Golden Sand Cut

With two bangs.

The two Shadow Clones that had just used Mist Body Flicker for a surprise attack were instantly destroyed into two wisps of white smoke, unable to even retaliate.

The Chunin named Red Sand, who had just had his limbs pierced and collapsed on the ground, was struck by this Ten Thousand Blades Barrage and his entire upper right half was instantly cut into countless pieces of flesh.

Even one-third of his skull was cleaved off, revealing brain matter like bloody white tofu pudding.

Upon closer inspection, one could still see it twitching spasmodically.

It was truly incredibly bloody and cruel.

In the remaining eye on that half of his head, there was nothing but unwillingness and shock, as if to say: Weren't we supposed to aim for the heart? Why did you stab the limbs? And Captain, you promised you'd protect me and take me home, so why would you do something like this, leaving no intact corpse?

"Red Sand, your death was worth it."

The Special Jonin with the scarred face's eyes were filled with cold killing intent.

The power of the curved blade disk was astonishing. It continued to spin outwards without losing momentum, its attack range reaching a terrifying hundred meters.

All four Shadow Clones caught within this range were, without exception, instantly destroyed into white smoke.

"Hmm." Umino Sasuke frowned slightly. Fortunately, the food energy within him was abundant, and he quickly alleviated the terrible impact of the memories.

"Hiss..."

Hearing these sounds, the Special Jonin with the scarred face's heart trembled, and he couldn't help but gasp. How could there be so many Shadow Clones? Even an Elite Jonin wouldn't likely be able to release this many.

Could it be a ninja from the Senju clan?

Only a ninja from the Senju clan would be extravagant enough to use Shadow Clones for a mutual destruction, employing such a shameless and cost-ineffective tactic.

With so much Shadow Clone chakra, if it were a ninja proficient in Ninjutsu, just a few B-Rank Ninjutsu used in a combined attack would be something even his teacher, Ebizo, might not be able to fully defend against.

"Doesn't know advanced attack Ninjutsu, specializes in surprise attacks, and likely possesses extremely strong sensory abilities. A Senju ninja, it seems I still have a chance."

The Special Jonin with the scarred face rapidly deduced in his mind. Based on the known information, he quickly inferred the general situation and began to calm down.

As a Special Jonin of Sunagakure, his combat experience was indeed rich. Apart from the incorrect inference about the Senju clan, everything else was more or less accurate.

"Phew... I almost capsized in a gutter."

At this moment, Umino Sasuke, who was on the outskirts of the mist, had just relieved the memory shock from the Shadow Clones. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his back feeling a little chilled. If not for the powerful perception of the Ultrasonic Radar Technique, which allowed him to detect the abnormality inside the salamander puppet in advance and timely use Water Release: Mist Body Flicker to escape its attack range, he would likely have been cut into pieces like those Shadow Clones.

"This Puppet Technique is quite interesting. It can actually release Ninjutsu without hand seals!"

Umino Sasuke realized the unique aspects of these mechanical puppets and became more and more fond of them as he looked. His heart immediately heated up. As expected of Sunagakure's Puppet Technique, it was truly remarkable. If he could secretly learn it, perhaps he could become Konoha's first Puppet Master. Even if he handed it over, it wouldn't be difficult to exchange it for an A-Rank Ninjutsu.

He quickly commanded one of his Shadow Clones to release the Infrasonic Radar Technique and began to secretly learn this Puppet Technique.

Since this Special Jonin with the scarred face could control two puppets at once, his status in Sunagakure was likely not low. Moreover, looking at his age, he had only recently come of age and already possessed such strength, making him undoubtedly a genius of Sunagakure.

This meant that this Special Jonin most likely held the core secrets of Sunagakure's Puppeteers.

"I want to see what the secret of the Puppet Technique is!"

Umino Sasuke immediately threw a large number of Kunai and Shuriken, probing step by step.

Seeing time tick by and fearing the arrival of Konoha's Mobile Patrol Unit, the Special Jonin with the scarred face could no longer passively defend. He unleashed another powerful mechanical puppet technique.

"Mechanical Shield: Thousand Faces Convergence."

Instantly, the puppet disassembled itself, transforming into numerous small shields that adhered to his entire body, not even sparing his eyes, like Iron Man.

In the heart position of this armor formed by the combination of small shields, a Sand Eye appeared, used to sense the external situation.

Clang clang clang...

A large number of Kunai and Shuriken struck these small shields, creating sparks but proving fruitless, causing no damage whatsoever.

"Wind Release: Sand Body Flicker!"

Seizing this attack opening, the Special Jonin with the scarred face immediately used Sand Body Flicker, attempting to escape the range of the Mist Technique.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle...

Sparks flew.

However, steel wires wrapped around the small shield armor, blocking the Special Jonin's advance.

If the Special Jonin with the scarred face did not possess the defense of this small shield armor, which was akin to a steel mecha, he would likely have been cut into several pieces by now.

Another barrage of Kunai and Shuriken struck. This time, the force on the Kunai and Shuriken had clearly increased significantly, like heavy hammers striking the armor with loud bangs.

Two of the Kunai, one in front and one behind, struck precisely at the armor's heart and back positions.

At the same time, two Explosive Tags attached to the Kunai detonated.

Boom boom boom!

The close-range detonation of two Explosive Tags, equivalent to the attack power of two B-Rank Ninjutsu, directly hit the Special Jonin with the scarred face.

"Such strong defense!"

Umino Sasuke's gaze sharpened. Such a terrifying attack still couldn't break the defense of this small shield armor.

However, although its defense wasn't breached, he imagined the vibration waves from the Explosive Tags transmitted into the small shield armor would have made the scarred-faced ninja quite uncomfortable, likely causing significant internal injuries.

And the Sand Eye at the heart position was completely shattered. It would certainly require a considerable amount of chakra to recondense.

"You want to break through my defenses? Without the power of A-Rank Ninjutsu, don't even think about it, cough cough cough!"

The scarred Special Jonin was incredibly tough. Just as he got to his feet, a strange noise came from all four directions.

"Water Release: Water Prison Technique!"

At this moment, four Shadow Clones positioned themselves in front, behind, left, and right of the scarred Special Jonin, one in each direction.

The four individuals formed hand seals and jointly released a binding water prison, directly trapping the scarred Special Jonin within this massive water prison.

"Spin!"

"Water Release: Water Prison Sand Cut!"

All four Shadow Clones pressed their hands against the binding water prison, channeling their Chakra to make the binding water prison spin rapidly.

From a distance, Umino Sasuke took the opportunity to retrieve a small, golden pill-like sphere from his Ninja Tool Bag and flicked it into the binding water prison.

As soon as this small sphere entered the spinning water prison, it dissolved into a large expanse of diamond-hard sand. Subsequently, this diamond-hard sand spun along with the water prison, forming a golden cutting surface as thin as a strand of hair.

It began to spin at high speed.