Neodymium Magnet

But Kawaki Aoba's speed had certainly drawn attention. Sasori was now even considering whether he should turn the brat into a Human Puppet, too.

Kawaki Aoba felt a chill run down his spine. Through Observation Haki, he clearly sensed the intense malice radiating from Sasori of the Red Sand.

That guy had set his sights on him, too.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, a scene deeply unfavorable to him flashed through his head.

It was a glimpse of the future. At max level, Observation Haki could foresee what was to come.

With the vision of the future as a warning, Kawaki Aoba naturally didn't stay where he was like a fool. He turned and fled without looking back, using Shave.

Before he left, Kawaki Aoba didn't forget to send Sasori another bomb. This one would explode in three seconds.

Three, two, one.

The countdown ended!

Rumble... Boom...

As the first bomb exploded, the others Kawaki Aoba had thrown earlier went off one after another.

They came in all shapes and sizes: some could blast apart mountains, some were meant to destroy bridges, some were packed with shrapnel, and there was even a giant firecracker among them.

Whatever their type, the explosions startled Sasori of the Red Sand.

His reaction was lightning-fast, too. The moment he realized something was wrong, he raised four thick walls of Iron Sand with the Third Kazekage Puppet, protecting his true body in the middle.

At the same time, hearing the explosions, Sasori of the Red Sands finally found the culprit who had interrupted his inspiration earlier.

As for Kawaki Aoba, he had already run a long way. Even as he fled, he didn't forget to call for Yuhi Shinku to come with him.

"Teacher Shinku, get Kurenai and Asuma out of here while you can!" By the time he finished speaking, Kawaki Aoba had already used Shave to return to his two teammates.

Without hesitation, he scooped Yuhi Kurenai into his arms and ran.

When Yuhi Shinku caught up behind them, he saw the kid carrying his daughter and could only twitch his mouth before hoisting Asuma over his shoulder and following.

"Teacher Shinku, what do you think about working on your Taijutsu when we get back to the village?" Even as he ran, Kawaki Aoba kept an eye on Yuhi Shinku catching up behind them.

"You little brat, don't underestimate your teacher! Taijutsu might not be my strongest suit, but I'm certainly not bad at it. Still, against a monster like Sasori of the Red Sand, who made a name for himself at such a young age, and that terrifying Third Kazekage Human Puppet, do you really think Taijutsu would be any use?"

As he ran, Yuhi Shinku kept glancing back to check what was happening behind them.

"Is that so? I don't think so. Anyway, Teacher Shinku, focus on getting away. Leave Sasori of the Red Sand behind us to me."

Kawaki Aoba shifted his posture, making it easier to carry Yuhi Kurenai while forming Hand Seals with both hands.

Shadow Clone Technique!

Shadow Clone Technique!

Shadow Clone Technique...

Yuhi Shinku had been about to argue when he heard Kawaki Aoba's words, but then he saw the kid repeatedly using the Shadow Clone Technique as he ran.

A sudden flash of inspiration struck Yuhi Shinku, and he slapped a palm against his forehead.

Sasori of the Red Sand had kept him on edge with all that messing around earlier. He'd completely forgotten about Shadow Clones.

With his Chakra recovering at a rate of one unit per second, wasn't the Shadow Clone Technique the perfect jutsu for him right now?

Immediately, the teacher began copying his student, repeatedly creating Shadow Clones as he ran.

He didn't know what trump card Kawaki Aoba had up his sleeve, but as his teacher, he couldn't let his student face a powerful enemy alone. Wouldn't that make him look completely useless as a teacher?

Magnet Release: Iron Sand Shower.

A dense rain of Iron Sand Long Needles came flying from behind. It was the same Magnet Release technique as before, but the scale and power were on an entirely different level.

Clearly, Sasori of the Red Sand was truly enraged now.

An ordinary ninja facing an attack on this scale would have no hope of survival. Even a Jonin like Yuhi Shinku would be thrown into disarray if he faced it without any special advantages, and at best, he could only barely protect himself.

But now, the ones facing the attack head-on were Yuhi Shinku and the more than ten Shadow Clones created by Kawaki Aoba.

Eight Yuhi Shinkus turned as one to look at the Kawaki Aobas beside them.

This little brat had said he still had a trump card, hadn't he? Then he could show them what it was.

Even if the brat messed up, it wouldn't matter. With all these Shadow Clones, each brimming with Chakra, they could solve the problem by blowing out a Wind Release together.

Next, Yuhi Shinku watched as the Kawaki Aobas all pulled a heavy... Iron Body out from their clothes?

No, that wasn't ordinary iron. They were sticking to each other. Those were magnets.

Using magnets to counter Magnet Release? That was a rather naive idea. If Magnet Release were that easy to deal with, the Kazekage's position would've changed hands long ago.

Looks like this fight still depended on me, the teacher.

Yuhi Shinku's Shadow Clones formed Hand Seals, ready to use Wind Release together.

But when the Kawaki Aobas each tossed their magnets into the air, Teacher Shinku nearly dropped his jaw. What was he seeing?

The moment the Iron Sand Long Needles controlled by Magnet Release touched the magnets, they inexplicably fell apart.

Even the needles nearby weren't spared. They all turned into ordinary Iron Sand and clung to the magnets.

But that wasn't even the strangest part. The distant Iron Sand Long Needles were affected, too. They all fell apart and turned back into ordinary Iron Sand, dropping to the ground.

That was absurd.

The sight left Yuhi Shinku stunned. Even Kawaki Aoba, the one who'd caused it, was surprised. Wasn't this effect a little too good?

But he quickly figured it out. No matter how unscientific a Kekkei Genkai like Magnet Release might seem, it was still a form of magnetism. And any magnetic force could be disrupted. The reason ninjas had never discovered that magnets could counter Magnet Release was simply that their magnetic force wasn't strong enough.

Now, he was using neodymium magnets he'd obtained through sacrifice, and the effect was immediate.

Neodymium magnets could affect not only the Iron Sand under someone's control, but also completely disrupt the structure of Magnet Release techniques.

Since neodymium magnets could disable the Third Kazekage Human Puppet in Sasori's hands, why not be a little more ambitious? Could they steal the puppet, capture Sasori of the Red Sand—or kill him—and take him back to the village? Was that worth a shot?