The dense raindrops seemed to have thinned considerably; this continuous downpour of three days finally showed signs of weakening.
Otonashi shifted his butt again. Lying prone in this puddle, he felt some important things were about to get soaked rotten. Looking again at the dozing colleague beside him, his heart filled with respect for the endurance of these ANBU members.
Putting combat power aside, just this adaptability was much stronger than any special forces soldier.
"Is there any situation?" That person suddenly looked up.
"No, the others are still taking shelter from the rain in the house, enjoying the stove." Otonashi rolled his eyes, just in time to see the skylark returning.
It chirped as before, like a secret signal, but the Fox Mask's whole body trembled, seeming somewhat incredulous.
"What happened again?" Otonashi noticed the other's sharply contracted pupils and instantly knew something was wrong.
"The squad leader and the others... wiped out!" The person's voice trembled.
Damn! Who just said the enemy was definitely dead?
Otonashi immediately propped himself up. He knew the ANBU's killing skills. To overturn an ambush proved the enemy was unexpectedly strong. His intuition, honed by surviving a hundred battles, was frantically alarming him.
"What are you doing?"
"That communication bird went and returned. What do you think I'm going to do!"
This skylark wasn't flying fast. If one was attentive, they could completely follow behind it. Looking at Otonashi stiffly moving his limbs, Fox Mask also realized the severity of the problem.
The enemy is very likely chasing after us!
Having hidden in the mud for several days, their physical functions had declined to a certain extent. But Fox Mask, after speaking a few code words to the skylark, suddenly grabbed Otonashi.
"We can't escape! We must let the communication bird bring the intelligence back to Konoha! This is our mission!"
Mission above life—this was the iron rule of the ANBU. If they allowed a puppet master of at least elite Jonin level to run rampant in the Land of Rain, Konoha wouldn't know how many people would die cluelessly.
They had to stop the opponent, allowing the communication bird a chance to leave.
"Who said I was going to run?"
Otonashi, having activated Wind Breath Echo, sensed a human figure far away crossing the sparse rain curtain. Having no time to marvel at the opponent's speed, he shook off his colleague's hand, took out a kunai tied with an explosive tag, and threw it towards the village.
"Just borrowing someone else's power first!"
Boom—
A cloud of dust exploded at the village entrance. Sasori, having just walked out of the forest, paused, looking towards the direction of the explosion.
"Hmph, feinting east while attacking west?"
With a cold snort, white smoke exploded in the rain. A humanoid puppet appeared as if summoned, quickly lying prone on the ground. Dozens of insect legs extended from its chest, moving like a centipede towards the place where the two were hidden.
While controlling it, he walked towards the nearby village, seeing three ninjas rushing out frantically from the village.
"Then let's just kill them all together."
...
"Someone really is attacking the village!"
The sound of the explosive tag was too familiar. The orange-haired teenager rushed out of the house the moment he heard the explosion, clearly in a state of combat readiness.
The village was dilapidated, having already been attacked once by Iwa-nin. He absolutely would not allow it to happen again.
Behind him were a boy and girl with red and blue hair respectively, both wearing Hidden Rain forehead protectors. The red-haired boy asked, "Yahiko, which side is coming this time?"
"Don't know, but no matter who it is, they can't attack here!"
The three seemed to be of one mind, simultaneously rushing out of the village, only to see a lone figure in the vast open space.
It stood in the rain, fingers trembling as if manipulating something, and the sound of clashing weapons came from not far away.
Yahiko didn't think too much, took a step forward, and scolded, "Why are you attacking the village!"
Hidden Rain ninja?
Sasori was silent. Looking at the other's forehead protector, how could he not understand he had fallen into a trap? Clearly, these three Rain ninjas were also targets of those Konoha ANBU, and they looked quite troublesome.
"No reason needed." Sasori, encased in his puppet, was taciturn, disdaining explanation. He took out a scroll, holding a finger vertically before his nose.
