What he dislikes most is doing something halfway, intending to help but only helping halfway, revealing one's abilities without achieving the desired effect. This is what he finds most objectionable.
Araki isn't completely forbidden from revealing any of his abilities, but there are definitely prerequisites. It depends on whether it's worthwhile. As long as the desired effect is worth the price, he can reveal some of his abilities.
After figuring things out, Araki turned to look at Kushina and gently waved to her.
Kushina's gaze was always fixed on Araki. She didn't care about the situation here or the supplies. As long as she could see Araki every day, she was very happy.
Just as she looked towards Araki, she happened to see Araki waving at her. Without hesitation, she walked over to Araki and sat down next to Araki.
"What's wrong?"
Kushina asked with a puzzled look. She felt that Araki must have something to say to her, because she knew Araki well; he wouldn't contact her casually if there wasn't a reason.
"We're still on the border, the mission isn't over yet, so we need to be careful," Araki said in a low voice.
"Clear!"
Kushina nodded immediately, a look of joy on her face, because she felt that Araki cared about her. This was a rare sight, and it moved her deeply.
On the other side.
Minato also noticed the subtle interaction between Kushina and Araki, and his expression changed slightly.
He wanted to join in too.
But I always feel that this isn't quite right.
He felt uneasy if he didn't come.
"Hiss hiss hiss..."
Suddenly, at that moment, something strange happened: thick purple smoke billowed into the tent.
This sudden change shocked everyone present, and their expressions turned serious. No one had expected such a situation to occur.
"Enemy attack!"
Jiraiya was the first to react and immediately roared, but as he spoke, he unconsciously inhaled several mouthfuls of thick purple smoke, and immediately felt weak and powerless all over.
Of course, it wasn't just the thick purple smoke; other toxic gases had already entered before the smoke, but no one at the scene noticed them.
Even Araki didn't realize the kind of limitations those colorless and odorless gases imposed on his body. Over the past period of time, he had developed many poisons, but he had never personally experienced a poison battle. He had some research experience, but he was not an expert in using poisons, nor was he an expert in detoxification.
"Oh no, it's poison gas!"
Araki's expression changed as well. He suddenly realized that he had underestimated the ninjas of Sunagakure. In his perception, their presence was still outside the tent, about twenty or thirty meters away. Although they were moving in this direction, there was a faint feeling that they were gathering strength and had not yet fully arrived.
It was based on this feeling that Araki felt he still had some time to calmly wait for the Sunagakure ninja's sneak attack, and then clearly see what was happening.
But...
The actual war taught him a lesson.
To some extent, Araki had a deep understanding of the history of the ninja world and knew that wars had taken place there, but he had never participated in any war and had no idea of the true horrors of war.
When a war begins, no one will tell you in advance, and no one will care whether it's a sneak attack or whether martial ethics are upheld!
It wasn't until the thick purple smoke drifted into the tents of the encampment that Araki suddenly understood why the Sunagakure ninjas were still more than twenty meters away from the tents. It was because the invaders were not the real people, but puppets they controlled.
The Sunagakure's famous Puppet Technique!
It was only at this moment that Araki realized what he had overlooked. Of course, this was also related to the fact that he did not believe, to some extent, that the ninjas of Sunagakure would do such a thing. Logically speaking, there should not have been any war at this time.
" Araki, what kind of poison is this? Is there an antidote?" Jiraiya's voice promptly pulled Araki back from his self-doubt.
"This is Redbud Poison. Initially, it's colorless and odorless, but when the concentration reaches a certain level, a purple poisonous gas will appear. Seeing the gas means you've already been poisoned. This poison doesn't cause particularly serious damage; its main effects are weakness and soreness in the limbs, blocked Chakra meridians, and a temporary loss of combat ability," Araki hurriedly explained. Even as he spoke, he had already begun to feel that weakness, and his head was spinning. He felt unwell, and a sense of indescribable oppression filled his heart. He continued, "This poison can be cured, but I haven't been able to concoct an antidote..."
"Then there's no way to undo it!" Jiraiya's lips twitched violently. He immediately mustered all his Chakra, wanting to break through before he was completely poisoned. However, just as he mobilized his Chakra, his vision went black, he lost his balance and fell to the ground, immediately losing all his strength.
"The more the Redbud Poison struggles, the faster its toxicity penetrates, making it extremely difficult to deal with. The cost of its preparation is also extremely high. It seems that Sunagakure is determined to start a war!" Araki's expression became extremely solemn as he quickly pondered a solution.
This poison was recorded in the scroll that Tsunade-sensei gave him, but its effects were similar to other sleeping potions.
Although it is faster and more effective, it is extremely expensive.
This caused him to postpone the preparation of the Redbud Poison indefinitely, and it was precisely because of this that he lacked the antidote for the Redbud Poison.
When Araki concocts poisons, he always makes one poison first, and then makes the corresponding antidote. Sometimes, he doesn't even make the antidote; he just makes the poison first.
If this were a time of war, and he had come to the border of the Land of Fire, he would have taken this matter very seriously. However, before he came here, he had never considered that something unexpected might happen, which caught him off guard.
