Chapter 38

In the midst of cherry blossom petals dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written there.

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Sokumou stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

---

As the thousand needles, laced with poison, rained down like celestial flowers from the sky, Sokumou held the White Fang short knife, a precious metal capable of channeling chakra. With such a sharp weapon in hand and his flawless knife skills, invisible white blade flashes could be seen, and not a single needle managed to breach Sokumou's defenses.

His opponents were two Sand Hidden Village ninja skilled in puppet manipulation.

One male and one female, slightly older than himself, likely a married couple, with a high level of默契 (coordination). Their attacks were seamless, one after another. If it weren't for him, even a high-ranking ninja would have already fallen to their relentless barrage of attacks.

Despite deflecting the numerous poisoned needles released by the puppets, Sokumou remained cautious.

Poisoning the needles on the puppets was a common assassination technique used by the puppeteers of the Sand Hidden Village.

If he were to be scratched, the poison would spread through the wound and seep into his flesh.

At that point, the situation would undoubtedly become extremely troublesome.

When facing these puppeteers, even the slightest mistake could not be tolerated.

However, Sokumou, who had carried out many S-rank missions over the years, had experience fighting puppeteers. Although the puppet skills of these two were stronger than those he had encountered before, the weaknesses of puppet techniques were still evident.

Puppets required chakra threads to control them, and puppeteers were generally physically weak.

Cutting the chakra threads would only temporarily disable the puppeteers' control, and they would quickly re-establish the threads to bring the puppets back into the fight.

Therefore, instead of cutting the chakra threads, directly bypassing the puppets to attack the puppeteers themselves was the best strategy.

How to bypass them?

The male and female Sand Hidden Village ninja constantly switched positions, their movements blurring the eyes.

The puppets they controlled were hidden in black robes, making it impossible to see how the mechanisms and needles operated or from where they were launched.

This would disrupt Sokumou's analytical abilities.

Moreover, the opponents clearly knew his strengths and avoided close combat, always maintaining a distance from him.

This made the situation extremely difficult for Sokumou.

The opponents possessed a wealth of combat techniques and were undoubtedly significant figures in the Sand Hidden Village's puppet corps.

"Let's see how this goes!"

Prolonging the fight was not an option. The two puppeteers' coordination was flawless, and the longer the fight dragged on, the more concerned he became about the situation with Shiro and the others.

He further channeled chakra into the White Fang short knife, which emitted a bright white light, like a layer of pure moonlight on the blade, making it highly visible in the dim forest.

Without finding a weakness, he could only force a breakthrough and create one.

The male ninja, pulling the puppet, retreated, and the female ninja also retreated. They did not speak, but their默契 (coordination) was evident. They understood each other's intentions without eye contact or words, just by observing each other's movements.

Upon seeing the white light from the White Fang short knife, they understood what Sokumou intended to do.

They could not give him the chance.

Darting through the rain of needles, Sokumou's figure was too fast to see, only the faint white light could be seen slicing through the needles and charging forward.

Two puppets, cloaked in black, alternated positions in front of Sokumou, like elusive ghosts.

Rip!

Suddenly, neat slashes appeared on the black robes, revealing the wooden bodies of the puppets.

"What!?"

Sokumou vanished from their sight.

The sharp light forced the male and female to squint.

The male ninja abruptly pushed the female away, and a deep cut from his shoulder to his chest spurted blood.

Sokumou's eyes widened in surprise, having intended to attack both, but the male ninja had so decisively pushed the female away.

However, he did not hesitate and swung his second strike.

The puppet, suddenly pulled by the male ninja from a distance, blocked the fatal second strike.

This guy! Sokumou's expression turned serious.

Knowing he could not avoid the first strike, the male ninja did not need to dodge. He pushed the female away and pulled the puppet back, just in time to block the second strike as Sokumou swung.

This calm and collected mindset in the face of life and death made the situation difficult for Sokumou.

Bang!

