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

Chapter 169 Tsunade and Black

"Hurry, hurry, hurry..."

In the tranquil forest, Aozora, her body rotten beyond recognition, leaned against a large tree, enduring excruciating pain as she nurtured the mother worm that had survived the deadly poison.

The symbiotic worm saved his life, but it couldn't heal the damage he suffered.

His physical condition was no longer sufficient to return to his companions for treatment, so he hid in the nearby woods to induce the birth of the mother insect.

As long as they can cultivate insects with toxic antibodies, even if they die, the insects will fly away on their own and find other members of the Oil Woman tribe.

His companions will avenge him then.

but.

To accelerate the generation of insects, we need to use the secret techniques of the Aburame clan.

However, his physical condition is currently very bad. Even moving his body causes him to sweat profusely from the pain. Trying to activate his chakra to use secret techniques is no less than torture.

but.

Driven by hatred for the deaths of her companions and her belief in protecting the village, Aburame Aozora has persevered until now.

But gradually, he felt his body becoming heavier and heavier, his breathing becoming more and more difficult, and his vision becoming increasingly blurred.

"Da da da..."

Suddenly, footsteps echoed through the quiet woods.

Aoi Aozora struggled to lift her head, and through her blurry vision, she saw a figure slowly walking towards her from a distance.

who is it?

A sense of crisis rose within Aoi Sora.

He shook his head, feeling his mind clear up a bit, and looked again—it was a black figure, with black hair and black eyes, dressed in black, and even the aura emanating from him matched the heaviness of black. He was a middle-aged man completely shrouded in black.

--black!

Aoi Aozora's mind flashed to the image of the Sand Village envoy, and she immediately tried to stand up by leaning against the big tree behind her.

However, his poor physical condition made him feel somewhat powerless.

He had just stood up when everything went black, his legs gave way, and he fell to the ground.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!!!"

Aozora, watching the mother worm being enveloped in silkworm and nurtured by chakra, pounded the ground in frustration.

Snapped!

Hei stopped two meters away from Qingkong, looking down at him expressionlessly, and said calmly, "It seems my feeling was right, there really is an escaped rat here."

Fearing that Karura wouldn't make it to their rescue, Ryuji rode his mechanical bird ahead, leaving the rest to come on foot.

As they continued their advance, they frequently encountered harassment from Konoha ninja. To avoid being ambushed, Kuro often activated his sensory abilities.

As a result, after walking a considerable distance, he discovered a faint trace of chakra in the nearby forest where he had defeated Orochimaru.

If they were just ordinary survivors, it wouldn't be a big deal. After all, they were rushing to save people, not to kill all the Konoha ninjas. There was no need to go so far as to exterminate them.

However, all the people Orochimaru brought were poisoned to death by Wanlijiang's deadly poison.

If there are survivors among these people, they may have found a way to combat the deadly poison of the Wanli River or an antibody.

While it's more likely they've just narrowly escaped death, the possibility of finding antibodies or a solution isn't entirely out of the question.

Hei was unaware that Wanlijiang possessed over ten thousand primitive viruses that could be freely combined. However, he knew that Wanlijiang played a crucial role in this plan.

If Konoha manages to neutralize her poison, it will greatly hinder this operation, and might even lead to its failure.

So, after telling Hong what to do, he went back alone.

Looking at the pupa protected beneath Aozora, Kuro took a deep breath.

(Looks like my return trip wasn't a waste of time.)

Ryuji had told them about the characteristics of famous ninja clans in the ninja world.

Therefore, Kuro is also very familiar with the secret techniques of the Aburame clan and the insects' ability to adapt and evolve according to the environment.

After seeing this situation and considering the cause and effect, he easily analyzed the current situation.

Without further ado, Kuro drew his kunai and coldly hurled it at Aburame Aozora.

Faced with this throw that she could usually easily deflect, Aburame Aozora was now powerless to resist and could only roar inwardly in frustration.

"hateful!"

"Snapped!"

Kunai was grabbed by a jade hand in front of Aburame Aozora.

Both of them were taken aback, then followed the arm to look at the owner... a woman with an enviable figure, blonde hair and eyes, and a beautiful face.

