"Spirit Puppet!"
Fox Shadow and Faceless both breathed sighs of relief.
Hoshino quickly reached their side and asked in a low voice, "How strong are the three of them?"
Fox Shadow replied, "One Jonin and two Special Jōnin who specialize in combat. They're trouble."
Faceless continued, "I'll handle the Jonin. You two each take one of the others and split them up. Don't get in the captain's way."
"Understood!"
Hoshino and Fox Shadow nodded and each picked a teammate to face.
Hoshino's opponent was a tall, thin ninja holding a short blade wreathed in lightning, a ruthless glint in his eyes.
"Kid, you think you can take me on alone?"
The tall, thin ninja sneered and charged at him with the lightning-wreathed blade.
Hoshino pulled at the sealing scroll on his waist with his right hand, and the remaining nine puppets appeared once more.
Following the previous tactic, another Blue Bee came apart, sending hundreds of poisoned needles flying at his opponent.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Flash!"
The tall, thin ninja's body turned into a flash of lightning and slipped through the gaps between the poisoned needles. He swung his lightning-wreathed blade fiercely.
Hoshino quickly moved Black Ant in front of him.
The lightning blade struck the puppet with a piercing crackle.
"Is that all you've got?"
The tall, thin ninja sneered and swung his short blade again, unleashing lightning blade strikes like a raging storm.
Hoshino dodged while sending the Red Scorpion puppet charging in from the side, its tail stinger stabbing straight at the tall, thin ninja's waist.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Body Flicker!"
The tall, thin ninja appeared behind Hoshino in an instant, thrusting his lightning-wreathed blade straight at the boy's heart from behind.
"Pfft!"
But the blood his opponent expected never came.
Hoshino's body turned into a pile of loose sand, and the tall, thin ninja's blade stabbed through empty air.
"A clone! Damn it!"
The tall, thin ninja's expression changed. He quickly retreated, warily scanning his surroundings.
Just then, several small fly puppets quietly approached.
These fly puppets were no different from the ones before, but they carried a paralytic poison specially made by Hoshino.
A mere trace of it could slow an enemy's movements for a moment.
But the tall, thin ninja still noticed the approaching flies. He swung his blade, instantly reducing several of them to ashes with lightning.
"You, hiding your head and showing your tail! Show me whatever tricks you've got!"
"As you wish!"
Hoshino's voice came from behind a nearby boulder.
"Earth Release: Rock Collapse and Earth Split!"
The boulder instantly shattered into countless fragments that rained down on the tall, thin ninja, while five or six puppets charged out from around him.
The tall, thin ninja's eyes sharpened, and he plunged his lightning-wreathed blade into the ground.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Swamp!"
The instant the blade's tip touched the ground, lightning burst outward like a spiderweb, turning the sand within ten meters into a boiling pool of lightning.
The fragments flying at him from every direction were instantly reduced to powder.
Black Ant's right pincer snapped off, while Red Scorpion's tail stinger melted outright into molten metal.
"This is a battlefield-clearing technique developed by the Third Raikage." The tall, thin ninja pulled out his blade with a sinister grin. "How much longer can your toys hold out?"
Hoshino staggered backward, while the pursuing serpents of lightning blasted charred cracks into the rock wall behind him.
Of the puppets Grandma Chiyo had given him, two had now come apart and four had been destroyed. Tiny arcs of electricity also danced over the joints of the remaining four.
Worst of all, the fly surveillance network was suffering electromagnetic interference, and static flickered constantly across the lens over his left eye.
Hoshino removed the glasses from his left eye and flung them aside, staring coldly at his opponent.
Special Jōnin who specialize in combat really are strong.
If it weren't for the puppets Grandma Chiyo gave me, I wouldn't have lasted long at all.
And the fly puppets' surveillance network needs improvement too.
Otherwise, wouldn't I be in trouble if I ran into another ninja who specializes in Lightning Release?
"Lightning Release: Lightning Body Flicker!"
Suddenly, the tall, thin ninja appeared inside the ring of three puppets, his blade sweeping past Hoshino's ear.
The boy barely managed to block the blade with White Ant's pincer, but lightning raced along the Chakra Threads into his palm, and his entire right arm went numb at once.
"Got you, little dwarf!"
The tall, thin ninja clamped his left hand around Hoshino's throat, lightning gathering into a sharp cone at his fingertips.
Hoshino could feel a stabbing pain in his throat, and the searing heat made his breath catch.
"It's over, kid."
The tall, thin ninja spoke coldly, the lightning cone at his fingertips slowly closing in on Hoshino's throat.
By now, Hoshino's right arm was completely paralyzed, and the Chakra Threads had been severed by the lightning. The puppets fell to the ground, no longer under his control.
All he could hear was the tall, thin ninja's grating laughter.
At that critical moment, when a single hair could tip the scales,
Hoshino's lips curled slightly into an eerie smile.
"You think... those are really all the tricks I have?"
Before the tall, thin ninja could react, the doll at Hoshino's waist suddenly opened its mouth.
"Pfft!"
A wind blade pierced the tall, thin ninja's chest, and blood gushed out.
"You... that's impossible..."
The tall, thin ninja's eyes went wide as he stared at Hoshino in disbelief, the lightning-wreathed blade drooping limply in his hand.
Looking at the enemy lying on the ground,
Hoshino collapsed into a sitting position and gasped for breath.
That really was brutal!
His glasses were ruined, few spider puppets remained, six of the ten puppets Grandma Chiyo had given him were gone, his right arm was paralyzed, and his Chakra was nearly exhausted.
He had even used the Ninjutsu stored in the doll.
If another enemy shows up now, I really will die here today.
Fortunately, things were going well for Fox Shadow, and taking down his opponent was only a matter of time.
Although Faceless was being driven back by the burly man, he could still hold him off without affecting the captain.
Just then,
Shaji emerged from the blowing sand carrying Onimaru's head, thin streaks of blood seeping from beneath his Anbu mask.
Night Sand and the others also quietly closed in.
"Retreat!"
The burly man's expression turned ugly at the sight. He quickly put some distance between himself and Faceless, then threw a smoke bomb at the same time as the remaining Kumogakure ninja.
By the time the smoke and dust cleared, the enemies were long gone.
Fox Shadow asked, "Captain, should we pursue them?"
Shaji tossed Onimaru's head to Night Sand to seal and shook his head. "The mission's complete. There's no need to stir up more trouble."
He then came over to Hoshino and reached out to pull him up, saying approvingly,
"Well done, Spirit Puppet. Killing one Special Jōnin and two Chunin puts you far beyond my expectations."
Hoshino managed a smile and pointed at the puppet fragments scattered around them.
"Captain, can I get reimbursed?"
"Hahahaha! Of course, and this mission counts as S-rank for you," Shaji said with a laugh.
Just then,
Scorpion Shadow walked over, holding a scroll he had found on Onimaru. His expression was grave.
"Captain, look at this."
Shaji took the scroll and opened it. His brows immediately drew together.
The scroll bore a detailed diagram of Sunagakure's defensive layout, with several unfamiliar symbols marked beside it.
Hoshino glanced at it and said in surprise, "This is... the village's defense map? Where did Onimaru get it?"