Bang bang bang—
With several muffled sounds, seven puppets appeared sequentially. Some were humanoid, while others resembled reptiles and animals, but their limbs shone with cold light and had residual blood.
Such strong people!
Their pupils slightly contracted. Even through the rain curtain, they could feel the chilling aura.
"Nothing to say?" Yahiko drew a kunai, spread his legs, and cast a glance at his companions behind him.
Be careful, everyone.
Without needing him to say, Nagato and Konan scattered individually, forming a fan shape surrounding Sasori. At this moment, the rain gradually grew heavier again. In the instant vision blurred—
Bang!
Yahiko charged forward first. Facing the two incoming puppets, he clapped his hands together and took a deep breath.
"Water Release! Water Shockwave!"
A turbulent stream of water roared out. Rain amplified the water's momentum, and the impact instantly sent the two puppets flying backward. He suddenly bent down, and the blue-haired girl stepped on his back and leaped out.
White paper swirled around, forming into shuriken shapes before being soaked by the heavy rain.
"Go!"
White shuriken filled the sky. At the same time, another gust of wind came from the side. It turned out the red-haired boy had silently released 'Violent Wind Palm'.
Water stream, shuriken, fierce wind—the skillful coordination made the attacks relentless. Sasori retreated a step, letting the puppets form a human wall. Only the muffled sounds of 'thud thud thud' echoed as the white shuriken were all blocked.
'Jonin level? But this coordination is troublesome!'
Before the thought settled, the water stream in front suddenly surged several times stronger.
Hm!?
Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!
Yahiko's speed in releasing ninjutsu was extremely fast, incomparable to ordinary Jonin. The human wall was instantly broken through. Seeing the target in the center, Konan leaped high.
"Paper Spear!"
A pure white spear over three feet long shot out, actually piercing through the dog-shaped puppet that hastily blocked its path. Sasori's brow twitched, and he retreated half a step.
Pfft!
The spear firmly embedded itself in the ground before his feet. He was somewhat surprised, but not because of their coordination.
"Underestimating me? No, is it that you don't want to kill?"
Even if he stood still, this spear would only pierce his lower leg. But this kind of soft-heartedness felt more like an insult in his eyes.
"Then die!"
A reptile-like puppet suddenly rushed out from the water stream. Its mouth opened, revealing a flamethrower nozzle.
"Flame Burst!"
"Careful!"
Rolling heatwaves instantly pierced the rain curtain, seemingly intending to burn the girl in the air to ashes. But just a meter away, it was as if it hit an invisible wall, flying back and igniting the reptile puppet.
"What kind of secret technique is this!?" Sasori couldn't help but widen his eyes, abruptly looking towards the pale-skinned teenager nearby. Those eyes, with ring after ring, seemed to hold demonic power.
Before he could recover, his peripheral vision caught an afterimage rushing straight towards him.
Yahiko wouldn't stand dazed. His legs blurred into afterimages, instantly weaving through the puppets. The base of both palms slammed fiercely onto the enemy's chest.
Bang!!
Sasori's nearly two-meter tall body flew backward, bouncing several times on the ground, parts flying everywhere. Yahiko paused, surprised that this enemy's true body was also a puppet.
That attack wasn't fatal to begin with, and after being blocked by the hard shell, most of the force dissipated. Just as he thought of chasing to pin this person down, he felt his legs become heavy as if filled with mercury.
"Poison?" He was somewhat puzzled, but saw an inch-long wound in the center of his palm, apparently cut open the moment he hit the opponent earlier.
"Yahiko, are you okay!"
Hearing his companion's urgent voice in his ear, the orange-haired teenager, whose body swayed, waved his hand to indicate he was fine, his eyes fixed tightly on the red-haired teenager climbing out of the wreckage.
This person was extremely handsome, wearing a Sand ninja vest, a wicked smile hanging on his face.
"You destroyed my prototype." Sasori sighed, looked at the other red-haired teenager, and slowly took out a scroll.
"Your name is Nagato, right? I've decided—"
"To make you my most cherished material!!"