The closer they got to the gorge, the more violent the wind became.
Shiratori rode on his broom, his flying speed far surpassing that of the Ame ninjas running across the desert. He could constantly feel a gaze from among the ninjas occasionally landing on him.
It was Takigawa.
The fierce wind tore at Shiratori's clothes.
He stared straight ahead. The silhouette of the Suna encampment fortress came into view.
Takigawa, who was running through the desert approaching the left flank of the Suna camp, furrowed his brows. He looked worriedly at the figure in the sky getting farther and farther away.
Shiratori's broom rapidly ascended, rising beyond the field of vision of the Suna watchtowers. Thick clouds overhead blocked his figure from view, and from time to time, birds flitted past him.
At the same time, several crows were circling aimlessly near the Suna camp, their pitch-black pupils reflecting the rough layout of the camp. Shiratori hovered directly above the center of the Suna camp. From above, the vast camp looked only about the size of a soccer ball. Without hesitation, he pulled a scroll from his ninja tool pouch.
Sealing jutsu from the shinobi world really were incredible, especially for someone like him who could craft puppets.
Placing the scroll on his broom, he formed hand signs with both hands.
Poof!
A cloud of white smoke billowed into the air.
Bzzzzzz.
A dense buzzing sound, like that of bees flapping their wings, came from within the smoke.
The wind blew away the smoke, revealing a mass of small, black insects.
The insects were entirely black, no eyes or other features were visible. They were roughly the size of flies, their wings vibrating rapidly behind them. These were his black bug bombs, constructed through his cursed technique.
Their inspiration came from explosive clay techniques he'd observed.
He dove down from the sky on his broom in a near-vertical descent toward the Suna camp at incredible speed.
The bugs followed his movement, falling downward like black raindrops, each one dropping toward the center of the Suna camp.
"What is that?!"
"There's a ninja on a broom up there!"
A Suna ninja looked up, the descending figure of Shiratori reflected in his pupils.
He pointed skyward in horror.
The next second, a violent burst of flames swallowed his figure whole. The bugs spread rapidly outward with Shiratori at the center, flying in all directions.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted. Though each black bug was no bigger than a fingernail, the power of their explosions rivaled that of explosive tags.
Most importantly, these inconspicuous bugs appeared silently beside enemy ninjas and detonated in an instant, leaving them no time to react.
Fireballs exploded on the main tent of the Suna camp, on supply crates, and beside unsuspecting ninjas. Blinding flashes of fire burst forth across the encampment. Dust filled the sky, briefly obscuring the vision of the ninjas.
During this moment when the explosion drowned out all other sound, the silhouettes of the Ame ninjas appeared from both flanks.
On both the left and right sides of the Suna camp, sharp whistles and the clashing of ninja tools broke out simultaneously.
A massive number of Ame ninjas surged forth like storm clouds blotting out the sun, invading the Suna encampment. Poisoned kunai and shuriken formed a deadly net, and the Ame ninjas forcibly tore a breach in both the left and right flanks of the camp.
"Enemy attack! Ame ninjas! Both sides!"
The cries of the Suna ninjas echoed throughout the camp. Screams and roars of agony accompanied them.
After a brief moment of chaos, the Suna ninjas quickly regained their composure. They swarmed out from behind cover, moving as fast as lightning, engaging the Ame ninjas in close combat to prevent them from pushing further into the heart of the camp.
Shiratori circled low on his broom, his gaze sweeping over the clashing figures of Suna and Ame ninjas below. More and more black bug bombs launched from his side.
Walls of fire and shockwaves erupted without warning, engulfing the Suna ninjas.
As he dropped bug bombs, Shiratori simultaneously began crafting a new type of bomb before his eyes.
The Ame ninjas' morale surged.
Taking advantage of the explosions, they pressed forward even more ferociously.
Masters of close combat and assassination techniques, the Ame ninjas used the cover of fire and thick smoke to claim the lives of one Suna ninja after another.
Fresh blood seeped into the desert, staining the golden sand red.
[Killing Intent detected]
[Multiple sources: +2000 points each]
[Total accumulated: 30,000 points]
[Energy transferred to Sukuna]
[Development progress: 64.3%]
Shiratori looked down, it was just as he expected. He'd become their main target.
"Kill him!"
"He's the one causing all those explosions!"
The Suna ninjas joined forces to unleash their jutsu.
Powerful wind blades wove a massive net in the air, sealing off every possible escape route around Shiratori. Like a giant fishing net, it closed in from all directions, tightening around him. The air screamed as it was sliced by the wind blades, emitting sharp, explosive cracks.
And that wasn't all, dense volleys of kunai and shuriken were hurled toward him from every direction.
Shiratori, still riding his broom, paused his crafting.
He extended his hand. A silver-white liquid, flowing like a living organism, surrounded him and formed a spherical barrier in the air, encasing him completely.
The wind blades carved deep gashes into the solidified mercury sphere. Kunai and shuriken clanged against it, embedding themselves into the liquid metal.
Cling.
The mercury returned to its liquid state, flowing around his body.
The embedded weapons dropped one after another to the ground.
A glint flashed through Shiratori's eyes. He crouched low and dove straight down.
At the same time, the kunai and shuriken that had fallen to the ground suddenly floated into the air, slowly, then rapidly, and shot toward the Suna ninjas.
[Killing Intent detected]
[Multiple sources: +3000 points each]
[Total accumulated: 33,000 points]
[Energy transferred to Sukuna]
[Development progress: 67.6%]
His dive was so fast it left behind only a blur. The Suna ninjas couldn't even aim at him, especially now that they were also busy dodging the returning kunai and shuriken that were relentlessly pursuing them.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire!"
Several fire dragons roared past Shiratori, barely missing him. The last three bug bombs flew straight toward the Suna ninjas who had cast the jutsu.
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion erupted. Flames shot skyward. The blast wave swept outward with terrifying force.
In the middle of the swirling smoke and dust, Shiratori landed on the ground.
The Suna ninjas' faces immediately lit up with grim delight. This brat actually came down himself.
[Killing Intent detected]
[Multiple sources: +3000 points each]
[Total accumulated: 36,000 points]
[Energy transferred to Sukuna]
[Development progress: 71.2%]