At almost the same moment, Dandelion's fingers suddenly formed seals, so fast that only an afterimage remained.
"Demonic Illusion, Tree Binding Death."
With Dandelion's low voice, countless thick branches suddenly shot out from the ground beneath Sora's feet, winding upwards like living snakes.
These branches carried a cold touch, instantly tightly binding Sora's legs.
Even more bizarrely, Dandelion's figure suddenly disappeared from his original spot, and the next moment he slowly emerged from the large tree behind Sora, his hands clawing towards Sora's neck.
This was exactly Shinku Yūhi's signature genjutsu, using realistic tactile illusions to catch the enemy off guard.
But just as the genjutsu was about to succeed, the Dragon's Might within Sora surged autonomously.
"Break."
Sora let out a low shout, an aura like that of a primeval beast suddenly erupted. The branches entwining his legs shattered and dispersed like flowers reflected in water or the moon in a mirror, and the figure of Dandelion attacking from the tree twisted and disappeared.
The real Dandelion was still standing in place, a trace of shock appearing on his face.
He was a jonin, and he had just used the A-rank genjutsu "Demonic Illusion, Tree Binding Death," yet it was easily resolved by Sora.
Although the intelligence did mention that Sora had broken an Uchiha genjutsu, that was under the premise of him having opened the Eight Gates and his chakra flowing at high speed.
To quickly capture Sora, he had used his strongest genjutsu right from the start, but the result was completely unexpected.
By now, Sora had landed steadily after several backflips, his right hand already resting on his ninja tool pouch, his gaze beneath the Green Snake mask turning cold.
Sora's voice came through the mask, his tone icy. "Is this your so-called important intelligence?"
Hearing Sora's words, Dandelion recovered from the shock of his genjutsu being broken and returned to his lifeless demeanor, as if the one who had just launched a sneak attack wasn't him at all.
'As expected… it's someone from Root.' Sora sneered inwardly, his alertness raised to the highest. 'This kind of sudden sneak attack, and this cold-as-ice temperament—no mistake about it.'
Dandelion did not answer Sora's question, nor did he even look at Sora any further. He simply raised his hand slightly, making a simple gesture.
Whoosh.
Whoosh.
Whoosh.
Three figures emerged silently like ghosts from the shadows of the rocks and bushes on both sides of the valley, instantly forming a semicircle surrounding Sora.
Together with Dandelion in front, it was exactly a standard four-person Root squad.
Sora's gaze quickly swept over the three newly appeared individuals.
The person on the left wore a black leopard mask, had a medium build, moved lightly, and carried two short swords crossed on his back. His chakra aura was sharp, giving a feeling of agility and danger. His strength was estimated to be that of a Tokubetsu Jonin.
The person on the right wore a wild boar mask, had the most burly physique, with bulging muscles. Just standing there gave a sense of pressure. His fists were larger than earthen pots, clearly a type specializing in taijutsu. His strength was also estimated to be that of a Tokubetsu Jonin.
The last person stood slightly further back, wearing a common tanuki mask. However, the chakra fluctuations from his body were more obscure and colder than those of the black leopard and wild boar. The sense of threat he gave Sora was only slightly weaker than that of the squad leader Dandelion. He was probably not far from being a jonin.
'One jonin, three Tokubetsu Jonin… Danzo really thinks highly of me.' Sora's expression beneath the mask became extremely grave. 'This setup, used to deal with a kid who ostensibly only has chunin strength, is simply using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.'
The four Root members did not exchange any communication, not even a glance. The moment after appearing, with extreme tacit coordination, they simultaneously launched their attacks.
Dandelion formed seals with his hands again, this time Earth Release, Earth Spears.
Several sharp stone spears suddenly thrust upwards from beneath Sora's feet.
The black leopard's figure swayed, charging forward swiftly like a real leopard. Both swords were drawn, bringing up two cold flashes of light, aiming directly at Sora's arms. The intention was clearly to capture him alive.
The wild boar let out a low roar, his massive body bursting out with speed that did not match his physique. His huge fist, wrapped in a gust of wind, punched towards Sora's face with incomparably fierce power.
As for the guy wearing the tanuki mask, suspected to be a jonin, he stood still with his arms crossed. But his cold gaze was locked tightly onto Sora, as if waiting for a one-hit kill opportunity, or guarding against Sora's escape.
The attacks were fierce, the coordination tacit, sealing off all Sora's space to evade.
'Can't hold back. Otherwise, I'll really fall here today.'
Faced with this certain-kill situation, Sora did not hesitate in the slightest.
"Eight Gates Released Formation, Fourth Gate, Gate of Pain, open."
Boom.
Vast chakra surged out from within his body like a bursting flood. Green energy steam instantly enveloped Sora's entire body. A powerful sense of strength filled every corner of his body.
He pushed off forcefully with his feet, the ground instantly cracking. Sora narrowly dodged the thrusting stone spears from below and the wild boar's heavy punch.
Ssssh.
Although he avoided vital points, the black leopard's dual swords still cut his arms, drawing two lines of blood.
But Sora seemed to feel no pain. Leveraging the greatly increased speed and strength after opening the Gate of Pain, his body twisted forcefully mid-air, a fierce whip kick sweeping towards the pursuing black leopard.
Thud.
The black leopard clearly did not expect Sora's speed after opening the Fourth Gate to be this fast. In haste, he could only block with his dual swords.
A huge force transmitted from the blade, shaking his arms numb. He involuntarily slid back several meters before steadying himself. His gaze beneath the mask was filled with shock.
'This is the Eight Gates Released Formation. The Fourth Gate already has this kind of strength and speed.'
After one strike forcing back the black leopard, Sora did not pause. The moment he landed, he sprang up again, taking the initiative to charge toward the strongest, Dandelion.
'Must first deal with or seriously injure this leader.'
Seeing this, Dandelion's gaze remained cold. He quickly formed seals. "Wind Release, Vacuum Wave."
Several sharp wind blades howled as they slashed toward Sora.
But Sora, with the Gate of Pain open, had greatly enhanced dynamic vision. His body twisted in various inconceivable angles in the air, narrowly avoiding all wind blades like a swimming fish.
Instantly closing the distance.
Dandelion seemingly didn't expect Sora to close in so easily. He instinctively retreated while trying to form seals again.
'Now.'
A glint flashed in Sora's eyes, knowing the opportunity was fleeting.
'Relying on the Eight Gates alone isn't enough. Must use that.'
He did not hesitate to mobilize the power of the Azure Dragon Fruit within his body.
Hum.
A force different from chakra, more ancient and vast, instantly poured into his legs.
Visible beneath the bandages, the muscles of Sora's calves slightly swelled. The skin surface revealed fine, dense, and tough azure dragon scales. The bones at his ankles emitted faint crackling sounds, becoming more powerful, as if dragon claws took root, closely connected to the earth.
Simultaneously, a light and nimble wind-element power naturally coiled around Sora's legs.
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