Chapter 23: Blade Substitution Technique
Puff, puff, puff...
The penetrating power of the Rain of a Thousand Needles was astonishing. It tore through the small tornado and slammed into the high-speed rotating water prison. As expected of a defensive ninjutsu modified from the Hyūga's Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven, it easily resisted the entire onslaught.
The senbon came and went in the space of a breath. Sasuke quickly withdrew the Revolving Water Prison. Its defense was extremely strong, but the chakra consumption was also enormous; in just a few seconds, most of his chakra had been drained. The prison dissipated, and the small tornado collapsed, rustling the surrounding trees and clearing some of the murderous aura from the air.
"We survived?!" Ryo looked down at his hands and feet, checking to see if he was still dreaming.
"Awesome!" Tekudō and Chōmi were equally surprised, their admiration for their captain growing even stronger.
"Don't get cocky. Retreat, quickly," Sasuke ordered, his eyes still scanning for the next attack.
"Quite a move for a Konoha jōnin!" the black-faced special jōnin sneered. "I thought you didn't know ninjutsu. It turns out you've been playing tactical games from the very beginning."
He believed he had finally figured out his opponent's strength. This was a Konoha jōnin who, in addition to being a master of mechanical tools, was also highly skilled in Water Style. The only reason he wasn't a true threat was his obviously limited chakra reserves. I must engage him in close combat, he decided. Don't give him a chance to form hand seals. His taijutsu is only at the level of a common chūnin—that is his weakness.
"Kill!" he shouted, controlling the Black Ant puppet to close the distance and engage Sasuke in a flurry of close-range attacks.
Sasuke was immediately forced onto the defensive. In close quarters, his sonar radar could perceive every move, but perceiving was not the same as reacting. The special jōnin, now controlling a puppet again, had regained his full power, and he relentlessly pressed his advantage, preventing Sasuke from retreating across the river.
At that moment, seeing a fleeting opportunity, Sasuke ordered the water bat hidden in his vest to harass the special jōnin's face. The sudden distraction caused the man to falter.
"Oh no!" he cried out, his panic slightly exaggerated.
"Fish-Cutting Slash!" Sasuke seized the opening and went for a killing blow.
"Captain, be careful! It's a puppet clone!" Ryo shouted from the other side of the river, his keen sense of smell having detected something amiss.
"Not good!" Ye, with his own sharp intuition, also realized the danger.
"You dare to be distracted now? You're courting death!" the porcupine-headed jōnin took the opportunity to strike at Ye, his blade slicing deep into his right arm and sending his sword clattering to the ground.
On the other side, Sasuke seemed to realize it was a trap. His eyes were wide with panic as he tried to pull back his attack.
"Too late!" the special jōnin sneered, his conspiracy having succeeded.
CLANG!
Sasuke's blade struck the special jōnin's neck, but instead of flesh, it met with a hard, metallic surface. The body he had just "killed" was another Black Ant puppet. The real special jōnin, who had switched places with it moments before, now appeared behind the seemingly defenseless Sasuke.
"Go to hell!" he roared, his eyes filled with killing intent, already picturing the beautiful scene of his kunai piercing Sasuke's heart.
To hunt geese all day, only to have your eyes pecked out by a goose. A common saying. If you play with tactical deception, sooner or later, you will fall for it yourself.
"Haha!" But Sasuke, perceiving the entire sneak attack with his sonar, was not panicked at all. He had been playing along from the beginning.
"Blade Substitution Technique!"
He had executed the substitution in advance, easily dodging the fatal blow. The kunai pierced a wooden log, and the sharp burst of wind-natured chakra split it in half.
"What? He actually dodged it! How is that possible?" the special jōnin was stunned. "How can anyone react that fast? Could he be an elite jōnin? Was this another tactical deception? Was his 'true identity' as a tool-master with poor taijutsu just another layer of the bluff?"