The System's Wonderful Uses!

Looking at the puppets scattered across the ground, the puppeteer opposite him took a slight step back.

For a puppeteer, having their chakra threads detected and severed was essentially the same as having their arms and legs cut off.

It was only now that he realized this Uchiha ninja had been laying a trap from the very beginning.

The Water Style ninjutsu and the environment created by his puppets just moments ago were meant to paralyze Roy and his team.

Yet, the opponent seemed to have discovered him from the very first moment and had already laid down a massive amount of Lightning Style.

Otherwise, how could he have shattered all of his chakra threads in a single instant?

"Are you ready to die?"

Before the opponent could react, Roy had already appeared behind him.

The kunai in his hand slashed down directly.

When you can take action, it is better to talk less.

"Click..."

"Hm?"

"Another puppet?"

Just as Roy's kunai pierced into the body, he realized it was yet another puppet.

He immediately cast Lightning Style: Mad Snake.

Violent lightning chakra instantly surged into the puppet, snapping the chakra threads within.

"He ran."

At this moment, Jo-ni and Aoshi appeared before Roy, both looking somewhat guilty.

Roy had guessed from the start that there must be an operator behind these people.

He just hadn't expected that a puppet would be used to control other puppets.

The puppeteer behind it all had fled long ago the moment he sensed something was wrong.

Jo-ni and Aoshi had been so stunned by Roy's combat style that they hadn't reacted in time.

That was why they had let the enemy escape without even catching a glimpse of his trail.

"It's fine, the best outcome is that you weren't injured."

"Notify the village to recover all of these things."

"At the same time, contact Sunagakure and ask if they know the origin of these puppets."

"Continue the sweep, and don't fall into such simple traps again."

After saying this, Roy vanished from the spot.

Although Roy hadn't captured that specific chakra signature, chakra control over puppets had a distance limit.

No matter how many puppets he used as secondary operators, he couldn't be too far away.

If only there were someone from the Hyuga clan here; if that were the case...

While thinking, Roy quickly patrolled the surrounding area.

Soon, the four squads gathered together.

"Captain Roy, we didn't find any other traces."

"All the tracks left behind were made by the puppets," Jo-ni said with a hint of helplessness.

Konoha had already arranged for ninjas to collect the puppets found here.

Preliminary assessments concluded that these puppets did not originate from Sunagakure.

After all, they had quite a lot of contact with the Land of Wind.

Although Sunagakure had a tradition of puppetry, neither the craftsmanship nor the control methods Roy and his team observed matched the style of Sunagakure.

Of course, it was also possible that Konoha's intelligence was outdated, which was why they had arranged for someone to contact Sunagakure.

"Everyone, be careful over these last few days."

"Don't let your guard down."

"Continue the rotation for rest."

Roy didn't say much more and continued to follow the established rest schedule.

On the night of the fifteenth day.

"We'll be back in the village tomorrow; I'm actually feeling a bit reluctant to leave!"

"Still, it's about time to head back and take a bath; I'm starting to smell a bit ripe."

Jo-ni said with a laugh.

It must be said that on this final day, Jo-ni's tightly wound nerves had finally begun to slacken.

It wasn't just Jo-ni; most of the others were in the same state.

Although they had encountered a few pieces of trash ninja over the past few days, overall, things had been relatively relaxed.

"There's only half a month left until the New Year."

"I reckon Big Brother Shisui and the others will be back in a week at most."

"We need to head back and get ready as well."

Roy added, following up on the sentiment.

"I want to go back and have hot pot and grilled meat."

"Just thinking about how those guys might be eating hot pot right now while we're stuck here gnawing on Military Ration Pills makes me feel a bit sour."

Aoshi joked.

The situation was completely different from when they had first arrived.

Soon, it was the middle of the night.

Roy gazed at Konoha in the distance, quiet and peaceful.

It was hard to believe that a village like this was already rotting from within.

The high-ranking officials were autocratic and arbitrary.

"Roy, we've basically completed the mission this time, right?"

Jo-ni suddenly asked.

"Big Brother Jo-ni, there are some things that cannot be concluded until we have actually returned."

After Roy finished speaking, he continued to look into the distance.

The rotation of his Sharingan indicated that while the three of them appeared to be chatting, they hadn't let their guard down in the slightest.

Ding, congratulations to the host, Mera Mera no Mi proficiency has increased to 100%.

Obtained 1 use of zero-cost ability usage, refreshes daily, does not accumulate.

Just as Roy was pondering what to do next, a familiar synthesized electronic voice rang in his ears.

It was worth noting that even at times like this, whenever Roy's fixed chakra reserves recovered to full, he would perform an Elementalization.

He would then test how long his fixed chakra could sustain it.

Through repeated use of Elementalization, Roy had become capable of maintaining the state while consuming less chakra.

Although he knew he was close, he hadn't expected it to come so quickly.

"Wait!"

Beyond his surprise, a grave expression appeared on Roy's face.

"Big Brother Jo-ni, Big Brother Aoshi, keep chatting."

"Someone has targeted us."

"Be ready for battle at any moment, and do not react to what I just said."

Roy lowered his head and whispered.

Upon hearing this, the two paused for a split second before continuing their conversation.

It had to be said, their acting skills were truly top-tier.

"Shhh..."

At that very moment, a short blade struck out in an instant.

The three of them leaped away at the first opportunity, dodging the attack.

Immediately after, three masked ninja appeared in the spot where the three of them had been standing.

"Root?"

Roy looked at the ninja who had appeared before him, a look of curiosity on his face.

As expected, that guy Danzo would never let such an opportunity slip by.

It was just that this old dog was even more patient than Roy had imagined, actually waiting until the very last day to make his move.

Using a false sense of security is a more effective way to complete a mission.

Yet, he hadn't expected to run into someone like Roy, who carried a cheat.

That's right—the reason Roy had discovered them just now wasn't because of his Sharingan or his sensory perception.

It was because of the system notification.

When training alone, proficiency increases very slowly.

But when using abilities while facing enemies, the progress bar increases at several times the speed.

The fact that the system notification triggered while Roy was maintaining Elementalization was undoubtedly telling him that there were people nearby!