His Hole-Piercing Wave wasn't like the Rasengan, which required maintaining the stability of a spiraling sphere.
All he needed was to reshape the Rasengan into a tubular form, allowing it to unleash a powerful spiraling cutting force—once that was achieved, the basic development would be complete.
Given the Rasengan's terrifying grinding power, he didn't even need to enhance its offensive capabilities. Just perfecting its shape would make it a formidable technique, easily rivaling the Chidori Sharp Spear.
The development process was straightforward:
Rubber tubes for initial shaping. Steel pipes for structural reinforcement. Solid iron rods for final testing.
If the technique could spiral-cut through solid iron rods, its power would undoubtedly match—or surpass—the Chidori Sharp Spear.
Leaving a shadow clone on patrol duty, ** Yoru ** dashed toward the military supply exchange. He had another batch of sugar-based energy blocks ready for trade and planned to buy a large-capacity storage scroll to seal away his stockpiled supplies. Keeping them in his underground lab felt increasingly risky.
Sure, he had a shadow clone guarding the lab, but sealing everything away was safer. If the frontlines collapsed, he could grab the scroll and evacuate immediately.
As usual, his transaction with Kūen Zō went smoothly. With a newly purchased high-capacity storage scroll, he sealed away thousands of pounds of malt syrup, rubber tubes, steel pipes, and iron rods before heading back to the frontlines.
But before he'd gone far, he spotted a suspicious group of shinobi.
"Puppet users… Are these Suna-nin?"
Though dressed as Konoha ANBU, their behavior was furtive, and among them were three puppet specialists—a full Sunagakure squad of nine, including:
A sword-wielding taijutsu jōnin (clearly the strongest). A special jōnin-level puppeteer. A leader (special jōnin) whose chakra levels were barely above chūnin—likely weaker in actual combat than the two chūnin puppeteers.
Despite their stealth, they kept running into patrol squads.
"Huh?" Yoru frowned.
Instead of silencing the patrols, the group correctly recited Konoha's passcodes and even produced legitimate ANBU credentials. The realization sent a chill down his spine.
For a moment, he couldn't tell if they were real ANBU or Suna-nin imposters.
But soon, the truth became clear.
"Weapon smuggling?! Someone's trading arms with Suna?!"
His shock was immediate. He suppressed his chakra further—even from miles away, the situation reeked of danger.
Through careful sensing, he confirmed:
The "ANBU" were indeed Sunagakure shinobi, part of a clan-backed smuggling ring. This wasn't their first deal. The trade had been ongoing. The Konoha side was also a clan-affiliated smuggling team—not random merchants.
Neither side had outright betrayed their village. Instead, it was a mutually beneficial arrangement:
Trading weapons and supplies (Sunagakure offered gold dust and iron ingots; Konoha provided soldier pills, weapons, and even explosive tags). Exchanging intelligence. Eliminating mutual enemies.
When he saw explosive tags in the trade, Yoru nearly leaked killing intent. Thankfully, his training under Maruboshi Kosuke helped him suppress it.
"Wait… Are they turning on each other?"
Post-trade, tensions flared. The Suna-nin demanded intel on a specific target, but the Konoha team kept dodging the request, angering them.
"Ebizō's disciple?"
"Mechanical Shield Puppet?"
"A special jōnin puppeteer team probing the frontlines?"
The keywords clicked. Last month, he'd killed a scar-faced special jōnin puppeteer—one with exceptionally crafted puppets, far superior to standard models. That shinobi had dual-puppet control and unique chakra thread frequencies, which Yoru had secretly studied.
"Is the Konoha smuggling team… covering for me?"
The pieces fit:
The slain puppeteer was Ebizō's student. Suna wanted revenge but lacked specifics on Yoru . The Konoha team was deliberately withholding his info.
"Why would they protect me?"
He had no clan ties—his only connection was Chōji Toriō, a loyal Konoha shinobi who'd never engage in smuggling.
The kill had been an A-rank mission—not secretive enough to hide entirely, but Suna clearly lacked details and was now purchasing intel.
The Konoha team's refusal enraged the Suna-nin.
"They're fighting!"
The Suna squad ambushed the Konoha smugglers, with the three puppeteers unleashing wide-range hidden weapon techniques. The Konoha team, caught off-guard, was nearly wiped out.
"Intel is everything in shinobi combat." Without it, even skilled fighters could fall to a well-planned assault.
Soon, the Suna-nin executed all but one—the Konoha team's leader, an elite chūnin—and let him leave with the traded goods still in hand.
This wasn't a full severance. Just a warning: Provide the intel next time, or the deals end.
The smuggling would continue. But now, Yoru had a new problem.
Someone in Konoha's shadows was shielding him.
And he had no idea who—or why.