Shinji kept refining his tactics in his mind.
In the end, the small-scale battle concluded without suspense: the Hatake Squad wiped out the enemy.
After figuring out the Blade Mantis's attack patterns, Shinji seized the brief moment of stiffness following one of its full-force lunges. With Uchiha Style: Shiranui, he accelerated abruptly and slipped into a blind spot in its defenses like a phantom.
The long blade of Blazing Inferno radiated scorching heat as it precisely severed the chakra conduit connected to the puppet's core power source, disabling it instantly.
Then, working with Hizashi and Miwako, he swiftly finished off the remaining enemies.
Once the battle ended, Shinji did not leave immediately. Instead, he walked over to the disabled Blade Mantis puppet and crouched down to examine it closely.
He ran his hand over the puppet's cold metal shell and studied the intricate gears and mechanisms inside. Combining this with the control techniques he had observed earlier, he gained a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of how Puppeteers fought.
"A Puppeteer's advantages lie in distance, trickery, expendable puppets, and all the mechanisms and poisons those puppets might carry."
On the way back to camp, Shinji summed up his findings for Sakumo and his teammates, his tone firm with the confidence of careful analysis. "But their weaknesses are just as obvious: their own bodies are relatively fragile, they rely heavily on Chakra Threads, and their puppets are vulnerable to powerful physical attacks that exceed their structural limits-as well as sustained, wide-area flames. Those are lethal to Chakra Threads."
He paused before continuing, "We need to develop a more effective tactic. Instead of trying to destroy a puppet in one blow, we need something that can restrict, disrupt, or even briefly disable several puppets working together, creating an opening for us to kill