Engaging the Sand shinobi here would be a costly mistake, Veigar had no intention of getting bogged down in a drawn-out battle.
The priority was clear: get the intel out.
Secret Technique: Insect Sphere.
Fang Over Fang.
As Veigar's Shadow Clone surged forward to engage the Sand shinobi, Shikatsu Aburame and Jun Inuzuka simultaneously activated their clan's secret techniques.
Swarming insects began to hatch and multiply across Shikatsu's body, quickly gathering around him in a thick cloud.
Jun, meanwhile, spun like a cyclone, launching himself toward the river like a living drill.
Nanaki Hyuga followed close behind them, making a straight break for the river.
"Stop them!"
Akasan, spotting their breakout attempt, shouted furiously.
And he wasn't just yelling, he was ready to join the fray himself.
Unfortunately...
Just as he moved, Veigar struck.
Rasengan.
With no other option, Akasan had to go on the defensive, bracing against the charging Veigar.
Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!
As a seasoned jōnin, Akasan wasn't going down that easily. While leaping back, he deftly formed hand seals, landing with a stomp that summoned a barrage of earthen projectiles aimed at Veigar.
The young Konoha shinobi dodged, but not unscathed, Veigar had forced Akasan back, but not without receiving the Earth Dragon Bullet's retaliatory blow.
Yet Veigar had no plans to go down quietly. Already predicting a counterattack, he vanished in a blur of motion with Teleportation Jutsu, reappearing directly in front of the Sand shinobi blocking the others.
Teleportation Rasengan.
"One down."
The chūnin didn't even see it coming. Veigar materialized beside him and drove the Rasengan into his gut, hurling him through the air like a ragdoll.
He was the first casualty in Akasan's ambush, but not the last.
"Veigar!"
Shikatsu and Nanaki gasped as they saw the Sand shinobi ahead of them abruptly collapse, courtesy of Veigar's sudden intervention.
"Go, now! I'll hold them off!"
Great Phenomenal Evil Rasengan!
Veigar didn't waste another word. With a nod, he pivoted, leapt skyward, and charged head-on at the rapidly approaching Akasan.
The jōnin, who had been lining up an attack on the fleeing Konoha ninja, now had no choice but to defend himself again as Veigar came crashing down.
"RUMBLE!!"
The gigantic Rasengan slammed into the earth, sending debris and choking dust roaring across the battlefield.
"BANG! BANG! BANG!"
Simultaneously, Veigar's Shadow Clones were being taken out one after another, but not before they brought down seven or eight Sand genin, either killing or incapacitating them in their final moments.
Shrouded in smoke and chaos, Shikatsu, Jun, and Nanaki managed to break free. With synchronized leaps, they dove into the river and were swept away by the current.
Under the river's surface, the three glanced at one another, pale and exhausted but determined. Like darting fish, they disappeared downstream.
And in their hearts, they knew the truth, if not for Veigar, they'd never have made it out.
As for Veigar... they feared the worst.
Facing over twenty Sand Ninja, even he couldn't possibly survive.
But there was no time for grief. Delivering the intel came first.
On the other side, Veigar finally let out a sigh of relief when he saw his allies escape.
He didn't need to worry about them anymore.
And while he knew he couldn't take down every Sand shinobi here, he could still escape alive.
"The Konoha shinobis got away!"
"Kill him!"
With their prey gone, the Sand shinobi turned their attention fully to Veigar and surged forward in unison.
Rasengan: Revolving Heaven.
"AAAH!"
"GAHHH!"
"UAAAAHH!"
Veigar didn't flinch.
Calm and composed, he spun with blinding force, his Rasengan: Revolving Heaven technique launching over a dozen Sand Ninja into the air, sending them crashing to the ground in broken heaps.
None were dead, but most were completely out of the fight.
Now, only Akasan, a special jōnin puppeteer, and two chūnin remained standing.
Akasan scanned the battlefield. The dead and wounded were everywhere.
Expressionless, he said coldly:
"Do you think your comrades are safe now?"
"Let me tell you, they're not."
"Downriver, beneath the waterfall, more of our shinobi are waiting."
Akasan had gauged Veigar's strength by now.
Young as he was, this Konoha prodigy wasn't inferior to a jōnin.
"Konoha's biggest mistake... was sending you to scout Mount Kikyo."
"And now, I'm going to leave your corpse here."
Earth Release: Quicksand Vortex.
Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bomb.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.
As soon as Akasan finished, he and the two chūnin launched a coordinated combo jutsu.
The ground beneath Veigar liquefied into a spiraling trap, searing hot like molten rock—Scorch Release: Quicksand Vortex.
His legs were instantly trapped. There was no escape. He could only watch as the burning sand crept higher.
Rasengan: Revolving Heaven!
Even caught, Veigar kept his cool, unleashing his technique to try and break free.
But it wasn't over.
The special jōnin puppeteer, Saro, saw him resisting and immediately attacked.
Iron Sand Needles.
From a chest compartment on Saro's puppet, a hidden mechanism fired a volley of poison-dipped senbon directly at Veigar.
CLINK CLINK CLINK!
Saro's needles were the final blow, the straw that broke the back of the trapped ninja.
His chakra... was gone.
He couldn't use Rasengan: Revolving Heaven anymore.
With a puff of smoke, Veigar vanished.
The four Sand shinobis froze, only now realizing they'd been fighting...
...a Shadow Clone.
Akasan was the first to react.
"Pursue him!"
He knew exactly what had happened.
Veigar had used the smoke as cover, left behind a clone, and hidden his real body.
In hindsight, anyone could figure it out.
And Akasan was right.
Just as Shikatsu, Jun, and Nanaki jumped into the river, Veigar had already swapped out with a clone.
His true body?
Long gone...
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