chapter 46: Escape

Looking around and feeling the mental pressure, Bai Shi suddenly found himself at a loss for how to escape.

At this moment, Xiang spoke again: "Iwagakure Village is clearly well-prepared this time. This is not a place to stay for long."

Hearing this, Bai Shi remained silent, patiently waiting for the other party's next words.

Sure enough, Xiang continued, "A, we will provide cover; you find a chance to rush out."

After saying this, he took out a scarlet talisman from his pocket.

At first glance, Bai Shi recognized it. This was the talisman used by the Root organization when they hunted him. His blood was sealed within it, allowing them to sense his location within a certain range.

Bang!

A ball of fire erupted from Xiang's hand, instantly reducing the talisman to ashes.

It was clear that the other party was determined to fight to the death.

However, Bai Shi felt no gratitude for this sacrifice. He understood that Xiang was willing to fight because he did not want Bai Shi to fall into the hands of Iwagakure Village.

Ultimately, the other party was still acting out of loyalty to Konoha.

Moreover, without someone like Xiang leading the way, Iwagakure Village wouldn't have been able to find him. So why would Bai Shi have encountered such trouble?

With that in mind, Bai Shi simply nodded slightly and didn't say much.

---

**'What are they waiting for?'**

Looking at the group of Iwagakure ninjas surrounding him but hesitating to attack, Bai Shi felt a pang of doubt.

Just at that moment, he sensed a sudden wave of dread, as if a devastating calamity were imminent.

Without any hesitation, Bai Shi shattered a nearby tree branch with his foot and, using all his strength, propelled himself forward like a cannonball.

Almost as soon as he launched himself, a blinding white light erupted from the place he had been standing.

In an instant, the area was reduced to nothingness, with everything disintegrating into an atomic state.

Witnessing this scene, Bai Shi's pupils contracted. He turned to see an elderly man floating in the sky, the source of the light emanating from between his palms.

"Ōnoki?"

At that moment, Bai Shi felt more shocked than ever, as he had never expected the Third Tsuchikage to hunt him down personally.

It was important to remember that this was the time of the Ninja World War. Not only did Ōnoki have to be wary of decapitation attacks from hostile ninja villages, but he also needed to ensure the safety of his village.

However, after some thought, Bai Shi understood why Ōnoki felt confident enough to leave the village.

Currently, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Lao Zi, and the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, Han, were both in Iwagakure Village, making the village far less susceptible to being taken advantage of.

As for the decapitation operation, Ōnoki, being a flying ninja, had little to fear from being targeted by the enemy.

Furthermore, his strength was at the pinnacle of the ninja world, making him nearly unstoppable when using his Dust Release techniques.

In this sense, Dust Release was a higher-level power compared to Wood Release.

After all, Dust Release is formed through the fusion of the three elemental chakra natures: wind, fire, and earth, making it a bloodline elimination technique, while Wood Release is the result of merging two elemental chakra natures: earth and water, serving as a bloodline limit.

The perception of Wood Release being more powerful than Dust Release stemmed mainly from Hashirama Senju being significantly stronger than Ōnoki. If one were to compare Yamato and Ōnoki, the latter would likely be seen as the stronger of the two.

A flurry of thoughts raced through Bai Shi's mind. Just as he was about to land, he saw the white light sweeping directly toward him.

Unlike the Dust Release: Original Realm Separation Technique, which could only target a single point, the Dust Release: Limit Separation Technique that Ōnoki was currently performing had a much larger range, greater power, and a continuous effect.

As the light passed by, flowers, trees, soil, and rocks were all reduced to atoms. With the light bearing down on him, Bai Shi found himself in mid-air with no solid support to land on. For an ordinary ninja, this would have been fatal.

But Bai Shi was different; he possessed the Flying Thunder God Technique. Although his perception was being suppressed and he couldn't sense marks several kilometers away, he had no issue teleporting over shorter distances.

In the nick of time, he threw the kunai in his hand, and just before the light reached him, he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.

In an instant, Bai Shi crossed a distance of five or six meters, appearing next to the thrown kunai and narrowly escaping the range of the light.

After dodging this disaster, Bai Shi remained alert. The moment he reappeared, he hurled several kunai in various directions.

This tactic would make it difficult for Ōnoki to attack him again.

Ōnoki seemed to understand this as well. After Bai Shi successfully utilized the Flying Thunder God Technique and moved completely out of the reach of the Dust Release: Limit Separation Technique, he released the ninjutsu.

While this may sound like a drawn-out process, it all transpired in the blink of an eye, and even Xiang had only just begun to react.

Without hesitation, he utilized the teleportation technique and quickly reached Bai Shi's side, accompanied by three other individuals.

"Uh, three?"

Bai Shi glanced at the newcomers and recognized that, in addition to the expected ninjas from the Yamanaka and Nara clans, there was another figure present.

He detected a familiar scent from this person—it was a parasite!

"No wonder he has such a low profile; he's a ninja from the Aburame clan," Bai Shi thought to himself.

Xiang looked at the three team members and spoke in a serious tone: "Next, execute Plan C!"

"Yes!" the three responded in unison.

Though the exchanges were dull coming from beneath their masks, they carried a heavy sense of resolve.

In truth, Xiang was aware of Iwagakure Village's secret guidance; however, for Konoha, finding Bai Shi was paramount.

For this reason, they deemed it necessary to take a little risk.

When risks are taken, corresponding plans must be in place to avoid recklessness. The so-called Plan C was designed to handle the current situation.

Implementing Plan C meant that they must do everything within their power to ensure Bai Shi's safe departure.

Given the present circumstances, if they wanted to achieve their goal, they had to fight to the death.

This was why the three of them could not help but reveal a hint of sorrow.

---

**"Action!"**

The order was given. Xiang led the charge, rushing toward the approaching Iwagakure Anbu. Following closely behind Bai Shi, the other three protected him on his left, right, and rear.

Before the two sides met, the four Konoha Anbu launched a barrage of shuriken embedded with explosive tags.

Upon witnessing this, a member of the Iwagakure Anbu in front quickly halted, completing hand seals to perform the Earth Escape: Earth Flow Wall.

A solid wall of earth sprang up from the ground, successfully blocking the incoming shuriken.

However, while the earth wall could stop the shuriken, it could not prevent the detonating tags from exploding.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Accompanied by thunderous roars, dozens of detonating tags detonated in succession, causing the earth wall to collapse within mere moments, enveloped in dust.

Not pausing for breath, Xiang swiftly completed hand seals and unleashed his ninjutsu: Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu.

A torrent of flames erupted from his mouth, aimed directly at the Iwagakure Anbu forces.

Confronted with such an attack, the Iwagakure Anbu maintained their composure. After dodging a few flames, they immediately prepared to launch a counterattack.

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