[Hokage] Summer Festival

The humanoid puppets that came out of the woods had different faces and appearances. According to rough calculations, there were about twenty or thirty of them. They walked around us in a mechanical and orderly pace to form a circle.

The whole set of movements is neat and uniform without any flaws, even compared to the formally trained army, it can be said to be even worse.

The puppet's mouth opened and closed, making a "tat-tat-tat-tat" sound, and the weird face was like a smile, which was eerie and creepy.

Yes, I remember Sand Ninja had a very powerful puppeteer.

Hatake Sakumo pulled out his sword, turned his back to me, his back was stretched straight, and the cold murderous aura that he had seen before spread out inch by inch from his body, but he only focused on the puppet in front of him.

There is little defense behind him.

If the enemy suddenly attacked from behind, no matter how sharp he was, he might not be able to retreat completely.Such laxity, even I, who is not a real ninja, find it hard to understand.

I stared at his back and said softly:

"Ninja Experience No. 70 Kujo, don't expose your back to others easily at any time."

After returning from Yunyin Village, I copied more than 100 pieces of ninja experience repeatedly until I could recite them backwards.

And at this moment, his behavior is more like a ninja than me.

But he tilted his head and smiled disapprovingly:

"The companion is not someone else."

Giving your back to your comrades in battle represents absolute trust.

I know that the word "companion" has an extraordinary meaning in his heart, and it is even an object that can be entrusted with his life.

But he is too reckless like this. If I am weak or greedy for life and afraid of death, maybe I can't take care of his weakest defensive back.

Furthermore, how can he be sure that my "companion" will definitely guard the rear for him.

It is said that Hatake Sakumo is calm and reliable, but at this moment I feel that he is actually more daring than anyone else.

Suddenly, the gravel on the ground was rolled up in mid-air by a gust of wind, and sure enough, a puppet rushed towards his back like an arrow from a string.

Think about it too, such an obvious attack opportunity, even enemies with a little combat experience will not let it go.

I moved as fast as I could, and stood back to back with him, making a mudra with our fingers.

The vine branch broke out from the ground, wrapped its teeth and claws around the flying puppet, and tore its body apart like a five-horse corpse.

I turned my face sideways and said in a low voice dissatisfied:

"You are too messy."

Although I used honorifics, I didn't mean to admire him at this time.

If I'm slow for a second and a half, I'm afraid the scars on his back that look like centipedes will be doubled.

But he was still in the mood to chuckle out loud, revealing a trace of approval in his tone and saying:

"Xia Zi, you are doing very well."

This determined and expected tone made me helpless for a while, and after sighing, I decided not to distract myself from speaking.

With the enemy at hand, it is better to focus on the enemy wholeheartedly.

The attacks of the puppets seem to be chaotic, but in essence, every move is aimed at the weak point between us.

They are obviously inanimate objects, but I have a feeling of being closely pursued. Their attacks are far better than the sand ninjas I met just now in terms of angle, speed, and strength, and they are even more cunning and flexible than them.

It seems that the puppeteer hiding in the dark is really an incredible figure.

When I was entangled with the puppet on the right, a puppet on the left suddenly grinned close to me.

It was too late to make a sufficient defense, so he had to instinctively raise his arms to temporarily resist its attack.He was also ready to break the bone, but saw a flash of white light, and Hatake Sakumo swung a knife and knocked it flying, causing its head and limbs to scatter all over the ground.

The short knife drew a semicircular arc in the air, and the white chakra blade was so murderous that even the puppet who was a few centimeters away from the blade was shaken to pieces by this momentum.

"Don't touch these puppets directly, they are highly poisonous."

After he reminded me, I realized that even though each puppet has a different shape, they all have the same purple-black luster on their bodies from time to time. If I didn't look carefully, I thought it was caused by the reflection of daylight.

I actually forgot that it was the puppet master's poison that put Ah Duan's life in danger.

After a while, all the puppets were dismembered to pieces, and they couldn't see their original appearance at all.

There were footsteps approaching again in the woods, a big hand pushed aside the overgrown branches, and the perpetrator finally came out generously.

She has the same bright red hair as Jiu Xinnai, her eyebrows are extremely delicate, and even a faint smile can be seen from those brown eyes, even the corners of her mouth are curved.

Unexpectedly, the famous puppet master turned out to be a handsome young man who looked gentle and harmless.

Sure enough, people can't be seen.

Just like if one only looked at Sakumo Hatake's appearance, one wouldn't think that he was honed from the battlefield since he was a child and had experienced thousands of killings.

The branch behind the puppeteer moved, and a young woman with long dark brown hair walked beside him, with the same smile on her face as he did, and said softly:

"You have met your opponent, Anada."

"Yes."

The puppeteer replied with a smile, but he never took his eyes off Hatake Sakumo.

"Konoha Baiya, I have admired you for a long time."

Hatake Sakumo also smiled and said:

"Each each other."

It turns out that this is the so-called heroic sympathy.

He is obviously an enemy who wants to take the other party's life, and he doesn't even bother to hide his murderous intent, yet he can smile so sincerely, like a best friend who has known each other for many years.

I suddenly remembered No. 80 of the ninja experience, never expose your true thoughts to the enemy.

