Chapter 140: Psychic Intelligence
"Of course I got it from Ruriyu," Sasuke blurted out without reservation.
"Ahem," Karuo said, a final moment of lucidity in his eyes. "Did you deliberately let Ryusuke and Tokiwa go to get help, or have they already defected?"
"Ryusuke was a spy sent by Konoha all along," Sasuke lied smoothly. "As for Tokiwa, I deliberately let him go with Ryusuke. With your cautious style, you wouldn't have believed Ryusuke if he'd come alone."
"I see." At that moment, a strange smile played on the corner of Karuo's lips.
Dammit! Sasuke's face changed drastically. He rushed forward to stop Karuo's actions, but he was too slow. Though Karuo was dead and had not formed any hand seals, a large number of talismans emerged from the flowing sand beneath him. With a soft thud, a large amount of the sand vanished, the information apparently transmitted.
"Haha!" When Sasuke saw that the transmission was complete, his expression changed and he smiled. With the insight of his sonar radar, he had already discovered Karuo's secret actions. Letting him send the message had been part of his plan all along.
There is a lot of room for manipulation here, he thought. According to the intelligence gathered by Aoi, Karuo was the son of Arashi's political rival for the position of Fourth Kazekage. Arashi represented the Elders and the puppet corps, with the backing of Chiyo and Ebizō, while Rasa was the other contender. The Sand Village, he knew, was just as rife with internal conflict as Konoha.
His plan was simple: he would let the (false) intelligence leak that Ruriyu, Arashi's wife, had colluded with the "White-Blooded Demon" to get Karuo's army destroyed. Arashi's political opponents, like Rasa, would do the rest.
After formulating his plan, Sasuke sealed Karuo's body, a valuable research material due to his mastery of the Sand Release. He then turned his attention to the last remaining Suna jōnin, who was about to commit suicide. "Hold on," Sasuke called out. "If you can defeat these three, I don't mind giving you a chance to live."
It was a perfect opportunity to test the strength of Tekudō, Ryo, and Chōmi.
Ryo and Akitamaru immediately unleashed their Garōga, forcing the jōnin to dodge. Tekudō followed up with his Heavenly Blade Ranman, a swarm of blades that filled the area. As expected of a jōnin, he moved through the dense mass of swords with ease.
"Heavenly Net!" Tekudō shouted, forming a Tiger Seal. The large blades embedded in the ground released numerous steel wires, connecting them to form a vast barrier net.
"Lightning Style: Thunder Beast Tracking Fang!" Chōmi unleashed a C-rank Lightning Style, far more powerful than her previous jutsu.
The experienced jōnin countered. "Water Style: Water Formation Wall!" A huge wave of swirling water appeared, sweeping up the surrounding blades and transforming them into a rotating spherical blade. He then reversed the rotation, sending the blades flying back at the Konoha ninja.
Tekudō quickly formed seals and unleashed a defensive ninjutsu. "Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!" The wall rose, just enough to protect him and Chōmi behind it.
The Sand Village jōnin didn't believe the Konoha ninja would let him escape even if he defeated the three of them, so he took the opportunity to perform the instant body movement technique, attempting to escape the encirclement.
"Wind Style: Suppress Damage!" Sasuke released a wind style at the perfect moment, striking the Sand Village jōnin on his escape route and knocking him back.
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