Flying Thunder God?!

Yakushi Nonō's forehead protector had long since been soaked through with blood.

She struggled forward against the wind and sand, three shuriken deeply embedded in her left shoulder, while Sunagakure's pursuers relentlessly chased after her.

"Just a little more. My conversation with Sasori of the Red Sands cost me extra time."

Yakushi Nonō felt that she was about to die, yet there was not the slightest panic in her heart. This was the most basic quality of a top-tier spy: As long as I bring this intelligence back to the troops on The Front Lines, the war with Sunagakure should end a little sooner.

Even one day sooner could prevent many deaths. That was enough.

All of a sudden, Large Amounts Of sand and dust surged up from nowhere, erupting into a small-scale sandstorm. Countless grains of sand battered Yakushi Nonō like a torrential downpour, obscuring her vision as well.

Two puppets silently attacked through the yellow sands filling the sky. They opened their mouths and sprayed corrosive mist, trying to melt Yakushi Nonō into a honeycomb.

Yakushi Nonō could barely even open her eyes. As she rolled away on instinct, a tail-like puppet component shot out from the sand beneath her feet and pierced through her side in one strike, worsening her already terrible condition.

"An exposed spy doesn't really think she has the opportunity to escape, does she?"

The captain of Sunagakure's pursuit force stood atop a rock wall and sneered. His Hands remained in a hand seal, and this suddenly erupting local sandstorm was clearly his doing.

"Hand over the intelligence you took from the village, and I'll leave you an intact corpse. That is already the greatest mercy I can offer you. Who told you to be so audacious as to approach Sasori of the Red Sands? He is our village's genius ninja."

"I won't give it to you."

Yakushi Nonō raised her head and looked at the dozen or so people surrounding her, finally focusing her gaze on the pursuit captain controlling the sandstorm.

She recalled the intelligence on this dangerous man—Sandstorm Araki, a man skilled at creating sandstorms. In a place like the Land of Wind, he possessed a uniquely advantageous combat ability.

Sunagakure has produced many talented people too, and they have mastered special ninjutsu.

Yakushi Nonō silently thought as she suddenly crushed the glass vial at her cuff. At the same time, she covered her mouth and nose and quickly retreated. Purple smoke explosively burst forth and rapidly spread through the sand and dust.

Sandstorm Araki said coldly, "Did you think I wouldn't be prepared? You're a Medical Ninja too, aren't you? I analyzed the intelligence on you Konoha medical ninjas long ago!"

He immediately formed hand seals again, abruptly changing the direction of the swirling sand and dust, sweeping the purple poisonous mist toward one direction.

"This is Salamander Poison that I obtained in the Land of Rain. Although it did not come from the Ibuse controlled by Hanzō, it should still catch you by surprise."

Yakushi Nonō held her breath. This could reduce the amount of Salamander Poison her body absorbed—the pores of the body could absorb Salamander Poison as well. "I didn't release the poisonous mist to deal with you. I'm waiting for reinforcements. Before I lose my value, the people who assigned me this mission won't let me down."

Whoosh!

Three zombies charged in at high speed. With Every Time they sprinted, Large Amounts Of flesh and blood shattered from their bodies, as though their physical functions had been pushed beyond their limits.

When the Sunagakure Ninja saw the zombies, they quickly reached a conclusion, excitement appearing on every face.

"That's right, this is that Konoha Ninja's Dead Soul Technique!"

"Hmph. We originally planned to use this Konoha spy to see whether we could lure some Konoha Ninja here. Who would have thought we'd receive such an unexpected gift?"

Even Sandstorm Araki was pleasantly surprised. Who didn't know that Chiyo valued Kaedeji highly? As an old-guard Elite Jonin of Sunagakure, he could be considered half of the upper echelon. He was privy to quite a few of the village's secrets and had vaguely noticed signs of Human Puppet experiments.

Just Need To make a few connections, and Sandstorm Araki understood the necessity of seizing the Dead Soul Technique.

"Acted! Destroy those three corpses from a distance first! Those three corpses Most Likely have Explosive Tags attached to them!"

Sandstorm Araki barked as his palm abruptly shifted direction. "Magnet Release: Sand Dust Shower!"

Large Amounts Of sand gathered into blade after blade and stabbed toward the three zombies, turning them into sieves in an instant.

"Sure enough, destroying the heads can truly destroy the corpses' activity."

