After Dan's death, the war changed.
The conflict between Konoha and Suna escalated almost overnight. Maybe it was revenge. Maybe both sides just wanted to end this drawn-out mess as quickly as possible. Either way, the battlefield transformed into a meat grinder.
Intelligence raids became constant. Both villages sent infiltration teams deep into enemy territory, stealing information and sabotaging supply lines. But the real shift was in the assassination missions. Jonin from both sides were being hunted down and killed systematically. The war wasn't just about territory anymore. It was about eliminating the other side's best fighters.
Kenji understood the logic. Kill enough of the enemy's strongest ninjas and their entire military structure would collapse. No amount of genin fodder could replace a skilled jonin. The war would be decided by who could bleed the other side dry first.
Tonight, he was doing his part.
Rain hammered down from thick clouds that blocked out even the faintest moonlight. Darkness covered everything. He crouched in the shadows about three hundred meters from Suna's defensive perimeter, watching the distant guard posts through the downpour.
Normal people would be blind in this weather. Even most ninjas would struggle.
He reached back and pulled two small puppets from the carrying case strapped to his back. Each stood about half a meter tall, roughly the length of an adult forearm. Compact enough to transport easily without drawing attention.
The puppet on his right was familiar. His Swift Release model, dressed in a black bodysuit with the kanji for "swift" embroidered on the back.
The one on his left looked similar but wore a different marking. The kanji for "transparent" was stitched across its back. This was his newest creation, a puppet embedded with the Transparent Release bloodline.
Getting the cellular samples for that one had been interesting. He'd encountered a Konoha ninja from the Gekkō clan a few months back during a medical rotation. The man had been injured, nothing serious, but it had given him an opportunity. The Gekkō clan possessed Transparent Release as their bloodline ability, the same clan that produced Hayate, that sickly special jonin from the original timeline who'd died young despite being reasonably skilled. Hayate wasn't particularly impressive in the grand scheme of things, but his bloodline was useful. Kenji had collected cell samples while treating the injured Gekkō ninja, filed them away for later experimentation. Now that work was paying off.
This mission was the highest-level assignment he'd taken since making jonin. S-rank assassination. The target was Zora, a Suna jonin who commanded Chiyo's puppet corps.
Zora's personal combat ability was only average for a jonin. Nothing special about his taijutsu or ninjutsu. But his puppet mastery was exceptional. He could control four puppets simultaneously in combat, and he'd once held off three Konoha jonin at the same time through sheer technical skill. Konoha's leadership was terrified he'd develop into a second Chiyo. That's why they were willing to send one of their own jonin on this dangerous mission to eliminate him before he became a bigger problem.
Kenji had only understood the real appeal of S-rank missions after becoming a jonin himself. Sure, the pay was excellent. But the real draw was the mission credit system. Enough high-level completions let you exchange for A-rank or even S-rank jutsu from the village archives. Some ninjas could even apply for limited access to the Scroll of Seals, which contained forbidden techniques that were otherwise completely off-limits.
That was what motivated jonin to take these suicide missions. Power, and access to knowledge.
He looked down at his two puppets and formed hand seals rapidly.
"Mind Clone Switch Technique!"
Two wisps of spiritual energy drifted from his forehead and merged into the puppet bodies. Their eyes lit up immediately, glowing faintly in the darkness. Both puppets stood.
He tested their responsiveness, making each puppet perform a series of quick motions. Perfect synchronization, and no lag. His mental energy had grown stronger recently, strong enough that controlling two puppets simultaneously felt effortless. The spiritual power drain was negligible.
"Good. Let's move."
He sent both puppets toward the Suna encampment.
The Swift Release puppet vanished in a blur, its form becoming almost invisible as it shot forward through the rain. The Transparent Release puppet simply faded from view, its body and chakra signature suppressing to near-undetectable levels.
Unfortunately, Transparent Release had limitations. It could hide the puppet from sight and mask its scent, but sensory-type ninjas could still detect the chakra fluctuations if they were paying attention.
He'd built both puppets small for practical reasons. Swift Release and Transparent Release weren't suited for direct confrontation. They were assassination tools, designed for killing targets before they could react. Smaller size meant less chance of detection. It also conserved chakra metal, which was always in short supply. If he was honest, this was the main reason, not that they were unsuited for direct confrontation.
