Digging to the Root

Killing intent surged, the sea of blood exuded fragrance.

Hundreds of ninjas controlled by Sasori of the Red Sands, along with over a thousand ninjas Rasa had ambushed beforehand, clashed in the major strategic locations of Sunagakure.

The latter's numbers were nearly four times that of the former, yet after the close-quarters combat, they hadn't displayed the advantage expected of such a numerical superiority.

The ninjas controlled by Sasori of the Red Sands using the Brainwashing Sand Technique were too frenzied, throwing away their lives without hesitation, and possessed extremely strong biting power.

They were no longer ninjas, but tools through and through.

Ordinary ninjas, no matter how traditional, no matter how much they considered themselves tools, were ultimately still human, possessing their own emotions and independent thoughts.

Just like Ximen Chuixue, who cultivated the Path of Ruthless Swordplay, he would still marry and have children, and he would still laugh.

But the ninjas controlled by Sasori of the Red Sands were different. Under Sasori's brainwashing, they had passively abandoned all human thoughts and emotions, with only one goal remaining in their hearts.

To complete the mission given by Sasori of the Red Sands: poisoning.

What made the Sunagakure ninjas even more distressed was that the "werewolves" hidden within the village had not been completely purged. Among the ninjas Rasa had assigned to guard the wells, some were "werewolves" controlled by Sasori.

Their numbers weren't too great, but they were enough to give the Sunagakure ninjas a headache. A knife from behind was always something to be particularly wary of.

The two sides engaged in a fierce battle within Sunagakure. Sasori's side attacked, while Sunagakure defended. Although the latter had greater overall strength, they found it difficult to completely eliminate the former in a short period.

Sitting high up in the venue, the spectators who could overlook the scenery of Sunagakure had their fill of excitement, exclaiming how brilliant and satisfying it was. This time, it was truly a battle to the death, with rivers of blood flowing.

Wasn't such a grand spectacle much more exciting than a few youngsters fighting one-on-one in a limited arena?

Rasa stood on the clouds, surveying the various parts of Sunagakure. Seeing that the situation was gradually being brought under control, but Sasori of the Red Sands still hadn't appeared, he shouted mockingly.

"Sasori, your methods are nothing more than this. Bring out whatever other tricks you have!"

"Sasori, I know you're nearby. What's wrong? You were so arrogant half a month ago, but now you don't even dare to show yourself!?"

To showcase Sunagakure's confidence and strength, Rasa stood on the clouds, showing off wildly. Under the gaze of everyone, if not now, then when?

Every bit of showing off now could be converted into the trust of the Aristocrats and wealthy merchants in Sunagakure's capabilities, and could be converted into tangible economic income.

"Of course I still have methods, I'm just afraid you might not be able to handle them."

A magnetic voice, resembling that of Takahiro Sakurai, came from a corner of the audience. Rasa, Jiang Feng, and many of Sunagakure's ANBU members all looked in the direction of the sound.

Sasori of the Red Sands, hidden in the crowd, suddenly removed his disguise, revealing his true face. He raised one hand and released dozens of Chakra Threads, wrapping them around the necks of nearby spectators, controlling them.

Puppet Skill: Human Body Manipulation!

A puppeteer could not only control puppets with Chakra Threads but also control human bodies. In the original plot of the Fourth Ninja World War, Edo Tensei Sasori had used Chakra Threads to control the Shinobi Alliance.

With one hand, controlling dozens of civilians, could it truly be done with precision? Could it truly form combat power?

The answer to this question isn't important.

Even if he couldn't control them precisely, even if they couldn't form combat power, Sasori of the Red Sands could at least do one thing: strangle them.

To achieve this, it only took a flick of his finger for Sasori.

"Sasori!

Do you still have any bottom line as a ninja, attacking civilians? You're insane! Let them go immediately, and I can let you leave Sunagakure alive!"

Rasa's eyes widened. He never expected Sasori to be so depraved, actually using civilians' lives as a threat.

The ninjas of the ninja world, and the martial artists of the martial arts world, are somewhat similar in their ecological niches, and there are also some common unwritten rules.

