The sudden self-destruction of the five cultists caught Hoshiyomi off guard. The visual impact was jarring. It took him a second to realize—this had to be Kiru's doing.
He wanted to rush back and stop the ritual, but it was already too late. The distance between them was too great; there was no way he could interrupt it in time.
If he couldn't stop it, then the only option was to run.
"Time to get the hell out of here!"
Just as Hoshiyomi turned to flee, Kiru completed his ritual.
"Curse Art: Blood Puppet Manipulation."
The moment the ritual finished, something horrifying occurred—pools of blood on the ground seemed to come alive, streaming unnaturally toward the body of the fallen Kumogakure genin lying within the formation.
As the corpse absorbed the blood, it began to swell and redden, expanding grotesquely from an average frame to nearly two meters tall.
At the same time, the dying blue chakra flames that had been flickering on its body flared back to life.
The corpse stood.
Kiru, watching the reanimated body, raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.
"So this blue flames… it was his own ability? What a pleasant surprise."
This technique—Curse Art: Blood Puppet Manipulation—was one of the most forbidden arts hidden in the deepest section of the scroll.
It allowed the caster to reanimate the recently dead using human blood, turning them into blood puppets that would fight under the caster's control.
The puppet's strength depended on both the power of the original corpse and the amount of blood used as a medium.
Stronger bodies required more blood, while weaker corpses could be enhanced with an overabundance.
But there was a catch—the technique only lasted five minutes and could only be activated with human blood. Blood from other creatures wouldn't work.
Still, five minutes should be more than enough to kill Gekkō Hoshiyomi.
With that in mind, Kiru pointed toward the fleeing shinobi and commanded:
"Bring him back."
The blood puppet opened its mouth, letting out a harsh, guttural roar—and in a blur, launched forward.
Strengthened by the blood infusion and the remnants of Two-Tails chakra, its speed was almost absurd.
Hoshiyomi hadn't gotten far when he heard that guttural screech closing in behind him.
You've got to be kidding me.
Cursing under his breath, Hoshiyomi activated his Transparent Escape Technique, reasoning that the puppet—its eyes burned away—shouldn't be able to see him.
He slowed down, hoping to gradually slip out of the creature's tracking range.
But what he didn't expect… was the puppet to suddenly spit a fireball at him before continuing to charge in his direction.
Seriously? It can do that too?
Hoshiyomi's speed was already limited due to his injured waist, and now he had to dodge fireballs on top of everything. In the time it took to react, the blood puppet was nearly on top of him.
Damn it!
Realizing he couldn't outrun it, Hoshiyomi drew his blade—Mikazuki Munechika.
A direct melee with this thing? No way. The plan was to go back and end Kiru.
This thing was a summoned corpse—tough and mindless. Fighting it head-on would be suicide. Better to kill the summoner directly.
As the puppet lunged, Hoshiyomi crouched low and activated Crescent Moon Slash, creating space between them with a blindingly fast slash.
In that moment, he noticed something strange—his blood had briefly defied gravity, tugging unnaturally toward the puppet.
That was it. The blood puppet wasn't tracking by sight—it was homing in on his blood.
Which meant unless he completely drained himself dry, he couldn't hide from it.
Obviously, that wasn't an option. So… he ran.
Again.
This time, though, it wasn't just a blind escape. He threw everything he had at slowing it down—explosive tags, jutsu, debris—anything to buy time.
Tree after tree fell in his wake, and while none of it could stop the puppet outright, it did slow it down.
The creature had no intelligence—only instinct and Kiru's orders. With no real thoughts of its own, it often did the dumbest things, like smashing through obstacles it could have easily leapt over.
But that delay was all Hoshiyomi needed.
After a long, grueling chase, he finally spotted Kiru up ahead, standing where he'd been waiting to savor his "victory."
Got you now, bastard.
Hoshiyomi activated Transparent Escape Technique again and silently crept up on the cult leader. As a civilian, Kiru had no chakra-sensing ability and never noticed.
He heard the blood puppet's low growl and assumed it had returned with its quarry.
Without turning around, Kiru asked casually, "Did you bring him?"
What answered him was the sudden appearance of Hoshiyomi—and the gleaming blade of Mikazuki Munechika.
Hoshiyomi wasn't taking any chances. The moment he struck, he used Secret Technique: Swallow Return (Tsubame Gaeshi), delivering three simultaneous slashes.
Three fountains of blood exploded from Kiru's body.
It was over far quicker than Hoshiyomi expected. He'd assumed Kiru would have some trick up his sleeve. But the man died almost too easily.
Kiru's eyes went wide, blood spilling from his lips.
"So… this is the power… of a shinobi…"
Hoshiyomi didn't answer. He calmly slid Mikazuki Munechika back into its sheath.
Click.
The clean snap of the blade locking into place triggered something—and with that sound, Kiru's body split apart into several pieces.
At the same moment, the blood puppet—now only a few meters behind—collapsed with a heavy thud.
Its severed head rolled across the ground, its blank gaze fixed on Hoshiyomi. Then, it spoke.
"But you… underestimated me. I… serve… the Evil! God! Himself!"
The final words were roared with eerie strength, the puppet's head suddenly filled with energy it shouldn't have had left.
"Blood Puppet—detonate!"
The moment he shouted, the puppet behind Hoshiyomi exploded—just like the cultists before.
Flaming chunks of blood-soaked flesh rained down, splattering Hoshiyomi's back.
The blood was corrosive. Wherever it landed, it burned like acid, sending searing pain through his body.
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin