Ronin's shadow clone was exceptionally fast, but the flying ants evidently possessed incredible dynamic vision. Their swooping attacks were highly calculated, perfectly anticipating its trajectory while locking onto its aura. Just as the beasts were about to make contact, the clone's speed abruptly spiked, allowing it to narrowly dodge the lethal dive. The ferocious insects crashed headfirst into the hard earth.
But the clone wasn't given a second to breathe; dozens more plunged from the sky in a relentless barrage. The Sharingan's superior tracking, combined with its flawless dynamic perception, enabled the lightning-clad clone to weave through the falling behemoths like a butterfly darting through a storm. It moved with an ethereal grace, untouchable and utterly composed.
Realizing their physical strikes were missing, the airborne ants aborted their dives. Hovering in place, they began spitting down streams of translucent fluid directly into the clone's path. The liquid hit the forest floor with a violent sizzle, instantly boiling into plumes of acrid white smoke.
The shadow clone skidded to a halt. Throwing its head back, its hands blurred through a sequence of hand signs. A split second later, a torrential surge of chakra erupted from its mouth, taking the shape of a massive, roaring dragon that tore upward into the swarm.
Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu.
The blistering inferno engulfed the flying ants as the fiery maw snapped shut around them. Those too slow to dodge were instantly incinerated, while even the ones that barely evaded caught fire, their wings crumbling to ash. The acidic venom they had spewed was entirely vaporized by the sheer heat of the dragon's ascent. Toxic white fumes billowed from the blast zone. Even the ants stationed too high to be burned found their exoskeletons rapidly corroding as the poisoned vapor drifted upward. The searing heat hadn't neutralized the venom; it had merely superheated it into a toxic gas, turning the ants' own weapon against them.
Pausing mid-step, the shadow clone seamlessly transitioned into another hand sign, expelling a massive deluge of water. As the wave surged forward, a churning torrent shaped like a shark enveloped its body. The aquatic beast dove into the rushing tide, rocketing forward through the lingering heat and toxic smog.
Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu paired with Water Style: Water Shark Bullet Technique. One to carve out a flowing waterway, and the other to grant high-speed, protected traversal through the flood.
The only drawback was the severe chakra cost of chaining high-tier ninjutsu. However, Ronin's reserves were on an entirely different level now. His massive aura capacity translated into an equally monstrous pool of chakra. Casting back-to-back techniques didn't destabilize the clone in the slightest; instead, it rode the Water Shark Bullet right through the enemy blockade.
Breaking past the swarm, the terrain dramatically shifted. The endless canopy of trees gave way to a massive, descending cavern entrance! Steep cliff faces surrounded the cavern, riddled with countless pitch-black tunnels. The oversized heads of worker ants occasionally poked out from these dark openings. Curiously, the main path leading directly into the central cave was completely devoid of life.
Yet, the moment the clone leapt from the dissolving water shark and landed near the entrance, a chilling sensation crawled up its spine.
It was Nen!
A freezing, malevolent aura drenched in pure bloodlust slithered up from the depths of the cave, locking tightly onto its body. The shadow clone felt as if a colossal viper had just locked its fangs onto its neck. In the very next second, the earth shattered beneath its feet, and a thick, muscular tail whipped upward, coiling tightly around its torso.
The clone had been projecting En the entire time, yet it hadn't sensed the subterranean ambush at all. However, a heartbeat later, the captured clone dissolved into a splash of water, slipping effortlessly through the coils. While En had failed to track the submerged threat, the Sharingan had perfectly perceived the minute tremors of the shifting dirt right before the attack. Anticipating the strike, it had instantly swapped places by casting the Water Style: Water Clone.
Using the water decoy to absorb the blow, the shadow clone repositioned itself mid-air and chained into a second jutsu: Earth Style: Weighted Rock Technique. In a flash, a dense encasement of heavy rock materialized over the writhing tail. But before the clone could press its advantage, a second tail erupted from the soil, spearing directly toward its descending body.
The clone's hand signs shifted with practiced ease, converting the weighted rock jutsu into the Light-Weight Rock Technique. Its plummeting momentum halted entirely, hovering suspended in mid-air as the smooth, serpentine tail whipped harmlessly past its face.
Boom!
The rock encasing the first tail shattered into dust. The second tail, having missed its target, had violently collided with the first. Simultaneously, a third tail erupted from the earth. The clone's eyes narrowed. Before the strike could land, its body scattered into a flock of cawing crows.
At that exact moment, a colossal snake head lunged from the cavern entrance, snapping its jaws shut precisely where the clone had been hovering. Chomping down on empty air, the giant serpent's cold, slit pupils contracted in confusion. It swiveled its massive head, its lantern-sized eyes scanning the surroundings. It was trying to locate its prey.
But the clone had already touched down quietly on the ground behind it.
The instant the snake had emerged from the cave, their eyes had met. And in that brief intersection of gazes, a Sharingan genjutsu was already woven. The beast remained completely unaware that the world it was currently perceiving was entirely dictated by the shadow clone.
The clone ignored the temporarily immobilized snake. It knew the genjutsu wouldn't hold a creature of this caliber for long, and its own chakra reserves were hitting critical levels. It needed to infiltrate the cave and confirm the situation inside immediately.
"Halt."
A chilling voice suddenly echoed from the side. The clone froze mid-step. Turning its head, it found itself staring up at an imposing ant—roughly twice the size of an average human—looking down at it with sheer disdain.
"You do not belong here."
The towering ant hadn't moved its mandibles; yet, the words resonated clearly within the clone's mind.
The clone's pupils shrank. Is this the King? Or the Queen? Its gaze shifted downward to the creature's abdomen, which was noticeably swollen, as if heavily pregnant.
What shocked the clone more, however, was the complete absence of Ten. The creature's life energy leaked out naturally and aimlessly, exactly like an ordinary, defenseless human.
"Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?" the clone probed. Simultaneously, it extended its En as far down into the cavern as it could manage.
The giant ant slowly shook its head. "You cannot kill me. If you doubt this, you are welcome to try."
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