Shiratori Rin's counter-question successfully silenced all the Rain Ninja once again.
It was as if all the Rain Ninja's tongues had been snatched by an eagle.
They wanted to speak but didn't know what to say, nor how to begin.
Shock and doubt intertwined in their minds.
"Rin?"
"Wh-what do you mean?"
After a long pause, a Ninja finally spoke.
All the Rain Ninja stared intently at Shiratori Rin.
They looked at the boy who had brought them so many miracles.
Undoubtedly, the Ninja who had just spoken voiced the thoughts of everyone present.
They also wanted to ask what Rin's words meant.
"Hmm..."
After a moment of thought, Shiratori Rin explained earnestly, "It means I have more than just Puppet Number One; there are many others, but they are sealed in scrolls."
As he spoke, he pulled out a Seal scroll from the Ninja tool pouch strapped to his thigh.
The Rain Ninja blinked, a little unable to process this news, and could only stare blankly at Shiratori Rin's actions.
If it was true, the surprise came too suddenly.
The scroll was unrolled and spread flat on the ground by Shiratori Rin, who half-knelt and formed hand Seals.
Bang—
Several plumes of white smoke immediately billowed before the Rain Ninja's eyes.
Humanoid silhouettes emerged within the white smoke.
The howling desert wind quickly carried away the white smoke.
Dozens of Puppets appeared before the Rain Ninja.
These Puppets wore neat black Ninja uniforms, their faces covered by masks, revealing only their eyes.
They looked indistinguishable from Immortal Masters.
The Rain Ninja stared dumbfounded at the Puppets before them.
If Shiratori Rin hadn't said anything, they would never have believed these were Puppets!
Miozawa stared in shock at the Puppets before him, "Th-these are Puppets?"
"Rin, are these Puppets you made?"
The Rain Ninja were still unwilling to believe these were Puppets.
They looked hardly different from Immortal Masters.
The Rain Ninja reached out, wanting to touch the Puppets before them, but feared clumsily damaging them and dared not touch.
"Yes!"
Shiratori Rin nodded at them.
He sensed the Rain Ninja's eagerness and generously waved his hand, "You can touch them."
Upon receiving Shiratori Rin's permission, countless hands immediately reached out towards the Puppets.
It wasn't until Miozawa's hand landed on a Puppet's arm that he realized the difference between these Puppets and humans.
The Puppet's arm felt cold to the touch, harder than a human body, and quite elastic when poked.
More importantly, Miozawa discovered that these clothes seemed to be part of the Puppet's body.
Including the masks on their faces.
Shiratori Rin allowed the Rain Ninja to examine the Puppets he had constructed using the Construction Jutsu.
He had derived his method for creating Puppets from Night Moth Immortal Master's Puppet Manipulation Jutsu and Akasuna's Puppet Jutsu.
Therefore, his speed in constructing Puppets with Curse Power was extremely fast.
Even though Shiratori Rin's construction speed was already very fast, the time he had available to construct Puppets was limited.
So, to save time, Shiratori Rin didn't bother constructing the Puppets' facial features or any body parts other than their limbs, instead uniformly covering them with black cloth, as long as it didn't affect the Puppets' combat and movement.
"Rin, you're amazing!"
"Rin, when did you make these Puppets?"
"Rin, what Materials are these Puppets made of? So magical!"
"Rin..."
One question after another was thrown out by the Rain Ninja.
Shiratori Rin: "..."
Materials?
The Materials were highly elastic rubber.
How could he explain the origin of the rubber?
After all, the rubber was also constructed by him.
"Brother Miozawa, we can start the mission now!"
Shiratori Rin decisively changed the subject, telling Miozawa, "We can't keep the ambush unit waiting too long."
Miozawa nodded, "You're right."
"Rin, I'm leaving it to you."
Miozawa said earnestly to Shiratori Rin.
Shiratori Rin nodded, a big smile spreading across his face, "Don't worry!"
He could accumulate emotional value again!
"Then let's go, and let the Puppets begin the decoy plan."
Miozawa said to Shiratori Rin.
Shiratori Rin: "Huh?"
Miozawa looked at Shiratori Rin, then glanced at Puppet Number One, his expression gradually becoming serious, "Can't these Puppets move freely like Number One?"
If these Puppets couldn't move freely, Miozawa wouldn't assign this mission to Shiratori Rin.
It was too dangerous.
He wouldn't let Shiratori Rin take that risk.
Shiratori Rin glanced at Miozawa and saw determination in his eyes.
He rolled his eyes and nodded, saying, "These Puppets can move freely."
Miozawa breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good."
"Once the Puppets start moving, we'll immediately retreat. Next, it's the ambush unit's turn."
Miozawa said to Shiratori Rin.
Shiratori Rin thought for a moment and temporarily agreed.
Shiratori Rin followed Miozawa and the others out of the Wind-Eroded Rock formations.
Meanwhile, thirteen Puppets, under Shiratori Rin's command, swiftly attacked the Sandstorm Camp.
After Shiratori Rin and his group retreated to a safe distance, the First Ambush Unit, led by Takigawa, appeared.
"You can proceed."
Miozawa nodded to Takigawa.
Takigawa made a gesture, and the Rain Ninja behind him swept past him, splitting into two groups, bypassing the rock formations, and heading towards the Sandstorm Camp from both flanks.
Shiratori Rin stepped out from beside Miozawa, "I'm going too."
Takigawa paused, "No."
"I'll protect myself."
"If I encounter an enemy I can't defeat, I'll escape immediately."
Shiratori Rin raised the broom in his hand as a gesture.
Takigawa initially wanted to continue refusing, but then he suddenly remembered Shiratori Rin's previous feats.
Once secretly entering a battlefield, and once secretly following Senba Suzume on a dangerous mission.
Rather than Shiratori Rin appearing in some unknown corner of the battlefield at an unknown time, it was better to keep Shiratori Rin within his line of sight.
"Alright."
Takigawa relented.
Miozawa looked at Takigawa in confusion.
Takigawa blocked Miozawa with a single sentence, "Me watching him is better than him secretly sneaking into the Sandstorm Camp by himself."
Miozawa was speechless: "..."
Shiratori Rin mounted his broom, flew high into the sky, and excitedly headed towards the Hidden Sand Village's camp.
He was coming to bring his emotional values home!
At the same time.
At the entrance of the Sandstorm Camp.
A sharp whistling sound suddenly erupted from directly in front of the camp gate.
Streaks of black shadows, swift as ghosts, swept rapidly towards the camp gate, hugging the ground.
They were completely shrouded in black Ninja uniforms, their heads and faces tightly covered, revealing only a pair of emotionless eyes.
These black shadows moved agilely, passing through the net of Senbon, Kunai, and shuriken laid by the Sand Ninja. As they approached the camp gate, they suddenly raised their arms.
Kunai with explosive tags attached were accurately thrown by them.
Rumble—
Crimson fireballs, carrying scorching heatwaves and shattered rock and sand, suddenly surged up.
Burning debris scattered, igniting the dry canvas tents, and flames shot skyward.
"Gate direction!"
"Enemy attack!"
"It must be the Rain Ninja, engage!"
The Sand Ninja inside the camp roared without the slightest panic, his eyes blazing with anger from being ambushed by the Rain Ninja.
As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of black figures immediately darted out from the Sandstorm Camp gate, chasing after the black-clad figures who were rapidly retreating towards the Wind-Eroded Rock formations behind them.