Chapter 56: The Pursuit
Such a massive fire could not be extinguished with a simple Water Style jutsu. Watanabe Musashi used a basic Water Style technique to drench the three of them, and they forced their way through the flames.
"They're out! But one is missing."
"I know. Based on the chakra signature, it was just a Genin. But his flying summon is a problem. Send one person to try and take him out. If it's too difficult, abort. He's not the primary target. As for the others... leave no survivors."
"But before we left, Lord Saiki said we couldn't let any of these Hidden Hot Water shinobi escape, or it might jeopardize his ascension in their village..."
The lead Root ninja, who wore a wolf mask, let out a cold, disdainful laugh. "Saiki is a useless fool! He's spent years trying to take control of a pathetic village like the Hidden Hot Water for Lord Danzo and still hasn't succeeded. He's worthless!"
"I heard... those Hidden Hot Water shinobi are exceptionally loyal to each other," another Root ninja offered quietly.
"Stop making excuses for him, Kōkaku! In my eyes, Saiki is a complete and utter waste! If the Hidden Hot Water Leader, Jade, wasn't on his deathbed, Saiki never would have had an opportunity like this!"
"...Yes, sir."
"They're coming, Father!" Watanabe Toneri yelled nervously, glancing behind him.
In the bright glare of the inferno, the figures of the Root shinobi with their eerie masks were crystal clear. The three of them followed Watanabe Musashi, fleeing desperately in the opposite direction of Mr. Kawabe's caravan.
"Do you blame me... Toneri? Kaze?" Watanabe Musashi asked while running at full speed.
The two younger men, startled, quickly understood his meaning. Watanabe Toneri's nervousness instantly vanished. He looked at his father's back with a smile. "How could I? In my eyes, Father, you are a great ninja."
Tanabe Kaze's honest face was calm. He also understood Watanabe's decision to kick Kael out of the fight. "I don't blame you, Captain Watanabe. That kid Kael is far more talented than either of us. To be able to fight Namikaze Minato, Konoha's greatest modern genius, to a standstill... he is the future hope of our village. It's just..."
"Just what?" Watanabe Musashi glanced back at the young man who was usually so carefree.
"It's just... given Kael's personality, will he really run away alone?" Tanabe Kaze smiled faintly.
"He's right, Father," Watanabe Toneri added, his face certain. "Kael doesn't talk much, but I can feel that he is a shinobi with a good heart."
"He should understand that even with his summons, he would be powerless in this situation..."
"But Father... he's never been a particularly rational person," Toneri replied.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A Root ninja flew through hand seals, channeling a massive amount of chakra into his lungs. A gigantic crimson fireball roared toward the giant bird in the sky, igniting the treetops in its path. The smell of burning air once again filled the forest.
Kael, on the Wind Eagle's back, felt a wave of intense heat rising from below. Without waiting for his command, the Wind Eagle flapped its wings powerfully, vanishing from its spot just as the fireball was about to hit.
The Root ninja below sighed in frustration. He had no way to deal with a flying opponent.
"Little Wind, ignore him! Fly that way!" Kael ordered, pulling the indignant eagle back on course, pointing in the direction Watanabe Musashi and the others had fled.
"Chirp!"
"Captain! They're catching up!" Tanabe Kaze yelled in a low voice.
With two Chunin, Watanabe Musashi's speed was inevitably dragged down. Behind them, the Root shinobi had closed the distance to just over twenty meters. At this range, ninjutsu was at its most devastating.
"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
Eleven Root ninja performed hand seals simultaneously, unleashing a combination jutsu. The wind fed the flames, and in an instant, a roaring inferno erupted in the forest. A wave of fire, dozens of meters wide, surged forward, swallowing the trees as it rushed toward the three fleeing shinobi.
The ferocious storm of fire tore the night apart, painting the world crimson. The cold night air evaporated, and the temperature skyrocketed. The sea of fire rolled towards them, and even before it reached them, they could feel an intense, scorching heat at their backs, as if they were being roasted on a spit, about to burst into flames.
"Father! What do we do?" Watanabe Toneri cried out in panic.
He and his father were both Lightning Style users, and Tanabe Kaze used Earth Style. None of them knew how to counter a combination jutsu of this magnitude. Fire Style was known for its wide-area, high-damage output, and could only be extinguished by Water Style. But a wind-fueled firestorm of this scale was beyond what any normal Water Style jutsu could handle. Its power and range had already surpassed that of an A-rank technique.
This was one of the reasons Root was so feared. Their machine-like calm and perfect coordination allowed them to unleash power far beyond what ordinary shinobi could imagine.
Watanabe Musashi knew without looking back that this jutsu was impossible to dodge. He turned to Tanabe Kaze. Earth Style couldn't counter Fire, but it was their only option.
Tanabe Kaze took a deep breath, nodded, and began forming hand seals. He channeled every last drop of his chakra into the jutsu.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
RUMBLE!
The ground beneath him shook violently. A massive brown wall, ten meters high, shot up from the earth, sending a cloud of dust and debris into the air. The strength of this all-purpose defensive jutsu scaled with the user's chakra.
BOOM!
The continuous roar of the explosion slammed into the wall. The three shinobi, who had stopped behind it, covered their ears as the sound waves washed over them.
The massive inferno washed over and around the earthen wall, and a blast of superheated air ripped past them, making their clothes snap and their skin feel like it was blistering. But they had no time to worry about the heat.
Tanabe Kaze's jutsu had blocked the initial blast, but they all knew what was coming next. The moment the jutsu's power faded, the Root shinobi would be upon them.