"Tsunade!"

His dark face darkened.

Aozora Aburame couldn't help but feel delighted.

"Lady Tsunade..."

He was about to say something when Tsunade raised her hand to stop him.

"Shut up, check his condition, and then treat him," Tsunade said while keeping an eye on Kuro.

Behind her, a little girl with short, ear-length hair timidly approached Aozora Aburame and began to examine her body with a skill beyond her years.

Hei glanced at her, then turned his gaze to the woman who had somehow ended up standing in the middle. "Tsunade, didn't you deliberately avoid this farce?"

"Yes! I thought it was just a farce, so I deliberately hid in this suburban forest, waiting for it to end before coming out. But now it doesn't seem like a simple farce at all," Tsunade said resolutely.

Just as Ryuji thought, Tsunade wanted to ask him for help in the future to revive Dan and Nawaki, and because she despised dirty political behavior, she deliberately hid before the incident.

But there was an even more important reason why she did this: she didn't want to become a perpetrator.

She shared the same view as Hiruzen Sarutobi and all the high-ranking officials of Konoha; she also did not believe that Ryuji would rebel.

Despite the fact that this Sand Village delegation has already demonstrated the combat power of at least four Kage-level fighters, the study abroad team also has the formidable strength of Karura, fifty elite puppeteers, and four elite guard squads, while most of Konoha's elite experts are still on the front lines.

However, the two are still far apart in terms of combat strength.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo, Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, Orochimaru, the captain and vice-captain of the Anbu, her, along with elites from various clans who remained in the village and nearly two thousand other ninjas.

With such a lineup, the skilled members of the Sand Village delegation might be able to break through and escape Konoha. But to try and take a delegation of over a hundred people with them, or even fight against them, is simply a joke.

In Tsunade's memory, Ryuji was no different from the old men in Konoha's upper echelons; everything he did was based on limited interests.

Given the vast disparity in strength between the two sides and the absolute lack of chance of victory in a war, she did not believe that Ryuji would choose a fight to the death.

But she and even the entire Hidden Leaf Village underestimated Ryuji.

Ryuji is not only powerful himself, but he can also enhance his companions.

The weapons and equipment he created not only freed the lowly ninjas from their menial tasks, but also gave them the ability to unleash combat power surpassing that of a typical chunin group when they came together.

Even the elite guard unit led by Fugaku Uchiha was wiped out.

His hidden trump cards, Wanlijiang and two highly poisonous salamanders, disrupted the entire Konoha's troop deployment.

The strategic plans tailored for those elite puppeteers, along with the various war machines they carried, left Orochimaru and many other elite ninjas helpless.

Things have gotten out of control.

Konoha Village is the culmination of Tsunade's two grandfathers' efforts. This village holds the dreams that her closest relatives have been pursuing and the reason why countless people are willing to risk their lives to protect it.

Tsunade could not stand by and watch Konoha be destroyed by fire.

She and Jingyin used to fish and barbecue by the lake in this suburban forest.

She finally realized something was wrong when she heard continuous vibrations and roaring sounds outside, and rushed outside.

Then, by chance, I witnessed this scene.

She didn't know the specifics, but she guessed that the plans of the Konoha leadership had spiraled out of control.

Konoha is currently at war with this Sand Village delegation.

Hei didn't know the reason, but after hearing Tsunade's words, he understood her determination.

He said calmly, "Further words are useless. If you want to stop me, then take action."

"Hmph!" Tsunade couldn't help but chuckle. "Just because you hired a stuntman to beat me once doesn't mean you're the same person I can one-punch!"

In the duel six months ago, Black and Red displayed completely different levels of skill, personalities, and fighting styles after being switched.

Tsunade initially thought that Kuro had a split personality or something similar.

However, during Hei's hospitalization, she frequently visited and examined him in his ward to observe neural connection techniques, and thus gained a deep understanding of this taciturn man.

He is mentally sound and could never have a split personality!

At that time, Tsunade suspected that the person who defeated her might be someone else.

