The moon reached its zenith.
Natsuki stifled a yawn.
He and Nonou were on night watch.
Although Hyuga Hizashi and the others were outside the tent, they still didn't dare relax their guard.
After all, Sunagakure ninjas could appear at any time.
Theoretically, no one could escape the Byakugan's detection.
But in reality, that wasn't necessarily true.
There were simply too many strange and bizarre ninjutsu, secret jutsu, and Kekkei Genkai in the ninja world.
Natsuki knew the Byakugan's nemesis was the Ketsuryugan.
The Ketsuryugan could create chakra images and completely interfere with the Byakugan's judgment.
In the original work, the possessor of the Ketsuryugan was named Ranmaru.
He was ostracized by villagers in his childhood due to the Ketsuryugan. After meeting Raiga Kurosuki, he became his "eyes," helping him with reconnaissance and combat.
Natsuki reached out and gently stroked Nonou's cheek.
Resting on his lap, she had already fallen asleep.
Natsuki wondered when Sunagakure would make their move.
He had stolen the poison the night before yesterday, and now it was the third night.
If they waited any longer, Natsuki would begin to suspect Chiyo was developing a new poison.
But even for her, making a new poison wouldn't be a simple task.
Right at that moment, a deafening explosion rang out.
Nonou, Nawaki, and Maruboshi Kosuke were all jolted awake.
Natsuki instinctively turned his head.
The explosion came from the direction of Konoha's main camp.
"Enemy attack?"
Nawaki gripped the Greatsword Samehada.
"It sounds like Sunagakure is attacking our main camp."
Maruboshi Kosuke frowned. "What are they planning to do?"
"A diversion."
Natsuki raised an eyebrow. "This is the tactic we just used the night before yesterday."
"Does that mean someone will sneak in during the chaos?"
Maruboshi Kosuke realized. "Are we their target?"
"Unclear for now."
Natsuki shook his head. "But we must be ready for combat."
"Our mission is to protect the medicine and food rations in the tent."
Maruboshi Kosuke glanced at Natsuki and suggested. "Nawaki and I will protect the medicine. You and Nonou protect the food rations."
The tent was large, and food rations and medicine were different supplies, so they were stored separately.
But Natsuki knew Maruboshi Kosuke didn't mean just that.
He intended to draw out any enemies hiding in the shadows.
"Alright."
Natsuki stood up and walked to the left with Nonou.
Maruboshi Kosuke and Nawaki walked to the right.
Just as Natsuki and Nonou steadied themselves, the ground suddenly cracked, and two puppets burst forth from the earth.
They each had four arms, and all their arms were equipped with poisoned blades.
The moment they appeared, they thrust toward Natsuki and Nonou respectively.
Soru!
Natsuki and Nonou disappeared from their spots simultaneously.
The two puppets' attacks missed.
The two puppet masters hiding in the shadows couldn't help but feel a jolt in their hearts.
Neither expected their foolproof sneak attack to fail.
At the same time, Maruboshi Kosuke and Nawaki were also attacked.
The ground beneath them suddenly bulged, transforming into countless earth spikes thrusting toward them.
Maruboshi Kosuke's attention had been highly focused all along.
In an instant, he did two things.
First, he grabbed Nawaki and threw him out of the range of the earth spikes.
Second, he leaped up, grabbed the large pot on his back, and threw it out.
The densely packed earth spikes all struck Maruboshi Kosuke's large pot, making crisp clanging sounds.
Nawaki also reacted.
Upon landing, he gripped the Greatsword Samehada and spun his body.
Water Breathing: Second Form — Water Wheel!
The Greatsword Samehada, carrying a stream of water, smashed toward the earth spikes.
In an instant, the earth spikes exploded, and a large number of them broke off.
Just as Nawaki raised the Greatsword Samehada to strike again, a figure emerged from the ground behind him.
Wind blades tore through the air, flying out like a barrage of kunai.
Nawaki's expression changed slightly.
He had no time to change the direction of the Greatsword Samehada.
Water Release: Water Formation Wall!
Fortunately, he wasn't fighting alone. A water wall rose up, blocking the wind blades.
However, just as Maruboshi Kosuke finished casting Water Release: Water Formation Wall, he heard the sound of tearing air behind him.
He turned his head and saw another Sunagakure ninja appear, controlling four earth spears thrusting toward him.
Obviously, this was the Earth Release ninja who attacked them with earth spikes just now.
And he was a Jonin.
"Senior Kosuke!"
Nawaki instinctively shouted.
In the next second, to the Earth Release Jonin's surprise, Maruboshi Kosuke drew a ninja sword at super-fast speed.
Flashes of the blade appeared, and all four earth spears were severed.
The Earth Release Jonin instantly realized Maruboshi Kosuke was no ordinary ninja.
On the other side, after dodging the attacks of the two puppets using Soru, Natsuki raised his hand and threw two Swords of the Thunder God.
Broken Phantasm!
Before the two Swords of the Thunder God even hit the two puppets, they suddenly exploded.
The two puppets had just raised their blades when they were engulfed in the explosion.
Flames mixed with chakra air currents surged in all directions.
The two puppets were immediately blown to pieces.
"You're Natsuki?"
A surprised voice rang out.
Natsuki looked at the puppet master who spoke.
He was a middle-aged man.
