"I don't need a lecture from you. Die!"
His thoughts exposed, the man with face paint flew into a rage.
All ten fingers moved in quick succession, sending his two puppets charging at Aoki Tsuki and Ryōta respectively.
As they advanced, a steel tube emerged from each mouth. Their mechanisms whirred, firing a volley of Senbon straight at them.
Pfft, pfft, pfft...
Aoki Tsuki hastily used the Body Flicker Technique to dodge, grumbling to himself.
The method Jonin Tomohisa taught us for dealing with puppeteers doesn't work. This guy isn't hiding at all. He's attacking us openly with his teammates protecting him.
He glanced to the side and was slightly surprised.
He had expected Ryōta to be in a sorry state, but Ryōta had dodged just as easily.
Ryōta's mastered the Body Flicker Technique too?
For someone whose fighting style focused on Taijutsu, the Body Flicker Technique was an essential skill.
Ryōta was quick to adapt, too. As he dodged the Senbon, he casually flung a Kunai at each of the attacking scorpion and centipede puppets.
He threw in two Explosive Tags as well.
Oh, he learns fast. He even knows to coordinate with me.
Aoki Tsuki had actually wanted to use the same move just now, but the village had only issued each of them three Explosive Tags.
Their opponent also had a stronger man who had yet to make a move, so he had held back.
Fortunately, after the experience of one mission, Ryōta had learned to work with his teammates.
Boom! Boom!
After two violent explosions, the centipede puppet quickly curled up, losing only a few of its sickle-tipped limbs.
The scorpion puppet flipped over at the crucial moment, using its hard back shell to withstand the blast.
Their enemy was clearly an extremely experienced puppeteer.
"Fire Fly, finish this quickly. We still have to pursue the killer who murdered Taya and Anna. Amegakure has plenty of people in this area, and these brats are stalling for time," the middle-aged man urged.
The man with face paint, called Fire Fly, hurriedly answered, "Got it, Captain Yoshiki."
Under his control, both puppets spat out clouds of black poison mist.
At the same time, Captain Yoshiki, who had seemed unwilling to join the fight, suddenly formed Hand Seals at high speed.
"Wind Release: Dust Great Breakthrough!"
A gale swept up dust and sand from the ground, carrying both clouds of poison straight at them.
Fuck, what a scheming bastard! Aoki Tsuki cursed inwardly.
He had long guessed that the man was waiting for a chance to strike, but he hadn't expected him to use a combination ninjutsu with the puppeteer.
"Ryōta, hold your breath and run!"
Pfft, pfft, pfft...
The dust and gravel in the wind made it impossible for either of them to open their eyes.
"Die!"
An icy voice came from behind him.
Squelch...
A Kunai slashed Aoki Tsuki's throat, but what spurted out was water, not blood.
"The Water Clone Technique?"
Yoshiki frowned. Chakra burst from his feet as he dodged swiftly away.
Boom...
The flames unleashed by the Explosive Tag scorched his face, but a chill rose in his heart.
He looked up to see that an umbrella had somehow appeared in midair, concealed by the smoke.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Senbon Rain shot down at him.
The enemy had caught him in the brief moment after he had landed from using the Body Flicker Technique.
"Excellent timing. You've got some skill, Amegakure brat."
Yoshiki knew he couldn't dodge, but there was no panic on his face, because he had a comrade of his own.
Sure enough, at the crucial moment, a shadow flew in just in time to shield him from above.
Clang, clang, clang...
The Senbon struck the steel plate on the scorpion puppet's back with a crisp sound that was so reassuring.
"Hmph, did you think I wasn't here?"
Fire Fly said disdainfully, "Using hidden weapons in front of a puppeteer? I have to say, you've got guts."
"Body Flicker Technique!"
A flash of steel sped straight at Fire Fly. An unguarded puppeteer's body was the greatest opening.
"Watch out!"
Yoshiki cried out and started to rush over, only for several Shuriken thrown from nearby to block his path.
Ryōta had attacked him.
"Out of my way."
He knocked the incoming Shuriken aside with his Kunai, then turned sideways to dodge the blade strike that followed. With a backhand slash, he cut Ryōta's right arm.
Immediately afterward, he kicked out.
Thud...
Ryōta went flying backward.
On the other side, faced with Aoki Tsuki's attack, Fire Fly chose to coil the centipede puppet around himself for protection.
The centipede puppet's thousand sickle-tipped legs turned his body into a hedgehog.
Clang, clang, clang...
Aoki Tsuki rushed forward and slashed seven or eight times in succession, but Fire Fly controlled the centipede puppet's sickles to block every blow.
"Haha... It's no use. You can't break through my defenses. I'm no ordinary puppeteer."
Fire Fly laughed, only to see Aoki Tsuki retreat at high speed. Sensing trouble, he looked down and, sure enough, saw a fiery glow coming from the centipede's belly.
When did he...? This bastard!
Boom...
An orange-red flash flared, and the Explosive Tag blew the centipede in half.
"Ah... My puppet!"
Fire Fly clutched his ribs, which had been injured by the Explosive Tag, but it was his puppet he grieved for.
After landing the blow, Aoki Tsuki heard something slicing through the air beside him. He turned and slashed diagonally.
He felt resistance as the weapons clashed.
He immediately followed up with a sweeping roundhouse kick, but his opponent blocked it again with a bent elbow.
He immediately switched to a two-handed grip and performed a Combined Slash.
Within a single breath, he unleashed ten rapid consecutive strikes.
