I've Noted This Grudge

The ground beneath his feet suddenly turned into a swamp, and Rukawa Oguri's legs sank into the mire, causing him to stumble in his haste.

The puppet under his control was also affected, its fluid movements stuttering for a split second.

Sen Chisato decisively seized the opportunity, channeling chakra into his legs to leap out of the encirclement.

The next second, a steel saw and a broadsword pierced into the earthen wall, and the connecting wires pulled taut instantly.

Snap!

Boom!

The entire earthen wall was torn to shreds.

"Damn it!"

Rukawa Oguri cursed under his breath and scrambled to free himself from the swamp, but as he looked up, a massive water dragon was already right before his eyes.

With no room to dodge, Rukawa Oguri was swept away by the surging torrent for dozens of meters.

As the water slowed, he immediately scrambled up in a sorry state, manipulating his puppet to return to his side.

At that moment, Hyuga Hihi struck.

He unleashed a palm strike, the massive flow of chakra as sharp as a blade.

Rukawa Oguri sensed the immense danger, his nerves taut; his extensive combat experience allowed him to quickly pull the puppet back and move behind it.

Boom!

The puppet was sent flying backward by the impact, sharp chakra continuously slicing through its various parts.

Deep cuts finally appeared on the puppet's body, and the connection points were left hanging by a thread.

Rukawa Oguri watched helplessly as his own puppet crashed into him, not daring to dodge.

Bang!

The tremendous force sent him flying, slamming him heavily into the ground, and the puppet, unable to withstand the pressure any longer, shattered into pieces.

This tightly coordinated combo dealt him significant injuries.

But he didn't dare stay down; as he trembled and tried to crawl up, a dark shadow suddenly loomed over him.

Rukawa Oguri turned his head to see Sarutobi Hakuba rushing forward, raising his leg for a powerful kick.

Rukawa Oguri spat out a mouthful of blood, his body arching like a shrimp, his expression twisting as he was kicked over ten meters away.

Sarutobi Hakuba continued to close in, a ninja blade appearing in his hand.

If one wanted to kill, the best method was to keep distance and bombard the enemy with ninjutsu. Getting too close risked falling into an enemy trap.

But he didn't intend to kill; he only wanted to neutralize Rukawa Oguri's combat capability, perhaps by severing his limbs.

Sen Chisato was right—with the Yamanaka Clan around, even corpses could yield intelligence, but a living person was always more useful than a dead one.

Orochimaru had only just arrived at the front lines, and the Sand Ninja had already retreated twenty kilometers. Under normal circumstances, the Sand Ninja would be too busy tightening their defensive lines to avoid a sneak attack from Konoha to send a squad to infiltrate this deep.

There had to be a major issue!

Now that they had encountered a Sand Ninja squad, Konoha had to pry out vital intelligence.

Seeing this, Sen Chisato frowned.

Recalling the bizarre modification methods of puppet masters he had seen in his past life, he quickly shouted, "Hihi, check the puppet!"

Hyuga Hihi was confused; even if they needed to be cautious, they should be wary of the Sand Ninja himself, as that puppet had already been destroyed.

However, he didn't argue and obediently swept his Byakugan over the scattered puppet parts.

One look sent cold sweat running down his back.

The puppet that appeared to be destroyed still had chakra threads connected to its scattered components.

"Captain, watch out for those puppet parts!" he warned urgently.

"Damn brat!" Rukawa Oguri gritted his teeth in hatred. His hidden trump card had been seen through, and since playing dead was no longer useful, he had no choice but to act prematurely.

With a flick of his fingers, the limbs, head, and severed torso—several puppet parts were immediately manipulated to fly toward them, targeting Sarutobi Hakuba.

The steel saw, long blades, and other ninja tools glinted with a pale, cold light. Hundreds of poisoned senbon and kunai shot from the puppet's head, eyes, and mouth, while the torso unfolded like a scallop, ready to swallow Sarutobi Hakuba whole.

In that instant, Sarutobi Hakuba was enveloped by the attack, with even his blind spots sealed off.

I was careless! Sarutobi Hakuba's hair stood on end, but he didn't panic. Instead, he made a split-second decision to accelerate and charge toward Rukawa Oguri.

It was impossible to dodge all these attacks, so he would simply slaughter the one controlling the puppet!

The distance between them closed rapidly, and the moment he drew near, Sarutobi Hakuba slashed down with his blade.

