Escape Plan

Moreover, Shimizu discovered that Sasori had very little real combat experience.

Whenever an attack threatened to affect him directly, the young boy became somewhat flustered.

So Shimizu shifted the focus of the battle.

"Black Secret Technique: Snake Fang."

Two sharper, more uniformly shaped conical fangs shot from Tom's mouth with a howling rush of air, streaking toward Sasori's head.

Shimizu was not worried about hurting Elder Chiyo's precious grandson. After all, there were still two jonin watching from the side.

But Sasori, who lacked actual combat experience, became restrained at that moment. He hurriedly twisted aside to evade the venomous fangs, and his control over the puppet faltered.

A good opportunity!

Seizing the moment, Shimizu controlled Tom to break free from Termite's entanglement and charge at Sasori.

Tom outperformed Termite, and its design had been modeled after the agile feline lynx. It was built as a speed-type puppet, far faster than Termite.

Previously, Sasori had been able to keep it tied down with his outstanding Puppet Manipulation Technique. But now that Shimizu had found an opening, Tom broke free from Termite almost instantly, darted before Sasori like an arrow released from its bow, and pounced.

"Urgh!"

In his panic, with no puppet to protect him, Sasori chose to draw a kunai and hold it before himself.

Ishido and Sunakami Sayama had already prepared themselves to provide support.

Sasori had already been knocked to the ground by Tom. One hand held the kunai horizontally in front of him, wedged against Tom's jaws, while the other flicked out a Chakra Thread, attempting to control Termite one-handedly and pull it back to his side for protection.

"You've already lost, Sasori."

Shimizu slightly raised his hand and controlled Tom to reveal its final mechanism.

Tom's mouth remained open as something clicked within it, before a mechanism finally extended outward.

A wooden cylinder.

"Inside is a poisonous snake's venom sac. Through my design, once activated, it can spray all the venom at once when an enemy gets close. The venom not only burns the skin, but also numbs the nerves and disrupts chakra."

Sasori lowered his eyes.

"I lost. The puppet you made... is very good."

Sasori fell silent for two seconds before adding another sentence.

"Better than mine."

Sunakami Sayama and Ishido exchanged a glance, then stepped forward in tacit understanding. One separated Sasori from Tom, while the other pulled Shimizu outside.

"I knew you were highly skilled at making puppets, but I never expected you to be this good."

Ishido draped an arm around Shimizu's shoulders and clicked his tongue in admiration.

"Was Little Boy Senior Ishido's puppet?"

"No. Its original owner was in the same division as me in the Puppet Force, but he died in battle two months ago. The puppet was left behind, though. The village bought it from the original owner's family, then eventually assigned it to you for repairs."

Ishido gave a simple explanation.

"I see."

Shimizu nodded in understanding.

"Ahem. With your and Sasori's performance, joining the Puppet Force definitely won't be a problem. So... how about joining the Sixth Division? If you come, this Little Boy puppet will be yours."

Ishido winked at Shimizu temptingly.

"The Sixth Division? How is it different from the other divisions?"

Shimizu asked curiously.

"Strictly speaking, there is no difference between the Puppet Force's six divisions. They are all of the same rank. But in practice, each division has a somewhat different focus."

Ishido pulled Shimizu over to sit on a rock and began explaining in detail.

"At full strength, the Puppet Force has one hundred and fifty people. Each division has twenty-five members, split into five squads. The members of the First Division and Second Division have greater average combat strength, as well as the largest number of jonin and Special Jonin. Some squads are even made entirely of ninja at Special Jonin rank or above, and they usually follow Elder Chiyo on the most dangerous missions."

"The Third Division, Fourth Division, and Fifth Division also have excellent average combat strength. Though their high-end combat power is inferior to the First and Second Divisions, they often take on crucial assault missions on the battlefield. Ninja can be killed by Exploding Tag traps, but puppets cannot."

That sounded rather dangerous.

"Then the Sixth Division..."

"The Sixth Division sometimes carries out such missions as well, but generally only when there aren't enough personnel. Most of the time, the Sixth Division handles puppet repair, manufacturing, and research and development for the entire Puppet Force. It's the most suitable place for you."

Shimizu was somewhat tempted by his words.

"Can I ask around for some information before deciding?"

"Of course! You'll choose the Sixth Division. You can gain more there."

Ishido winked at Shimizu and put away the Sealing Scroll.

"I'll keep it for you for the time being."

DC World.

Arkham Asylum.

Cold blue light shone over the glass, and the silent, sealed-off setting felt suffocating.

"Oh, let me see. Not bad. Dinner actually has half a German sausage today. Oh, there's even bacon hidden beneath these stewed-to-mush vegetables. What a feast."

In the next room, Black Mask finished speaking in a mocking tone, then wolfed down the food in his bowl.

He called it a feast, but there was barely any food, and not much of it at that.

If they were given too much, these prisoners might have the energy to escape.

He wolfed it down not entirely because he was hungry, nor because it tasted good. It was because it tasted so awful he did not want to eat it, so he could only swallow it quickly before his tongue had time to react and get the meal over with as soon as possible.

In complete contrast to Black Mask, Shimizu endured the terrible taste and slowly chewed and swallowed every bite.

That was for better digestion and better nutrient absorption.

To refine Chakra, he had to absorb every bit of nutrition he could and turn it into energy.

"Pah!"

Black Mask spat into his empty bowl, then placed it in the wall cabinet beside the glass door.

An hour later, someone would retrieve the tableware from the other side of the cabinet and send it off to be washed.

Not long after, once Shimizu had finished eating, he did the same.

"Fuck, when is this shit ever going to end? That tights-wearing bat freak should get a taste too. Don't you think, Puppet Master?"

Black Mask cursed as if venting his frustration, calling out to the next room.

"Whatever. Just don't eat bat sashimi after you get out someday, unless you want to get poisoned."

Shimizu answered Black Mask halfheartedly as he concealed one hand behind his back, out of the camera's sight, and fiddled with something small.

It was a tiny puppet just over two centimeters long, assembled with one of Shimizu's own teeth as its main body, along with fingernails, strands of hair, and other parts of his body.