Naruto: The Wind Calamity
chapter-696

As the 64 clones rushed into the eight pathways, Mabui became tense. She thought, 'If he is low on chakra, he could use the reverse summoning again. He must have someone inside the village helping him. Once he uses it, our sensors will find him and the one helping him. However, this will likely result in a heavy loss of civilian lives…'

All 64 clones entered the building while everyone outside the building paid close attention. Suddenly, their eyes widened. Nanako stuttered, "This… How are we supposed to know what is happening inside?"

When Fujin decided to create the Fuin Battlefield, his goal was to create a battlefield that would trap anyone who was already inside the battlefield and kill them before they could get or even ask for any reinforcements. However, while he was creating it, one of his Shadow Clones had a different idea.

If the Fuin Battlefield was similar to an invisible fort, his clone wanted to create a battlefield similar to a labyrinth. Instead of trapping the ones inside, it would be laid at a location the enemy wanted to attack or pass through. Entering inside it would be easy, however, that was when it would show its fangs.

Fujin worked on this idea later and made it a reality. The end result was so devious that Fujin immediately named it the Devil's Playground.

As soon as the clones entered the building, a barrier appeared on the entrances to the eight paths. Neither the sensors nor the Sealmasters could sense what was happening inside. The only way they could still know what was inside was if the clones came outside.

They waited patiently for over 10 minutes, but nothing happened. Finally, there was a change. However, the change left them dumbfounded! The barriers at the entrance of the eight pathways disappeared. Everything seemed to be just the way it was 10 minutes ago. The only difference was that there were no signs of any clones!

The Kumo ninjas exchanged glances, fear visible in their eyes. 64 elemental clones had just disappeared! All signs pointed out that all 64 clones had been wiped out. What scared them even more was that there weren't any signs of combat in the pathways.

Inazuma sucked a cold breath and asked, "Nanako, did you notice anything? How could the clones be wiped out without any signs of combat?"

A few drops of sweat rolled down Nanako's face. She answered, "I'm not sure. It is possible that he is hiding any such signs with his seals. No… That would mean that he eliminated everyone very quickly and had enough time to fix all eight pathways. That would be difficult to do in just ten minutes.

I guess the fighting happened at a deeper place inside the building. Either that or our clones are trapped somewhere. There is also a chance that he has some helpers. Maybe the one who reverse summoned him into our village wasn't the only one. That would explain a lot."

Inazuma calmed down and said thoughtfully, "It is also possible that the seal formation has mechanisms to hurt clones just enough to dispel them quickly. Regardless…"

Inazuma sighed. Things looked very bad. However, he couldn't stop. Waiting obediently for Ay to return would be too big of a blow to Kumogakure's morale. That said, understanding how difficult the circumstances were, Inazuma decided to focus more on keeping the losses to a minimum. He lowered his goals and said, "Let's test out this seal formation more. Even if we are unable to crack it open, we can at least get Fourth some information regarding this."

The Kumo ninjas immediately began experimenting. They sent 8 elemental clones, including Nanako's Lightning clone, in a single passage and tried to communicate with them. Unfortunately, all their attempts ended in failure. Nanako's clone attacked the barrier from inside but stopped immediately after confirming that the damage was being distributed along the entire formation and damaging the building's foundation.

Outside the building, the Kumo ninjas kept a watchful eye. To their surprise, the barrier disappeared much more quickly this time. Nanako muttered, "The barrier disappeared in just 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Just like earlier, there are no signs of our clones or combat. Does it mean that how quickly the barrier opens depends on the number of pathways we enter into?"

Inazuma had the same thought. They continued testing the seal formation. Another hour passed. Only two and a half hours were left from the four hours. Looking intently at the information written in front of her, Nanako said, "I see it now. If we take just 1 or 2 pathways, the barrier disappears in 2.5 minutes. If we take 3 or 4 pathways, it takes 5 minutes. Taking 5 or 6 pathways requires 7.5 minutes for the barrier to disappear while 7 or 8 pathways take 10 minutes. However, irrespective of how much time it takes, our clones always disappear. Huh?"

Nanako's eyes widened. Everyone followed her gaze and looked at the stopwatch. It displayed 5 minutes and 4 seconds as the clock continued ticking!

Mabui immediately asked, "Wait a minute, we only sent clones through 4 pathways this time. Why hasn't the barrier disappeared yet?"

Everyone's minds quickly began analyzing. Slowly, nearly every Kumo ninja had the same thought. One of the council members muttered, "Is he slowing down?"

"Yes, that must be it!"

"Elder Inazuma was correct. Our enemy is low on chakra. He must be dealing with all the clones by himself. Even if he has allies, they might be getting exhausted too."

"If his chakra is low, he won't be able to fight Raikage-sama. Heck, we could defeat him ourselves!"

"Do you think the clones defeated Akuro?"

"No, that's impossible. Don't forget that he took on Darui and others by himself."

Inazuma didn't join his colleagues, but he could feel some weight off his shoulders. He looked at Nanako and asked, "Nanako, what are your thoughts?"

Nanako replied thoughtfully, "It is difficult to say what exactly is happening. However, it shows that there is an issue, either with Akuro, the seal formation or his allies. We need to wait and see when the barrier opens up and what happens when it does. It'd be the best if one of our clones could return."

Inazuma nodded. He had the same thought. They waited patiently as the stopwatch kept clicking.

A couple of dozen kilometers from the border between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Frost, a Hyuga was standing with his back against a tree. He made a hand seal and activated his Byakugan to inspect his surroundings. However, he immediately deactivated his Byakugan. In the blink of an eye, his back was drenched in sweat and fear was visible on his face.

He took a few deep breaths to compose himself, but the fear didn't reduce. He waited for a couple of minutes before opening a scroll and took out a Chakra Transmission Communication device.

In Konoha, Shikaku was sitting patiently in the communication room. Even Hiruzen's clone was present as Yamanaka Fumito sat with a large device around his head. Hiruzen's clone and Shikaku suddenly looked at him.

A couple of minutes later, Yamanaka Fumito reported, "We have a report. Hyuga Hisao spotted the Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee in the Land of Frost. Both are moving towards the Land of Lightning in a hurry. He said that he saw a Lightning Cloak on the Fourth Raikage and Eight Tails' chakra cloak on Killer Bee. No one else was spotted with them."

Hiruzen's clone and Shikaku were surprised. Shikaku muttered, "I didn't expect them to hurry in such a rush. The situation inside the Land of Lightning must be very serious for them to leave their comrades behind."

Hiruzen's clone sighed and said, "We had calculated for 8 more hours. However, if he continues moving using that technique, they'll reach Kumogakure within a couple of hours. It's time to end the operation."

Shikaku sighed as well and muttered, "A shame. Then again, I suppose this is the best we'll get without having to pay a terrifying price."

As he spoke, he grabbed a black tag and crushed it. Several thousand kilometers away, another black tag began burning. Shikaku placed his hand on Fumito's shoulder and said, "I'll talk with Fujin. You mark his location on the map and see whether he has any risk of running into the Raikage. Since Killer Bee is with him, even flying over them could be risky."

Fumito nodded and looked at the map in front of him. Just then, he heard a voice, "Has the Raikage returned so quickly?"

Shikaku replied, "It's not just the Raikage. Killer Bee is with him as well. Both are rushing back at full speed. They might reach Kumogakure in a couple of hours. It's time to abort."

As Shikaku spoke, he and Hiruzen's clone looked at Fumito's hand as he grabbed a pencil and marked Fujin's location on the map!