Tsuchikuri was very close to the fish-shaped puppet. She saw her teammate desperately holding onto the puppet and hurried forward, stabbing continuously with her kunai, almost dissecting it as she dismantled its crucial joints.
But when she tried to save her teammate, she saw a face contorted with extreme terror, ferocity, and resentment.
She was startled. Why did her teammate have such an expression?
She tried again to save him, only to find he was already dead.
Why?
Just moments ago, Tsuchikuri thought her teammate's fearless charge was due to bravery, but why would a brave person have that kind of expression before death?
It was like the enemy village shinobi executed by the Torture and Interrogation Force.
At that moment, a series of splashing sounds echoed.
The Suna-nin on the pier had discovered the Konoha shinobi underwater and were jumping into the sea.
Yōkō attached an explosive tag underneath the pier above his head, dove deeper, and was the first to detonate the tag.
No one understood slacking off better than Yōkō. He quickly used the explosion to disengage from the fight and dove to the seabed.
At the bottom, Yōkō saw the water surface illuminated by firelight and also saw shadows spreading out like tentacles.
The Nara clan's shadow secret technique was spreading across the sea's surface.
In the darkness of night, the shadows seemed to extend freely along with the dark.
One shadow raced across the water's surface straight towards the back of Tsuchikuri's head.
Tsuchikuri's head jolted as she was controlled by the shadow.
Nara Nara and Tsuchikuri swam parallel to each other sideways. Nara Nara moved out of the encirclement, while Tsuchikuri remained right in the center of it.
Nara Nara raised his hand, and Tsuchikuri also raised her hand.
Tsuchikuri attached an explosive tag under the pier, her eyes filled with terror, just like her recently deceased teammate.
She could already see four or five dark shadows swimming towards her from underwater!
But she was still placing the explosive tag, her body completely out of her control.
An octopus-shaped puppet burrowed beneath Tsuchikuri. Each of its tentacles was made of segmented puppet joints, with sharp spikes at the ends.
The tentacles, covered in spikes, wrapped towards Tsuchikuri from several directions.
Tsuchikuri, not very tall, was about to be swallowed by the tentacles.
At that moment, a violent Water Release suddenly appeared beside Tsuchikuri.
Water Release: Water Formation Wall!
Yōkō adjusted his chakra, creating a ring-shaped water wall around Tsuchikuri.
The water wall blasted the octopus puppet away, and more importantly, it disrupted the water flow and scattered the shadow.
Tsuchikuri regained control of her body. After a moment's hesitation, she still prepared to detonate the explosive tag first.
The chance to complete the mission was right before her; her instinct was to risk her life for it.
It was a good opportunity. Surrounded by the ring-shaped water wall, no Suna-nin could interfere with her now.
However, a strong force suddenly pulled on her leg, dragging her underwater.
Just as she submerged, she saw a violent explosion on the water's surface above.
Nara Nara hadn't cared about Tsuchikuri's safety at all, detonating the explosive tag from a distance.
Another large crater appeared on the stone pier.
Tsuchikuri, in the seawater, felt utterly chilled to the bone.
The ruthless Squad Leader Nara Nara, the bone-chilling seawater, and the person who pulled her underwater – friend or foe – all filled her with despair.
Why had the battle turned out like this?
She had long been prepared to sacrifice herself for Konoha. In her imagination, the entire squad should have been united, destroying the pier at all costs together.
Seeing Tsuchikuri frozen stiff, Yōkō reached out, pinched her round face, and shook it.
Tsuchikuri finally snapped out of it. The person who pulled her underwater probably wasn't a Suna-nin, or she would be dead already.
Was it Fujikita?
It was too dark underwater to see anything.
Yōkō dispersed chakra into the seawater, sensing his surroundings. There were two Suna-nin and two puppets nearby.
He formed a hand seal in the dark water depths and used the Self-Cursing Body Binding Seal.
The enemies rushing over were instantly bound by the sealing patterns, unable to move.
Yōkō pushed Tsuchikuri towards the surface, while he quickly dealt with the Suna-nin and puppets underwater.
After Tsuchikuri broke the surface, she stared at Nara Nara.
