After Hayate Shiranui absorbed the Dragon Bone, the sudden loss of mass triggered a localized tremor.
Sensing the ground shake, Stick deduced that Hayate's team had likely secured the prize. No longer wishing to remain in a stalemate within the narrow confines of the tunnel, he issued a sharp command: "Open the distance! Fight as we retreat!"
Stick began leading his followers back toward the tunnel entrance.
Hotaru, seeing the enemy pulling back, didn't charge blindly. She maintained a cautious distance, exchanging fire with the retreating figures. Her Gun Kata was difficult to unleash fully in the cramped passage, yet she still managed to claim a life with nearly every shot.
The Chaste members were being whittled down, leaving a trail of bodies every few meters along the retreat path.
As Stick felt the shift in air pressure and the breeze pulling in from the entrance, he spoke coldly:
"They are trapped below. Seal them in with gas."
At his order, several Chaste ninjas pulled canister grenades from their gear. Yanking the pins, they lobbed them deep into the passage.
The canisters hissed violently, spewing thick clouds of mustard-yellow smoke that instantly choked the tunnel, obscuring all vision. With the draft from the entrance, the toxic fumes began rolling deep into the subterranean labyrinth.
Stick and the remaining Chaste members fell back to the tunnel's mouth, where they tossed in several more gas grenades to increase the concentration. They hunkered down with their firearms trained on the entrance; anyone attempting to run out through the fog would be cut down mercilessly.
When the gas first began to spread, Hotaru realized the danger. She tried to lead a break-out, but a hail of bullets forced her back into the depths.
Left with no choice, Hotaru led the survivors back toward the end of the tunnel. Several of her men, slower to react, inhaled the fumes and collapsed, foaming at the mouth and convulsing.
Just as Hotaru reached the inner sanctum, Sasuke and Rock Lee arrived. Seeing the disheveled group, Sasuke asked, "Miss Hotaru, what happened?"
Hotaru and her men, covering their faces and gasping for air, shouted in a panic, "It's bad! Find Hayate—the enemy has used poison gas!"
No sooner had she spoken than the yellow fog drifted into view, pursuing them like a living thing. Sasuke grabbed two Adjudicators by their vests and turned to Lee. "Rock Lee, take Hotaru. We retreat further in!"
Sasuke blurred toward the back of the cave with a man in each hand. Lee hoisted Hotaru over his shoulder and followed suit. The remaining Adjudicators scrambled after them, but those who lagged were swallowed by the mist, falling in agony as the toxins took hold.
They reached the site of the Dragon Bone seal in seconds. But standing before them now was not just Hayate Shiranui—a woman stood beside him.
Hayate had just summoned Shizune and given her a brief summary of the situation when Lee and Sasuke burst in with the survivors. Seeing the chaos, Hayate's expression darkened.
Lee and Sasuke set the survivors down. Hotaru looked at Shizune with momentary confusion—she had never seen this woman before—but the urgency of the moment overrode her curiosity.
"Boss, it's bad!" she cried out. "The enemy used gas grenades to seal the exit. Many of our people are already down!"
The joy Hayate felt from the Dragon Bone harvest evaporated instantly. Using poison gas in a confined underground tunnel was a move intended for total extermination. If he had been a normal man, he would have been caught in a death trap.
However, Hayate's face remained calm. "Don't worry, Hotaru. I have a solution. Do you know who attacked us?"
Hotaru's heart steadied at his composed tone. She thought for a moment. "I'm not sure of the organization, but they had ninjas. Their leader was an old man with a cane... though his eyes seemed to have some sort of problem."
Stick's agility made it hard for her to believe he was truly blind.
Hayate narrowed his eyes. "A cane? An old man? Ninjas?"
The pieces clicked. "So, it's Daredevil's mentor—the leader of the Chaste, Stick."
Shizune, standing quietly until now, spoke up. "Poison gas? Let me go take a look."
Hayate looked at her and nodded. "Very well. You're the expert in this field. Check the nature of the toxins, but stay safe."
"Understood!" Shizune replied. Her body turned into a blur, vanishing with a sharp swoosh.
The last of the trailing Adjudicators finally stumbled into the cavern. The losses were heavy; of the forty who had come down, barely half remained. Some had died in the gunfight, but most had been claimed by the gas.
Sasuke and Lee, watching Shizune's incredible speed and movement, turned to Hayate with wide eyes. "Lord Hayate, that woman...?"
They sensed she was like them, but they didn't recognize her.
Hayate smiled. "That is Shizune. She is a Jōnin, and more importantly, a Medical Ninja."
The two were stunned. A Jōnin was high-level elite strength even in the Hidden Leaf, and a Medical Ninja was an even rarer asset. They hadn't recognized her because she lacked a forehead protector or the standard flak jacket.
Meanwhile, Hotaru was observing the scene with a mix of awe and bewilderment. She looked at the massive pit where the Dragon Bone had once been and noticed the bones were completely gone. A strange thought crossed her mind:
Wait... Boss was down here alone. Did that woman... transform out of the dragon's bones?
She looked at Hayate, her gaze becoming increasingly eccentric.