Chapter 185: Earth Stone Dragon

"This is really violent!"

He glanced back and saw the earthen stone dragon, its aura fierce, charging toward him.

Dong Shilang involuntarily broke into a sweat on his forehead, his throat went dry, and he swallowed.

It seems this rock Jonin truly hates him to the bone; once he attacks, every move is lethal, giving him no chance at all.

"I'm gonna die!"

Just after glancing back, before he had gotten far, he looked up and couldn't help but sigh. It really was a leaking roof met with nonstop night rain.

At that moment, as he was at the critical point of fleeing for his life, a short, sturdy figure stood before him.

His right arm bared, he tightly gripped the surprisingly heavy black-brown stone rod, eyes narrowed as he waited for his arrival.

Thanks to the Gangshan Jonin's obstruction!

By now, he had already broken free from Dong Shilang's just-used Narakumi Technique, secretly gathering power, ready to launch another attack at him.

A posture of waiting like a hunter for prey!

The two earthen stone dragons opposite him happened to form an angle, trapping Dong Shilang tightly.

If he messed up even a little, he'd surely meet his end here!

Faced with this deadly scene, Dong Shilang, who was fleeing for his life, could only grit his teeth and take a risky gamble.

Seal with one hand!

Then, seven or eight figures of Dong Shilang appeared beside him, hiding his true form among them, preparing to break out from the opponent's left, right, and above.

Meanwhile, his hand kept moving, throwing a large handful of shuriken toward the opponent's position.

Hopefully this would slightly distract the opponent, leaving that special Jonin no time to carefully distinguish these clones.

Indeed, what he just used was the clone technique from the Three Body Technique taught at the ninja academy—merely a phantom formed from a mass of chakra.

A special Jonin only needs a slight discernment to see through this technique; that's also why Dong Shilang added another volley of shuriken.

His situation was critical at this moment!

Wanting to dodge the ninjutsu behind him and the special Jonin's charged attack ahead, if he were in his prime it'd be fine, but now, with his legs feeling weak, he could only resort to this.

Hope he could pass off fish eyes as pearls and get through~

Clang! Clang! Clang!

As expected!

Dong Shilang's thrown shuriken were easily blocked by the opponent's stone staff; seeing how effortlessly he wielded it, it seemed as if his weapon were just a wooden stick.

Fortunately, after his volley of shuriken distracted the opponent, the latter barely had time to carefully distinguish his clone technique.

This allowed Dong Shilang to slip past the opponent's side amidst his clones, leaving only two clones that the opponent dispelled into white smoke.

One could say Dong Shilang's response was fairly reliable. Moreover, the Three Body Technique is indeed a foundational technique emphasized by the ninja academy.

Not only does it have short hand-seal time and low consumption, but in such an emergency one must rely on this simple, practical ninjutsu for relief.

But before he could even savor the joy of his recent escape, Dong Shilang's face began to look grim.

He had just gotten about ten meters away from the opponent's attack range.

Dong Shilang stopped his steps, stood still, and the Sharingan in his eyes began to scan the surroundings.

At the same time, he did not continue fleeing!

"Damn! This rock Jonin truly does nothing unless he strikes, and when he does, every move is deadly, leaving me unable to even catch my breath!"

It's not that he doesn't want to escape now; the situation simply doesn't allow it.

Right before him, in the view of his Sharingan, a vast expanse of chakra almost covered all his possible escape routes.

He casually tossed a shuriken upward to test it!

Seeing that this shuriken, weighing hardly a tael, quickly sank into the ground before him without even a bubble surfacing.

No wonder, the special Jonin who had just blocked the road showed no disappointment at his successful escape.

At first, Dong Shilang thought the opponent simply hadn't had time to react, or that the earlier genjutsu had left some lingering effect, which is why there was no change in expression.

Now it seems the opponent already knew of the changes here and was waiting for him!

He had been secretly pleased with his earlier response, but now it appears everything was calculated by the opponent.

It turned out that before Dong Shilang lay a large semicircular patch of ground, which the rock Jonin Gangshan, who had been hiding underground all along, had tampered with.

Merely from the reaction of the shuriken thrown onto that patch of land, one could tell the opponent was using a quite practical ninjutsu, not low in rank.

Earth Release: Yellow Spring Swamp

This is a highly significant technique within Earth Release.

Once unleashed, this technique can turn a large expanse of land into a deadly trap concealing killing intent.

On the surface, these swamps produced by Earth Release show no difference from ordinary land, maintaining the calm before the technique.

But the soil, altered by the earth attribute, becomes as soft as a swamp, making it hard for enemies who step into it to break free.

At the same time, to strengthen the swamp's binding force, some individual ninjas also add special functions to this soft soil.

Namely, to stick those trying to escape firmly in the swamp, leaving their opponents only able to struggle in vain while watching themselves slowly sink, ultimately suffocating to death.

If it weren't for Dong Shilang's Sharingan being able to see chakra and detect the anomaly ahead, then, in the aftermath of his lucky escape, a single careless step into this meticulously prepared trap would have led to a miserable fate.

"Really dangerous!"

He secretly wiped a cold sweat from his forehead and lamented, "These old foxes are really more cunning than each other."

Fighting such people, one slip and you wouldn't even know how you died!

But now, the situation he faces has become somewhat difficult to handle.

Looking back, he saw the rock special Jonin who had completely sealed off his retreat, and those two heads, without hesitation, charging toward him as the earthen stone dragons.

It seems the opponent has no intention of communicating with him at all!

Indeed, having killed so many of the opponent's comrades, there's no longer any need for dialogue between them—it's either you die or I live!