- Suiton: Suiryudan no jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Projectile Technique).
The dragon, which had absorbed the water spilling over the room, was one and a half times the size of the clone and roared forward through the billowing smoke to the barely visible barrier. The room shuddered from the collision and a moment later, there was the shrill ringing of a broken string.
- Futon: Daitoppa!
Akira quickly nailed the smoke to the opposite wall to assess the situation - he felt two of the chakra sources extinguished, and the remaining two began to rapidly recede. The room that opened up to the jonin's view was empty, save for two broken bodies near the crumbled wall where they had been pressed into by the machinery after the kekkai had broken through.
A kekkai with a very familiar chakra signature, as the kanpeki ningyo noted in passing. Looks like the criminal organizations are shopping at Basis' shop as well.
- They got away, the bastards," the doton man spat, voicing the thoughts of those present as the unremarkable door, which had previously blended in with the wall and was invisible even to a closer look, became visible. Obviously, after such a quick massacre, the enemy had correctly assessed his strength and used the barrier's protection to try to escape with varying success.
- Boss, shall we continue the pursuit? - one of the mercenaries asked respectfully.
- Naturally," Araki nodded, "I need to destroy them all to get rid of this new gang, and I could use the casino.
He didn't mention that with the new flow of money from this source, more mercenaries could be hired on a permanent basis, and even if they really were Danzo's young men, which was becoming more and more likely at the moment, even the one-eyed old man would have to think ten times before putting up a full-fledged battle in Ho no Kuni's capital.
Especially now, Anbu Ne is a pale shadow of himself before the last war and they have no more than two dozen clan fighters of the jonin level, all the rest from genin to tokubetsu jonin. The bulk are strong jounin.
Otherwise, Akira and Co. wouldn't have been able to clean up the small underground base so easily, killing a total of about two and a half dozen enemies, only one of which was really strong. Hence the casualties among the mercenaries formed.
Having already habitually sent forward the clones, the squad moved along a much narrower corridor, in which there were no traps. But the explosions that went off in the distance, and then the rubble that formed on the passage, had to be cleared, wasting precious seconds.
At one of those moments, Akira felt the seal on his chest warming, signaling the transfer of an item from the Core. Unnoticed by the focused mercenaries, he touched it with his hand and unsealed the scroll.
An instant was enough to recognize it and immediately cringe, and the shadows beneath his feet faintly darkened. Akira smiled slightly and silently gave thanks to the Core who had fitted a luxurious gift for the current situation.
Putting his hand behind his back, he put a few signs together.
"Catch up", 'track', 'destroy all'.
The shadow clone, also possessing some sensory abilities, albeit in a diminished form, but having no trouble with rubble, went on the hunt for the fugitives.
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