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In the forest.
The bright sunlight pierced through the lush branches, leaving dappled rays of light.
Under the illuminated rays, the ground was scattered with massive broken trees and small stones, along with scattered puppet parts!
The ground was uneven, with several Leaf shinobi's bodies lying scattered, blood staining the ground, creating a scene of bloody chaos.
"Bang!"
A figure fell heavily from the sky to the ground.
"Splurt!"
Following that, a massive puppet descended from the sky, and a long knife stabbed fiercely through the figure's abdomen, pinning him to the ground.
The Morino captain, pierced through the abdomen by the puppet, weakly turned his head towards the trembling and dazed Nawaki. He extended a hand, shakingly gesturing.
His face showed a painful expression, and with his last bit of strength, he mumbled with blood-soaked words.
"Go... go... quickly go..."
As his vitality slowly faded, his voice gradually weakened.
Nawaki stared blankly at the scene, his pupils dilating instantly. However, his legs trembled, rendering him unable to move.
"Swoosh!" "Swoosh!" "Swoosh!"...
Several Suna shinobi suddenly appeared on the scene, all bearing numerous injuries. The last-ditch attacks of the Leaf shinobi had caused them considerable trouble.
"Is this the little guy? Even if he's a Leaf shinobi, they are willing to sacrifice their lives to protect him. Is he a noble from the Land of Fire?"
The Suna captain walked slowly forward, his voice hoarse and heavy.
His face was filled with weariness, his eyes bloodshot. Despite looking extremely fatigued, he still persevered with an iron-like determination.
"Regardless of who he is, let's capture him for now. If we encounter Leaf shinobi later, he might prove useful."
Hearing his words, the puppet-controlling Suna shinobi glanced at Nawaki with disdain.
After saying this, he controlled the puppet to fly back to his side, a slightly pained expression on his face. He shouted angrily:
"That damn Leaf shinobi actually destroyed my Flowing Blade on a String like this! Now, it might only function at fifty percent in the next battle. It's infuriating!"
With that, he glared at Morino lying on the ground, blood covering the area.
He swung his hand, and the massive and broken Flowing Blade on a String dove towards Morino!
"Boom!"
With a fierce impact of the gigantic Flowing Blade on a String, the location of Morino's body was instantly blasted apart.
No bones remained.
"Ugh, this hateful guy ruined him, but it won't ease my heartache!"
Seemingly doing this casually, the Suna shinobi spat on the ground in anger.
The Suna captain glanced at him, his voice deep.
"Enough, Sabaki. Take the little guy with us. Don't forget our mission."
Hearing his words, Sabaki, the Suna shinobi controlling the puppet, sneered and turned to the dazed Nawaki, shouting disdainfully.
"Kid, don't cause us trouble. Walk over here quietly."
Around Nawaki on the battlefield lay several Leaf shinobi who died protecting him. Upon hearing Sabaki's words, he remained stunned, not uttering a word.
"Hey! Can't the kid hear us? Has he been scared dumb?"
"Really troublesome... Well, I guess I'll cut off your legs to prevent you from escaping."
After saying this, Sabaki controlled the massive Flowing Blade on a String to dive towards the small Nawaki.
As if hearing the whistling wind, Nawaki turned his head dazedly, his pupils reflecting the terrifying puppet Flowing Blade on a String.
Dead... Captain Morino is dead...
Jinmoku... Yoshino... Everyone is dead...
Am I going to die too...
Sis... I'm sorry... I'm going to die...
I'm really too weak... both timid and cowardly... I even said such ignorant words...
If... I had the strength of brother Sōsuke, how great would that be...
In Nawaki's dazed thoughts, his pale face still bore spots of blood. The sunlight penetrated through the cracks and cast onto him, and the emerald necklace on his neck faintly reflected a gleaming light.
"Sigh..."
A gentle breeze swept through the forest, causing Nawaki's fluffy hair to sway slightly, and the necklace around his neck seemed to ripple.
Suddenly!
"Boom!"
The Flowing Blade on a String, already raised with a thick blade ready to strike at Nawaki, suddenly disintegrated into pieces in mid-air!
In the gentle breeze, the powder slowly scattered in the air, reflecting the brilliant sunlight, like beautiful starlight.
Nawaki stared blankly at the towering figure that appeared before him. His dilated pupils suddenly expanded.
Under the radiant sunlight, the towering figure in a white divine robe slowly turned his body.
As if endless light, the warm and familiar smile gradually appeared in Nawaki's eyes.
"Nawaki, scared?"
With a magnetic voice slowly descending, Nawaki saw Sōsuke's face revealing a warm smile, gently reaching out to pat Nawaki's head.
Feeling that this was not a dream but a reality, Nawaki's pale face stared blankly for a moment, suddenly unable to restrain his sobs.
"Sō... Sōsuke-nii... sob... Sōsuke-nii... sob sob... Every... everyone is dead... everyone is dead... sob sob."
"Hash... I... useless... I can't do anything... sob sob."
Nawaki's pale face cried in deep sorrow, tears the size of beans continuously falling from his grief-filled eyes. He sobbed and choked out:
As if a child who had suffered a great grievance saw their parents.
"It's okay... You will grow up... You will have incredibly powerful strength when that time comes..."
"I've always believed in that..."
"So, for now, You just needs to watch..."
Sōsuke gently rubbed Nawaki's little head, comforting him with a smile.
His words slowly fell.
The Suna ninjas standing not far away all had tense expressions.
The Suna captain looked at Sōsuke suddenly appearing on the battlefield, his brows tightly furrowed.
This guy... actually, no one noticed his trace and suddenly appeared on the battlefield... this speed...
And Sabaki, looking at Sōsuke appearing on the battlefield, had a gloomy expression. Although angry, he was more shocked.
He just casually destroyed my Flowing Blade on a String with a single blow!!
"You're a Leaf ninja, right? With such strength... which one from Leaf are you?"
At this moment, the Suna captain asked from a distance.
Upon hearing his words, Sōsuke's face carried a smile. He gently turned his body.
Facing a group of serious-looking Suna ninjas, he didn't look at them directly but glanced at Nawaki, smiling and softly saying:
"Watch closely, Nawaki. Such a guy shouldn't even have the qualification to make a sound."
With his words falling.
He lifted one hand towards the Suna ninjas, softly chanting.
"Hadō #90. Kurohitsugi!"
"Swoosh!" "Swoosh!" "Swoosh!"...
Several cubes with an incredibly oppressive and ominous aura suddenly rose from under the Suna ninjas' feet, enveloping them!
"Splurt!" "Splurt!" "Splurt!"...
Without even a miserable scream, under the countless blade penetrations within the black coffin, all the Suna ninjas lost their lives in an instant!
The black coffin gradually dissipated, leaving the Suna ninjas covered in countless blade marks slowly collapsing on the ground, their blood staining the ground.
Standing behind Sōsuke, Nawaki had stopped crying at this moment, staring wide-eyed at Sōsuke's figure.
This... this is... Sōsuke-nii... strength...
Nawaki thought blankly in his heart, but in his mind, he couldn't help but recall the words his sister and Jiraiya had said in the family yard.
"Haha, you actually wanted to be stronger than him. Haha..."
"Do you know how strong Sōsuke is!?"
"That guy... I've never seen him go all out..."