"Retreat!" Sarutobi Tendo decisively ordered.
"Do you think you can escape?"
Sasori pulled out a scroll, and several human puppets emerged from the sealing scroll, blocking the Konoha team's retreat.
"What the—!"
"So the puppet master is inside that puppet!"
As Sasori began controlling additional puppets, Hyuga Kanade finally spotted his chakra threads and realized the location of Sasori's true body.
This was precisely why Sasori usually refrained from controlling extra puppets while in Hiruko form—doing so made it far too easy to expose himself. But now that he had revealed this, it was clear he had no intention of letting any of them leave alive.
Though they had discovered Sasori's true body, it was already too late.
The five Konoha ninja attempted to retreat, with Sarutobi Tendo volunteering to cover their escape. Despite his slightly fatigued expression, his resolve was unshaken.
"Fire Release: Garuda!"
This was a collaborative technique typically requiring three ninja to execute, but Sarutobi Tendo managed to perform it alone, and with no less power. His mastery of Fire Release was evident.
Unfortunately, just as his four teammates were silently cheering for their captain, a puppet with pale blue hair emerged, extinguishing their last sliver of hope.
"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
The blue-haired puppet leaned back, puffing out its chest, then suddenly lowered its head, revealing shark-like sharp teeth as it spewed a massive torrent of blue water.
The water surged forward, quickly spreading across the battlefield. The waves effortlessly extinguished Sarutobi Tendo's fire technique, as if the ocean itself had snuffed out a handful of tiny sparks.
"Impossible!"
"A puppet can use ninjutsu?!" Hyuga Kanade exclaimed, his face growing even more despairing.
"Surprised?" Sasori said, his tone unusually smug. "He was a member of the Hōzuki Clan, so of course he's particularly skilled in Water Release."
"The Hōzuki Clan!"
"Human puppet!" Sarutobi Tendo's body trembled, betraying the shock in his heart.
Although the Sand Village's research into human puppetry was classified as top-secret, such secrets were hard to contain once too many people became involved. As a result, all four other great ninja villages had relevant information in their classified archives.
However, the Sand Village had discontinued its human puppetry project years ago, reportedly due to its lack of success. In the end, only one person had truly mastered the technique—the rogue ninja Sasori of the Red Sand.
Sasori of the Red Sand!
Hearing this name sent a chill through everyone's bodies. An S-rank rogue ninja was no trivial matter.
The definition of an S-rank rogue ninja was an enemy who, if not confronted with a Kage-level combatant, would require at least two to three squads of elite ANBU to have any hope of victory.
There were only six S-rank rogue ninja in the entire shinobi world. What most people didn't know was that five of them were already members of the Akatsuki, and the sixth—Orochimaru—was a former member.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow River!"
The ground beneath Sasori and Deidara suddenly turned into a liquid-like state, resembling a rapidly flowing river that pushed them backward.
Finally, after the entire battle, Deidara managed to take to the skies. Glancing down at Sarutobi Tendo, who was still struggling to fight back, Deidara decided to leave him to Sasori. His focus shifted to the other four who were attempting to flee.
"Secret Technique: Cocoon of Insects!"
A massive swarm of parasitic insects poured out from Aburame Shikun's clothing, darkening the sky like a plague of locusts.
Boom! Boom!
However, the hastily hatched swarm was no match for Deidara's clay creations. Each explosion wiped out a large section of the insects.
"Damn it!"
The four Konoha ninja were at their wits' end. Any attempt to resist was futile against the sheer number of Clay Spiders. Though each spider's explosion was only as powerful as a single explosive tag, the constant barrage made them an overwhelming force.
Just look at the Mutual Multiplying Explosive Tags technique used by the Second Hokage, or Konan's six billion explosive tags—both demonstrated how terrifying such relentless attacks could be.
"Are we out of the city yet?"
Deidara smiled faintly. Finally, they had left the restrictive confines of the city. Out here in the wilderness, even a hundred enemies wouldn't be enough to stop him.
"C2: Standard Type—Raiding Pterodactyl!" "C2: Standard Type—Velociraptor!"
These two clay creations were perfect for pursuit—one in the air, the other on the ground. Working together, they formed a deadly combination, the ultimate hunters.
"Damn it! Stay away!" Shimura Seito, his movements sluggish from exhaustion, managed to cleave a Velociraptor in half with his blade. Gasping for breath, he felt as though his sword weighed a thousand pounds.
"He doesn't seem to want to kill us," Aburame Shikun observed calmly, even in the face of despair. From what he had seen of their opponent's abilities, killing them would have been effortless.
But Deidara hadn't done so. Instead, he was wearing them down, clearly intending to capture them alive.
"Does he want to turn us into puppets?" Hyuga Kanade speculated. If they died in explosions, their bodies would be in pieces, making them unsuitable for human puppetry.
"No... no way!" Tsukigetsu Rin's face turned pale with fear. Dying was one thing, but being turned into a human puppet was a horrifying thought.
"In any case, let's vote," Shikun suggested. "Should we commit suicide, or surrender and gamble that they don't intend to kill us immediately?"
"After all, they might want to use us as hostages to demand ransom from Konoha, or imprison us to extract secret techniques," Shikun reasoned.
Faced with such a cruel choice, the group fell silent.
To choose death, or to cling to a faint hope of survival, knowing it might lead to a fate worse than death—it was a truly agonizing decision.
"Let's commit suicide," Hyuga Kanade said, surprisingly calm. For him, there was no choice.
The Hyuga Clan's main branch would never allow a Byakugan to fall into enemy hands. If they learned he had been captured, they would activate the Caged Bird Seal to kill him, ensuring he wouldn't survive regardless.
"I agree with suicide," Aburame Shikun added.
Seeing his companions leaning toward suicide, Shimura Seito panicked. "Hey! Why are you all so eager to die?!"
"We're Konoha ninja! They won't dare kill us. Even if he's Sasori of the Red Sand, he wouldn't dare!"
"At worst, we'll pay a ransom. The village will definitely pay to get us back. If we stay alive, we can contribute more to the village, and maybe even avenge ourselves in the future!"
Seito's argument was less about convincing others and more about convincing himself. After all, who wouldn't fear death?
He turned to the last undecided member, Tsukigetsu Rin. The timid kunoichi, who was usually indecisive, was even more lost now.
She glanced anxiously at Kanade and Shikun, then at Seito. She opened her mouth several times but couldn't bring herself to speak.
"Got you!"
At that moment, four Clay Centipedes burst from the ground, binding the four Konoha ninja.
Their faces turned ashen. They no longer even had the right to choose.
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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