At the center of the crater, rainwater had gathered to form a small pool.
Uchiha Fugaku had landed right on the edge of it, and muddy water splashed all over him.
Along with the look of disbelief on his face, it left him looking utterly miserable.
"Hahahaha! Even the strongest of you two is about to die at our hands! The other one won't escape us either!"
The Sunagakure puppeteer stood at the edge of the crater, laughing as he spoke.
The other Sunagakure ninja laughed as well, jumping down into the crater and striding toward the two of them, cracking their knuckles.
"Fugaku! What are you waiting for? Run!"
"Hahahaha! I'm not letting him get away! He burned several of our comrades to death with his Great Fireball! How could we let him go?"
After speaking, the Sunagakure puppeteer tugged on the Chakra Threads attached to his fingers, pulling at the puppet.
Uchiha Yoho thought he was trying to pull the puppet free, so he tightened his grip on its arms.
After all, if it were only these few Sunagakure ninja, Uchiha Fugaku might still have a chance to escape them. But with the puppet added to the mix, things were less certain.
However, Uchiha Yoho had overlooked one thing: Sunagakure puppets were famous for their ever-changing mechanisms.
The very next moment, the puppet's arms made two sharp clicking sounds. Its elbows twisted, and its upper arms broke away from its forearms!
Then two short blades, connected at the elbows, slid out from the detached forearms.
The blades took the place of the forearms Uchiha Yoho had been gripping tightly.
The recoil from the blades sliding out caused Uchiha Yoho to fall backward.
Uchiha Yoho fell into Uchiha Fugaku's arms and looked up at him.
"Fugaku... why... aren't you