How troublesome… does this ever end?"
Natsuhiko frowned slightly as he sensed the presence drawing closer.
He had to admit—it really did look like he had just raided Sunagakure's backyard.
Of course, this entire operation had only been possible because of an information gap.
Minato Namikaze had never fought within the Land of Wind, so the Sand had no real grasp of what Flying Thunder God could truly do.
On top of that, Natsuhiko had stumbled upon something… invaluable.
Something that allowed every "seed" he had planted to fully mature, releasing the shackles on his chakra.
And then came the real turning point—his newly acquired Wood Release.
With a little help from his "cheat," he fused the Flying Thunder God technique with Wood Release seeds.
That was the only reason he could pull this off—invading alone, yet leaving the enemy completely helpless against him.
Of course, without sufficient chakra, none of this would have meant anything.
And without mastering Flying Thunder God? Just entering Sunagakure alone would've been suicide.
Still…
His chakra wasn't infinite.
His recovery was fast—his body, even faster. But stamina? Mental energy?
That was another story.
Human focus had limits. No matter how strong his mental resilience had become, constantly maintaining sensory perception in battle was exhausting.
"Whoever's coming… their chakra is massive. And they're fast."
He exhaled slowly.
"This won't be easy."
Instead of continuing to flee, Natsuhiko came to a stop.
He stood there, unmoving.
The chase had worn on his nerves. Besides, he was almost out anyway.
No harm in venting a little… and leaving Sunagakure with a memory they wouldn't forget.
With a casual motion, he tucked the envelope back into his ninja pouch.
Chakra rippled outward.
In an instant, Wood Release seeds spread across the ground beneath his feet once more.
He was curious.
Just who had come after him this time?
Judging from the sheer density of chakra, it wasn't going to be anyone insignificant.
A few names surfaced in his mind.
The Fourth Kazekage?
Possible. But that man should be dealing with Iwagakure over in the Land of Bears.
Unless… Pakura wasn't sent out because of that?
If not the Kazekage… then who else in Sunagakure had this kind of chakra?
Ebizo? No. The signature didn't match.
Then—
"…Could it be that old woman, Chiyo?"
Natsuhiko ran through the possibilities again, narrowing it down to two.
Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage.
Or Chiyo.
But if he had to guess…
Chiyo seemed more likely.
There was something off about the chakra he sensed—something faintly inhuman.
It reminded him of Sasori.
That unnatural trace… the kind only puppet masters possessed.
Even someone like Kakuzu, monstrous as he was, still had a chakra signature that belonged to a human.
But this—
This was different.
Standing still, Natsuhiko finished laying out his preparations.
Every Wood Release seed was set.
Every single one bore his Flying Thunder God mark.
Within this domain…
He would be untouchable.
"The downside," he mused quietly, "is that once I leave this area…"
His gaze flickered.
"I'll have to rely on lizards and kunai to use Flying Thunder God again."
After all, setting up this kind of field while moving?
Even for him—
That was asking too much.
This limitation wasn't really about chakra quantity—it was about how his chakra was tied to the seeds.
Still, it wasn't an unsolvable problem.
With enough repetition—and with the system backing him—Natsuhiko was confident he could smooth it out eventually.
And once he got back…
He'd have to start searching for new seeds again.
Right now, he was strong.
So strong that even he found it a little unsettling.
But if he wanted to keep improving, then the answer hadn't changed—seeds were still his best path forward.
He had no idea whether he even possessed talent in other chakra natures. And even if he did, there was no way he could train them to match what came to him naturally.
Seeds were different.
Even if you lacked the innate ability, once nurtured by your chakra, they became yours.
And the fruit they bore…
It granted you that power as if it had always belonged to you.
That kind of shortcut—no matter how hard he trained—was something he could never replicate on his own.
And then there was Sage Mode.
For someone like him, with no inheritance, no teacher, no path to follow—
Seeds were his only option there, too.