Clang... clang... clang...
The blade in Aoki Tsuki's hands left afterimages, but Yoshiki kept swinging his Kunai, blocking every slash.
Although he was the one attacking, Aoki Tsuki was a little panicked.
Looks like I need to start developing Chakra Nature Transformation as soon as possible.
If he had mastered lightning nature transformation and applied it to his blade, he could have cut through his opponent's Kunai in one blow.
"Brat, you're strong, but too bad you ran into me."
After blocking Aoki Tsuki's attack once again, Yoshiki countered, using his superior physical strength to send Aoki Tsuki flying.
He immediately flung several Shuriken to hinder his movement and buy time to perform his next ninjutsu.
"Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!"
A crescent-shaped blade of wind swept across.
Aoki Tsuki leaped up and spun 360 degrees, evading the wind blade, only to see Yoshiki appear in front of him using the Body Flicker Technique.
Clang!
His long blade blocked the Kunai, but his opponent seized an opening and kicked him away.
Thud...
His body crashed into a nearby pile of rubble like a cannonball.
Yoshiki was about to pursue him, but abruptly changed direction halfway there, dodging the Senbon Rain that had come at him in a sneak attack.
It was Shinichi attacking once again.
"It's no use. You can't escape."
Yoshiki ignored Shinichi's harassment and continued toward Aoki Tsuki to kill him.
Kill the key member of the opposing squad first, and the team's will to fight would collapse. The others didn't matter.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Several Shuriken buried themselves in Aoki Tsuki as he lay in the rubble.
Poof...
Aoki Tsuki's body turned into a cloth doll, a specialized substitute made by the Hardware Hall.
"The Substitution Technique? You set it up while I was dodging the Senbon just now, didn't you? That was quick thinking."
Yoshiki narrowed his eyes. Having lost the initiative, he could do nothing about it and began scanning the boulders nearby. His opponent was most likely hiding behind one of them.
"Think you'll be fine if you just stay hidden? I'll kill your comrades."
"Hmph, I'm not the only one with comrades."
Aoki Tsuki knew he couldn't stay hidden, so he walked out from behind the rock and looked at the injured Fire Fly nearby.
He had tied Explosive Tags to the two Kunai in his hands.
"Come to think of it... there's no deep grudge between us, is there? You should know your comrades' deaths had nothing to do with us.
"If you insist on killing us, you'll pay a price too.
"And we have dozens of squads in this area. Do you think you can get away?"
Just then, birdsong rang out above the distant forest.
Yoshiki turned to look. He knew it had been caused by people moving through the woods, and there were quite a few of them.
Their reinforcements had arrived.
"You're lucky! The next time we meet, I'll kill you. Fire Fly, let's go."
After leaving that threat, Yoshiki hurried away with the two bodies.
"Phew... They're finally gone."
Aoki Tsuki let out a long breath and grimaced as he touched the ribs on his right side.
It hurt a little when he breathed.
By now, Mieko had finished treating Ryōta's injuries, and the others walked over.
"Where are you hurt?"
Aoki Tsuki frowned. "I'm afraid my ribs are broken."
"Then there's nothing I can do. You'll have to go back to the border outpost for treatment." Mieko shook her head.
Swish, swish...
More than ten figures leaped down in front of them. The one leading them was none other than Jonin Satō Ichirō.
Among them was Kurokawa Squad, which had been patrolling the other half of Chōkai Peak. When squad leader Kurokawa saw Aoki Tsuki looking at him, he guiltily turned his head away.
That bastard should have arrived ages ago, but had waited until Satō Ichirō, who was stationed in the Mount Rishiri area, arrived and joined the main group before coming over.
Yet the first words out of Satō Ichirō's mouth made Aoki Tsuki curse his ancestors.
"Not bad. You lot actually survived."
Do you hear yourself, bastard?
So you came to collect our bodies.
Aoki Tsuki complained inwardly, but didn't dare show his displeasure. Even if he really did become Lord Hanzō's guard in the future, this man would still be his superior.
He hurriedly bowed and expressed his gratitude.
"It's all thanks to you arriving in time and scaring them off, Captain. Otherwise, we'd all be dead by now."
When living under another's roof, one had no choice but to bow one's head.
Satō Ichirō nodded expressionlessly. "Tell me exactly what happened."
"Yes, here's how it happened..."
Aoki Tsuki then recounted the whole affair, emphasizing how powerful the enemy had been.
Only through the squad members' concerted efforts had they held out until reinforcements arrived and scared the enemy away.
"And the advice Jonin Tomohisa gave us on dealing with puppeteers was a huge help. Otherwise, we wouldn't have gotten away with just injuries."
As Aoki Tsuki spoke, he reached out and touched his ribs with a pained expression.
The credit belonged to the leaders, but he had to let them know how much effort he had put in, too.
"You said there had been a battle before you arrived. Did you find anything at the scene?" Satō Ichirō pressed.
"Yes. The Sunagakure ninja were killed with Fire Release, and we also found these." Aoki Tsuki hurriedly took out the Kunai and Shuriken he had picked up earlier.
He had kept two of them back rather than handing everything over to Yoshiki Squad.
Satō Ichirō took them and had a look. He nodded and waved a hand. "You did very well this time. You did not disgrace Amegakure's great reputation.
"I'll record your merits. Your squad can return to camp and rest for a week."
What great reputation?
Which of the Five Great Nations takes Amegakure seriously?
What inexplicable confidence.
"Yes."