Grandma Chiyo leaned on her cane, her face terribly gloomy, each step she took was heavy, splashing water on the ground.
She walked straight up to Konan, slamming her cane down heavily on the ground with a dull thud, as if challenging this strange situation.
Where is the scorpion?
Before Konan could answer, Hiruko's figure emerged from the shadows.
"Old woman, what are you doing here?"
Scorpion's voice came from Hiruko, carrying his usual indifference and disdain, as if he were looking at an insignificant intruder.
A flicker of pain crossed Grandma Chiyo's eyes as she stared intently at Hiruko, as if she could see Sasori's true form through the puppet.
"You're the one who killed Hoshino?"
Her voice trembled slightly, her words filled with accusation and sorrow.
Hoshino was someone I raised from a child.
To some extent, he poured his hopes and expectations for Sasori into Hoshino.
But now, Hoshino's ordeal is even more complicated by Sasori's involvement.
It's hard for her not to suspect that the Scorpion she once loved has now completely lost his way in the darkness, even going so far as to harm Hoshino.
Grandma Chiyo's gaze was fixed on Hiruko, demanding an explanation from him and Hoshino.
"If anything happens to Hoshino, I will never let you get away with this!"
Scorpion merely gave a cold snort, Hiruko tail sweeping impatiently across the ground, splashing up patches of muddy water.
"Hmph, don't blame everything on me. He asked for it, what does it have to do with me?"
This answer made Grandma Chiyo even angrier.
"You!"
Suddenly, the cane in his hand extended and pierced the scorpion's throat with incredible speed.
This sudden attack demonstrated Grandma Chiyo's courage and ruthlessness as a ninja.
Scorpion easily dodged the attack, Hiruko's tail suddenly swept towards the old man, the powerful force creating a gust of wind that dispersed the surrounding rain.
"Stop!"
Kankuro shouted, and bone spikes shot out, pinning down the attacking tail.
Grandma Chiyo is quite old, and we are worried that she might get hurt in a moment of impulsiveness, and we also don't want to see the situation worsen.
The atmosphere became tense, with a sense of impending conflict.
The rain continued to fall, the raindrops pelting the crowd, but unable to extinguish the anger and worry in their hearts.
Grandma Chiyo was panting heavily, her eyes still burning with anger.
Scorpion, controlling Hiruko, assumed a defensive stance, ready to respond to any possible attacks.
Looking at the chaotic situation, Konan frowned slightly and said, "Now is not the time for internal strife; Hoshino's problem must be resolved."
Although the area of the bone cocoon stopped expanding after the first round of rampage, no one can guarantee that it won't get out of control again.
After all, Hoshino is imprisoned inside. He is one of the leaders of the Reform Society. If anything goes wrong, it will inevitably touch the sensitive nerve of Sunagakure and cause a greater conflict between the two villages.
If the Reform Society could find a way to take the Bone Cocoon away, it would be ideal for both the Land of Rain and the Akatsuki.
Whether Hoshino lives or dies will have nothing to do with the Akatsuki.
They can also escape this thorny predicament and no longer have to worry about the potential crisis brought by this force.
It's a pity.
If only the Power of Jashin or the mysterious power within Hoshino could be used by the Akatsuki.
Grandma Chiyo took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in her heart.
Knowing that Konan was right, Hoshino was the top priority, and everything else could be put aside.
She slowly withdrew her cane, her gaze still fixed on Scorpion, and said coldly, "I'll let you off this time. I'll settle the score with you after Hoshino is alright."
Scorpion snorted coldly and did not respond; Hiruko also retracted her tail.
Despite trying numerous methods, the group remained helpless against the enormous gray-white bone cocoon.
Kankuro attempted to use the power of the puppet to pry open the bone cocoon.
But as soon as the puppet got close, it was corrupted by that decaying power and instantly turned into a pile of scrap metal.
Temari used Wind Release Ninjutsu, but the powerful wind was easily neutralized by the bone cocoon.
It even caused the surface of the bone cocoon to flicker with light, showing signs of going berserk again, which frightened everyone into retreating hastily, and the experiment had to be stopped immediately.
The crowd gathered around the bone cocoon, their brows furrowed in worry.
The rain was pouring down harder, and the cold raindrops hitting everyone added to the atmosphere of despair.
"This won't do. We can't move this thing at all, let alone rescue Hoshino."
"We know too little about this force, and the existing methods simply won't work."
"Was any relevant information found in Hoshino's private laboratory? And what about his clone?"
"We can't get into the private lab. The clone existed for too long and has Chakra, so it's disappeared."
When will the Scientific Research Department arrive?
"Immediately!"
The group spoke very quickly, summarizing their current predicament in just a few words.
Time was of utmost importance at this moment; every second was a matter of life and death, and there was no room for delay. However, every approach seemed to be unworkable.
Just as everyone was filled with anxiety, a strange light flashed in the sky, followed by a deep rumble.
Everyone looked up and saw a huge airship slowly emerging from the rain.
When the hatch opened, Shinnō appeared, accompanied by many researchers dressed in uniform and looking focused.
"Sorry we're late!"
Shinnō rushed to the crowd, not even bothering to wipe the rain off his face, and gestured to the researchers behind him to quickly get to work.
The researchers skillfully pulled out all sorts of oddly shaped instruments from their backpacks.
There were discs that shimmered with a metallic luster and could detect Chakra fluctuations, as well as slender probes that could analyze the composition of substances, and some transparent containers filled with unknown liquids.
They quickly spread out around the bone cocoon and began a comprehensive scan, examination, and analysis of it.
Konan watched these busy researchers from the side, secretly marveling at their work.
These devices alone demonstrate that the Reform Society's Scientific Research Department was large and powerful.
Even without Hoshino, he would probably still hold an important position in the field of Shinobi World research.
The technologies demonstrated by these instruments involve the cross-integration of multiple fields such as biology, mechanics, and energy, and each one seems to contain the research results of the Reform Society over many years.
Time ticked by, second by second.
The researchers worked intently on the instruments, constantly recording data, analyzing results, and occasionally exchanging hushed conversations.
His expression was focused and serious.
In this chaotic and tense atmosphere, it seemed as if the whole world consisted only of the mysterious bone cocoon before them and the problem that urgently needed to be solved.
As the research progressed, the situation became increasingly difficult, and various sophisticated instruments seemed to lose their effectiveness in the face of bone spurs.
Whether it's the disc that detects Chakra fluctuations or the probe that analyzes the composition of matter, the data returned is chaotic and inexplicable.
The transparent containers filled with an unknown liquid yielded no valuable results in the various interactive experiments with bone spurs.