One of the smaller Sunagakure ninja frowned and said impatiently.
The taller Sunagakure ninja shook his head, his tone cold. "What's the rush? Our mission is to stall for time. As long as we wait for the main force to arrive, these Konoha ninja won't be able to escape even if they grew wings. Besides, we have a secret weapon. Hold on a little longer, and we'll give them quite a surprise."
"A secret weapon?"
A flicker of confusion crossed the third Sunagakure ninja's eyes. "You mean that puppet? But it hasn't been fully debugged yet. Won't there be problems if we use it now?"
The tall Sunagakure ninja sneered disdainfully. "So what if it hasn't been debugged? Even a half-finished product is more than enough to deal with these Konoha ninja. I'll control the secret weapon later. You two keep controlling the ordinary puppets and hold them back. As long as we delay them until the main force arrives, our mission will be complete."
Kawaki Aoba hid behind a tree, and his heart tightened as he heard their conversation. He muttered under his breath, "This is bad. They have a secret weapon, and they're waiting for Sunagakure's main force to arrive. I have to stop them quickly, or the seniors will be in danger!"
He took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the Kunai in his hand, his gaze turning resolute. He could not wait any longer. He had to act at once, interrupt their control, and alert the seniors to come support him.
Just as he was about to rush out, he suddenly sensed a wave of Chakra behind him. He spun around and saw a puppet silently appearing at his back. It held a poisoned needle and was thrusting it toward his back. Startled, he