Nara Nara floated on the surface, his face submerged below the nose, revealing only a pair of Sanpaku Eyes, also staring fixedly at Tsuchikuri.
Tsuchikuri felt an even deeper chill.
The Shadow Imitation Technique surged towards her again.
She was once again controlled by her squad leader.
Nara Nara couldn't control Suna-nin, but couldn't he control a newly promoted Chūnin?
During a mission last month, after seeing the Suna-nin's puppets, Nara Nara had a brilliant idea.
He could totally use the shadow secret technique to control his teammates. His teammates would be his puppets.
Nara Nara named this technique the Shadow Puppetry Technique.
Teammates were much more useful than puppets.
Under the control of the Shadow Imitation Technique, Tsuchikuri turned and charged towards a pier support column.
Destroying this single column would definitely render the pier unusable for some time.
Tsuchikuri's body moved against her will, attaching an explosive tag to the column.
Her heart was filled with desolation.
Before the battle started, Nara Nara had given her ten explosive tags. She had been genuinely grateful for Squad Leader Nara Nara's generosity, thinking he was considering her well-being.
Only now did she realize it was because Nara Nara didn't want to risk himself; his goal was to use her to complete the mission.
As she approached the column, two dark shadows swam towards her. She didn't know if they were Suna-nin or puppets.
Suddenly, the pressure behind her vanished.
The Shadow Imitation Technique disappeared?!
Tsuchikuri looked back and saw that Nara Nara's position was now marked only by fading ripples.
He had vanished, seemingly dragged underwater by a Suna-nin.
Tsuchikuri hurriedly evaded the surrounding Suna-nin.
Yōkō had slipped into the half-destroyed fish-shaped puppet, pushing it as he swam swiftly, ramming the sharp fin spike on the puppet's back deep into Nara Nara's abdomen.
Distracted by controlling Tsuchikuri, Nara Nara was pierced through the abdomen and sank into the seawater.
Nara Nara felt agony in his heart. The Shadow Puppetry Technique shared the same weakness as a Puppet Master's techniques: the main body was the greatest vulnerability.
He had actually died by the very Shadow Puppetry Technique he developed...
Yōkō reached Tsuchikuri's vicinity and saved her once again.
Yōkō surfaced and said, "Tsuchikuri, you place the explosive tags! I'll handle the Suna-nin!"
Hearing this, Tsuchikuri continued attaching explosive tags to the pier column.
Yōkō, meanwhile, killed the two Suna-nin underwater.
Together, they dove deep. The pier column exploded, and the mission was successful.
Yōkō pulled Tsuchikuri, swimming towards the shore.
The pier was already in shambles.
Two large holes made by explosive tags, plus one support column destroyed by them – they had completed their mission.
The other battles nearby were also intense.
By the neighboring pier, several Konoha shinobi used Fire Release together, setting a twenty-meter-tall ship ablaze.
The fighting was also fierce near the warehouses by the dock.
Other Konoha squads were running on water, charging towards other ships anchored in the shallow waters offshore.
Konoha's raid had caught the Suna-nin off guard, and they held the advantage everywhere.
After observing the battlefield, Yōkō said:
"Tsuchikuri, you're a Chūnin, I'm a Genin. After Squad Leader Nara Nara's sacrifice, you automatically become the squad leader. You decide, what should we do next?"
Tsuchikuri's eyes glazed over for a moment. Nara Nara had controlled her multiple times to complete the most dangerous explosive tag placements.
Nara Nara had schemed meticulously, only to be killed by a Suna-nin himself.
Did his death count as a sacrifice...
"Let's find the Squadron Leader and get a new mission!"
Yōkō nodded repeatedly. Tsuchikuri, despite her small stature, contained great courage. Having just experienced a perilous battle, she could immediately throw herself into the next one.
Tsuchikuri charged ahead of Yōkō, while Yōkō followed behind, blocking Suna-nin attacks while observing the performance of the various Konoha battalions in combat.
The Battalion Commanders' leadership, the Squadron Leaders' initiative, the Squad Leaders' choices, the outstanding shinobi's fights – all were under Yōkō's observation.
This information would form a report, eventually reaching the Hokage, allowing the Third Hokage to grasp the combat situation on Konoha's frontlines.
***
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(End of Chapter)