By the faint moonlight overhead, Ayane could clearly see the person’s appearance.
A floor-length gray robe, a pair of buffalo horns on the head, skin as dark and hard as iron plate, and crisscrossing mechanical patterns on the face.
To put it simply, it didn’t look human in any way…
“It’s a Mechanical Puppet from Sunagakure!” Woodpecker quickly identified the opponent’s origin.
He immediately threw the Kunai in his hand toward it, while cursing inwardly, ‘Damn!
It’s someone from Sunagakure, and from the Puppet Corps!
Why is he here?!’ *Vroom~* *Vroom vroom~* At this moment, naturally, no one could answer his doubts.
The puppet’s mouth opened, not to speak, but its entire head flew right off the neck, catching Woodpecker’s thrown Kunai directly in its mouth mid-air.
Then, the puppet’s hands split open, shooting countless tiny poisoned needles from its palms toward the two!
*Whiz whiz whiz!* “Get back!” While dodging, Woodpecker didn’t forget to warn the ‘rookie’ behind him.
He glanced out of the corner of his eye.
He saw that this new colleague’s reaction was extremely fast.
At the start of the puppet’s movement, the girl performed a backflip and leaped backward, her hands moving incessantly as she rapidly formed hand seals in the air.
The entire sequence was incredibly smooth, executed in one fluid motion!
While still in the air and before her feet touched the ground, the Ninjutsu formula was already complete.
In an upside-down position, with her head down and feet up, she puffed out her cheeks…
“Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!” *Whoosh!* A fierce blast of wind swept through, blowing all the poisoned needles in the air to the ground!
Nicely done!
Woodpecker cheered in his heart.
But now was clearly not the time to encourage the rookie.
He instinctively seized this opportunity and rushed toward the back of the puppet.
To deal with a Puppeteer, one shouldn’t foolishly waste energy on the puppet in the foreground; instead, one must carefully observe the Chakra Threads connecting the Ninja and the puppet to find the Puppeteer’s main body!
To catch the bandits, first catch their leader!
Just then, at the moment the puppet’s head flew up, Woodpecker saw that very faint Chakra Thread!
But there was no time to say much now.
He could only hope that Ayane understood his intention and would help him pin down the puppet.
“Where do you think you’re going?” The puppet’s hands opened again; this time, instead of firing hidden weapons, two Ninja Blades popped out from its palms, their edges dancing with a cold light.
Woodpecker remained silent.
He wasn’t a turret-type Ninja skilled in Ninjutsu, so he had instinctively chosen to retreat when facing the poisoned needles earlier.
But this close-quarters combat was right in his comfort zone.
*Clang clang clang!* Accompanied by the piercing sound of metal clashing, the man and the puppet exchanged dozens of moves, sparks flying from the edge of the Kunai!
“I said, you’re not going anywhere.” The puppet’s body, hidden by the gray robe, twisted.
A tail made of high-grade steel suddenly whipped out from under the robe!
The tip of the tail, made of a blade, gleamed with an eerie light—clearly poisoned!
“Die!” Seizing a rare opportunity, the puppet’s steel tail thrust out rapidly.
But this strike, intended to be fatal, missed its mark.
*Poof!* White smoke rose.
A log fell out of thin air.
Woodpecker used a Substitution Jutsu to flash out of the combat circle, then with a few leaps, he quickly vanished into the darkness.
“Hey, Anbu member, your companion seems to have chosen to run away and abandon you.” The puppet stood in place, not pursuing, but once again emitting a stiff and mechanical voice.
The scene was truly a bit horrifying.
After all, at this moment, its head was still separated from its body, floating in the air like a balloon, connected only by thin steel cables.
But this kind of divisive rhetoric was far too amateurish.
In her previous life, Ayane had watched many clips and edits of the Naruto anime, and she remembered the arc where Granny Chiyo and Sakura teamed up against Sasori of the Red Sand very vividly.
After all, that was one of the few highlights for Sakura Haruno in the entire anime…
She quickly understood Woodpecker’s intention.
“Heh, I think you’re the one who should be running away.” She didn’t mind engaging in some trash talk, saying indifferently, “I happen to know that eighty percent of a Puppeteer’s skills reside within their puppets.” “Well~ I’ve been underestimated.” Although the puppet’s tone hadn’t changed at all, Ayane could feel the other party’s attitude turning cold.
