"Little girl, are you truly unwilling to let us leave?"
At the border of the Land of Fire, a middle-aged man wearing a Sunagakure forehead protector asked coldly, glaring at the young girl in front of him.
On his forehead protector, a deep scratch had been carved across the symbol—proof of a rogue ninja.
Behind the man stood two more defectors from Sunagakure, both watching the girl with hostility.
The three of them, dissatisfied with the Kazekage's policies, had organized a rebellion. But when the plot was leaked, only these three managed to escape alive.
As soon as they slipped across the border into the Land of Fire, this girl had pursued and intercepted them.
That girl was none other than Sunagakure's prodigy in both poisons and puppetry—Chiyo.
"Come back with me quietly, and I promise not to harm you," Chiyo said coldly.
Her mission was simply to stall them until Sunagakure's support team arrived.
"Little girl, when we were killing enemies on the battlefield, you weren't even out of your mother's womb yet," the middle-aged man chuckled.
Though Chiyo's name as a genius was well-known in Sunagakure, that reputation was only among her peers.
Compared to veteran elite jōnin like them, she couldn't possibly measure up...
No matter how talented she was, in the end, she was just a jōnin with potential. In real combat experience, she was sorely lacking.
As long as they didn't get careless, there was little chance of failure.
After all, they had once been comrades in the same village—they knew very well what tricks Chiyo had up her sleeve.
That was what they believed...
"Captain, why waste words with her? Let's just kill her and be done with it."
"The village's pursuit squad will be here soon—we need to finish this quickly!"
The two Sunagakure jōnin voiced their opinions one after another.
"Then we kill her," the middle-aged man's eyes flickered. He knew well that delay would only bring danger—he would never allow Chiyo to stall them.
As long as they killed her and slipped deeper into the Land of Fire, Sunagakure's pursuers would no longer matter.
The moment his words fell, the three of them formed a triangle and rushed at the girl.
Chiyo's expression hardened. She immediately pulled out a scroll and unfurled it.
Bang—
With a puff of smoke, five puppets appeared before her.
She controlled the puppets and sent them charging toward the three jōnin, and a fierce battle erupted instantly.
The three jōnin showed no restraint, striking to kill and aiming to end the fight as quickly as possible.
But Chiyo truly lived up to her title as Sunagakure's genius. Against the three of them, she countered every move with remarkable skill, holding her ground without yielding an inch.
Not far away, on the trunk of a large tree, three pairs of eyes quietly observed the fight.
"Renya-kun, aren't we going to help?" Koharu Utatane asked uncertainly, glancing at the two beside her.
"No rush. Let them wear each other down—then we swoop in and take advantage," Renya explained softly, though his gaze remained fixed on the girl.
Something about her seemed familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before.
"Renya's right. All we need to do is reap the profit. The rest isn't our concern," Shimura Danzō agreed.
No matter who came out on top, they could strike at the end and claim the kill.
Their mission wasn't to capture enemies alive—it was to kill them and bring back their corpses for intelligence.
Even though the war between Sunagakure and Konohagakure had ceased, that didn't mean relations had warmed. Between nations, hostility still lingered.
Danzō naturally wouldn't waste the chance to seize valuable intel from Sunagakure. If he could, he would even take the opportunity to kill the Sunagakure girl as well.
Someone that young, already able to fight against three jōnin? If she were allowed to grow, she would one day pose a serious threat to the village.
And Shimura Danzō excelled at snuffing out danger before it could sprout.
"Renya, should we also deal with that girl...?" Danzō made a throat-slitting gesture, his eyes filled with undisguised killing intent.
???
Renya and Koharu both turned to him in shock, clearly not expecting him to harbor such a thought.
Was this guy already turning into the future "Shadow"?
Renya couldn't help thinking so. Danzō actually wanted to kill a Sunagakure shinobi.
This wasn't wartime. If such a deed were exposed, the consequences would be disastrous.
"Danzō, we can't do that!" Koharu objected immediately.
If it ever came to light, the village's reputation would suffer immense damage. She refused to see something like that happen.
It was nothing less than deliberately aggravating tensions between Konoha and Sunagakure.
But Danzō ignored her, turning his gaze instead to Renya. Renya was the squad leader—ultimately, the decision rested with him.
Renya understood what Danzō was thinking. He simply wanted to eliminate someone who might threaten Konoha in the future.
And indeed, the girl before them had that potential. At such a young age, she was already controlling five puppets at once. Geniuses like her were rare in Sunagakure.
Renya had a good guess as to her identity—Chiyo, grandmother of the future Sasori of the Red Sand.
Who would have thought that old hag had been so striking in her youth?
Listening to Danzō's suggestion, Renya was momentarily tempted. It truly was an opportunity to remove a future rival.
But weighing it against the risk of exposure, he ultimately discarded the thought.
The risk and the reward were far from balanced—it simply wasn't worth it.
In the end, wasn't she just a puppeteer?
Hardly worth risking everything over...
If the matter ever came to light, Tobirama Senju would skin him alive!
"Forget it, Danzō. I think Koharu is right," Renya dismissed the idea.
Seeing this, Danzō didn't argue further. It had only been a suggestion.
Since the squad leader disagreed, so be it.
After all, their true goal was to obtain intelligence from Sunagakure. This mission had long since slipped from his mind.
The reward for an S-rank mission was only a million ryō. Compared to Sunagakure intel, such money was meaningless.
Besides, whether that girl survived or not was still unknown. After all, her opponents were three seasoned jōnin...
If they didn't intervene, chances were high that she would die at their hands.
And if she died, then Konoha would remain uninvolved.
Only—Danzō had clearly underestimated her strength...
Their eyes returned to the battlefield below. The fight raged on.
Chiyo manipulated her five puppets against the three Sunagakure defectors.
Under her precise control, the puppets moved seamlessly, offense and defense in perfect unity. The defectors countered with ninjutsu, blades flashing in the haze of smoke as steel and jutsu collided.
"An opening!"
Chiyo's sharp gaze locked onto the gap in the leftmost defector's attack. Chakra threads at her fingertips suddenly tightened.
Two puppets flanked the man front and back, their short blades driving toward him in a deadly thrust.
"Help me!" the defector cried out in alarm, calling for his comrades.
But the other two were already entangled with the remaining three puppets, unable to break free.
Shkkk—
The short blades pierced his back clean through.
Seeing their comrade cut down, the remaining two rogues faltered, retreat already in their hearts. Clearly, they had underestimated Chiyo's strength.
Exchanging a glance, the two bolted in opposite directions.
Chiyo's expression darkened. No matter who she chased, one of them would escape.
And so, the outcome she least wished for had still come to pass...
Whsssh— whsssh— whsssh—
At that very moment, the three who had been watching from afar—Renya, Danzō, and Koharu—finally made their move.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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