Chapter 76: Attack on the Underground Base
Kaito and Mieko, according to their plan, split up and headed in opposite directions, beginning to clear the remaining rooms.
Hodaka, meanwhile, stayed in position, setting traps at the Main Hall's entrance to prevent the bandits from escaping in that direction.
He created quicksand at the entrance using Earth Release, along with numerous stone spikes surrounding the quicksand trap.
The second rogue shinobi was closer to Mieko's position than Kaito's, so she reached him first after eliminating six more bandits.
Despite Mieko's best efforts at stealth, the shinobi sensed something was wrong and had two of his subordinates prepare for trouble.
When he saw Mieko rushing toward him at high speed, he threw several shuriken to disrupt her advance.
Seeing the shuriken flying at her, Mieko thought, "Oh no, they've noticed me."
Mieko easily dodged the shuriken with her Sharingan, thinking, "Well, this will make things more interesting anyway."
She quickly closed the distance. To avoid alerting the others, she couldn't use destructive Fire Release techniques and could only get close enough to use Fire Release: Flame Finger.
Soon, she reached the appropriate range and unleashed her jutsu.
Her right hand extended, middle and index fingers pointing at the rogue shinobi's heart, releasing a concentrated heat beam.
Although the shinobi didn't know what technique Mieko was using, her outstretched fingers warned him of danger, and he quickly stepped back.
Mieko pursued, but the shinobi hid behind one of his subordinates. Mieko inwardly cursed, "Coward!"
She changed her target and focused the heat ray on the subordinate, killing him instantly.
However, the rogue shinobi used this opportunity to throw three shuriken at Mieko.
Due to the close proximity, Mieko had to dodge quickly. She barely managed to evade them at the last moment.
She regained her composure and was about to continue her attack when a sword suddenly pierced the shinobi's heart from behind.
This irritated Mieko, as Kaito had stolen her kill. She said angrily, "I could have handled him myself..."
But a scream interrupted her complaint.
Seeing his boss's heart pierced by a blade, the remaining bandit was terrified. He screamed in horror.
Mieko realized her mistake and quickly threw a kunai at the bandit, silencing him permanently.
Kaito ignored Mieko's annoyance and instead focused his attention on the Main Hall.
The battle had already created considerable noise, attracting some attention. And that scream had definitely caught the attention of all the bandits in the hideout.
Kaito sighed and said, "You weren't stealthy enough."
Mieko snorted and replied, "Well, it doesn't matter anymore."
She began forming hand seals. Kaito flickered to her side and also began forming hand seals.
Simultaneously, they each released their jutsu—Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet and Wind Release: Wind Dragon Technique.
In the Main Hall, the bandits were busy organizing their recently acquired loot. Some bandits heard the commotion from Mieko's direction, but most paid no attention.
But soon, a scream attracted everyone's attention. The remaining three rogue shinobi went on high alert immediately.
One of them ordered two bandits to investigate the situation. The two cautiously walked toward the exit in that direction.
However, just before reaching it, they suddenly felt an intense wave of heat.
Before they could react, a dragon head made of flames entered the room, engulfing them completely.
They immediately screamed in agony.
The Fire Dragon quickly entered the room. Seeing a massive Fire Dragon, the bandits froze in fear, paralyzed.
The Fire Dragon then began unleashing Wind Blast jutsu throughout the room.
Upon seeing this, one rogue shinobi quickly formed hand seals, slammed his hands on the ground, and erected an earth wall in front of him. Some nearby bandits quickly scrambled behind the protective barrier.
The Wind Blast technique directly struck seven bandits. The fierce winds generated by the explosion sliced the throats of two bandits, killing them instantly.
However, they were far luckier than those who didn't die immediately. For the remaining five, the wind blades caused numerous small cuts across their bodies.
Because it was a combination jutsu, the wind was superheated.
So while cutting, it also caused minor burns on the bandits. When their wounds were exposed to the scorching wind, the pain was excruciating.
Among those five bandits, one was especially unlucky—he didn't even close his eyes in time. As a result, the hot air blasted directly into his eyes, burning them severely.
So although the technique didn't kill them outright, they were badly wounded and in tremendous pain.
Even nearby bandits suffered cuts from the searing wind.
However, they could still fight or flee. This attack caused panic to spread among the bandits.
Three bandits immediately tried to escape the base. They rushed to the ladder and began climbing upward.
Unfortunately for them, Hodaka was positioned above the exit.
Hodaka waited for the three bandits to climb the ladder, then formed hand seals and used Earth Release: Stone Spear Technique.
Dozens of stone spears began emerging from the walls surrounding the ladder.
They pierced all three bandits on the ladder, killing them instantly. The spears also blocked the remaining bandits' access to the ladder.
Two bandits ran toward the area previously cleared by Kaito. Sensing the bandits running in that direction, Kaito prepared himself, waiting for them.
As soon as the bandits left the Main Hall, Kaito detonated the explosive tags he had placed there earlier. This caused rocks from the ceiling to collapse, crushing both bandits. It also completely blocked that exit.
Five bandits ran toward the room where Hirota had originally been stationed. However, as soon as they exited the Main Hall, they fell directly into the quicksand trap.
The quicksand created by Hodaka was four meters deep and covered the entire entrance. All five bandits were trapped immediately, slowly sinking.
Eleven bandits hid behind the earth wall created by their leader, while eight bandits were still attempting to escape in another direction.
However, after witnessing what happened to their comrades, they stopped in their tracks.
Kaito seized this opportunity to have the Fire Dragon unleash three more Wind Blast techniques, inflicting varying degrees of damage on all eight.
The Fire Dragon then circled to get a clear view of the bandits hiding behind the earth wall.
The rogue shinobi leader quickly formed another earth wall.
However, Kaito and Mieko had already anticipated this move.
Instead of attacking directly, the Fire Dragon circled around, casting two Wind Blast techniques to prevent them from escaping in that direction.
Two sides were now blocked by earth walls, and the other two sides were sealed off by Wind Blast techniques.
Only the three rogue shinobi managed to jump over the barrier and move to the other side of the earth wall. The remaining bandits were trapped and suffered minor injuries.
The Fire Dragon then surged forward, engulfing all those bandits in flames. All eight bandits caught fire, and the Fire Dragon dissipated at the same time.
This coordinated attack had incapacitated all the bandits in the hideout except for the three rogue shinobi.
Two of them were rookies with no actual shinobi combat experience beyond banditry.
Only the leader had real experience—he used to be a genin from Kusagakure. He sensed that the combination jutsu was about to dissipate and shouted, "Quick, follow me!"
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