The four concealed themselves as they walked toward the edge of the town.
Compared to yesterday, Shin'un keenly sensed that the atmosphere in the town had changed somewhat.
Yesterday, despite the impact of the war, at least one or two shops on the street were open to make a living, and you could often see pedestrians hurrying away with their heads down.
But now, the surroundings are eerily quiet.
Walking down the street, there wasn't a soul in sight. All the shops on both sides were closed, leaving the area completely empty. The only sound was the howling of the wind and waves crashing against the walls.
In this atmosphere, Hatake Sakumo was walking at the front, turned around and glanced back.
Shin'un and Que immediately understood each other, quickly took a few steps, and flanked Yakushi Nonō on the left and right, protecting her in the middle, while secretly preparing for battle.
Sensing the tense atmosphere around him, Shin'un pulled out a Kunai with his backhand.
Generally speaking, in scenes like this, there must be an enemy lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to launch a sneak attack.
Moreover, just now in the hotel room, Yakushi Nonō had already explained that the Sand Ninja pursuers had found her hiding in this small town, and were probably searching house to house right now.
In short, the surroundings are so quiet; there must be something wrong.
The group shielded Yakushi Nonō in the middle and continued forward.
"Meow!"
A piercing meow rang out from ahead, causing the tense group to turn their heads to look.
Shin'un did the same. The moment the cat meowed, he subconsciously became alert and moved his feet slightly to the right, subtly protecting Yakushi Nonō, who was standing beside him, behind him.
When they looked ahead, the four realized that it was just a stray cat on the street catching a small, thin mouse.
After confirming that there was no danger ahead, the four of them briefly lowered their guard.
"It's just a black cat..."
Shin'un was the first to realize that it was just a stray cat hunting for food.
He was about to secretly laugh at his own overreaction.
The next moment.
A chill suddenly ran through Shin'un's heart, and his previously relaxed vigilance immediately returned...
His extraordinary observational skills immediately became apparent, and his surroundings appeared to slow down.
In this environment, Shin'un was surprised to find that he could see one or two flashes of light out of the corner of his eye.
What is that?
With a thought, Shin'un's Chakra flowed, and a dim electric current instantly swirled around his body.
Unlike in previous years when a meaningless layer of electricity would automatically appear around Shin'un's body when he circulated Chakra, this has now become one of the signs that Shin'un has entered the Lightning Body Flicker state.
In his Lightning Body Flicker state, Shin'un's speed far surpassed that of ordinary people, finally allowing him to move at a speed close to that of an average person within his own slow field of vision.
Turning his head, Shin'un saw the source of the flash of light.
It was a blade, its smooth surface reflecting sunlight into its eyes.
Looking up along the blade, Shin'un saw the "user" of this blade.
It was a puppet with a human-like face, a black exterior, draped in a black robe, and its two forearms replaced by broad blades.
But that's not the point. The point is that this puppet is just one of the ones Shin'un observed.
To the naked eye, the sky above Shin'un's field of vision was already covered by puppets.
Short, with six arms wielding short swords; tall, burly, carrying a large axe; obese, with an open chest containing a ready-to-fire crossbow; tiny, with flames emanating from its mouth...
Strange and varied puppets, large and small, appeared out of nowhere, covering all the hiding areas. They even deliberately chose to appear when a few people were startled by the black cat in front of them and their vigilance was down.
It was clearly premeditated!
Damn it!
Shin'un cursed inwardly and began to think of a response.
With the speed of his own Lightning Body Flicker, escaping from such an encirclement would be effortless, and the same would be true for Hatake Sakumo on the other side.
However, the Anbu named Suzume was unaware of this, but Yakushi Nonō, as a spy specializing in infiltration, was destined to die in the siege of these dozen or so puppets.
With a quick glance, Shin'un looked ahead at Hatake Sakumo had already spotted the puppet attacking from above.
As far as I can remember, Hatake Sakumo's attack methods mainly consisted of swordsmanship, and he lacked defensive measures.
In that case, Hatake Sakumo could protect Yakushi Nonō alone, but he wouldn't be able to protect everyone.
"Do I still have to rely on myself?"
After speaking, Shin'un maintained his Lightning Body Flicker, and the electricity around his body suddenly surged as he began to Hand Seals at an extremely fast speed.
In the blink of an eye, a Ninjutsu was completed.
" Lightning Release · Lightning Ring Wall!"
Now, Shin'un's familiarity with this Ninjutsu far surpasses what it used to be, and he can use it with ease.
As Chakra was rapidly depleted, countless violent electric currents surged from Shin'un's palms, quickly forming a solid electric barrier that enveloped Shin'un and his group.
The next moment.
"Boom!"
Attacks from the puppets arrived one after another, striking the electric barrier that Shin'un had created with a large amount of Chakra. Several violent impacts stirred up huge waves, blowing away the signs of several shops in the vicinity.
Upon being attacked, the lightning barrier began to fluctuate violently, seemingly about to break apart, but eventually it gradually stabilized and returned to its original state.
What is that?
A surprised voice rang out from the rooftop next to Shin'un and the others.
" Lightning Release... defensive Ninjutsu?"
On all the rooftops surrounding Shin'un and his group, a large group of Sand Ninja had been lying in ambush, waiting for the lightning barrier to dissipate before swarming in.
One of the leaders stepped out of the crowd and looked at the solid barrier surrounded by puppets, which occasionally crackled with electricity. Camel made no attempt to hide his doubts.
Can a jutsu like Lightning Release, which has extremely low stability, be used for defense?
Seeing this unprecedented Ninjutsu, Camel hesitated for a moment, but looking at the large group of Sand Ninja companions around him and his wife by his side, Camel put aside his concerns and prepared to fight alongside his wife.
The camel and his wife stretched out their hands and slid them through the air, as if they were plucking invisible threads.
As the couple moved, the dozen or so puppets on the ground also began to move at the same time.
Raise the great axe, expose the cannon muzzle, raise the crossbow, flick the long whip, and set up the poison needles...
Under the control of the camel and camel, numerous puppets simultaneously raised their weapons, preparing to attack the lightning barrier emitting blue light before them.
"Pop~"
A faint sound, like a bubble bursting, startled the camel on the roof.
Looking down, the defensive Lightning Release had indeed shattered, but the attacks from their own puppets didn't seem to have landed yet...
Furthermore, why haven't those electric currents dissipated after the barrier broke?
Before the camel could react, the currents had already recombine into a new shape, forming a tall ring of currents.
As soon as the lightning ring appeared, it emitted sparks of electricity, which spread outwards at an extremely fast speed.
Wherever it went, everything was charred black.
Upon seeing this, Camel's pupils contracted, and he shouted to the numerous Sand Ninja behind him:
"Get out of the way!"
Then, with the fastest speed he had ever used, the camel summoned the last puppet he had kept by his side and swallowed himself and his wife into its belly to escape.
The moment the puppet's outer skin closed, Camel saw several dark figures dart out from the point where the ring had erupted, taking advantage of the surrounding Sand Ninja dodging the expanding lightning rings to flee out of the town.
Clearly, these dark figures were the Konoha spies that Camel and the Sand Ninja were hunting down, along with their backup team.