novel-bin Chapter 13 The Puppet Master
Chapter 13 The Puppet Master
"Garara..."
The creaking sound of the puppet's joints was somewhat grating.
A six-legged, pincer-like puppet blocked their path.
Another puppet, a sword and shield puppet, followed closely behind.
The two puppets, one in front and one behind, blocked Mo Jingxian's path.
I could not sense the presence of any Sand Ninja Puppet Masters.
They were indeed cunning; both of them hid more than fifty meters away, thwarting his decapitation plan.
He wasn't given much time to think.
After the puppets caught up from behind, the two puppets attacked him together.
"Whoosh whoosh!"
The pincer-like worm puppet opened its mouth wide, and a handful of sages shot towards it.
Mo Jingxian dodged and used the terrain to get behind the puppet, then slashed down with her short sword at the joint gap.
"when!"
The sword-and-shield puppet suddenly appeared, its arm shield blocking the attack, but its body involuntarily staggered back a few steps, nearly falling off the tree.
The two puppets worked together very skillfully.
The instant the sword-and-shield golem parried his attack, the pincer-bug golem seized the fleeting opening and spewed out a large cloud of poisonous smoke.
The toxic smoke spread rapidly, instantly turning the leaves within its range black, and then causing them to rot and peel off bit by bit.
The large tree beneath our feet was visibly withered, and the smell of decay began to waft through the air.
Mo Jingxian appeared ten meters away, a solemn look flashing in her eyes as she gazed at the scene before her.
This was the first time he had encountered such a formidable and deadly opponent, and he immediately began to analyze the enemy's intelligence.
The puppet is faster than me, so I can only defeat it in close combat.
The two worked together seamlessly. The puppet itself was sturdy and contained hidden poison needles and poisonous mist, making it quite difficult to deal with.
The puppeteer hid in the shadows, beyond the range of perception.
Its weaknesses are attack delay and insufficient sensitivity, which might be exploited.
The thought flashed through his mind, but only a moment later, as he dodged, the two puppets attacked again.
Mo Jingxian used the precognitive advantage of the active mist to engage in a fierce battle with it.
He used the battle situation to his advantage several times to cleverly approach the puppeteer, but the puppeteer always maintained a safe distance from him.
Indeed, no one who survives on the battlefield is incompetent.
A cacophony of sounds came from the direction of the convoy: the clash of weapons, the release of ninjutsu, and a cacophony of noises.
The battle was fragmented into several parts, with no connection between them, and no one knew where the next step would take.
Mo Jingxian once again closed in and attacked, deceiving the sword-and-shield puppet, and slashed at the pincer-worm puppet with her short sword.
Next second,
The pincers scattered on the spot, their eight legs taking flight, the joints of which were iron spikes that gleamed with a cold, eerie light.
Mo Jingxian made a mistake and was restrained by the body of the pincer-worm puppet, its eight blade-like legs shooting back like sharp arrows.
"Pfft pfft pfft..."
The attacks landed in quick succession, followed closely by the sword-and-shield puppet's longsword.
Caught between two attacks, Mo Jingxian's body dispersed, transforming into a stream of water that followed the chakra lines to find the enemy's hiding place.
The short sword blade danced with wind-style chakra; it was the Wind Release: Vacuum Blade technique he had just mastered.
A sword rang out from the forest, splitting the wooden stake in two. The enemy escaped using a substitution technique.
His teammates arrived quickly, and if he could dodge the attack, the two of them could team up again to fight the enemy.
Just as the enemy, who had narrowly escaped death, was about to recall the puppet, he suddenly felt a tightness in his body.
A water dragon entangled it, and the enemy had no idea when the opponent activated the ninjutsu.
The thought of fear had barely formed when everything went black.
Before he died, he seemed to see the world rapidly turning upside down, and a headless body slowly falling down.
In the blink of an eye, one of the attacking enemies was gone, and the remaining one suddenly stopped, hesitating for a moment.
In the distance, the convoy had stopped moving, and a bird's cry echoed through the desolate forest.
Upon hearing the retreat signal, the enemy glanced deeply at Mo Jingxian and used the puppets as cover to withdraw from the battlefield.
"call--"
He let out a long sigh and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
The pressure from the enemy was indeed considerable. After the fight, he was certain that both of them were Chunin-level.
But their opponents are far superior to those Chunin raised in a greenhouse.
Experienced and ruthless, he caused him considerable trouble in a short time.
After sealing the spoils into a scroll, he immediately returned to the convoy.
He was still startled by the scene before him when he appeared.
The blown-up carriage was shattered into pieces, with many fragments still embedded in the surrounding tree trunks.
Several civilians lay on the ground, their bodies mutilated.
A third of the convoy was destroyed, so it's fair to say the mission was almost a failure.
When Captain Shancheng saw that Mo Jingxian had returned safely, he nodded to him and then began to reorganize the convoy.
He went to a tree and rested against the trunk for a while before starting to examine the panel that he hadn't paid much attention to earlier.
Two enemies provide him with 60 reputation points in a short period of time.
The enemy who escaped contributed 10 points, while the one you killed instantly gained 50 reputation points.
Indeed, hatred is easier to obtain than love.
The battle damage tally showed that five truckloads of supplies were destroyed, and of the four genin, only he survived.
Shancheng Baiyun's complexion wasn't very good; almost everyone who survived was injured.
After a short rest, the convoy set off again.
Mo Jingxian remained silent the whole way, constantly reviewing the battle in her mind.
Puppet masters, especially before one's combat strength reaches that of an elite Jonin, are really difficult to deal with.