"…Guess I'll treat it like a full-power trial card," Natsuhiko thought with a wry smile.
"If only I could control how much chakra the seeds absorb… like cutting them off automatically when I need everything for a fight."
If that were possible—
His combat strength would take a massive leap.
But that kind of control?
Wishful thinking.
He had tried before.
The result was simple—and brutal.
The moment a seed lost its chakra supply, it withered… and died.
Just like that, one of his hard-earned seeds was gone.
Since then, Natsuhiko would rather fight with less chakra than risk losing another seed entirely.
Besides, his fighting style didn't actually require excessive chakra expenditure.
It's not like he'd be storming enemy villages like this every day.
"…Here they come."
His thoughts cut off sharply.
Natsuhiko lifted his head, gaze locking onto the distance.
A figure approached at high speed—a woman, perhaps in her fifties or sixties.
No need to guess.
Chiyo.
And before he could say a single word—
She attacked.
No hesitation. No warning.
"SHING—SHING—SHING!!!"
A storm of senbon tore through the air, shrieking as they came.
The sheer coverage sealed off every possible escape route.
Worse—
Under the sunlight, the needles gleamed with a sickly green tint.
Poison.
Of course she'd use poison.
"…Seriously?"
Natsuhiko didn't hesitate. Flying Thunder God activated instantly.
Within that kind of attack radius, dodging conventionally was suicide.
Thankfully, after setting up his Flying Thunder God domain, he had already moved back some distance. Otherwise, he might've lost half his setup before even using it.
Space warped—
—and in the next instant, he reappeared much closer to Chiyo.
Without a word, he drew his blade.
This woman had clearly lost all restraint. Talking was pointless.
If that was the case…
Then there was only one answer.
Fight.
A brilliant blue glow surged along his sword as chakra flooded into it. In the next heartbeat, his speed exploded—his Body Flicker Technique so fast it resembled true teleportation.
He closed the distance in an instant, blade cutting toward her.
But Chiyo's reaction was just as sharp.
—or perhaps, she had already anticipated his methods.
The moment his blade descended—
A grotesque puppet appeared silently between them.
The puppet raised a shield with one arm, while the other held a sharp ninja blade.
The blade angled forward—just slightly.
But that was enough.
If Natsuhiko took even half a step closer, he'd be skewered on the spot.
"—!"
No hesitation.
Midair, he activated Flying Thunder God again.
His figure vanished instantly, reappearing further back as if he had never attacked at all—like a ghost that flickered in and out of existence.
"…That was close."
Natsuhiko let out a soft breath, his gaze settling on the puppet as he shook his head faintly.
"Lady Chiyo's puppetry really is masterful. Even your summoning technique is impossible to track… If my reaction had been a second slower, I'd already be dead."
"You're disgustingly insincere."
Chiyo's voice was cold, her face twisted with anger—but the wariness in her eyes was unmistakable.
"Are all Konoha shinobi as hypocritical as you?"
"Hypocritical?"
Natsuhiko tilted his head slightly, then smiled.
"Perhaps, from your perspective."
"But isn't your village the same?"
He met her gaze calmly.
"Tell me, Lady Chiyo—if your people hadn't attacked me first, why would I retaliate at all?"
"You entered the Land of Wind without authorization," Chiyo replied sharply.
"Is it wrong for us to detain you?"
"…Lady Chiyo," Natsuhiko said lightly, "I've just realized something."
"What?"
"We're actually quite alike."
A pause.
"…What do you mean?"
"That we both have… flexible moral boundaries."
As he spoke, Natsuhiko slowly removed his mask.
A gentle smile rested on his face.
But in Chiyo's eyes—
It was nothing but mockery.
Of course she knew his argument wasn't wrong.
And she knew even better—
This entire incident had started because Sunagakure made the first move.
But as one of its leaders, the outcome didn't matter.
Protecting the village's interests came first.
As for morality? Boundaries?
If she had truly clung to such things—especially when dealing with outsiders—
She would never have reached her current position.
