"You... who are you?!"
Watching Sasori of the Red Sands appear, the leading female Cloud Ninja shouted warily.
Short, pale-golden hair and coffee-colored skin.
She wore a cropped, short-sleeved top and miniskirt made of fishnet, both leaving her midriff exposed.
In a word, she had a smoking-hot figure!
A closer look would reveal that she bore a strong resemblance to Samui from Darui's squad in the original story.
"Heh. Why don't you take a guess?"
Just then, another young voice came from the branch above Sasori of the Red Sands.
The female Cloud Ninja immediately looked up, now on high alert.
A young man with bright eyes and dark gray hair was looking down at them with an amused expression.
It was Uchiha Ye!
"Careful! He has an accomplice!"
The female Cloud Ninja shouted to the two behind her. Her body tensed, and she drew the long sword from her back.
"Omoï, Katai! Send for Yugito's help. These two aren't ordinary opponents!"
As the leading female Cloud Ninja spoke, arcs of electricity appeared along her blade. "I'll hold off the old man!"
"Keep the young one busy! Don't act alone under any circumstances, understand?!"
With that, an intense flash erupted from her body. "Lightning Illusion: Lightning Flash Pillar!"
The blinding light made Uchiha Ye raise a hand to shield his eyes, severely obstructing his vision.
Hiruko was no different. Its eyes narrowed against the painfully bright glare.
And danger struck in that very instant.
"Cloud Style Slash!"
The blonde female Cloud Ninja used the Body Flicker Technique to appear right in front of Sasori of the Red Sands. Her long sword, wrapped in a razor-sharp aura, slashed toward Hiruko.
It was nothing more than a simple upward swing from the side.
But the force produced by the corresponding burst of chakra made its power impossible to underestimate.
That was the very purpose of swordsmanship!
"I've got you!"
Seeing her attack about to land, the blonde female Cloud Ninja was overjoyed when Sasori of the Red Sands still showed no sign of reacting.
But—
The next moment, the joy on her face froze.
A tail stinger suddenly appeared, deflecting her sword strike.
Then Hiruko's mask split open, and it sprayed a cloud of poison. "Poison Mist Spray!"
The female Cloud Ninja had no time to react before she was hit.
The poison mist smelled sickly sweet, yet almost at once it made her head spin.
By the time she hurriedly retreated and landed, she was so unsteady that she stumbled.
"Samui!!"
The other two Cloud Ninja were stunned.
One was a dark-skinned male Cloud Ninja named Omoï; the other was Katai, a tall, fair-skinned man.
They had only just sent out a distress signal, and now their squad leader, Samui, had already been defeated?
How much time had even passed?
Not even twenty seconds!
The fight had turned against them far too quickly!
The two couldn't help but panic.
"Don't panic. I'm fine!"
Seeing their reaction, Samui waved to reassure them.
Then she swiftly formed Hand Seals. "Poison Healing Technique!"
Wormlike strands of chakra appeared all over her body and burrowed into her.
Her condition, which had been rapidly deteriorating from the poison, began to recover before their eyes.
Then dark-colored worms emerged from her skin and fell to the ground, where they turned into pools of black blood.
"A medical ninja?!"
Uchiha Ye couldn't help but feel surprised at the sight.
It was already rare for a medical ninja to have such strong combat skills.
To say nothing of such impressive medical techniques.
She would be a rare talent even in Kumogakure.
In Konoha, too, a medical ninja like her would be one of only a handful.
Even Sasori of the Red Sands, inside Hiruko, couldn't help praising her. "As expected of someone from Kumogakure. You're truly impressive!"
"You're the first person I've seen recover from poison so quickly."
But Samui merely snorted at Sasori of the Red Sands' praise, then fixed her eyes on Hiruko. "I'm pretty lucky, aren't I? To run into the legendary Sasori of the Red Sands here!"
"Just thinking about it gives me chills. It's downright despairing!"
She had recognized Sasori of the Red Sands!
But that made sense.
With Hiruko's unmistakable puppet-like appearance, it was easy to identify the enemy after considering how few puppet masters there were in the ninja world.
"Interesting!"
After hearing Samui identify him, Sasori of the Red Sands' low voice came from within Hiruko. "Since you're so talented, I have no reason not to turn you into a puppet!"
"I'll take care of these three, Ye. Stay out of it!"
As he spoke, the tail stinger on Hiruko's back shot out, heading straight for Samui's face.
It moved so fast that, in the blink of an eye, it was right in front of her.
"How can it be so fast?!"
Staring at the icy stinger rushing toward her, Samui was horrified. Lightning immediately crackled over her body as she accelerated backward.
At the same time, Katai and Omoï dodged in opposite directions and began forming Hand Seals.
"Lightning Release..."
The two spoke almost simultaneously. "Sandamudo!"
Lightning spheres appeared in their hands, and they fired terrifying, branch-shaped bolts outward at the same time, tearing toward Sasori of the Red Sands from both sides.
Clearly, judging by the force of those bolts, both of them had mastered the nature transformation of Lightning Release, raising the power of their jutsu another level.
And with their attacks coming from both sides, combined with the speed of Lightning Release, they were even more lethal than Hiruko's tail stinger.
"And it's obvious..."
Uchiha Ye watched Samui, who had somehow disappeared from the battlefield. "Even if Hiruko dodges this coordinated attack, Samui will follow right behind with a killing blow. She won't give Big Brother Sasori a moment to catch his breath."
That was a typical strategy for a ninja squad!
Two attacked together while the third delivered the decisive blow.
"Whoosh!"
Facing the violent Lightning Release attack, Hiruko leaped high into the air to avoid it.
But just as Uchiha Ye had expected—
"I've been waiting for you!"
Samui suddenly appeared above Sasori of the Red Sands. Gripping her sword with both hands, she shouted, its edge gleaming. "Cloud Style: Sun Slash!"
She was as domineering and fierce as the sun, making the blade itself seem far more dangerous.
"Splurt!"
With her in midair, there was no time to use any countermeasure. Hiruko was split in two.
"Did I... get him...?"
Samui was clearly a cautious person.
Even after taking down the legendary genius puppet master, she didn't let her guard down.
Sure enough!
The two halves of Hiruko immediately crumbled into sand.
A Sand Clone!
She understood at once. I didn't kill him after all!
Then she shouted down at Omoï and Katai, who had let their guard down after thinking the ambush had succeeded. "Careful! He's fine! Surround him, quick!"
After hearing Samui's warning, Katai immediately formed Hand Seals and began sensing their surroundings.
He was a sensory ninja!
"Found him! To our right!"
Katai's voice rang out, cold and sharp. He drew his sword almost instantly. "Omoï, go!"
Lightning flashed over both of them as they shot forward and swung their swords.
In the next instant—
Hiruko had just reappeared when the two attacked from both sides.
"Hmph!"
Hiruko didn't panic at all. Its tail stinger shot out again.
This time, it wasn't aimed at the two of them. Instead, it curled around Hiruko in a defensive ring.
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