Suddenly, fierce sounds of fighting came from outside the tent.
Natsuki secretly thought, As expected.
He had just detonated two Swords of the Thunder God. The commotion was so loud that as long as Hyuga Hizashi and the others weren't deaf, they would hear it.
But obviously, they had also encountered enemies.
Before Natsuki could speak, he felt a faint piercing pain from behind.
Another female puppet master brought out a new puppet.
The puppet ran behind Natsuki, raised its arms, and two ninja swords slashed out.
Armament Haki!
An invisible barrier blocked the twin swords.
Water Breathing: First Form — Water Surface Slash!
Natsuki turned, gripped the projected Kurosawa, and swung it.
The puppet's head immediately fell to the ground.
Seeing this, the female puppet master's ten fingers moved.
The headless puppet, under her control, suddenly shook its arms and fired a large number of shuriken.
Soru!
Natsuki's body blurred, and he disappeared from his spot.
What a fast Body Flicker Technique!
Seeing Soru again, the female puppet master's expression changed slightly.
With no time to think, she instinctively looked around.
The middle-aged puppet master brought out two new puppets, defending his flanks.
Only after doing all this did he start looking for Natsuki.
Both puppet masters tacitly ignored Nonou.
First, because Natsuki put too much pressure on them.
Second, because Nonou had run far away, maintaining a certain distance from them.
If they went to kill her, they would highly likely be sneak-attacked by Natsuki, putting themselves in danger instead.
"Behind you!"
The middle-aged puppet master's gaze suddenly sharpened, and he shouted.
The female puppet master turned her head and saw a water-like blade light.
Water Breathing: Fourth Form — Striking Tide!
Natsuki delivered a powerful slash, hitting the female puppet master.
But he immediately realized something was wrong.
The female puppet master turned into a real puppet.
She had switched places with her puppet.
Natsuki immediately thought of Kankuro.
He had used a similar trick in the original work.
"Die!"
The female puppet master raised her arm.
The syringe on her arm fired countless senbon, covering all of Natsuki's vital spots.
Armament Haki!
Shigan!
Natsuki ignored the senbon, accelerated suddenly, and thrust out his index finger.
"What?"
The female puppet master completely didn't expect Natsuki to dare take the senbon head-on.
After all, ninjas were famous for having high attack but low defense.
In her moment of daze, Natsuki's index finger tapped her head.
The female puppet master opened her mouth, and intense pain spread from her forehead, but it only lasted for an instant.
Because an instant later, she lost consciousness and fell backward.
"How is this possible?"
Witnessing all this, the middle-aged puppet master showed a look of disbelief.
Natsuki first took the senbon head-on, then pierced the female puppet master's head with a single finger.
What kind of ninjutsu was this?
[Congratulations, Host. You have unlocked Bickslow Template Ability 5: Doll — Baryon Formation.]
Natsuki took a glance, then looked at the middle-aged puppet master.
With Ability 5 unlocked, all six abilities of the Bickslow template had been fully unlocked.
He had completed the integration of another character template.
One-Sword Style: Iai — Lion's Song!
Natsuki took a step forward, transforming into a beam of blade light.
The middle-aged puppet master instantly felt his hair stand on end.
Fortunately, he had been keeping an eye on Natsuki. The moment he moved, the two puppets blocked in front of him.
The two puppets raised their arms.
Four ninja swords swept out horizontally.
Wherever they passed, the air made tearing sounds.
Not only were they powerful, but they were also fast.
Clang!
Natsuki blocked the four ninja swords with a single strike.
The two puppets pushed forward, forcing his body to retreat backward.
Seeing this, the middle-aged puppet master breathed a sigh of relief.
But in the next second, his vision blurred, and he saw five fist-sized dolls suddenly appear.
Doll: Baryon Formation!
The five dolls formed a pentagonal formation in the air.
Their bodies trembled, and a pentagonal laser shot out.
The middle-aged puppet master's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly tried to dodge.
But because it was too sudden, he didn't have enough time to react.
The pentagonal laser hit his left arm, making him let out a miserable scream.
Blood sprayed.
His left arm temporarily lost sensation.
At the same time, the puppet controlled by his left hand stopped moving.
With one less puppet, Natsuki's pressure was reduced by more than half.
Water Breathing: Fourth Form — Striking Tide!
Natsuki steadied his body and swung his sword fiercely.
Both puppets were knocked away by him.
Water crashed into the two puppets, tearing them to pieces.
Realizing the situation was bad, the middle-aged puppet master gritted his teeth and brought out another puppet.
He raised his still-functioning right arm, controlling the puppet to charge at Natsuki.
Soru!
Natsuki bypassed the puppet and arrived in front of the middle-aged puppet master.
Figure Eyes!
The middle-aged puppet master met his eyes, and his expression suddenly froze.
It's a genjutsu!
He immediately realized the problem, but having lost his left arm, he could no longer form hand seals to dispel the genjutsu.
Natsuki raised Kurosawa, bringing the sword down, and chopped off his head.
He then looked at Maruboshi Kosuke and Nawaki.
Although their opponents were two Jonin, they still managed to block their fierce attacks.
More accurately, Maruboshi Kosuke was fighting two against one, with Nawaki assisting from the side.
This eternal Genin showed his true strength for the first time.
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