The wind in the canyon howled, as if anticipating bloodshed. Dust and fine sand swirled through the air, mixing with the scent of metal and poison. Kuro stood motionless, calmly watching the two remaining opponents. Both were clearly experienced Sand jonin.
"Tora," the red-haired man said quietly, not taking his eyes off Nara. "Don't rush in head-on. He's more dangerous than he looks."
"I've already figured that out," the other replied, tightening his grip on his blades. The currents of wind around his weapons grew denser and sharper.
Tora was the first to move. His motions were sharp and lethal, his twin blades carving shining arcs through the air, sending several wind slashes forward. At that same moment, behind Kuro, a metallic tail of Akira's scorpion puppet burst out from the ground.
Reacting instantly, Kuro summoned a snake that slithered out of his sleeve and coiled around his entire body, shielding him from any damage. The moment the puppet's tail and the wind blades struck the snake, an explosion erupted, covering the clearing in a cloud of dust. And when it cleared, where Nara had stood, a swarm of rabbits was already rampaging, flooding toward the stunned Sand shinobi.
Not understanding what was happening, Akira summoned three armored puppets to his side. They surrounded him, forming a makeshift shield. Tora, however, smirked disdainfully and unleashed a wave of wind, sweeping away most of the shikigami. But some had already reached him, and only then did the shinobi notice the explosive tags attached to the rabbits' backs.
The man's frightened scream was drowned out by dozens of consecutive explosions that shook the entire canyon. Its walls trembled and began to crumble, rocks raining down.
At the same time, not far away, Mikoto and Nawaki's battle had also intensified. The Combined Divine Dog, which Kuro had sent to aid them at the very beginning, worked tirelessly. The massive beast with black-and-white fur dashed between enemies, its claws and fangs leaving deep marks on the puppets and forcing the Sand kunoichi to constantly retreat.
"This mutt is too strong!" the girl hissed angrily, trying to control her puppets.
Nawaki, covered in stone armor, smashed the claw of the giant crab puppet with a powerful punch.
Damn, good thing my sister gave me her new antidotes before we left. Without them, I'd have died from that poisonous mist long ago.
Meanwhile, Mikoto, with her Sharingan activated, deftly dodged poisoned needles and hidden blades. Her katana flashed, deflecting her opponent's strike. She had tried many times to catch him in genjutsu, but the swordsman stubbornly avoided looking into her eyes.
The Combined Divine Dog leapt onto the crab puppet and began tearing into it with furious claw strikes, ripping chunks of wood and creating cracks. The crab jerked, releasing another volley of poisoned needles, but the shikigami had already leapt aside, growling in response.
Nawaki seized the moment, sliding beneath the puppet and, with a battle cry, delivered a chakra-enhanced strike that completely shattered the already battered construct.
The Sand kunoichi took advantage of the dog being distracted, sharply spreading her fingers. Her puppets seemed to come alive, moving at blinding speed as they attacked the Uchiha. Blades flashed from all directions, forming a dense web of attacks.
"Try dodging this, brat!"
Mikoto gritted her teeth in frustration. Her Sharingan spun wildly, reading movements, but even so, the sheer density of attacks began to overwhelm her. Just as one of the needles was about to graze her shoulder, she felt a slight burning in her eyes, and her vision suddenly sharpened. Thanks to that, she reacted at the last moment, rolling aside.
"Mikoto!" Nawaki shouted, knocking the wind out of the now disarmed puppeteer.
At last, the situation began to shift in their favor.
Meanwhile, Kuro, who had remained hidden in the shadows during the explosion, emerged and surveyed the rubble he had caused. If Tora had died instantly, without even managing to react, Kuro did not believe the same for Sasori's father.
And indeed, in the next moment, from beneath the collapsed rocks, a sphere of chakra began to emerge. Inside it stood the red-haired man. Three puppets surrounded him, arms raised, releasing a layer of chakra that formed a protective dome.
Kuro narrowed his eyes.
A defensive technique using chakra output through puppets. Not bad—but most likely extremely taxing.
Akira was breathing heavily, blood running down his right arm, his gaze fixed on the spot where his comrade had stood moments ago.
"So I'm the only one left. You know, you're a pretty irritating kid," he rasped. "What kind of technique was that? A summoning?"
Kuro didn't respond. He had decided it was time to end this fight. There was no point in talking—the puppeteer had to die here and now.
In the next instant, the threads in Akira's hands tightened sharply. Two puppets beside him surged forward, and from their shoulders, hundreds of new arms unfolded, each wielding a blade coated in poison. In a single moment, this deadly assault rushed toward Nara.
"Do you think you've already won?" Akira said coldly. "I'm just getting started!"
"Dismantle."
Kuro extended his fingers toward his opponent, and an entire network of invisible, razor-sharp slashes cut through the air. The wave of wooden arms was instantly torn apart, forcing the puppeteer to freeze in place.
"What the hell just happened?" the Sand shinobi whispered.
But he quickly regained composure, and with a flick of his fingers, the puppets attacked again, releasing hundreds of needles toward Kuro. At the same time, the scorpion buried underground emerged, opening its jaws and unleashing a fierce stream of fire toward the boy.
Reacting instantly, Kuro used substitution and vanished from the line of attack. In the next moment, he summoned Max Elephant directly onto the scorpion's position. The massive body of the beast crushed the puppet instantly.
Without stopping, Kuro commanded the shikigami to unleash a powerful stream of water at his enemy, while he himself concentrated Nue's lightning in his hands, adding terrifying force to the attack.
The electrified torrent surged forward and slammed into the puppets protecting their master. They couldn't use their chakra defense again and fell victim to the combined attack.
Akira himself managed to leap away at the last second. But Kuro had already anticipated that—his fingers extended once more.
"Dismantle."
Two slashes crossed the distance and struck Akira directly in the chest and left arm, severing it instantly.
He collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. Blood poured from his body like a fountain.
"Impossible…" he rasped, staring at the sky in despair and disbelief. "At such an age… to possess such power."
Kuro slowly approached the fallen enemy.
"You're actually quite strong. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
One final motion of his hand—and the invisible slash ended the fight. Akira's head separated from his body and rolled across the stones.
Kuro exhaled heavily and dismissed Max Elephant. He turned his gaze toward where Mikoto and Nawaki were fighting. Although the Combined Divine Dog was still assisting them, his teammates' chakra was clearly running low.
"I need to check on the others," Kuro said quietly and vanished with body flicker.
Along the way, he noticed the crushed bodies of two Sand shinobi, as well as two dead snakes—and one severely wounded. Quickly recalling it, Kuro remembered that the snakes had originally been fighting three enemies, yet there was no trace of the third.
Damn… if he escaped, there will be trouble. I need to finish this quickly.