Chapter 27: The Kill Zone
Aburame Torune and the other Anbu moved swiftly and climbed the cliff that wasn't completely blown up.
They were elite Root shinobi, so naturally their chakra control was excellent.
Because of that, they could easily climb using chakra on their feet.
Previously, they had used the path since it was the better option.
Now, after climbing, they immediately moved into formation again.
But all of this had cost them time.
Valuable time that could have been used to chase down Uchiha Kenzo.
As they regrouped again,
Torune released several Rinkaichū insects into the air.
Despite the destroyed path, the insects quickly located faint biological traces left on the nearby rocks.
The direction was clear.
Kenzo had already escaped into the forest before the collapse.
Torune stood silently for a moment as the Rinkaichū insects gathered around him again.
Then he spoke calmly.
"Forward."
The Root operatives immediately followed.
They leapt from branch to branch, moving swiftly through the forest once again. Despite the explosion and the delay, their formation remained disciplined and controlled.
The forest ahead looked different from the earlier terrain.
Several trees were blackened and half-burned, their trunks cracked from an earlier battle. Ash still covered parts of the ground, and the soil beneath their feet felt loose.
Yamanaka Fū moved beside Torune as they advanced.
"Are you sure the trail continues from here?"
Torune nodded slightly.
"It continues from here."
The insects had already confirmed it. Faint biological traces still lingered on the bark of several trees ahead. They were subtle, but fresh enough to follow.
Which meant only one thing.
Kenzo had passed through this area not long ago.
The Root squad pushed deeper into the burned forest.
But Torune's eyes slowly narrowed.
Something about the terrain felt unnatural.
The burned trees around them were unstable. Many of them leaned slightly, their roots exposed in the loosened soil. The earlier fire had weakened the ground beneath them.
It was the kind of place where even a small disturbance could cause the earth to shift.
Torune slowed.
And let his insects spread across the nearby ground.
Moments later they returned.
Torune's voice remained calm, but his eyes had sharpened.
"The soil here has been disturbed."
Fū looked down.
At first the ground looked ordinary.
But after closer inspection—
Small wires were partially buried beneath the ash.
Thin enough to remain hidden.
Yet clearly placed by someone.
Fū's expression hardened slightly.
"He prepared this place."
Torune followed the direction of the wires with his gaze.
They stretched between several burned trees.
And those trees themselves were already unstable.
If something pulled those wires—
The weakened roots would shift.
The soil would collapse.
A chain reaction.
Torune immediately understood the purpose.
"He wants to trigger a landslide."
At that moment—
A faint sound echoed somewhere deeper in the forest.
A small stone rolled down a slope.
The ground trembled slightly.
Torune's eyes moved instantly.
"Move!"
The Root shinobi scattered in different directions just as the earth beneath the burned trees began to shift.
Several weakened trunks suddenly collapsed.
The loose soil slid downward with them.
Rocks, ash, and broken roots tumbled through the forest as the slope gave way.
A controlled landslide.
Dust and ash filled the air as the rumbling slowly faded.
High above the collapsing slope, a lone figure stood silently on a tree branch.
Kenzo watched the chaos below with calm eyes.
The trap had worked.
Not to kill them.
But to separate them again.
As for why this was different from the cliff—
The reason was simple.
The terrain there had been unpredictable.
Once the path collapsed, the falling rocks and dust made it impossible to see clearly. Any attack launched at that moment would have been blind.
Against someone like Torune, a blind attack would be meaningless.
Torune's Rinkaichū insects could defend him instantly, and the other Root operatives were still close enough to reinforce him within seconds.
Even if Kenzo attacked, the result would most likely turn into a direct battle against multiple opponents.
That was not a risk worth taking.
So the cliff trap had never been meant to kill.
It had been meant to delay them.
Kenzo's gaze then locked onto one figure moving through the falling debris.
Torune.
The others had been forced away by the collapsing slope.
But Torune had continued forward.
Exactly as Kenzo expected.
Torune landed on a stable branch as the last of the debris settled.
Despite the chaos, his expression remained calm.
The Rinkaichū insects slowly spread into the air again, moving through the burned forest.
Observing the chaotic battlefield.
Moments later they returned.
Torune's eyes narrowed slightly.
"The trail continues forward."
Kenzo was still nearby.
Torune stepped forward without hesitation.
The terrain ahead became narrower as large rock formations rose from the ground, forming a natural corridor between the trees.
It was the only direct path forward.
Torune moved through it calmly.
His insects spread along the rock walls as he advanced.
Then suddenly—
They detected something.
Metal.
Hidden wires.
Torune stopped immediately.
Thin wires stretched between the rocks, almost invisible in the darkness.
Explosive tags were attached behind them.
Torune observed the pattern carefully.
These traps were arranged differently.
Not randomly.
They formed a closed formation.
A kill zone.
Torune understood immediately.
"This is a trap meant to finish the chase."
But he did not retreat.
Instead, he stepped forward.
Because if he stopped now—
Kenzo would disappear again.
Far ahead, hidden among the trees,
Kenzo watched silently.
The final stage of his plan had already begun.
And this time—
Only one of them would leave this forest alive.
Life or death would be decided in this fight.