"It's over!"

But the next second, his pupils constricted, and his face turned pale.

The descending blade was blocked, the edge lodging directly into Rukawa Oguri's arm.

"Heh, looks like I win," Rukawa Oguri sneered. His arm suddenly deformed, the entire palm elongating to clamp tightly around Sarutobi Hakuba's throat.

As a puppet master, how could he not have made some modifications to his own body? His arm had long since been replaced with a prosthetic puppet limb.

This Konoha ninja could no longer escape; now, as long as he used this guy as a hostage, he might just survive.

Just then, three figures arrived via Body Flicker.

"Water Style: Water Wall!" Maruboshi Kosuke formed hand seals and spat out a massive torrent of water.

The water rose instantly upon hitting the ground, forming a wall that stood before them.

Hyuga Hihi glared with his savage Byakugan, quickly locating every chakra thread. With chakra surging from his palms, he severed them all with lightning speed.

A flash of white light streaked out as Sen Chisato pinpointed a joint, hacked off Rukawa Oguri's prosthetic puppet limb with one strike, and then delivered a kick.

Bang!

Rukawa Oguri went flying backward, slamming heavily into a tree.

Deprived of his control, the puppet parts continued to move for a short distance before crashing into the water wall, where all the blades were blocked.

"Damn Konoha ninjas!" Rukawa Oguri's face twisted in a snarl.

He knew he couldn't escape anymore, so if that was the case, he would drag these Konoha ninjas down to hell with him!

His torso had also been modified; it concealed several shuriken and was rigged with explosive tags. This was his suicide measure, and the time had come.

Reaching out with his right hand, Rukawa Oguri groped toward his chest, preparing to trigger the mechanism.

At that moment, the ground shook, and sharp earthen spikes suddenly erupted.

Snap!

His right arm was torn clean off, and his torso was crushed by the alternating spikes.

As his vision blurred, he vaguely saw the hand seals Sen Chisato was forming and the mocking smirk on his lips.

Earth Style: Earth Rising Spears.

"I'm not some idiot; if killing can solve a problem, I won't hesitate."

Confirming the enemy was dead, Sen Chisato let go, feeling a sense of relief.

Intelligence, Konoha's interests—he didn't care about any of that.

If he didn't kill, how could he bury them? If he didn't bury them, how could he use his cheat?

Now, everything was perfect.

Then, a fist landed on Sen Chisato's head.

Sarutobi Hakuba clenched his fist, his forehead pulsing with veins as he shouted, "You brat, don't talk bad about me behind my back!"

Even if this mission was embarrassing and he'd nearly been killed, he still deserved a little face.

"You admitted it yourself, and I said it to your face," Sen Chisato said, clutching his head. He squinted at Sarutobi Hakuba, wondering how he could bury this guy.

I, Sen Chisato, have noted this grudge for the punch!

Seeing this, Maruboshi Kosuke laughed, and then everyone else followed suit.

The mission was complete with no casualties, which was enough to make any ninja happy.

"Alright, hurry up and clear the battlefield, then head back to report," Sarutobi Hakuba ordered after the laughter died down.

"Understood, I'm already prepared," Sen Chisato said, full of energy.

But the three men looked at him with strange expressions.

"That shovel of yours... when did you prepare that?" Sarutobi Hakuba's eye twitched.

"Aren't we supposed to clear the battlefield?" Sen Chisato asked, confused, as he began digging a hole without stopping.

"Stop digging!"

Sarutobi Hakuba was so angry he jumped, gesticulating wildly as he lectured, "I meant for you to collect the bodies, not bury them on the spot!"

"Tch, what a pain." Sen Chisato was annoyed, but he didn't defy the order. Regardless, they would all be buried after they were processed anyway; it wouldn't be too late to do it then.

He was still in his growth phase, and constantly disobeying orders would be troublesome.

The four of them gathered the bodies of the Sand Ninja squad and prepared to return to the Konoha base camp.

Just then, a signal flare rose from the distance, exploding in the night sky.

It was a signal flare from a Konoha patrol.

"Hihi!" Sarutobi Hakuba immediately turned serious, and Hyuga Hihi had already activated his Byakugan.

After staring in that direction for a few seconds, Hyuga Hihi shook his head. "It's too far; it's beyond the range of my Byakugan."

The three of them looked at Sen Chisato, who had already activated his own sensory abilities.