“It seems I’ll just have to kill you, annoying brat, before going back to protect the main body.” The puppet’s mouth kept moving.
Meanwhile, the iron cables connecting the puppet’s head and body rattled as they turned, attempting to reattach the head.
Seeing this, the girl had no time for further thought.
She drew her Ninja Blade, leaned forward and accelerated, and then charged like a bolt of lightning toward the puppet’s head in the air!
*Clack clack~* The sound of machinery operating rang out once again.
Poison smoke bombs!
The puppet’s mouth opened wide, spewing clouds of purple mist toward the charging Ayane.
Ayane’s speed faltered.
As everyone knows, there are two masters of poison in the Ninja World.
One is the leader of her own Village, Hanzou of the Salamander.
The other is the high-ranking official of Sunagakure, Chiyo the Puppeteer!
In a sense, this female Ninja’s attainment in the use of poison is even greater than Hanzou’s.
Because the former’s poison can only be used by himself.
In fact, the biological toxins of the Salamander have such immense side effects that Hanzou himself must wear a gas mask to avoid harming his own people.
Chiyo’s poison, however, not only doesn’t harm herself but can also be shared with other Puppeteers…
So, more than a decade later, when Hanzou’s bones have rotted away, Chiyo is still alive and well, fishing in the desert with her younger brother Ebizo when they have nothing better to do!
‘However…’ ‘If you think this poison smoke can trouble me, then you are being too arrogant!’ Ayane sneered inwardly.
She reached into her Ninja tool pouch and deftly pulled out three explosive tags tied to Kunai.
The purple poison smoke was thick and dense, greatly obscuring her vision.
But Ayane’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The effect of the green trait [Precise Ninja Tool Throwing] kicked in!
At this moment, almost as if by divine inspiration and relying on a magical sensation, she pinpointed the location of the puppet’s head as it moved through the poison smoke.
‘Hit!’ The low shout in her heart and the movement of her hand were almost simultaneous.
Swish, swish, swish!
The three explosive tags flew rapidly into the poison smoke in an inverted triangular formation.
Immediately after…
Boom!
A burst of fire exploded violently within the purple poison smoke!
———————— ‘How could this be…’ In a shadow behind a wall.
A red-haired Puppeteer shuddered all over, then withdrew his Chakra Threads in disbelief.
Just a moment before the puppet’s vision was cut off.
He had still wanted to speak, to mock the naive actions of that Anbu opposite him.
Did they think a few explosive tags could harm him?
What a joke.
Did they think this was some house-playing game at the Ninja Academy?
But the slap to the face came so quickly that it caught him somewhat off guard…
He never expected it.
While moving at high speed, the opponent could not only find his position in the poison smoke, but those three explosive tags even landed on weak points like the eyes and mouth!
The accuracy was as if…
They had tracking or X-ray vision!
‘Could it be some special Sensory Ninjutsu or secret technique?
It’s not like that guy snatched a pair of Byakugan from Konoha’s Hyuga clan…’ His heart stirred, subconsciously thinking of the Byakugan, famous for its vision.
“Found you~” A cold voice suddenly came from behind.
The Puppeteer’s body suddenly froze.
The Anbu wearing the Woodpecker mask held a Kunai against his heart from behind, saying coldly: “Drop your weapons!
Or…
die!” “Don’t kill me…” Almost without hesitation, this Puppeteer immediately raised both hands in a surrender gesture familiar to Ayane.
But Woodpecker had no intention of relaxing.
He sneered: “Disconnect the Chakra Threads in your hands.
Don’t think I don’t know the little tricks you Puppeteers use.” “…” The Puppeteer fell silent for a moment, then whispered: “You seem to know Puppeteers quite well, don’t you?” Woodpecker said nothing.
He just thrust the Kunai forward a bit more, the blade sinking halfway into the flesh.
“Alright, I really give up this time.” The Puppeteer sighed, his previously tense body going limp: “Please take your Kunai away.
I don’t want to die in this damn place where you can’t see a single bit of sunlight.” “Then you’d better answer my questions honestly…” While speaking, Woodpecker reached out his palm, wanting to take the Ninja tool bag hanging from the other’s waist.
Suddenly!
Dazzling flashes of light burst from the Puppeteer’s body!
Woodpecker’s pupils dilated suddenly.
‘Not good!’