Whoosh—
Thanks to the ultra-fast reflexes granted by the trait [Zero-Frame Startup], Yamanaka Shinno used the Hydrification Technique in advance to dissolve the part of his body targeted by the attack into a stream of water.
More than ten puppets of varying shapes, bristling with blades and hidden weapons, whooshed past him, splashing water as they went!
Dozens of ninja stood around the battlefield. Though none had moved yet, nearly every one of them had one or two puppets floating beside them.
The elite puppet squad of Sunagakure!
Chiyo's most important force.
That old hag Chiyo's already here?
Didn't Pakura say she'd be three days behind Rasa, leading two thousand troops as backup?
Wait, no—
That voice just now... sounded like a man.
Ebizō?
No, not old enough. Then that means...
Rasa?
Damn, talk about perfect timing.
Shinno's thoughts raced. He reached behind his back and pulled a kunai from his tool pouch.
He was just about to go on a rampage—and maybe help his undercover agent Pakura secure his spot as the next Kazekage—when someone among the puppet masters called out:
"Hold up! That's one of the Hozuki from Kirigakure! He's probably here for recon. We're allies with Kirigakure now!"
Clack clack—clack clack—
The dozen puppets that had been about to launch another attack suddenly stopped in place under their controllers' command.
Countless mechanisms and weapons locked onto Shinno, surrounding him.
Hundreds, maybe thousands, of poison-tipped senbon glinted with a cold blue sheen under the moonlight.
Shinno twitched slightly at the corner of his mouth.
He looked down at his standard-issue Konoha jonin vest... and the Leaf forehead protector on his arm... and for a second, he genuinely didn't know what to do.
Like—
He was just about to go full murder mode, and now they're calling him an ally?
Did he wear this whole outfit for nothing?
Or were these people just that clueless? Did none of them recognize the Flying Thunder God Technique he used just now?
Buzz...
A faint rumble started to echo from underground. The puppets shifted slightly.
Magnet Release: Gold Dust Imperial Funeral!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Razor-sharp gold dust erupted from the ground like bamboo shoots right beneath Shinno.
At the same time, Rasa's voice echoed through the minds of every Sunagakure shinobi.
"All puppet masters, fall back immediately! That's the Yellow Flash of the Hidden Leaf, Namikaze Minato! He's not someone you can handle!"
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—
As Sunagakure's elite unit, the puppet squad was well-trained and perfectly coordinated.
Though they didn't understand why their commander thought this guy—who clearly used the Hydrification Technique—was the Yellow Flash…
They still obeyed instantly.
With the help of their puppets, they quickly pulled back, putting dozens of meters between themselves and Shinno.
Among shinobi, the worst thing you can do is overestimate yourself.
And if this guy really was the Yellow Flash of Konoha...
Only an idiot would willingly fight him head-on.
"Me? Namikaze Minato?"
凸（艹皿艹）!
Shinno dispersed into a spray of water, completely dodging the Magnet Release technique.
Streams of water twisted and pooled together elsewhere, reconstituting his body on the opposite side of the clearing.
From the shadowed edge of the forest, Rasa walked out, looking cold and composed.Beside him stood Pakura, face serious... maybe too serious.
Shinno's expression was pure exasperation.
Did everyone in Sunagakure have collective sand-induced conjunctivitis or something?
How could they mistake someone twice?
And Pakura—seriously? You couldn't give him a heads-up?
This kind of crap made everyone look bad.
Maybe sensing Shinno's rising irritation, Pakura leaned slightly toward Rasa, muttering something quietly.
Rasa's aloof expression wavered for a second... then quickly returned to its usual smug look.
"My mistake. I actually confused one of Danzo's lapdogs with the Yellow Flash."
"..."
（╯‵□′）╯︵┴─┴
If you can't speak properly, just shut up!
Shinno clenched the kunai in his hand.
He took a deep breath and forced down his rising fury.
His eyes swept up and down Rasa with deadly seriousness.
"Are you married?"
