Golden Sand Cut

Two bangs.

The two Shadow Clones that had just used Mist Body Flicker to launch a sneak attack were blasted into two plumes of white smoke without any chance to fight back.

Meanwhile, the Chunin named Red Sand had barely collapsed to the ground after his limbs were pierced when Ten Thousand Blades Barrage struck him. The upward-facing half of his body was instantly sliced into countless chunks of flesh.

Even a third of his skull had been carved away, exposing brains like blood-streaked white tofu pudding.

A closer look revealed that they were still twitching spasmodically.

It was brutally bloody.

Yet the remaining eye on that half of his head was filled with unwillingness and shock, as though it were saying: Didn't you say you'd stab his heart? Why did you stab his limbs instead? And Captain, didn't you promise to protect me and bring me home? Why did you strike so ruthlessly, not even leaving me an intact corpse?

"Red Sand, your death was worth it."

The scar-faced Special Jonin's eyes were filled with icy killing intent.

The curved blade disc was incredibly powerful. Its momentum did not diminish as it continued spinning and slashing outward, its attack range reaching a terrifying hundred meters.

The four Shadow Clones within that range were all blasted into white smoke without exception.

"Mm." Umino Sasuke frowned slightly. Fortunately, the food energy in his body was abundant, and he quickly eased the unpleasant impact of those memories.

"Hiss..."

Hearing those sounds, the scar-faced Special Jonin's heart jolted. He could not help drawing in a sharp breath. How could there be so many Shadow Clones? Even an Elite Jonin should not have been able to produce so many Shadow Clones, right?

Could he be a ninja from the Senju Clan?

Only a ninja of the Senju Clan could afford to use Shadow Clones to perish together with the enemy, employing such a shameless tactic with no regard for cost-effectiveness.

If that much chakra used for Shadow Clones had belonged to a ninja proficient in ninjutsu, a combined assault of just several B-Rank Ninjutsu might have been enough that even his teacher, Ebizo, would not necessarily be able to defend against it completely.

"A Senju ninja who cannot use high-level offensive ninjutsu, excels at sneak attacks, and most likely possesses extremely strong sensory abilities... it seems I still have a chance."

The scar-faced Special Jonin rapidly worked through the possibilities in his mind. Based on the information he had, he immediately inferred the general situation and began to calm down.

As expected of a Special Jonin from Sunagakure, his combat experience was indeed extensive. Aside from his mistaken speculation about the Senju Clan, the rest was more or less accurate.

"Whew... I nearly got caught off guard."

At that moment, Umino Sasuke, standing on the outskirts of the mist, had just recovered from the Shadow Clones' memory impact. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, a chill running down his back. If not for the exceptional insight and perception of the Ultrasonic Radar Technique, which had allowed him to notice the anomaly within the Salamander Puppet in advance and use Water Release: Mist Body Flicker in time to escape its attack range, he would likely have been shredded like those Shadow Clones.

"This Mechanical Puppet Technique is pretty interesting. It can actually unleash ninjutsu without hand seals!"

Realizing the unique aspect of these mechanical puppets, Umino Sasuke liked them more the longer he looked. His heart immediately grew heated. Sunagakure's Puppet Technique truly lived up to its reputation. If he could secretly learn it, he might even become Konoha's first Puppet Master. Even if he handed it over, trading it for an A-Rank Ninjutsu should not be difficult.

He quickly directed one of the Shadow Clones to use the Infrasonic Radar Technique and begin secretly studying the Puppet Technique.

Since this scar-faced Special Jonin could control two puppets at once, his status in Sunagakure could not have been low. Furthermore, judging by his age, he had attained such strength not long after reaching adulthood. He was undoubtedly a Sunagakure genius.

In other words, this Special Jonin most likely knew the core secrets of Sunagakure's Puppet Masters.

"I'd like to see what the secret of Puppet Technique really is."

Umino Sasuke immediately hurled a large number of kunai and shuriken, gradually probing him.

As time passed, the scar-faced Special Jonin also feared reinforcements from Konoha's Mobile Patrol Unit. At last, he stopped defending passively and unleashed another powerful Mechanical Puppet Technique.

"Mechanical Shield: Thousand Faces Convergence."

At once, the puppet automatically disassembled, turning into small shields that fitted tightly over his entire body, not even leaving his eyes uncovered. He looked like Iron Man.

At the heart position of the armor formed by those small shields, however, appeared a Sand Eye, which was used to sense the outside world.

Clang, clang, clang...

A large number of kunai and shuriken slammed into the small shields, throwing off showers of sparks, but they achieved nothing and caused no damage at all.

"Wind Release: Sand Body Flicker!"

Taking advantage of that gap in the attacks, the scar-faced Special Jonin immediately used Sand Body Flicker Technique, intending to escape the range of the Mist Technique.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...

Sparks flew everywhere.

Steel wires had wrapped around the small-shield armor, blocking the scar-faced Special Jonin's path forward.

Had he not possessed the defense of that small-shield armor, which resembled a steel exosuit, he would likely have been cut into several pieces by now.

Another barrage of kunai and shuriken came crashing down. This time, the force behind them was noticeably greater, like heavy hammers striking the armor with booming impacts.

Two of the kunai came from the front and back respectively, striking the heart and back positions of the armor at precisely the same time.

At the same instant, the two Explosive Tags hanging from the kunai detonated.

Rumble!

The close-range impact of two Explosive Tags was equivalent to the attack power of two B-Rank Ninjutsu, striking the scar-faced Special Jonin directly.

"What incredible defense!"

Umino Sasuke's gaze sharpened. Such a terrifying attack had actually failed to break through the small-shield armor's defense.

Still, although it had not broken the defense, the vibrations from the Explosive Tags must have traveled into the small-shield armor. That scar-faced man could not have felt good; he had surely suffered considerable internal injuries.

As for the Sand Eye at the heart position, it had been completely shattered. Reforming it would certainly consume a great deal of chakra.

"If you want to break my defense, forget it unless you have the attack power of an A-Rank Ninjutsu. Cough, cough, cough!"

The scar-faced Special Jonin remained remarkably tough. Yet just as he rose to his feet, strange sounds came from all around him.

"Water Release: Water Prison Technique!"

At that moment, the four Shadow Clones stood to the scar-faced Special Jonin's front, rear, left, and right, one in each direction.

The four of them formed hand seals and jointly unleashed a restraining Water Prison, trapping the scar-faced Special Jonin inside the enormous sphere of water.

"Spin!"

"Water Release: Water Prison Sand Cut!"

All four Shadow Clones pressed both hands against the restraining Water Prison, channeling chakra to make it rotate rapidly.

Umino Sasuke, standing some distance away, seized the opportunity to take a small ball resembling a golden pill from his Ninja Tool Bag and flick it into the restraining Water Prison.

The moment the small ball entered the spinning Water Prison, it dissolved into a large amount of Adamantine Fine Sand. Then, the fine sand rotated together with the Water Prison, forming a golden cutting plane as thin as a strand of hair.

It began spinning at high speed.