"I refuse to believe your defense is harder than diamond!"
A cold glint flashed in Umino Yoru 's eyes.
Screech… Screech…
The diamond-infused sand, carried by the swirling currents of water, ground against the small shield-like armor. Even through the barrier of the rotating water prison, the piercing sound of metal being sliced through was unmistakable—enough to make one's scalp crawl.
In mere seconds, the armor protecting the thighs was sheared apart by the diamond sand, and the legs beneath were severed clean off.
"Agh—!"
"You think you can capture me alive? Dream on!"
No sooner had the scar-faced Special Jonin spoken than he spat out a mouthful of red-green liquid. Clearly, he had bitten down on a poison capsule hidden in his teeth—ending his own life.
"What a waste."
Umino Yoru shook his head in disappointment.
Typical of a Sand ninja raised in the harsh desert—merciless to others, even more so to themselves.
Had he been able to take this Sand shinobi prisoner, he might have uncovered deeper secrets of puppetry. But core techniques like these were always protected by anti-leakage seals—even the Yamanaka Clan's mind-reading abilities wouldn't be able to extract intel.
Just like Iwagakure's Light-Weight Rock Technique or Kumogakure's Lightning Release Chakra Mode—every village safeguards its secrets. Konoha's forbidden techniques are no different.
"Still, with my Subsonic Radar Technique, stealing basic puppetry shouldn't be too hard."
Yoru had his shadow clones clean up the battlefield before dispelling the one that had been secretly studying the enemy's techniques. A rush of memories and experience flooded his mind, causing a brief dizziness, but thanks to his ample food energy reserves, he recovered quickly.
Now armed with the stolen knowledge of puppetry, he decided to test it immediately.
"So this is chakra thread… Unimpressive."
He frowned at the thin strand of chakra extending from his left index finger—far weaker than even the average Sand Chunin's threads.
"Seems only those with Wind or Earth Release have real potential as puppeteers."
It was disappointing. The basic techniques of Sunagakure's puppetry were right in front of him, yet his chakra affinity was holding him back.
The fundamentals of puppetry weren't overly complex—it involved manipulating chakra threads with specific vibrational frequencies to send commands to puppets. The requirements?
Exceptional chakra control Mastery of specialized vibrational frequencies Wind or Earth chakra nature
Other affinities could work, but without the stability and durability of Wind or Earth, the threads would be too fragile.
Yoru attempted to connect a Water Release chakra thread to a nearby kunai and pulled.
Whoosh!
The kunai flew into his hand—but the thread snapped instantly.
With threads this flimsy, forget controlling puppets—even handling weapons would be a struggle.
Still, he wasn't discouraged. If he could develop a secondary chakra nature, becoming a puppeteer wouldn't be impossible. His chakra control was already on par with—if not superior to—most Jonin-level puppeteers. As for the vibrational frequencies? Well, the more Sand puppeteers he fought, the more he'd learn.
Rustle… Rustle…
Suddenly, movement in the forest signaled the arrival of reinforcements—Shibi Aburame and the others.
Too late.
Every ounce of mission credit was already his.
"A puppeteer squad?!"
Choza Akimichi's eyes widened at the sight of the wreckage. A full squad of puppeteers—equivalent in combat strength to a standard Jonin team—wiped out in under ten minutes? And without a single injury on Yoru 's side?
Unbelievable.
"Senior, you're amazing!"
Sarutobi Shinnosuke ran up, stars practically shining in his eyes as he gazed at Yoru with pure admiration.
Not one for unnecessary attention, Yoru downplayed it. "They walked into my traps. And I used poison, so—"
"Yoru , no need to be modest!" Choza laughed, clapping him on the back. "Taking down a puppeteer squad this fast is impressive no matter how you slice it. You're a credit to my team!"
He grinned proudly before adding, "Another A-rank mission under your belt—you're one step closer to that Jonin promotion!"
Yoru played along with a humble reply: "All thanks to your leadership, Choza-sama."
After some brief exchanges, Choza and the patrol team moved on, leaving Yoru behind—and once again missing his chance to learn water-style techniques from Mitarashi Anko.
Before leaving, though, Choza mentioned something in passing: Sarutobi Eijirou had been transferred from upstream patrol duty to the logistics division. If he gave Yoru any trouble when he returned to duty tomorrow, he could seek help from Nara Shikazo, a Jonin in the same department—just by dropping Choza's name.
Once the others were gone, Shukutaro hurried over, uncharacteristically bashful.
"Captain… about the mission records…"
The truth was, the three of them had barely participated in the fight—Yoru had taken down every Sand ninja himself. Technically, the mission was his alone.
"Relax. You'll still get credit as support. One A-rank mission record for each of you."
"YES! Captain, you're the best!"
The trio cheered. Between this, the previous A-rank intel retrieval mission, and their accumulated C and B-ranks, they now had enough for Chunin promotions.
"Don't worry, Captain—we'll take the mission record, but all the achievement points are yours!" Shukutaro thumped his chest. "Oh, and we'll handle your laundry from now on—spotless, guaranteed!"
"Hah! Good man."
Yoru patted his shoulder, thoroughly pleased with his subordinate's attitude.