Until she met Kurenai... Although her appearance and voice were completely different, the wine-red eyes, and the contempt she inadvertently showed towards others and the respect for Ryuji in those eyes, all these overlaps made Tsunade confirm that the opponent who defeated her back then was not Kuro, but Kurenai, the one who killed Hanzo of the Salamander.

"Past, glory, victory, defeat, life and death... I don't care about these external things." As Hei spoke, he took out two kunai and held them in his hands. His black eyes showed no emotion. "What I care about is the mission at hand."

Tsunade frowned slightly.

Although Hei's expression and tone were completely devoid of emotion, she could definitely sense that Hei possessed feelings; he wasn't the kind of person who had been trained to suppress their emotions.

He is shutting himself off emotionally.

This is truly—

"It's so annoying!"

Almost shouting it out, Tsunade shattered the ground beneath her foot, her body shooting out like a cannonball, instantly appearing in front of Kuro. Her right fist clenched high, she slammed it towards Kuro's face, yelling, "Don't pretend to be so profound all the time!"

"puff!"

The fist missed its target, and the sound of a sharp weapon piercing flesh rang out.

Hei leaned to one side, maintaining the posture of dodging the punch, using his shoulder to support Tsunade's body, his right hand hanging down to hold the kunai that was piercing Tsunade's abdomen, blood dripping down.

but……

"Bang!"

Tsunade acted as if nothing had happened, raised her right hand, and punched Kuro away.

"You've definitely gotten a lot stronger!"

She watched as the black figure crashed into a large tree more than ten meters away before coming to a stop, and casually tossed away the kunai that had pierced her left hand.

Her punch just now may have seemed reckless, but she actually paid attention to every detail.

Black's reaction timing and subtle movements, such as his shoulders, far exceeded the level he had six months ago.

If they were to fight head-on, it would probably take quite a while before a winner could be decided.

But Black wanted to feign weakness so he could catch his enemy off guard and deliver a fatal blow.

Tsunade saw through it.

She used a counter-strategy, using her left hand to shield her abdomen from the kunai's thrust, and then, taking advantage of the moment when he relaxed in the darkness thinking he had won, she punched him away.

Hei is not the type of ninja with thick skin and tough flesh, a fact proven both in the duel six months ago and in the physical examinations he underwent during his hospitalization.

Therefore, a single strike is enough to end the battle.

but.

To prevent Kuro from having Kurenai take his place again, Tsunade threw away her kunai and quickly ran to Kuro's side. Only after confirming that he was unconscious did she relax.

She turned back to Aoi Aozora, looked at the dying man, and then looked at Shizune who was gently shaking her head at her.

"I see!"

Tsunade sighed, turned to Aburame Aozora, and asked, "Do you have any last words?"

With trembling hands, Aozora Aburame offered the pupa, weakly saying, "I have completed the Aburame clan's secret technique for cultivating insects. Now, all I need to do is continue supplying chakra to complete the cultivation. This mother insect possesses antibodies against the deadly poison of the Wanli River!"

insect……

Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

Although she wasn't as afraid of insects as most women, as a woman, she certainly didn't have much affection for them.

She felt somewhat resistant as she was made to hold onto the pupa and nurture it with chakra.

But the highly toxic antibody that Aoko Aoi mentioned about the Wanli River... Although she didn't know the specifics, it was a serious matter since it involved a highly toxic substance.

Otherwise, this woman from the Oil Women clan wouldn't have risked her life to try and hatch the pupa.

"I will definitely successfully raise the insects, so you can rest assured!" Tsunade said, then looked at the little girl beside her. "Shizune, what are you standing there for? Take the pupa!"

"ah!?"

Shizune couldn't help but widen her eyes.

Isn't this asking you to cultivate it?

Why did you push it onto me?

"What are you still standing there for?"

Hearing Tsunade's urging, Shizune reluctantly took the pupa and carefully used chakra to hatch it.

Seeing this, Aoi Aozora smiled and lowered her hands.

I didn't get home until 9 pm last night and wrote this chapter, but I didn't post it because I was worried I wouldn't be able to post the second chapter. I'll post it together today.

What I missed yesterday, I'll make up for it. Yeah, that's all.

(End of this chapter)