"…Hmph." With a cold snort, Chiyo raised both hands.
In the next instant—
Three massive shield-bearing puppets appeared at her side.
At the same time, smoke spread rapidly across the surroundings.
One after another, dozens of puppets emerged, filling the battlefield.
There was no need to say anything more.
She had chosen to fight.
"Did I hit a nerve?"
Natsuhiko didn't even glance at the growing army of puppets.
He simply shook his head with a faint smile.
"Then again, if I were you, I'd make the same choice."
His eyes sharpened slightly.
"After all… neither of us are good people."
"Die!"
Chiyo snapped her fingers—
And in an instant, every puppet surged forward.
The battlefield came alive.
Some puppets specialized in close-quarters combat, rushing in with blinding speed.
Others hung back, preparing ninjutsu for ranged suppression.
A perfect combination of offense and control.
Faced with this overwhelming assault, Natsuhiko remained calm.
The pressure was there—
But still within what he could handle.
The real problem…
Was poison.
A puppet master like Chiyo?
There was no way she'd pass up the chance to use it.
Natsuhiko's poison resistance had never been exceptional.
Whenever he encountered toxin users before, he'd simply take an antidote in advance.
But this time…
He was facing a true master.
He couldn't help but wonder—
Would those antidotes even work?
He wasn't Senju Hashirama.
That legendary figure seemed almost immune to the concept of poison itself—his body simply didn't acknowledge it.
Natsuhiko had inherited a fragment of Asura's power.
But only a fragment.
In the present, it was enough to feel like a leap to the heavens.
But in the grand scheme of things—
Compared to the past… or the future—
It was far from enough.
Poison didn't care how strong you were.
Power, skill, reputation—none of it mattered.
If you slipped up, even for a moment—
You'd fall all the same.
"…Better end this quickly."
Natsuhiko made his decision in an instant.
With a swift motion, he pulled out an antidote pill and tossed it into his mouth.
"Not that I expect it to do much," he thought dryly.
"But peace of mind has its value."
"And if I do get poisoned… as long as I subdue Chiyo, getting the antidote won't be impossible."
His gaze sharpened.
The puppets were already upon him.
Which meant—
It was time to move.
...
Meanwhile—
Deep within the deserts of the Land of Wind, dozens of kilometers from Sunagakure…
Murashima Takumi glanced back over his shoulder before speaking.
"…They're not following us?"
Earlier, they had launched an assault on the forces stationed at the One-Line Sky fortress.
They'd taken down quite a few Sunagakure shinobi, too.
Only after reinforcements arrived did they withdraw.
But strangely enough—
Those reinforcements showed no intention of pursuing them.
Even when they deliberately slowed their pace, no one gave chase.
That alone was odd.
What was even stranger—
Was that not even the ANBU had appeared.
"…Doesn't look like it," Owl replied after a long pause, glancing back as well.
But the next second—
His eyes snapped upward.
A messenger hawk was cutting through the sky, flying straight toward their direction.
Judging by its route, it had come from the border of the Land of Wind.
And its destination…
Was deeper within the country.
Something flickered in Owl's mind.
Without hesitation, his hands formed seals.
A violent gust of wind roared to life.
High above, the hawk's flight path twisted abruptly.
It flapped wildly, rising and dropping in uneven arcs—
And then—
A flash of cold light.
The hawk fell from the sky.
Owl rushed forward, retrieving the small bamboo tube tied to its leg.
After a brief moment of thought, he returned and handed it to an ANBU beside him.
"See if you can decrypt it," he said quickly.
"If nothing goes wrong, it should contain information from the border. If we can read it… we'll have the initiative."
"I can try," the ANBU replied after a slight hesitation.
"But even if I open it, if it's encoded…"
He shook his head.
"I won't be able to decipher it."
"I know," Owl said calmly.
"It's worth a shot."
After all—
Right now, they were completely in the dark about what lay ahead.
"…Understood. I'll do what I can."
...
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