"…What? Danzo's mutt, what are you trying to say?"
Rasa signaled his puppet squad to continue cutting off Konoha's retreat path.
Pakura, standing nearby, had to fight hard to keep her face neutral, lips twitching slightly.
Oh yeah—her position as the next Kazekage?
Absolutely solid now.
How had she never noticed Rasa was this ballsy before?
"(▼皿▼#)!"
Shinno's expression darkened. His patience was officially gone.
He flung his right arm, hurling the kunai at Rasa, while his left hand flew through a rapid one-handed seal.
Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!
A thick, rolling fog burst into the air, swallowing the forest for hundreds of meters around.
And it kept spreading.
Karura? Gaara?
They could wait.
First, he was going to shut this idiot's mouth for good.
Magnet Release: Gold Dust Burial!
With a thunderous roar, Rasa slammed his palms to the ground, forming hand signs as golden sand surged upward in a tidal wave.
The gold dust he'd been quietly gathering underground while facing Shinno now erupted, swallowing everything in a wide radius.
So what if the Hidden Mist technique blocked his vision?
As long as his attack was big enough, the enemy wouldn't be able to dodge—much less launch a counterattack.
BOOOOM—!
The golden wave piled high like a mountain before violently collapsing inward.
It crushed down on the center with terrifying force.
But…
There were no screams.
No bones cracking.
Rasa frowned.
Something was off.
He jumped back instantly, fingers flying through seals again.
"Pakura! Get airborne!"
Shing—
A simple-looking black kunai cut through the dense fog, appearing right in front of Rasa.
Recalling how he'd mistaken this guy for Minato and thinking of the Flying Thunder God Technique—
Rasa's face turned grim.
The golden sand beneath him, which had been preparing to lift him skyward, morphed into a massive golden shield, enveloping the area where the kunai flew.
He also started reinforcing the golden armor covering his body.
But Shinno never appeared at the kunai's location.
Instead, he exploded forward from the fog like a bolt of blue lightning!
Sage Mode—activated.
His body radiated an overwhelming, soul-chilling chakra.
Blue dragons formed from pure Sage chakra howled around him, and one of them snapped its fangs around Rasa's limbs, locking him in place.
Shinno lunged, turned sideways, and slammed his elbow hard into Rasa's chest!
BOOOM—KRA-KRA-KRACK—!
The raw force of the blow detonated outward.
Rasa, clamped in the jaws of the chakra dragon, spewed a mist of blood from his mouth as his body flew backward like a cannonball, smashing through tree after tree.
Shinno glanced at the gold dust stuck in the dragon's mouth and immediately realized—
The moment his limbs got caught, Rasa had released the gold dust protecting his body.
If he hadn't…
That elbow would've either caved in his chest or blown a hole right through it.
Shhhhh—
The golden sand dispersed into glittering particles, vanishing into the mist.
Rasa's vision dimmed as he felt a deathly chill close in—but still, he clung to life.
He used the remaining gold dust to shoot himself skyward at full speed!
Above him—
Pakura stood on a platform of sand, both arms raised. A massive Scorch Release fireball, several meters in diameter, formed above her head.
"Pakura! Vaporize him! Cough—!"
Rasa shouted through clenched teeth, coughing up another huge spray of blood.
Most of his ribs were shattered, and one had almost pierced his heart!
His organs were heavily damaged from the force.
The pain was so intense, it felt like his body was being torn apart. He nearly blacked out.
"…Okay."
Pakura locked onto the target area indicated by the gold dust.
She responded calmly and hurled the massive fireball down with force.
But in her mind, she was already speaking to Shinno through the Mind Transmission Technique they'd synced earlier in the mist.
"Can you dodge that? Want me to aim a little off?"
"Stick to the act. If I wasn't worried you'd have trouble explaining this, I'd already be flying out of here."
"Tch... If you die, don't blame me."
"Heh~ If I hit back a little too hard later, don't blame me either."
"…I am a valuable asset as an undercover agent, right?"
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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