This Grudge, I'll Remember

The ground beneath them suddenly turned into a swamp, and Rukawa Oguri's legs sank into the mud. Caught off guard, he stumbled.

The puppet under his control was affected too, its movements briefly faltering.

Sen Chisato seized the opportunity. He poured chakra into his legs and leaped out of the encirclement.

The next second, the saw and greatsword plunged into the earthen wall, and the ropes connecting them snapped taut.

Crack!

Boom!

The entire earthen wall was torn apart.

"Damn it!"

Rukawa Oguri cursed under his breath and hurriedly wrenched himself free of the swamp. But when he looked up, a massive Water Dragon was already right in front of him.

With nowhere to dodge, Rukawa Oguri was swept away by the surging water for dozens of meters.

As soon as the current slowed, he scrambled to his feet and brought his puppet back to his side.

By then, Hyuga Hihi had reached him.

He struck with a palm, unleashing a massive stream of chakra as sharp as a blade.

Rukawa Oguri sensed the immense danger. His nerves tensed, and his extensive combat experience told him to swiftly pull his puppet back while moving behind it himself.

Boom!

The puppet was blasted backward, and the sharp chakra sliced through its various parts.

At last, cuts appeared all over the puppet, and its connection points were on the verge of breaking.

Rukawa Oguri watched helplessly as his puppet hurtled toward him, but he didn't dare dodge.

Thud!

The tremendous force sent him flying, and he slammed heavily into the ground. The puppet could no longer hold together and broke into pieces.

That tightly coordinated series of attacks had left him seriously injured.

But he didn't dare keep lying there. He trembled as he tried to get up, when a shadow suddenly fell over him.

Rukawa Oguri turned his head and saw Sarutobi Hakuba rushing toward him, then delivering a powerful kick.

Rukawa Oguri spat out a mouthful of blood. His body curled like a shrimp, his face twisted in pain, and he was sent flying more than ten meters.

Sarutobi Hakuba continued toward him, a Ninja Blade appearing in his hand.

If you wanted to kill someone, the best way was to put some distance between you and them and bombard them with ninjutsu. Get too close, and you might fall into an enemy's trap.

But he wasn't planning to kill Rukawa Oguri. He only wanted to take him out of the fight, for example by cutting off his limbs.

Sen Chisato was right. With the Yamanaka Clan involved, they could get information even from a corpse, but a living person was always more useful than a dead one.

Orochimaru had only just reached the front lines, and the Sand Ninja had already retreated twenty kilometers. Under normal circumstances, they should have been pulling back their defenses to avoid being caught off guard by a Konoha attack. Why would they send a Sand Ninja squad this far in?

Something was definitely wrong!

Now that they'd encountered a Sand Ninja squad, Konoha had to extract vital information from them.

Sen Chisato frowned when he saw this.

Remembering the bizarre modifications puppet masters had made in the previous life he'd seen, he hurriedly called out, "Hihi, check the puppet."

Hyuga Hihi was puzzled. Even if they needed to be cautious, they should be watching the Sand Ninja himself. The puppet had already been destroyed.

But he didn't argue. He obediently swept his Byakugan over the scattered puppet parts.

What he saw made him break out in a cold sweat.

Though the puppet seemed destroyed, Chakra Threads were still attached to its scattered parts.

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

"Damn brat!" Rukawa Oguri gritted his teeth in hatred. His backup plan had been seen through, and there was no point pretending to be dead anymore. He could only act early.

He crooked a finger, and the puppet's limbs, head, and separated torso pieces—all of them—immediately flew toward the group under his control. Their target was Sarutobi Hakuba.

The saw, long blades, and other weapons gleamed with a pale, icy light. Hundreds of poisoned Senbon and Kunai shot from the puppet head's eyes, mouth, and other openings, while the torso unfolded like a scallop, ready to swallow Sarutobi Hakuba whole.

At that moment, Sarutobi Hakuba was surrounded by attacks, with even his blind spots sealed off.

"I let my guard down!" Sarutobi Hakuba's hair stood on end, but he didn't panic. Instead, he made up his mind in an instant and charged even faster toward Rukawa Oguri.