A smoke bomb exploded, blocking Sokumou's view.

Immediately, countless needles and kunai flew from the other end of the smoke, forcing Sokumou to defend with the White Fang short knife.

By the time he charged through, the male and female had disappeared.

"Troublesome, if we meet again, the same tricks might be seen through..."

Sokumou looked at the empty forest and sighed.

He did not pursue the male and female, instead, he hurried back to the battlefield where Shiro and the others were.

When he arrived, the battle had already ended.

It seemed that the retreat of the male and female signaled the withdrawal of the other ninja, and he could only see their retreating backs.

Should he pursue them?

As this thought crossed his mind, he saw Ayame and Ruri, exhausted, sitting by a tree, receiving healing from Shiro to restore their stamina and chakra.

Seeing this, he abandoned the idea.

Fighting so many ninja alone would be too much for him.

His stamina and chakra were also quickly depleted from fighting the two Sand Hidden Village upper-ninjas. He needed to rest and recover.

"Shiro, how are their injuries?"

Sokumou walked over, showing signs of fatigue.

Fighting those two upper-ninjas had kept his nerves on edge, avoiding being scratched by the poisoned needles.

"They're fine, just superficial wounds, but their chakra is a bit depleted," Shiro replied.

Ruri and Ayame were recovering their stamina and chakra and could not respond.

"That's good." Sokumou nodded and suddenly smiled. "You performed better than I expected. To remain undefeated under the attack of three upper-ninjas and several mid-ninjas is impressive."

"That's because the two strongest puppeteers were held back by you, Sokumou-sensei."

Ayame, with her Byakugan, could clearly see the rain of needles and kunai. Even with her Byakugan, she felt a chill, knowing it was impossible to avoid them like Sokumou did.

Ninjas are not necessarily stronger because their jutsu are more powerful or more spectacular.

Some ninjas, whose abilities seem ordinary, are the most lethal.

Puppeteers are among the best.

A single scratch, a moment of carelessness, and even if not poisoned, one could be turned into a pincushion by countless needles.

As the saying goes, "It's easy to dodge a direct attack, but hard to avoid a hidden arrow." Puppeteers are experts in hidden mechanisms and needles.

This is why the Sand Hidden Village's puppet corps are a headache for many ninjas.

"Don't say that. With your age and strength, you will surpass me in the future. I believe you have that potential. Until then, as your captain and teacher, I will do my best to protect your safety."

"Since Sokumou-sensei has given his assurance, I feel much safer. However, the current situation is not optimistic. What's happening on the front lines? How could such a powerful elite force infiltrate the border?"

Ayame frowned, puzzled.

"Instead of that, shouldn't we consider why the Sand Hidden Village's forces include ninjas skilled in earth jutsu? This is a more serious issue."

Shiro spoke.

Mentioning this, the other three looked uneasy.

"Really, to use earth jutsu with such power is not something ordinary ninjas can do. It wasn't noted in the intelligence. As a direct subordinate of the Hokage, what are the Anbu doing?"

If the earth jutsu ninja hadn't separated them, the combination of Byakugan and Sharingan, along with Shiro's smoke bombs, would have made the fight easier.

Thus, Ruri expressed dissatisfaction with the Anbu's inaction.

Sokumou stood awkwardly to the side. Although he also questioned the Anbu's recent performance, they were still the Hokage's elite force and might have just overlooked it.

The Anbu's response was still very strong.

"Maybe we're overthinking it. Occasionally, the Sand Hidden Village has ninjas skilled in earth jutsu..."

When Sokumou said this, Shiro and the others looked unconvinced.

Everyone's nerves were too sensitive at this time.

The Sand Hidden Village had launched a full-scale attack on Konoha. Would the Rock Hidden Village, which had been watching from the sidelines, really miss such a good opportunity to raid the Land of Fire?

Perhaps the Rock Hidden Village did not initially plan to join the battle, but now it was uncertain.