, who told them the exact locations. He instructed, "Alright. Fujin and Tadashi will hunt Saigo Rikyu. The rest of us will hunt that Jounin. Ignore the 3rd ninja for now."
Everyone nodded and split off. Fujin analyzed, 'Good decision. The main mission is to retrieve the sword. While the additional rewards are basically for bringing Rikyu's head. And with the enemy poisoned, they just need to wait until that Jounin to just die by himself.'
Korenaga and Rikyu quickly began consuming the antidotes they had. They had a general-use Antidote that could neutralize the poisons of the bugs from the Aburame clan. Their situation improved slightly. The pain and dizziness they were experiencing began decreasing. Both smiled.
The speed of Fujin's clones was much faster than theirs. His clones began catching up with the enemies.
The Wind clones chasing Rikyu were the first ones to catch up. Rikyu turned around to see 3 Wind clones chasing him. He thought, 'Wind clones. So annoying!'
He began weaving hand signs while escaping. The Wind clones knew that they wouldn't be able to defeat him. So they only focused on stalling him.
Rikyu turned around and used the jutsu he prepared.
'Lightning Release: Discharge jutsu'
He extended his palms ahead. Lightning appeared on his palms and was launched towards the clone. However, instead of it moving at a rapid speed, it moved slowly and instead spread in all directions.
The eyes of the clones widened as they retreated. They thought, 'A low damage AoE jutsu. It's perfect for dealing with clones.'
As the lightning discharged approached the clones, one of the clones stepped forward and poured all his chakra into a Great Breakthrough jutsu.
The Winds neutralized all the discharge and instead attacked Rikyu. However, after using the jutsu, Rikyu had already started running. The remaining 2 clones began chasing after him.
Mokuami was the next one to clash with the clones. Unlike Rikyu, he waited on top of a small lake for the clones to catch up.
As soon as the clones appeared in sight, he began making hand signs. He thought, 'I could have hidden perfectly. Unfortunately, this kid is a sensor. He would have figured out the general area and I would be trapped. I have to finish the clones before the ninjas begin sensing me as well!'
1 Shadow clone and 3 Wind clones approached him and noticed him weaving hand signs.
'Water Release: Raging Waves'
Mokuami spat out water in all directions. Just like Rikyu, his aim too was to use a wide-range attack to dispel the clones.
One of the Wind clones again moved forward and used all his chakra to use an Infinite Breakthrough jutsu to nullify the enemy jutsu.
The Wind clashed with the water and sent the water back to Mokuami. The remaining clones flickered to close the distance while preparing a jutsu.
'Wind Release: Air Bullet jutsu'
All 3 clones used Air Bullet jutsu at the same time. The Shadow clone aimed his bullets at Mokuami, while the Wind clones cut off his escape routes.
However, Mokuami stood his ground. A barrier appeared around him. The Air Bullets hit the barrier and were stopped.
The Shadow clone observed him carefully. He analyzed, 'Impressive. His speed at creating barriers is very fast. I should study barriers properly. They provide a very strong defense. That said, he is lucky that I can't use Vacuum jutsus with a clone yet. Else he might have died despite the barrier.'
Behind the barrier, Mokuami was rapidly weaving hand signs. His chakra suddenly flared. The Winds from the Infinite Breakthrough jutsu had died down. Water once again began gathering around him.
'Water Release: Piercing Rain jutsu'
The water formed a sphere around him. The surface of the water sphere began forming spikes. Soon, innumerable water needles were shot in all directions at a high speed.