In an instant.
Everyone inside the tent collapsed to the ground.
Tension and panic appeared on the faces of some of the stationed ninjas. They had been stationed here for many days without any problems, but now they were suddenly poisoned. This meant that the Sunagakure ninjas were about to take action, and they had lost their ability to fight. They were like meat on a chopping board, completely at the mercy of their opponents.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
Suddenly, the sound of a tent being torn open rang out, and one after another mechanical puppets appeared in everyone's sight. These were the puppets used by the puppeteers of Sunagakure.
After surveying the scene, the puppets focused their attention on Kushina and then charged towards Kushina.
"Stop!"
Jiraiya roared, but he was severely poisoned and his movements were completely restricted. He could only watch helplessly as the puppets appeared beside Kushina and then dragged Kushina out of the tent.
Chapter 34 Tailed Beast Transformation
"Hateful!"
Jiraiya cursed angrily, wanting to say something more, but he found that his tongue had become numb and was about to become immobile.
Is this poison that potent?
Jiraiya wanted to ask Araki how long the poison would last, but he only asked the question in his mind and didn't actually say it.
Gradually...
Apart from Jiraiya and Araki, everyone else present had fallen into a deep sleep, as if they had been under general anesthesia and were completely unconscious.
Jiraiya resisted entirely with his powerful Chakra, but he couldn't hold out for long. He gradually fell into a light sleep, unable to speak, and began to experience hallucinations, like dreaming while awake, with many parts of his mind becoming indistinct.
In an instant.
The only one still conscious inside the tent was Araki.
"Call..."
Araki took a deep breath. At this moment, he realized one thing: these Sunagakure ninjas were after Kushina.
The objective is very clear.
The purpose of using this sleeping potion was to minimize conflict, and even after all the Konoha ninjas lost consciousness, no harm was done to Konoha.
This shows that, in essence, the ninjas of Sunagakure still did not want to start a war. However, Kushina was willing to take such a risk, leaving the ninjas stationed there without bloodshed, which was merely to leave room for maneuver in this matter.
Because of the Nine-Tails?
This was the only reason Araki could think of: Kushina had been kidnapped more than once, and there was no other explanation besides the Nine-Tails.
Has Sunagakure also set its sights on the Nine-Tails?
But...
The question is...
They had barely arrived when the Sunagakure ninja launched a surprise attack, clearly indicating they had intelligence prior to their arrival.
Who leaked it?
Araki's eyes quickly scanned the inside of the tent, confirming that everyone, including Jiraiya, had lost consciousness. He immediately stood up, clapped his hands together, and a piece of wood emerged from behind him, transforming into a human shape with an appearance exactly like Araki's.
It is Wood Clone!
Whoosh!
Araki's Wood Clone vanished in a flash after appearing, quickly chasing after Kushina while carefully controlling his aura to avoid being detected by the Sunagakure ninjas in the camp.
Araki's decision to use Wood Clone was a very prudent move. He currently didn't know who the Sunagakure ninjas were, what their strengths were, or what their true objectives were...
If one rashly uses their true form, and is even slightly careless and gets controlled, or if some accident occurs, then things will completely spiral out of control.
In this situation where the enemy's situation is completely unclear, it is absolutely unwise to act rashly.
Moreover...
The situation has now reversed.
Just now, the ninjas from Sunagakure launched a surprise attack, catching the ninjas stationed there completely off guard. After being poisoned, they lost their ability to fight.
But correspondingly...
The ninjas of Sunagakure would never have imagined that there was someone in Konoha's camp who was unaffected by these poisons, or who had quickly recovered to normal after being affected.
That was the effect of Araki's unique green Chakra, which completely decomposed the toxins in his body's cells, leaving him with absolutely no signs of poisoning and allowing him to return to normal at any time.
However, Araki did not act immediately. He wanted to figure out what was going on, and now was the time for him to turn the tables and take the initiative.
Nobody knew he could still move!
Another reason Araki used his Wood Clone was that the clones could store poison within their bodies, allowing him to poison the Sunagakure ninjas through a self-destructive attack.
In an instant.
Araki's Wood Clone swiftly darted through the forest.
His speed was very fast, and the Sunagakure ninja puppets, being remotely controlled, could only move on the ground and couldn't have their Chakra Threads arranged too complexly, so their speed wasn't very fast, and he caught up with them in no time.
Araki carefully observed the situation before him, silently calculating the numbers. There were nine puppets here, so he could roughly deduce the number of ninjas at the Sunagakure base, which was at least more than nine.
There could be nine!
However, this can only be considered as a deduction, and there is no way to make a complete judgment. After all, there may be some backup plans that have not been fully deployed.
Araki's gaze was focused on Kushina, who had fallen into a deep sleep. However, she was well protected by the puppets and showed no signs of injury. Clearly, these people did not intend to kill Kushina, but had other plans.
For this reason, Araki did not rush to the rescue, but instead planned to go and check it out first.
In an instant, Araki slowed down, maintaining a distance from the Sunagakure ninjas.
Kushina lay on the puppet, her eyes closed, in a deep sleep.
but...
Her body is asleep.