For example, ninjas cannot attack civilians wantonly.

If you do it secretly, no one can control you, and it's fine if no one finds out. But once you openly oppress civilians and slaughter ordinary people, you will immediately become a "public enemy of the ninja world," an "evil heretic."

Compared to "chaos," everyone prefers to live in an orderly world. The only difference between the major ninja villages is who sets that "order."

Now, Sasori publicly threatening dozens of ordinary people, who were also influential merchants and aristocrats, in front of tens of thousands of people, had already angered the public and indeed given Rasa a headache.

"Let me leave Sunagakure alive?

What do you think I came here for today? Do you think I'll obediently let them go just because of your seemingly magnanimous offer, and then slink away from Sunagakure?"

Where would my dignity go?

Sasori of the Red Sands' delicate and handsome features contorted, revealing a sinister grin: "I'm here to destroy Sunagakure."

As soon as he finished speaking, Sasori flicked his finger, controlling his Chakra Threads, and brutally snapped the necks of several hostages, clean and swift.

Bloody heads rolled down the tiered steps, eventually rolling into the center of the empty arena. Screams erupted from the crowd.

An atmosphere of fear spread throughout the venue.

Jiang Feng suddenly looked up, using the Heavenly Son's Qi Observation Technique to observe the tens of thousands of spectators in the venue, and said with a frown, "Rasa and Sunagakure are in trouble, big trouble."

The dozens of hostages controlled by Sasori were merely the tip of the iceberg compared to the "hidden dangers" Jiang Feng saw.

What could that be?

The next moment, Rasa witnessed Sasori's methods.

Amidst the continuous screams in the venue, several sharp cries of agony were suddenly mixed in.

Scattered throughout the audience seats, "ordinary people" who had long been controlled by Sasori of the Red Sands, infiltrated Sunagakure, and had been lying dormant until now, suddenly drew sharp objects hidden on their bodies—hairpins, daggers, awls, and the like—and brutally stabbed the necks of the surrounding spectators, beginning a indiscriminate slaughter.

Killing was truly simple; a pencil or a hairpin was enough.

Jiang Feng pointed a finger, Twenty-Four Solar Terms Shocking Spirit Finger, Rain Water.

The continuous finger force split into over a dozen streams, shooting towards the "werewolves" who intended to continue their assault. They precisely struck their acupoints.

Jiang Feng had integrated the remote acupoint striking of Joining Finger into Shocking Spirit Finger, further augmented by the observational power of Heavenly Son's Qi Observation Technique. Controlling over a dozen people with a single finger was effortless.

He didn't kill them, but temporarily disabled their ability to move. In a sense, they were also victims, manipulated by Sasori.

"What an impressive Finger Technique. Not only is it precise, but it also incorporates the acupoint striking skills of the Hyuga Clan. A single finger can control over a dozen people at will."

Sasori of the Red Sands looked towards Jiang Feng on the spectator stands, full of admiration. Then, he suddenly grinned and asked, "However, why don't you guess how many of the tens of thousands of people in this venue I have secretly controlled?

When will they make their move, and how will they do it?

Will they suddenly erupt in violence and kill, or will they suddenly spread a potent poison? Poisoning methods are not limited to just adding poison to food and water."

This was the greater trouble Jiang Feng had observed using Heavenly Son's Qi Observation Technique.

Rasa, Chiyo, and the others felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave. Sasori had gone mad; he truly intended to destroy Sunagakure.

To destroy a ninja village, one didn't need to kill all its ninjas. A crisis of trust was enough to cause Sunagakure's mission volume to plummet, plunging it into economic quagmire.

Economic difficulties would then reflect on morale and public sentiment, causing Sunagakure to falter.

In this turbulent era, the price of faltering could very well be complete annihilation.

Sasori was doing just that.

He wasn't overestimating himself by engaging Sunagakure head-on. Instead, he was attempting to create large-scale unrest within Sunagakure.

The more people died, the weaker the foundation of trust between Sunagakure and its "clients" would become, and the fewer missions Sunagakure would receive in the future...

This was undermining the very roots of Sunagakure.