The puppets slipped into the Suna camp without triggering any alarms.
He had already retreated to a safe position about 600 meters away, hidden in a rocky outcropping that gave him decent cover from the rain. He couldn't risk being close to the enemy base. If something went wrong and he got detected, he'd be facing pursuit from Suna's elite forces. Losing the puppets would suck, but he could rebuild them. He'd packed both with explosive tags, dozens of them. If capture seemed likely, he'd trigger the self-destruct and turn them into suicide drones. Expensive, but replaceable.
If his real body died, that was it. Game over.
The only reason he couldn't complete this entire mission remotely was the puppet stamina problem. The "heart" still had limited operational time. Once that issue got solved, he could conduct assassinations from even farther away without ever putting himself at risk.
Something to work on later.
Through the puppets' eyes, he surveyed the Suna encampment. Dozens of tents arranged in organized rows, guard posts stationed at regular intervals, and patrols moving in predictable patterns.
He began the search for Zora.
The mission dossier had included a detailed description of the target's appearance. Mid-thirties, dark hair, usually wore his puppet scrolls on his back. He had encountered him before on the battlefield. He'd considered using the Swift Release puppet for an ambush back then but decided against it. It was too risky. If Zora escaped and reported the assassination attempt, Chiyo herself might come hunting. Not only that, but using the Swift Release puppet also risked exposing sensitive intel about its capabilities.
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The search wasn't going well.
Both puppets combed through the camp, checking tent after tent. No sign of Zora anywhere. The problem was that puppets couldn't use large-area sensory techniques the way Kenji could with his real body. Their chakra sensing range was limited to about three meters, which meant they had to approach each location to scan for targets.
After an hour of searching, both puppets had covered most of the camp except for one area. The main command tent sat near the center of the encampment, larger than the others and surrounded by higher-ranked guards. Light glowed from inside despite the late hour.
He studied it through the puppets' perspective. Multiple strong chakra signatures clustered inside. At least five or six high-level ninjas, probably holding some kind of strategic meeting. He couldn't risk sending the puppets close enough to identify individuals. If they got detected near the command tent, the entire camp would mobilize.
Zora was probably inside. Which meant waiting.
Kenji settled in for a long night.
Three hours passed.
The rain continued without letting up. Water pooled around his position, soaking through his clothes despite the waterproof cloak he wore. He ignored the discomfort and kept his focus split between his surroundings and the puppets' feeds.
Finally, movement.
The command tent's entrance flap lifted. A group of Suna ninjas began filing out, dispersing in different directions as they headed to their respective quarters. He suppressed the puppets' chakra output to barely detectable levels and observed the crowd with peripheral vision. Looking directly at high-level ninjas could trigger their instinctive danger sense.
There.
Zora emerged from the tent along with several other officers. He was easy to spot once you knew what to look for.
Kenji tracked his movement but didn't act yet. There were too many witnesses and strong ninjas still nearby. Any attack now would fail immediately.
He memorized Zora's direction and waited.
Another thirty minutes passed before the area around the command tent finally cleared. The last few officers had headed to their quarters. The guards had returned to their regular patrol routes.
It was time to move.
He sent both puppets along the path Zora had taken. It took several minutes of searching, but eventually they located him.
A small tent on the outer edge of the camp. It was isolated from the main clusters, and perfect for an assassination.
Through the puppets' senses, he could feel Zora's chakra inside. The target was alone.
Kenji studied the tent carefully. The moment his puppets entered, Zora would sense them. There was no avoiding that. A jonin's awareness was too sharp. He positioned both puppets on opposite sides of the tent simultaneously. The Swift Release puppet became a blur, moving to the left flank in an instant. The Transparent Release puppet circled silently to the right.
Kenji took a mental breath and committed.
Both puppets struck at the same instant. Sharp blade attachments extended from their forearms as they sliced through the tent fabric, piercing in from opposite directions.
Inside, Zora sat at a low desk covered with puppet schematics and technical scrolls. He'd just finished the war council meeting. The final decision had been made. Tomorrow, Suna would marshal its full strength for a decisive assault on Konoha's position. This was potentially the last night of the war, one way or another.
He wanted to spend it improving his craft. Study his puppet designs, refine his techniques, and prepare himself to kill as many Konoha ninjas as possible.
Revenge for his fallen comrades.
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30 Advance Chapters!