Chapter 134: Dragon Slayer

The scorching dragon blood caused Baimu’s heart to beat like a turbine engine. Kakuzu’s fire-attribute heart withered into a lump of putrid flesh under the extreme pressure, and the surging spiritual energy erupted, coursing through his veins to strike every single cell in his body.

Dragon scales sprouted wildly across his entire frame, and his bones grew with a savage, crunching sound. Enduring the agonizing pain of his skin and muscles tearing apart, a pair of bone wings burst through his back, stretching to a length of ten meters before being covered by fascia, flesh, and scales.

"ROAR~~~"

A dragon’s roar erupted, venting all the excruciating pain brought on by the transformation.

"It feels truly wonderful, just like returning to my prime."

But seeing the expressions of shock and terror on everyone’s faces—their mouths hanging open wider than Gamaken’s, as if they could swallow the desert’s howling winds whole—made it all worth it.

"A... a... a giant lizard?" Nonō stood with her head tilted back, nearly snapping her neck.

"So... so huge..." Pakura felt the surging fire energy radiating from Baimu, her emotions in complete turmoil.

"Lord Bunpuku... open your eyes... come out and see the dragon..." Baki’s face was a mask of dull disbelief.

Kakuzu forced his body upright, laboriously pulling Baimu’s ledger from his robes: "Destroyed another heart. Note it down. Must note it down."

Baimu flapped his dragon wings and took to the sky. Every beat of his wings stirred up winds as scorching as fire, and every breath carried embers. "Aburame Tatsuma, who is looking up at whom now?"

"In the face of absolute numbers, power is trivial." Having transformed into a cloud of insects, Aburame Tatsuma resembled a dragon of the night, spreading black wings like a shroud covering the sky.

"Foolish fly, you talk too much. Do you wish to dance in the flames?"

The crimson fire dragon took a deep breath, its throat pouch swelling high. Within a maw filled with jagged dragon teeth, a fiery red chakra halo quickly condensed. As he whipped his neck, five orange-red dragon-shaped flames erupted from his throat.

"Flame Breath!!!"

This blast of dragon fire left a crescent-shaped arc in the air, igniting half of the insect cloud. Charred insect husks rained down like a waterfall, and even the desert floor was left with burning black flames. The high heat melted the sand into glass, a testament to the might of his Fire Style; the entire scene resembled a stage for the apocalypse.

"A single breath and he unleashes five dragon flames... Even Uchiha Madara, the greatest Fire Style master in history, could hardly do better..." Nonō swallowed hard, never having imagined that the seemingly unreliable, freewheeling youth contained power of this magnitude.

"Damn it... The Wind Shadow's order was to kill them all after retrieving the treasure... How am I supposed to deal with this level of power?" Baki’s legs trembled, whether from the dragon’s pressure or the exhaustion of his energy, he could not tell.

After nearly half of his insects were destroyed, the swarm that formed Aburame Tatsuma seemed to sense the suppression of the fire. After a moment of hesitation, he abandoned that form, swirling into a tornado of insects that dived into the corpse of the giant black scorpion. The creature stood up once more, its body expanding segment by segment, imbuing it with even greater strength.

Aburame Tatsuma’s will was unyielding; he would not easily abandon any mission assigned by Danzo. He attempted to use the blue-shadow glaze shell to defend against the fire and defeat Baimu with physical attacks.

"Very good. It would be boring if you just ran away." Baimu circled in the air before diving down, his razor-sharp claws raking fiercely against the giant scorpion's back armor.

The black scorpion raised its poisonous stinger, which glowed with a ghostly blue light, and lunged upward to strike at Baimu.

"Interesting..." Baimu dared not gamble on whether his draconic body could withstand the scorpion’s venom. He pulled up sharply to dodge the stinger, tucked his claws, and exhaled another torrent of raging fire, turning the scorpion and its surroundings into glazed, scorched earth.

