This puppeteer is a bit... well...

Chapter 133 Assassination from the Root (Please Subscribe)

As winter approaches, it's getting colder and colder.

Under the gloomy sky, the sun radiated its remaining heat, appearing listless, and even the desert seemed to grow colder.

On the sand dunes, a young couple was walking slowly.

The man had short, reddish-brown hair, regular features, and wore a black ninja outfit with a beige windproof cloak over it; the woman had long, pink hair tied in a single ponytail at the back of her head, delicate features, smooth skin, and wore a low-cut mesh ninja outfit, also with a beige windproof cloak over it.

They were a handsome couple.

This is Ryuuji Ayaki and Marie Chie, who have left the city of the mechanical palace.

After bidding farewell to Ebizo, he did not take the mechanical bird directly to Konoha, but instead walked all the way to Sunagakure.

Besides replenishing the chakra of the scarab puppet that serves as a signal station, there is another important matter that compels him to return.

That means Fenfu is about to die.

This high monk, who didn't want to see others worry and fear because of him and voluntarily stayed in the dungeon, is nearing the end of his life and must prepare a new host for the tailed beast as soon as possible.

However, there is no suitable candidate in Sunagakure at present. The Third Kazekage hopes that Ryuji can come back and see if he can help Bunpuku hold on for a while longer, at least until a new Jinchuriki is chosen before he dies.

Although Long Er knew that Fenfu's time was still a few years away, he still planned to go back to appease the villagers.

Moreover, he hadn't seen Bunfuku and Shukaku for a long time.

"Sir, there are some guys following us."

Suddenly, Wanlijiang said calmly.

Ryuji didn't look at her, nor did he stop walking, as if he hadn't heard her. But the girl walking beside him heard the boy's low voice: "How many people? What direction are they from?"

"There are twenty-one people under our feet and around us."

"Find them all."

"Yes."

Upon receiving the order, Wanlijiang's hands, hidden beneath his cloak, silently formed a hand seal, and a pale yellow mist quietly seeped into the sand from beneath his feet.

Puff puff……

One by one, figures emerged from the sand.

They were clutching their own necks, their faces contorted in pain, snot and tears streaming down their faces, and making sounds of agony.

"Huh!"

Ryuji exclaimed in surprise as he looked at the guys who had suddenly appeared.

He thought the people following him were White Zetsu, but it turned out to be a group of ANBU members wearing animal masks.

"Which village are you from?"

Long Er asked curiously.

Of course, no one answered him.

Not to mention that they couldn't answer while they were poisoned, even if they could, it would be impossible for the Dark Guard to answer them.

One of the members, wearing a white cloak, injected himself with an antidote, and his poisoning condition immediately improved.

The others followed suit, taking out antidotes and injecting themselves.

Then, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, as if they had escaped a disaster.

Seeing this, Ryuji narrowed his eyes. "You're from Konoha's Anbu, aren't you?"

The members of the Dark Guard, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, tensed up again, staring at him in horror, but still no one answered.

Ryuji couldn't help but smile. "It's okay if you don't tell me, I know."

Wanlijiang's alluring poison is ever-changing, and each type is highly effective. Even though the order to "find them" instead of "kill them" did not release a lethal poison, it is not something that just anyone can cure, let alone with an antidote prepared in advance.

Only two people in the entire ninja world can do this.

One is naturally Tsunade from Konoha, and the other is Granny Chiyo from Sunagakure.

Chiyo couldn't and wasn't capable of secretly mobilizing so many ANBU to track Ryuji, so Konoha was the only option left.

"Kill him."

As a captain-level ANBU gave the order, the group began to move. Seven or eight ANBU threw grappling hooks at Ryuji and his companion, while the rest drew their weapons and charged forward.

Most of them are standard long swords used by the Dark Guard, but there are also broad slashing swords and weapons like kusarigama.

The two jumped back together, dodging the hidden weapons. Looking at the attackers charging after them, Long Er said to the girl, "These guys are yours. Let me see the power of the Enchanting Poison Body!"

"Um!"

Wan Lijiang nodded, took a step forward, and stood in front of him.

In the past, she was just a Chunin. Even if she was relatively strong among Chunin, and even relied on Mihawk to fight against Special Jonin, that was all.

But now it's different.

With Ryuji's help, she has been able to make good use of the power of her Poisonous Body.

She herself is unsure of her current strength.

and so……

"You will be the witnesses to my power!"

Wanlijiang formed a mudra with his hands and began to take deep breaths, inhaling a large amount of air into his mouth.

"It's Wind Release, disperse."

The ANBU members who charged forward were clearly experienced in combat. Seeing the signs, they anticipated the type of ninjutsu and the dozen or so of them immediately scattered and jumped apart.

[Wind Release: Venomous Attack!]

Wanlijiang suddenly exhaled a breath, like a sharp blade of a hurricane, and as his head turned, it sliced ​​horizontally, leaving a long arc in the air.

If these ANBU members hadn't anticipated the type of ninjutsu and taken precautions in advance, they would have been completely cut in half.

but.

This is not a simple wind-style technique, but rather a venomous wind imbued with the power of a Kamaitachi.