Just as Mo Jingxian was secretly summarizing, not far from the convoy, the two were chasing and fleeing.
Nishikawa Tsujiken felt that he might not have a chance to return to the Sand Village, and hoped that his mother could forgive him.
Kojiro Higashino, who was relentlessly pursuing him, also reached his physical limit.
After a night of fierce fighting and pursuit, both men were wounded and only managed to reach this place thanks to their unwavering belief.
A clearing appeared ahead, where a transport team had stopped for a rest.
"Quickly, grab him! He's a Sand Ninja spy."
In fact, Shancheng Baiyun had already discovered the two people. Ever since the convoy was attacked, he had become a frightened bird, reacting immediately to the slightest disturbance.
The reason they haven't taken action yet is simply because they can't confirm the identities of the two people at the moment.
Both of them were wearing traditional ninja vests and Konoha headbands; it was already a miracle that they managed to escape to this point.
Of course, Shancheng Baiyun wouldn't easily believe one person's words, and she easily brought the two under control.
Unexpectedly, before the interrogation could even begin, the sudden attack caught everyone off guard.
"Wind Release: Wind Slicing Technique!"
Mo Jingxian immediately took protective measures, and the next moment, a large number of wind blades spun and swept across the camp.
Towering trees fell, and ninja techniques plowed through the convoy, carving out a large clearing from the forest.
"Leave no one alive."
Luo Sha spoke coldly.
"yes!"
The two men immediately cleaned up the scene.
This time, venturing deep behind enemy lines, Rasa only brought two trusted Jonin, Karura and Daimon Steel Qihu.
Sometimes, quality is more important than quantity; a squad of three elite Jonin is more mobile.
"Bang, bang!"
Two figures burst out from under the rubble; they were Shancheng Baiyun and Mo Jingxian.
The two split up and fled for their lives, showing no intention of stopping their desperate struggle.
Judging from the technique just now, it was clear that the newcomers belonged to one of the top tiers of ninjas, not to mention that there were three of them.
"Hmph! A death throes."
Luo Sha and Da Fan Gang Qi Hu headed straight for Bai Yun in the mountain city.
With a tap of the tree trunk beneath his feet, Garuda appeared more than ten meters away, and in a few steps, he was behind the boy.
"Sand-bound coffin!"
Suddenly, ropes of sand shot up from beneath Mo Jingxian's feet, binding her tightly in the blink of an eye.
Water splashed everywhere, and the boy had already run far away. He used the water as a substitute to escape.
Karura's mood suddenly soured. As an elite Jonin of the Sand Village, he had been tricked by a Konoha boy.
Although the boy's technique was so exquisite that even she couldn't see through it, she couldn't swallow this insult.
"Kid, you've successfully piqued my interest."
Garu pressed his palms to the ground, and with a thud, summoned a sand scorpion.
"Find the boy who uses this technique."
The sand scorpion lowered its head and licked the traces left by the water substitute, excited by the scent of Mo Jingxian's chakra.
With two squeaks, the sand scorpion sank into the ground, following the scent of chakra all the way up.
"Hmph! Let's see how you escape this time."
Following the direction indicated by the sand scorpion, Garuda gave chase at top speed.
[Reputation from Gallo +10]
Mo Jingxian's eyelids twitched wildly. 10 reputation points already?
Oh, so you hold a grudge just because I didn't let you kill someone? Do people in the ninja world even have any sense of reason?
He didn't know why he was so unlucky; just a few days later, he was attacked by an elite Jonin.
What's even more frustrating is that this time there's no reputation points to turn the tide.
As Mo Jingxian fled, she pondered that, judging from her current location, she should be approaching the Land of Rivers soon.
If I remember correctly, in the south of the land of rivers, there is a river that flows straight into the sea.
It had been so long that his memory was somewhat hazy; he only vaguely remembered that there was such a river.
He knew who Karura was; as the mother of the Fifth Kazekage, she was definitely a master of bloodline techniques.
If you're targeted by someone like this, you'll be lucky to escape with your life.
Fight!
Only by getting there can we have any chance of escape.
The two chased and fled for an unknown distance before Mo Jingxian was cornered by Jialuo for the third time.
"Hey Galuro, you don't need to keep chasing me like this."
He leaned against a large tree and, between rapid breaths, angrily muttered a complaint.
Karura remained unaffected; even when her name was called out, she continued to strike ruthlessly.
That little devil is very cunning. The previous two times, she escaped because the other party took advantage of her curiosity.
I thought dealing with a brat who wasn't even a Chunin would be a piece of cake.
Unexpectedly, Mo Jingxian escaped to this place, and now no matter what he said, Jialuo no longer paid any attention to him.
They just kept using harsh methods.
"Sand Release: Sand Lightning Needle!"
This is a large-area ninjutsu, covering an area of over a hundred meters.
The sand needles fell like rain.
They gave Mo Jingxian no room to maneuver.
Even the water substitute was no longer effective; the area covered by the sand needles was too large, completely blocking his escape route.
There was no other way but to tough it out.
"Water Dragon Technique (Sealed)".
A giant water dragon emerged from beneath his feet, and Mo Jingxian found himself standing right in the beast's mouth.
The water dragon seemed to be buried deep underground, then suddenly poked its head out and swallowed him whole.
Flood dragon scales emerged, subtly containing golden runes; sand needles that landed on them were instantly deflected.
The ground around them was covered with countless sand needles.
Just as the Sand Needle Technique was about to end, a bolt of lightning was drawn down from the clouds.
In just a moment,
After absorbing the power of lightning, the sand needles transformed into streaks of lightning that struck Mo Jingxian, who was trapped in the center.
"I'm going to die!"