I, who just wanted to be lazy, was forced to become the Hokage.

Chapter 90 His desperate clinging to life, yet refusing to admit defeat, is truly ugly!

Chapter 90: His desperate clinging to life, yet unwilling to admit defeat, is truly ugly! (Six chapters, 1.9 words, please subscribe!)

A lesson from the past, a teacher of the future.

Having learned a painful lesson from the previous team member, Ebizo showed no signs of carelessness this time when facing the shuriken explosive tags thrown by Nara Rangkei.

He was not only carefully observing the landing point of the explosive tag on his sword, but also keeping a close eye on the general movement of the shadowy creature in the sky.

Before Ebizo could dodge the attack, an old voice came from beside him.

"Puppet Technique: Manipulating the Blade!"

Chiyo unleashed a wisp of chakra from her fingertips, which stuck to the end of a kunai, and she flung it heavily toward the sky.

Like a dark meteor streaking across the sky, the kunai thrown by "Puppet Technique: Blade Manipulation" struck the shuriken explosive tag thrown by Nara Rinkei with speed and precision.

Ding!

The shuriken and kunai collided in mid-air, producing a crisp metallic clang.

The lighter shuriken's explosive tag lost its original aim upon impact with the kunai, its trajectory distorted as it flew off to the other side.

boom!

The explosion of the detonating tags created a huge, bright fireball in mid-air, but it did not cause any damage to the members of the Sand Village's puppet forces.

Chiyo gave Nara Ranka no time to react. She lightly touched a sealing talisman wrapped around her wrist with her fingertips and summoned a large number of poison needles from the talisman using a pre-set activation method.

"Needle Eight Waves!"

The ultra-high density metal needles transformed into a raging wave, and the purplish-black light flashing at the tips of the needles revealed that they were all poisoned weapons.

The Poison Needle Thousand Needles flew at an extremely fast speed, almost instantly reaching the sky.

The task message popped up again on the panel.

[A-rank ninja battle mission detected!]

[Rank A Mission: Chiyo]

[Mission Objective: Defeat/Kill Chiyo, the Puppet Master of Sunagakure]

[Mission Reward: Rank A Ninja Scroll]

Facing a dense array of thousands of poisonous needles.

Nara Rinka paid no attention to the tasks on the panel; he simply spread his arms and leaped backward.

The strong winds high in the sky made his robes flutter, and his posture and movements were like those of a bird in flight, exuding an indescribable sense of freedom and elegance.

Nara-ryu Secret Technique: Leap of Faith!

The dense attack formed by "Eight Needle Waves" all landed on the [Shadow Creature], instantly defeating it and turning it into a cloud of smoke that dissipated in mid-air.

"Lady Chiyo shot that guy down!"

The many puppet ninjas of Sunagakure were suddenly overjoyed.

But in the next moment.

From the shadows surrounding Nara Rinka, another shadow creature emerged, transforming into a majestic and lifelike black bird. It grabbed his arm and carried him back into the sky.

"You cunning little devil!"

Chiyo sighed helplessly.

In the ninja world, the vast majority of ninjas lack the ability to counter "flying enemies".

First, its flight maneuverability and flexibility are too high;

Secondly, the distance between them was too great, and ordinary ninjutsu could not even touch their opponents.

The Sand Village puppet forces are currently in such a predicament.

"If only Luo Sha had come along this time... with his gold dust technique, at least we wouldn't have fought so miserably."

Chiyo sighed softly to herself.

She genuinely didn't want to continue her entanglement with Nara Ranka.

The problem isn't that she doesn't want to leave, but that the other party simply won't let them leave!

If we let Nara Rinkazu go unchecked and allow him to attack and obstruct us...

The Sand Village's puppet troops are very likely to be dragged to their deaths in this mountain!

The only solution at present is to proactively separate one team member and have him keep an eye on and restrain Nara Rangsuke from the sky, preventing and countering the shuriken explosive tags that the enemy might throw at any time, thus buying time for everyone's overall escape.

However, that would directly slow down the team member's movement speed.

His chances of escaping are... almost zero.

Chiyo was hesitating about whether to implement this "cut off the tail to survive" tactical strategy.

However, Ebizo, who was beside her, was also thinking of this solution at the same time.

"Sister, Yecang, and everyone else."

Ebizo's aged voice rang in the ears of the Sand Village ninja, carrying a strong sense of determination and sacrifice.

"You guys go first, I'll hold off these Nara clan ninjas."

"Little brother, please let me..."

Chiyo hesitated, unable to think of a way to dissuade the other party.

The Sand Village ninjas were unaware of Nara Rin's exact skill level.

However, judging from their battlefield performance just now at Kikyo Castle, where they silently slaughtered most of the puppet army...

Of the many Sand Village ninja present, only three were capable of handling this rearguard mission.

Chiyo!

Yekura!

Ebizo!

There isn't one more.

"Sister, you should leave quickly!"

Ebizo firmly stated.

"Sister, you are the most skilled puppeteer in Sunagakure. Pakura is the future of Sunagakure, and everyone here is an elite member of the puppet army..."

"Let this old man buy everyone some time!"

The situation is urgent, and Konoha reinforcements could arrive at any moment.

Chiyo didn't hesitate for long before finally agreeing to Ebizo's request.

The other Sand Village ninjas also looked at Ebizo with admiration and respect.

The fact that the other side is now taking the initiative to delay the enemy can almost be considered a voluntary sacrifice...

"Damn Konoha ninjas!"

