Chapter 14: The Secret Art of Escape
"Iwago, be careful! Reinforce your defense!" the Sand jōnin shouted, spotting the heavy iron hammers and clubs hurtling toward the earth wall.
BOOM! BOOM!
The series of heavy impacts cracked the earthen fortification. With a final crash, the wall shattered. The bald-headed chūnin and the two puppet masters were left completely exposed to the remaining storm of steel.
As expected of a battlefield veteran, the special jōnin puppet master reacted instantly. He ripped a small sealing scroll from his robes, and a spare puppet burst forth. It moved to shield the three of them, but the heavy weapons crashed into it, shattering the wooden automaton into a pile of splinters.
The puppet's sacrifice, however, bought them a precious split second. The special jōnin extended his fingers, and chakra threads shot out. They danced through the air, deflecting the smaller blades and wrapping around his two comrades, pulling them out of the path of the heaviest projectiles just in time.
After the metal frenzy passed, the entire battlefield was littered with a terrifying array of blades.
"Huff, huff..." the puppet master gasped, the exertion of saving his teammates having taken a heavy toll. The bald-headed chūnin was also panting, having used two B-rank Earth Style jutsus in quick succession.
"My puppet, damn you!" the special jōnin roared, looking at the splinters on the ground. A spare puppet, painstakingly saved, was now gone. He wanted to devour these Konoha ninja, to drink their blood!
"Found you!" the lead Sand jōnin shouted, his sword pointing forward. His earlier charge had been a feint; his true goal was to pinpoint the location of the supposed tool master.
"You damn Konoha ninja, go to hell!" the enraged puppet master formed seals at a speed of four per second. "Wind Style: Wind-Scythe Dance!"
In an instant, a series of bluish-white vacuum blades, like deadly sickles, sliced through the air, felling the trees around them.
Sasuke, observing through his sonar, saw it all. He remained perfectly calm. Just as the wind blades were about to hit, he pushed Tekudō's head down. A vacuum blade sliced through the giant tree right in front of them, passing just over their heads.
"Whew... that was too close," Tekudō whispered, patting his pounding heart.
Huh? A parasite insect, Sasuke thought, suddenly noticing the signature of an Aburame clan bug on the battlefield. The mobile patrol team, led by Maru, was finally within his three-kilometer perception range. Looks like I have to stall for a little more time.
He stopped, formed a hand seal, and performed the Transformation Technique.
His green chūnin vest morphed into the unique high-collared blue shirt of the Uchiha, a large, round, fan-like family crest appearing on the back. In his eyes, the three-tomoe Sharingan appeared. They were a bit dull, like a printed film, but he then focused chakra into his ocular meridians, making his eyes appear bloodshot, perfectly mimicking the characteristics of a newly activated Sharingan.
He leaped onto the clean-cut surface of the felled tree, revealing himself. He stood there, exuding an air of supreme arrogance, like the reincarnation of a Konoha Asura.
"Sand ninja," he said, his voice dripping with contempt, "you wish to dance as well?"
"Oh no! It's an Uchiha jōnin!"
"It's over, we have no chance!"
"No wonder he has such terrifying tool manipulation skills; it turns out he's an Uchiha!"
"A three-tomoe Sharingan... could this Uchiha be an elite jōnin?"
The Sand ninja, seeing Sasuke's attire and his Sharingan, felt their spirits plummet. Their hard-won fighting will was instantly suppressed by the Uchiha's overwhelming arrogance. Not a single one of them doubted that what they were seeing was a transformation; they believed it completely.
Tekudō, hidden behind the tree stump, clamped a hand over his mouth, trying to stifle his laughter so he wouldn't ruin his captain's bluff. The captain's bluffing skills are incredible, he thought. He's fooled all of them. I doubt even an A-rank genjutsu could have this effect!