Dodging all these attacks was impossible. If so, then he'd kill the man controlling the puppets!

The distance between them rapidly closed. The moment Sarutobi Hakuba reached him, he brought his blade down.

"It's over!"

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

His blade had been blocked, the edge lodged directly in Rukawa Oguri's arm.

"Heh, looks like I win," Rukawa Oguri sneered. His arm suddenly changed shape, the entire hand stretching out as he grabbed Sarutobi Hakuba by the throat.

As a puppet master, how could he not make a few modifications to his own body? His arm had long since been converted into a puppet limb.

The Konoha Ninja couldn't escape now. If he used him as a hostage, he might still survive.

Just then, three figures arrived with the Body Flicker Technique.

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!" Maruboshi Kosuke formed Hand Seals and spat out a huge stream of water.

The water hit the ground, then immediately surged upward, transforming into a wall between them.

Hyuga Hihi's Byakugan flared fiercely. He quickly located every Chakra Thread and, with chakra flowing through his palm, severed them all in a flash.

A streak of white light flashed. Sen Chisato aimed for the joint, cut off Rukawa Oguri's puppet limb, then kicked him.

Thud!

Rukawa Oguri flew backward and slammed heavily into a tree.

Without his control, the puppet parts continued moving for a short distance before crashing into the water wall. The wall blocked every blade and weapon.

"Damn Konoha Ninja!" Rukawa Oguri snarled.

He knew he couldn't escape. If so, he'd take these Konoha Ninja down with him!

His torso had been modified too. It concealed several Shuriken, with Explosive Tags attached behind them. It was a last-ditch means of taking everyone out, and now was the time to use it.

He stretched out his right hand and reached for his chest, ready to activate the mechanism.

The ground shook. Sharp earthen spikes suddenly burst out.

Crack!

His right hand was torn off, and alternating spikes crushed his torso to pieces.

His vision gradually blurred. Through the haze, he vaguely saw the Hand Seals in Sen Chisato's hands and a trace of mockery at the corner of his mouth.

Earth Style: Earth Rising Spears.

"I'm not some fool. If killing someone can solve a problem, I won't hesitate."

After confirming the enemy was dead, Sen Chisato relaxed, feeling a wave of satisfaction.

Information, doing it for Konoha—he didn't care about any of that.

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

Now everything was perfect. Everyone was happy.

Then Sen Chisato got punched on the head.

Sarutobi Hakuba clenched his fist, his face dark with exasperation. "You little brat! Don't bad-mouth me behind my back!"

This time had been pretty embarrassing—he'd nearly been killed. Still, the least Sen Chisato could do was leave him a little dignity.

"You admitted it yourself, and I said it to your face." Sen Chisato covered his head as he spoke, squinting at Sarutobi Hakuba and wondering how he could bury him.

I, Sen Chisato, will remember this punch!

Seeing this, Maruboshi Kosuke laughed, and soon everyone else was laughing too.

The mission was complete, and no one had been injured. For a group of ninja, that was more than enough reason to be happy.

"All right, hurry up and clear the battlefield. Then we'll report back," Sarutobi Hakuba ordered after they finished laughing.

"Understood. I'm all ready!" Sen Chisato said, full of energy.

But the other three looked at him strangely.

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

"Weren't we supposed to clear the battlefield?" Sen Chisato asked in confusion, already digging a hole without stopping.

"Stop digging!"

Sarutobi Hakuba jumped up in anger and scolded him, gesturing wildly. "I meant for you to collect the bodies, not bury them right here!"

"Tch, what a hassle." Sen Chisato was unhappy, but he didn't go against the order. They'd be buried after he was done with them anyway. He could take care of it then.

The four of them gathered up the Sand Ninja squad's bodies and prepared to return to Konoha Base Camp.

Just then, a signal flare rose in the distance and burst in the night sky.

It was the signal flare of a Konoha patrol.

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

Hyuga Hihi looked that way for a few seconds, then shook his head. "It's too far. It's beyond the range of my Byakugan."

The other three looked at Sen Chisato. He had already activated his sensory ability too.