With one of his attackers dead, Shota focused on his primary target. The Aburame was still without chakra.
He was helping another Root shinobi dispatch one of Shota's shadow clones. They had succeeded. The clone popped into smoke with a small puff. Both Root shinobi now turned their attention to the real Shota. They moved to attack him together.
The other shinobi took out a scroll and started painting quickly with a brush. Ink flowed from the scroll in smooth strokes. He finished the last line and slammed his palm on the ground.
"Ninja Art: Ninja Beast Scroll!"
Two tigers made of black ink burst out of the scroll. They roared silently as they rushed toward Shota. Their bodies shimmered with ink but their claws and fangs looked sharp enough to tear through steel.
Shota's eyes widened.
'Isn't that Sai's jutsu?'
He jumped back, but he was too taken aback by the speed of one of the ink tigers. It leaped high and bit down hard on his arm.
The ink fangs pierced through the binding cloth armour. Pain shot through Shota's body. Blood welled up from the bite. He sacrificed two of the fox fire fireballs he had been keeping around him.
The small fireballs flew forward and slammed into the ink tigers. The tigers burst into black splatters and disappeared. The ink burned away in the flames.
Shota quickly used the binding cloth as a bandage. He wrapped it tightly around the bleeding arm to stop the flow. He grimaced. The pain was sharp, but he pushed it down. He could not afford to be distracted right now.
'As expected of Danzo's elite force. He has sent an Aburame, an Akimichi, someone with Ninja Beast Scroll art, and judging from the last one who is still dealing with two of my shadow clones, he is a civilian shinobi specialized in kenjutsu. Two people to keep me busy in close combat while two that can harass me from afar. A solid team to counter me.'
Shota thought about it for a split second.
'Sadly, their intel is outdated. They did not expect me to have a clone jutsu and erase chakra of everyone in my sight at once.'
The Aburame, who had only a few insects left and was still without any chakra, proved troublesome.
He was quite skilled in hand-to-hand combat. He closed the distance fast. His fists and elbows came in quick strikes.
Shota dodged and blocked with his good arm. The Aburame's remaining insects moved on their own.
Suprisingly, they did not need his chakra to guide them. They formed an insect clone on their own. The clone looked exactly like the Aburame but made entirely of buzzing bugs.
Shota blinked in surprise.
'They can make clones without any chakra or handsigns from him?'
The insect clone rushed toward Shota's shadow clones. It engaged them immediately. The bugs swarmed. They bit. They drained. They distracted. The shadow clones fought back with kunai and wind blades, but the clone was hard to kill.
Bugs scattered and reformed. One shadow clone was overwhelmed and dispersed. The other fought on, but it was losing ground.
The real Aburame pressed his attack. He aimed a palm strike at Shota's chest. Shota ducked under it and countered with a kick to the Aburame's knee. The man staggered but did not fall.
The kenjutsu user freedom from fighting the shadown clones and the Aburame now ganged up on Shota. The kenjutsu user swung his chakra-infused sword in wide arcs.
The blade cut through the air with a sharp whistle. Shota used the binding cloth to fight them off. It whipped around like a living weapon. It blocked the sword. It wrapped around the Aburame's arm. It tried to pull him off balance.
The kenjutsu user used chakra on his sword to cut the cloth in pieces whenever he could. The cloth regenerated quickly from the additional clothes stored in storage seals, but it was taking effort to keep up.
Shota knew he had to act soon to change the situation of the battle. He was on the back foot. His left arm was injured. He had only one good arm.
The Root shinobi were using his small size and lack of full adult strength to press him in taijutsu. They dodged the binding cloth. They attacked from angles he could not cover easily.
An opportunity soon came for him to exploit.
Shota gave the Aburame a small opening on purpose. He let the binding cloth be cut by the kenjutsu user and thus leaving no defense for Shota to protect himself.
The Aburame saw the gap. He lunged forward to smack Shota in the guts with a heavy palm strike.
Shota brought his bad arm forward. He had been hiding it using the binding cloth. A glowing blue orb spun in his palm.
"Rasengan!"
He slammed it directly into the Aburame's stomach.
The orb exploded with force. The Aburame's body collapsed inward. His stomach twisted unnaturally. He was sent flying backward like a ragdoll. He crashed into a tree. The trunk cracked. He slid to the ground and did not get up.
"Two... down," Shota said, huffing for breath.
The insect clone that had been fighting his shadow clones dispersed at the same moment the Aburame died. Bugs scattered in every direction.
Shota took a quick breath. He turned to face the remaining two Root shinobi.
The kenjutsu user narrowed his eyes behind the mask. He gripped his sword tighter. The last root shinobi, the one with the Ninja Beast Scroll, started painting again.
Shota prepared himself. The fight was not over yet.
--------Author Notes---------
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