"Prairie Fire"

Crackling... popping...

The temperature, enough to incinerate the soul, tortured Aburame Tatsuma’s spirit like the hellfire of judgment. The black scorpion twisted its body in the flames, desperately trying to extinguish the dragon fire.

Circling in the air, Baimu seized the moment. With a rapid dive, his extended dragon wings acted like a guillotine, slashing through the scorpion’s tail and sending it plummeting into the fire.

Deprived of its strongest weapon, the giant scorpion could only wave its massive pincers ineffectually, threatening the fire dragon in the sky as best it could.

"Having claws isn't everything. Kneel and beg for mercy; I’ll give you one last chance." Baimu still had not forgotten the temptation of those two hundred gold coins. He descended, diving from the scorpion’s blind spot, and tore open its glazed shell. Exposing the dense mass of kikaichu insects within, he spat another breath of dragon fire directly into the wound.

BOOM!!!

The entire giant scorpion exploded. Shell fragments scattered everywhere; only a few insects escaped, no longer posing a threat. They crawled back into the skin of Aburame Tatsuma, who was now forced to his knees, utterly exhausted and barely able to support his own body.

"Mortal, tell me, now... who is looking up at whom?" Baimu landed on the sand, his dragon eyes surveying the world, looking down upon everyone present with endless, crushing pressure.

Even Baki and Pakura were brought to their knees by the effect of this "Contempt." The two Root ninja could only grit their teeth, forcing their knees to remain straight.

"I admit... you are strong..." Aburame Tatsuma’s chakra was nearly depleted, his voice trembling beneath his pale complexion.

"Very good. Now kneel and complete my mission, and I might spare your miserable life." Baimu extended a claw, reaching for the women's clothing and the *Icha Icha Paradise* novel.

"Don't even think about it... I will never betray our leader." Misinterpreting his intent, Aburame Tatsuma pressed his palms together.

"For the Leaf, for the Root, for our leader, I will not leave behind any intelligence..."

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Wait! Hold on!! Don't die!!!" Baimu reached out with his dragon claw, still waiting for those 200 gold coins to recover his health.

Countless bloodthirsty ants swarmed out of the gourd, devouring Aburame Tatsuma’s body. The agony of a thousand insects consuming his flesh caused him only to frown slightly. A terrifying, crunching sound echoed across the desert, and in an instant, the man was swallowed by ants, not even his clothing spared.

Such was the terrifying nature of the brainwashing within the Root.

"Following Lord Tatsuma, we shall not live in shame!" The Root ninja codenamed Ryu and Jing, their faith set ablaze, ignited their fighting spirit once more. Pouring every ounce of their conviction into their blades, they bypassed Pakura and Baki, abandoning all defense to strike directly at the old monk, Bunpuku.

"Lord Bunpuku!!!" Baki and Pakura were exhausted to the limit; they had no strength left to intercept the two Root ninja who were at their peak.

"Absolute... Defense..." Bunpuku strained to lift his withered, branch-like arms, erecting a screen of sand around himself.

"NO!!! Lord Bunpuku!!!" Baimu spread his wings to pounce, but his chakra was spent. He fell limply to the sand, kicking up a wave of dust as his massive draconic form rapidly shrank.

His helpless, mournful howl was far more desolate than Baki’s. Though his hand stretched out, he could not reach the distance that felt like worlds apart, as if the person being assassinated were his own kin.

*Thwip...*

The two suicide strikes, fueled by all their remaining chakra, pierced the sand screen and ran through Bunpuku’s chest. Sticky black blood slowly seeped from the old man's thin ribs along the blades.

Baki, having arrived just in time, roared as he swung a wind blade, decapitating both Root ninja instantly.

The phosphorus-destroying insects previously implanted in their bodies by Aburame Tatsuma were triggered, instantly setting their remains ablaze like torches. They would leave no intelligence behind, nor, perhaps... any food.