Sandstorm Araki Took The Opportunity to test it. In the end, only the zombie with a gaping hole in its waist and a broken spine could retain some mobility, but it could only wave its Hands where it stood.

The other two zombies did not move at all.

However, what puzzled him was that None Of the three zombies had Explosive Tags on them. They were not meant for self-destruction?

"It seems that Kaedeji has grown as well. He knows to adjust his usual tactics, though it won't do him any good." Sandstorm Araki snorted coldly and directed his troops to besiege Kaedeji's group.

Two puppets led the way, making a string of clacking sounds as they rapidly pounced toward Kaedeji and the others.

"The good news is that the companion we came to meet is still alive. The bad news is that the enemy has more forces than we do." Kaedeji opened his eyes. The failure of the three zombies was not Enough To make him spare it another glance.

He still carried a Summoning Scroll with him and could summon new zombies at any time. He had also ordered two zombies to burrow into the sand and play dead fifty meters away in one direction and one hundred fifty meters away in another.

Terai took in all of Kaedeji's abilities. "It seems your Dead Soul Technique can also give you a certain degree of sensory ability? You have mastered a ninjutsu of great tactical value. You do deserve such a grand welcome from Sunagakure."

Under Terai's command, the Konoha Ninja moved quickly. Their only goal was to rendezvous with Yakushi Nonō and obtain the intelligence on her.

As an Elite Jonin, Terai was the strongest member of this rescue squad, so he naturally took the lead against Sandstorm Araki.

Kaedeji unfurled the scroll and summoned two zombies, coordinating with the other teammates as they acted. He, meanwhile, followed closely behind the zombies, remaining under his teammates' protection at all times.

There was nothing wrong with this style of fighting. Medical Ninja and Sensor Ninja should have received their teammates' highest-priority protection. Unfortunately, the enemy would also give Kaedeji their highest-priority attacks.

Various ninjutsu began clashing from afar. Flames collided with lightning, while gales and sandstorms roared.

As the enemy puppet masters were tied down by Morino Ise and the others, Kaedeji Took The Opportunity to send zombies close to the enemy before suddenly detonating them. He was no longer as short on money as before. By earning military achievements and advancing to Chunin, his authority had risen as well, allowing him to obtain ninja tools such as Explosive Tags from the camp more conveniently. He wished he could plaster every bone inside every zombie with Explosive Tags.

Boom!

An explosion several times larger than before briefly blasted open a silent vacuum amid the awful, sand-filled environment. One Sunagakure Ninja was blown to pieces, and Large Amounts Of flesh and blood splattered everywhere, staining both allies and enemies.

No One cared about such details. Both sides had bloodshot eyes as they tried to kill one another. Who would care whether a few scraps of flesh and blood had gotten on them?

"Watch out! The enemy's main target isn't me—it's you!" Yakushi Nonō shouted.

Kaedeji's expression did not change. He had already prepared himself for this possibility.

Several Sunagakure Ninja rushed over.

Sandstorm Araki made full use of the terrain's advantages, sparing no expense in Chakra as he used dense sand and dust to interfere with Terai.

Honestly, Terai was similar in type to Hatake Sakumo. Both excelled at solo combat. When facing enemies capable of indiscriminately ravaging wide areas, they had more than enough ability to protect themselves. But completely pinning down the enemy from beginning to end was another matter.

In almost an instant, Kaedeji fell into an absolute predicament. No matter how one looked at it, it was difficult for him to escape again—his position was somewhat too far forward. Had he taken Even If just two steps back, he would have had much more room to maneuver.

"Hmph, got him."

Sandstorm Araki used one hand to control the sand and dust and interfere with Terai, while using the other to create a small sand vortex in an attempt to trap Kaedeji and create an opportunity for the other Sunagakure Ninja.

Yet there was no panic on Kaedeji's face. Instead, he calmly formed hand seals. Before the many enemies could subdue him with Taijutsu, his figure abruptly vanished from where he stood.

Whoosh!

The one who appeared in his original position was shockingly the zombie whose spine had been severed and whose legs had lost all mobility—the zombie was forming hand seals with both Hands as well.

Kaedeji himself appeared at the zombie's original position in an instant, roughly ten meters from Sandstorm Araki. The two could see each other's eyes.

"...Flying Thunder God?!"

Sandstorm Araki was utterly horrified, his face filled with disbelief.