Although these ANBU ninjas barely managed to dodge the cuts, as the wind blades dissipated, the deadly poison mixed within them exploded and instantly enveloped an area of ​​about 100 meters in radius.

At such close range, and so suddenly, it's impossible to avoid unless you possess space-time ninjutsu.

Although the members of the Dark Guard, shrouded in the poisonous fog, managed to cover their mouths and noses in time, they were powerless to stop the deadly poison from seeping through their skin. Their bodies shrank at a visible rate, like withered plants, dying little by little.

A moment later, a gentle breeze dispersed the poisonous fog, leaving only emaciated corpses on the ground.

"How is it?"

Wanlijiang turned back to Long Er to claim credit, a hint of smugness on his face.

"not bad."

Ryuji made a nonchalant comment before going to examine the body.

Wanlijiang pouted behind him, somewhat dissatisfied.

Twenty secret agents were instantly killed.

Such a record would be something to be proud of at any time, yet it only received a "not bad" evaluation.

However, despite her dissatisfaction, she knew that Ryuji had the right to say such things.

Whether it's achieving a crushing victory against ten elite Jonin, repelling the enemy with three shots, defeating a Uchiha master in a one-on-one fight, massacring the Sand Village's high-ranking officials, or reversing the outcome of the Rain Village battlefield... compared to these achievements, instantly killing twenty Anbu is indeed only considered decent.

……

"Muscles atrophy, skin shrinkage, all biological cells die..."

When Long Er arrived at this point, he opened the corpses' mouths and found curse marks on their tongues.

With his extensive knowledge and discerning eye, he immediately recognized it as the Seal of the Extinction of the Root of Disputes, a cursed seal to prevent the leakage of secrets. In Konoha, only Danzo's roots would have such a seal planted there.

"So you really are from Root."

When Ryuji guessed that the other party was from Konoha, he immediately thought of Root.

After all, Konoha is in a situation where it dares not offend Sunagakure. Even if it sends someone to assassinate Ryuji, it will certainly not leave any evidence.

The Root is an even more secretive organization than the Anbu. Even in Konoha, only a very few people know about it, let alone in other ninja villages.

Sending Root members out to assassinate someone, even if they fail, will leave no evidence, and no one will suspect Konoha.

Unfortunately, Ryuji had already read the script.

"I just don't know if it was Danzo's personal idea or the Third Hokage's..."

Long Er pondered for a moment.

Although everyone in Konoha obeys the Hokage's orders, Root has long since become Danzo's private army, and who knows how many things they have secretly done behind the Hokage's back.

"Does it matter whose idea it is?"

"Wanlijiang asked from the side."

She didn't know the relationship between Danzo and the Third Hokage, nor did she know what Root was. She was simply asking Ryuji this question, not trying to give him any hints.

But this served as a reminder to Ryuji.

"No, it doesn't matter."

Whether it was Danzo's personal opinion or the Third Hokage's order, it doesn't matter.

The important thing is that these people are all from Konoha, and he happens to know this, while Konoha does not dare to offend Sunagakure at this time.

He just needs to hold Konoha accountable through diplomatic channels and then demand compensation.

Whether the other party admits it or not, or blames it on personal behavior, is not important.

Anyway, it was all done by people from Konoha. We from Sunagakure don't know the specifics, nor do we want to. All we know is that important high-ranking officials from Sunagakure were assassinated and threatened by Konoha. You were the ones who betrayed the alliance and attacked your allies first.

Since you are unjust, don't blame us for being ruthless.

If you want to continue your alliance with us, then show some sincerity.

That's right, this is using power to intimidate others.

Even if it wasn't Konoha's fault, Sunagakure could still blackmail them, just like the future kidnapping of Hinata by Kumogakure. Even if it was my fault, I could turn around and blame you.

This is what is meant by "a weak nation has no diplomacy".

After storing the body as evidence in their personal space, Ryuji and Wanlijiang resumed their journey.

During the journey, he used his spiritual ocean to inform the Third Kazekage and the Sunagakure delegation about the matter, asking them to negotiate with the higher-ups in Konoha.

……

Leaf.

Hokage Building, Hokage's Office.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, is discussing the frontline battle with Danzo and two advisors.

"If the front lines can be frozen, we might be able to take the opportunity to defeat the enemy," Danzo said.

The fighting on the front lines has reached a stalemate.

This is normal.

Generally speaking, ninjas are highly mobile and do not fight in formation like ordinary soldiers. Unless both sides in a war are determined to fight to the death, it is difficult for a war to end in one battle.

Just like the initial war between Kumogakure and Konoha, even though Konoha was at a significant disadvantage in terms of troop strength, it was able to use its familiarity with the terrain to entangle with them for months.

If they hadn't completed the planning and preparations later, they could have dragged it out for even longer.

Neither Iwagakure, Kusagakure, nor Konoha had a guaranteed victory, so they all had to gain an advantage little by little through continuous small-scale guerrilla warfare.

Both sides conducted continuous reconnaissance and harassment at the front lines.

The war remained deadlocked.

The official chapters will be released promptly at 6:00 AM. If you want to read them, wait until 6:00 AM; the word count will be higher.

(End of this chapter)