Displeased, Yekura quickly formed hand seals and unleashed a series of blazing fireballs at Nara Rinka, which was swirling and flying in the sky.

"Scorching Release: Overheating and Killing!"

[A Rank B Ninja Battle Mission has been detected!]

[Rank B Mission: Pakura with Scorching Release]

[Mission Objective: Defeat/Kill Sunagakure Jonin Pakura]

[Mission Reward: Rank B Ninja Scroll]

Yekura's "Scorching Release: Over-Steam Kill" surpasses Chiyo's "Needle Eight Waves" in terms of sheer power, but it is far inferior to the latter in terms of flight speed and attack range.

Nara Ranke manipulated the [Shadow Creature], nimbly and skillfully dodging the attacks of the fireballs.

At the same time, he noticed that the Sand Village troops below had split in two.

Ebizo trailed alone at the very back of the group, his movement speed far slower than his companions in front, and he quickly fell far behind the others.

"Are you planning to shed your tail like a gecko to survive?"

Nara Rinka narrowed his eyes slightly, realizing the plan the Sand Village ninjas intended to execute.

"Then let's have some fun together..."

With a thought, a transparent and invisible shadow creature separated from his body and silently followed behind the Sand Village army.

[Rank A Spell: Shadow Invisibility]

[Technique Description: A super-advanced Yin Release technique created based on [Shadow Secret Technique] and [Camouflage Concealment]]

[Technique Effect: By precisely controlling water molecules in the air using Yin Release chakra, one can eliminate refracted light, conceal their aura, and make their entire body transparent.]

[Skill Evaluation: Shadow King's Transparent World]

Ebizo, who was in the forest below, noticed the figure in the sky stop and also stopped to observe the other's actions.

Nara Rinka manipulated the [Shadow Creature], slowly descending the altitude.

Ebizo gripped his ninja fan tightly, suppressing the urge to attack immediately, and instead spoke up to buy time.

"When did the Nara clan's ninjas develop such a secret technique?"

"Trying to buy time for your teammates?"

Nara Rinka saw through the other party's plan, raised his right hand, and condensed a ball of Yin Release chakra at his fingertips.

"When did you start having this illusion... that you can hold me back?"

[Shadow Piercing Bullet]!

The black bullets pierced the night sky, their trajectory extremely difficult to detect under the cover of darkness.

Knowing that his opponent had seen through his plan and sensed the approaching danger, Ebizo gripped his ninja fan tightly and unleashed his wind-style chakra without reservation.

"Wind Release: Tornado Hurricane!"

boom!

Following the trajectory of the ninja fan's swing, a colossal tornado, towering to the sky, surged out from in front of Ebizo, blocking his path.

The incredibly strong winds continuously attract surrounding matter, drawing it into the tornado one by one, where it is then sliced and shattered by the powerful wind blades hidden within.

Nara Rangsuke was also drawn to the powerful tornado.

"The Wind Release ninjutsu of Sunagakure is truly unique."

He narrowed his eyes.

"But I absolutely love these kinds of ninjutsu that conceal one's vision!"

[Earth Release: Earth Dragon Concealment Technique]!

The soil beneath Nara Rinka's feet instantly turned to sand under the influence of earth-based chakra, and he sank into the earth, using the earth's cover to quickly approach Ebizo behind the "Tornado Hurricane".

On the other side, Ebizo was completely unaware of Nara Rangsei's advance route; he was simply panting heavily, trying to relieve the intense physical strain.

For someone of Ebizo's age, refining and releasing such a large amount of wind-type chakra in one go must have been an incredibly demanding task.

"But... this tornado should be able to withstand that Konoha ninja's attack, right?"

Ebizo gazed at the tornado that was still expanding, his aged face filled with solemnity.

"Neither shadow techniques nor fire-style ninjutsu can penetrate this tornado..."

Just then.

Ebizo suddenly noticed a slight noise coming from underground.

The veteran Sand Village Jonin's pupils contracted instantly, a faint shock appearing in his heart.

"Earth Release ninjutsu?"

Ebizo was planning to refine his chakra and use the Body Flicker Technique to escape from this location.

However, a jet-black, solid bullet broke through the ground and pierced through Ebizo's shadow without missing a beat.

【Spiral Shadow Simulation】!

A tall figure emerged from Ebizo's shadow.

Nara Rinka's Shadow Clone feigned hand seals, using Shadow Strangle to firmly control Ebizo, rendering him immobile.

"Is this how the enemy just slaughtered the puppet army?"

A sense of realization dawned on Ebizo's mind, and he decided to continue stalling for time.

"Konoha's—"

Click! Click!

[Shadow Clone] gave the opponent no time to waste, manipulating the powerful [Shadow Strangle Technique] to break both arms of the old Sand Village Jonin, rendering him incapable of using his most conventional hand seals.

"hiss--"

With both arms broken, Ebizo gasped, a feeling of despair washing over him.

He probably won't be able to complete the mission successfully...

Another shadow clone emerged from the ground, looking at the immobilized Ebizo.

After thinking for a moment, he took out a special pill from his ninja tool bag and forced it into the other person's mouth.

These are secret pills made by the Nara clan, specifically designed to suppress and disrupt the extraction and use of chakra.

Ebizo has been captured alive!

[You have defeated the B-rank ninja combat objective!]

You have obtained a Grade B [Ninja Scroll]!

Sensing the complete loss of control over his chakra, Ebizo's face turned ashen, and he seemed to age ten years in an instant.

Even so, he did not forget his mission.

We must keep this Konoha ninja here to buy everyone time to escape!