The tanks roared to life.
The civilians from the Land of Rivers saw the Sand Ninja war machines advancing, and panic set in. They were herded into a tight formation of over 3,000 people in the middle.
"The Sand Ninja are going to kill us!"
"Run for your lives!"
Both the civilians and the ninjas hidden among them panicked as the Sand Ninja tanks rolled forward. To them, it was clear the Sand Ninja had lost their patience and were about to strike.
Unfortunately for them, the Sand Ninja had prepared more thoroughly than they realized. Flying rocket ninjas from the First and Second squads soared over the crowd, blocking escape routes. They fired their weapons, stirring up clouds of dust.
"No one is allowed to retreat!"
"Stay where you are!"
Tanks closed in from both sides while the rocket ninjas sealed off the rear. The rest of the troops pushed forward, forcing the crowd of 3,000 to huddle together, shivering like lambs to the slaughter.
It certainly looked like the Sand Ninja intended to round them up for a massacre.
Cries of fear screams, and curses filled the air, making Muzake's head throb.
"Scorpion, I'm going to need your help with this," Muzake said.
Scorpion was not thrilled. The mighty Scorpion Gundam, reduced to handling this? But a direct order from the boss was direct, so he complied.
The giant mechanical Scorpion strode out of his custom vehicle. In a few moments, the towering Scorpion Gundam was standing tall.
Boom! Boom!
In just two steps, he was in front of the terrified civilians.
Seeing the towering Gundam, the civilians despaired. Such a giant machine—one step would crush them all!
Their cries grew louder.
Scorpion roared, his voice amplified by loudspeakers.
"Silence!"
"Quiet down, or I'll stomp you all to death!"
His voice boomed like thunder, and even the children stopped crying for a moment.
The scene fell deathly silent.
Muzake nodded in approval. When it came to intimidation, the Gundam was very effective.
He turned to Kimimaro.
"Kimimaro, it's your turn now."
Kimimaro stepped forward, bowing slightly. "At your service, my lord."
The terrified civilians, barely suppressing their sobs, watched as a pale young man walked toward them. He stopped about a hundred meters from the crowd, and the Sand Ninja soldiers halted their actions.
"What's happening?" everyone wondered, eyes fixed on Kimimaro.
Kimimaro pressed his palms to the ground.
"Shikotsumyaku: Birth of the Iron Tree."
The ground between the people cracked open with a loud rumble, and a massive white bone tree sprouted from the earth. It grew larger, rising to a height of about three meters.
The civilians and the hidden ninjas stared in astonishment at the porcelain-white bone tree.
"What... is this?"
Muzake, however, was focused on the top of the tree. A white bone flower bud sat there, its petals slowly unfurling to reveal the center.
Everyone except Kabuto, saw nothing in the center. But in Kabuto's eyes, a pink-skinned, female-shaped substitute lay reclining inside the flower's core. She had a beautiful, voluptuous figure.
Her eyes opened when the flower fully bloomed, revealing pure black pupils. She smiled faintly before her entire body shattered into pink mist.
The mist began to swirl among the crowd of 3,000, and everyone smelled a faint floral scent. As they breathed, the pink mist entered their bodies.
Kimimaro checked the situation and then returned to Muzake.
"My lord, it's done."
Muzake nodded.
"Good. Now, let's start."
Scorpion shouted.
"You scoundrels! How dare you block our army's path! You deserve death!"
He raised the Gundam's massive foot, preparing to stomp on the crowd.
"Help! They're going to kill us!"
"Let's fight them!"
"Run! Everyone, charge!"
The hidden ninjas, unwilling to be trampled to death, urged the civilians to rush the tanks and began preparing their chakra for battle.
But as soon as they started gathering chakra, something went wrong.
"Ahhhh!"
A ninja screamed in terror.
"What... what is this?"
Those around him were horrified.
"Monster! Monster!"
The ninja's ribs burst through his skin like wild fangs. His leg bones swelled into grotesque, bulbous shapes.
People around him recoiled in fear.
"Ahhhh!"
More screams followed as other ninjas became bone monsters, their skeletons growing uncontrollably. Skull bones, nose bones, chest bones, and leg bones began to grow in bizarre, chaotic ways, making each person resemble a grotesque flower of bones.
Seeing this, the rest of the crowd was thrown into a more profound panic.
"Monsters! Monsters!"
"Run!"
Boom!
A tank fired a shell that exploded nearby, and Scorpion's loudspeaker boomed again.
"Everyone, quiet down!"
"To the ninjas hiding among you—you've been poisoned."
"If you don't want to turn into bone monsters, stay still."
This time, the crowd fell completely silent.
Kimimaro's substitute, the Bone Fragrant Taro, had worked.
Bone Fragrant Taro
Ability: Normally hidden within Kimimaro's bones, when the Bone Tree blooms, it disintegrates into pollen, spreading through the air and entering people's bodies through inhalation.
The pollen is harmless to ordinary people and will leave the body after 12 hours. However, it affects chakra users by converting chakra into calcium, causing excessive bone growth.
Once a person begins extracting chakra, the process becomes uncontrollable, leading to the rapid growth of their bones.
There are several ways to counter it: stop breathing, expel the pollen immediately, wait 12 hours without using chakra, or leave the affected area.