In the rain, a visible bubble expanded at high speed, its surface covered with rough mist like fine needles. Reflections of blinding fire filled the eyes of everyone from Konoha and Kumogakure, as if a fountain made of flames burst upward. The fire surged out and was about to swallow the people from Konoha.
Just before the flames engulfed them, Tangdong Akimichi turned around and faced his broad back toward the blast. He shouted with resolve through the roar, "Baika no Jutsu!" At the same moment, two other voices rang out almost together, calling "Summoning Jutsu!" and "Kaiten!"
Boom. It was like a small sun exploding at close range, and the light and sound blinded and deafened everyone nearby. In the brief silence that followed, scorching air rushed forward and the shockwave shattered every window as broken wood and stone screamed through the air.
The people from Konoha were thrown into the air as if struck head on by a charging beast, tumbling backward before being hurled outside the inn. They crashed down in different places, bones cracking with sharp sounds and bodies wracked with pain as they lay on the ground with ringing ears and spinning vision. The explosion was sudden and fast, and after about ten seconds the black smoke slowly settled as the shaking faded.
"Puh." Aburame Ryoma spat out a mouthful of blood after hitting the ground, clutching his chest as if his organs had shifted. After a long while, his white washed vision began to recover from the static, and the first color he saw was orange firelight filling his view. His hearing followed, picking up the crackle of flames and low groans.
Coughing as thick smoke filled his nose, Aburame Ryoma struggled to his feet and looked at the collapsed inn. He saw the charred corpse of a massive insect lying there, his summoned beast reduced to blackened remains. If he had not stayed alert and used Summoning Jutsu on instinct, being so close would have left him dead or crippled.
There were two people even closer than him. With a cracking sound, a blackened arm reached out from the rubble and shoved away broken bricks as someone crawled free. It was Tangdong Akimichi, the one closest to the blast.
After using Baika no Jutsu, he had taken the strongest impact and blocked the force of the explosion. Without him at the front, the others would not have just been thrown away but would have faced the blast directly. As he pulled himself out, his strength failed and his shrinking body pitched forward onto the ground, his back covered in swollen, charred burns.
Even so, as a member of the Akimichi Clan known for body techniques, he did not die outright at such close range. His organs and brain were badly damaged by the shock, leaving him unconscious. Compared to them, the people from Kumogakure inside the inn were far less fortunate.
Black smoke and white steam filled the building like a curtain, and the heat twisted the air and blocked the sight of all Konoha Ninja. Soon a figure was flung out of the smoke and slammed down beside Aburame Ryoma with a painful grunt. When he saw who it was, Aburame Ryoma's eyes went wide.
"Ryuji Hyuga?!" How was that possible, surviving from so close? He was covered in ash and blood, with cracked skin where countless capillaries had burst, yet there were no severe burns.
A slanted gash cut across his chest, slicing through his clothes and looking more like a wound from a sharp weapon than from flying debris. Watching Ryuji Hyuga struggle in pain and fail to rise, Aburame Ryoma recalled the low shout he had heard at the moment of the blast. Kaiten released massive Chakra from the body's points and spun like a top to deflect physical attacks.
This overlooked member of the Branch Family had actually mastered a secret technique of the Hyuga Clan Main Family. Ryuji Hyuga coughed, his face split by two deep bloody cuts, and he grabbed Aburame Ryoma's arm with a hoarse voice. "Senior Ryoma, take Tangdong and go. That guy from Kumogakure still hasn't…"
He was cut off by a terrifying, rasping roar. "Damn it, I'll kill you all." As the words fell, a black shadow burst through the smoke.
The figure barely looked human, like a burned corpse still trailing smoke with the smell of scorched flesh. He was alive, though in extreme pain, his body covered in severe burns and his mind close to breaking. Iron sand dripped from around him, having blocked much of the impact but not the burns.
"Wait, stop!" Aburame Ryoma realized the danger at once and shouted, unable to move with his internal injuries. "Calm down, we didn't do this. We were hit too. Someone is trying to provoke us." Troy paused, his gaze sweeping over the equally disabled people from Konoha.
Just before he could calm down, eight black figures arrived at once from all sides using Shunshin. They were the Root ninja who had followed Aburame Ryoma and hidden nearby. "Don't attack!" Aburame Ryoma yelled the instant he saw Troy tighten his grip on his shuriken.
Two of them moved to treat the unconscious Tangdong Akimichi, and three stood tense at Troy's sides on guard. The remaining three stepped in front of Aburame Ryoma and, without hesitation, hurled their Kunai together. Aburame Ryoma stared in shock, never expecting the Root ninja to ignore his order.
Nearby, the still conscious ANBU members looked at Aburame Ryoma in doubt and suddenly understood his true identity. No wonder that familiar cold presence felt so clear, he really was one of Root. To the people from Konoha, the shout of "don't attack" now seemed like a signal to lure Troy off guard.
"Root… no, Danzo Shimura! Danzo Shimura still hasn't given up and wants to ruin the talks and start a war," the thought flashed through their minds. As members of ANBU, they knew too well the reputation and nature of the man behind Root. Yet Aburame Ryoma himself knew clearly that Root had never given any signal to attack.
At that moment, Ryuji Hyuga lowered his head, his face half hidden in the firelit shadow. "Shameless Konoha Ninja! You really had bad intentions from the start." Seeing the Kunai flying toward him, the last trace of hesitation in Troy vanished and pure rage drove him to act.
Buzz, buzz. He flung three massive shuriken, their hum slicing through the rainy night. Two of them blocked the incoming Kunai and cut the three attacking Root ninja cleanly in half.
The last massive shuriken flew on. The two Root ninja supporting Tangdong Akimichi felt their hair stand on end as they saw several shuriken coming from behind, a freezing dread locking their bodies in place. In the next instant, a figure appeared in front of them.
Eight Gates Second Gate, the Gate of Rest. Open.