Hey, you've all broken the ninja rules.

"Let's wager each other's lives on a duel."

said the puppeteer.

"One on one, just the two of us."

As he said that, many thin and long chakra lines appeared on his fingertips, gathering the scattered puppet remains on the ground and putting them together again, and the puppet recovered in an instant.

Hatake Sakumo held the saber in front of him, and replied:

"it is good."

It doesn't matter who wins or loses in the end of this war, and it's not in vain for them to compete against the opponent they agree with.

Even if you die at the hands of the other party, you will not feel regret or resentment.

The two of them now give me such a feeling, which makes me wonder, shouldn't ninjas put the mission first by any means? How could they be eager to have a fair duel with each other?

When I copied the ninja experience, I didn't find such an item.

"It's great, Anada finally got her wish."

The woman smiled, her brows were crooked, her eyes fell on my face and she said:

"Let's not participate in duels between men."

"We also have our own business."

While speaking, the same chakra lines as the puppeteer appeared on her fingertips, manipulating the reassembled puppet.

I looked at Sakumo Hatake, who smiled and nodded at me.

The gurgling stream is sparkling, reflecting a brilliant big disc.The sun did not know when it came out quietly.

I followed the woman to the other side of the creek.

***

Played for about three and 10 minutes?Four 10 minutes?Or more.

When we were still at a stalemate and couldn't gain the upper hand from the opponent no matter what, the woman suddenly lost her footsteps, exclaimed "Ananda", jumped over the stream in twos and threes in panic and eagerness, and even her arm was caught by me. There is no time to pay attention to the suffering without scratching.

I turned my head and looked over, and it turned out that the duel over there was over.

Hatake Sakumo's right hand holding the knife was hanging by his side, and the blood on the blade was falling drop by drop to the ground, seeping into the sand, gravel and mud.

The puppeteer was a few meters in front of him, lying on one knee, his hand covering his chest was stained red with blood, the blood gushing from between his fingers flowed down his forearm to his elbow, and finally dripped down to his feet.

Surrounded by scattered and lifeless puppet fragments that seemed to be unable to be put together again.

In this duel, Hatake Sakumo won.

I also jumped across the creek and stood beside him, waiting for his next instruction.

The woman squatted down and embraced the puppeteer, her eyes filled with tears, and she called "Ananda" and "Anada" one after another, her gentle voice sounded particularly sad.

The puppet master raised his head with difficulty, looked at Sakumo Hatake, his delicate face was full of pain, but suddenly he smiled and said:

"I lost."

That smile, how should I put it, is unexpectedly sincere and sincere, not humbled by defeat, not frightened by death.

Hatake Sakumo didn't speak, he bent his arms and raised the knife above his head.

I've read in books that in the ninja world, it's a tribute to an opponent.

—with my sincerest tribute to you, my adversary.

The puppeteer lowered his head and coughed continuously. The blood he coughed up was darker than the blood flowing from his chest, showing a dark red color that was almost exhausted.

The woman helped him up, tightly wrapped her arms around his back, and ran away into the woods.

The overgrown branches were also stained with blood, which was extremely glaring under the sunlight.

Chase or not?

I was about to ask the man next to me, but suddenly my shoulders felt heavy, and I staggered a few steps and quickly reached out to support him.

The person who was fine a second ago just fell down without warning, his eyes were half closed, most of his body weight was on my shoulders, and he couldn't even stand still.

The knife in his hand fell to the ground next to him.

"Senior Shuo Mao?"

I tentatively called out, but there was no response.

It turns out that it is not who loses who wins, but both losers.

I helped him sit down beside the rock, saw a strange purple-black color in his eye sockets, said "Excuse me", and then pulled off his mask.

His face was as pale as paper, without a trace of blood, and his lips were also purple-black.

Sure enough, it was poisoned.

Although he studied medicine in his previous life and had a wealth of first aid knowledge, it is completely useless at this time.

The medical skills in this world are completely different from those I am familiar with, especially the magical healing methods of medical ninjas.

I didn't bring any antidote pills, so I hurried to look through his ninja bag. There are quite a few pills in it, but I don't know which one has the effect of detoxification.

"There is no ready-made antidote to the poison of the Sand Ninja Puppeteer."

He finally opened his eyes and spoke in a low and hoarse voice.

His breathing was extremely unstable, as if every word he said was extremely difficult.

Damn.

I bit my lower lip and cursed secretly, I knew I shouldn't have let them leave just now.

Perhaps Hatake Sakumo said that being with me was the biggest mistake from the very beginning.If he was in the same group as Shinya or Haruna, any one of them might have discovered that he was poisoned long ago, so they wouldn't let the puppet masters leave easily.

But I was so dull that I didn't know anything, and I was helpless until now.

"Sorry." I whispered.

He was about to say something with his purplish-black thin lips slightly parted, when there was a "bang--" explosion in the distance, and a leaf-shaped pattern appeared in the sky over there, and the sparks disappeared in a flash.

It's Konoha's signal.

The troops are over there.

There must be medical ninjas out there.

I took his arm and tried to help him up, but he gently pushed him away.

He gasped for breath, and said slowly:

"I can't move now, I'm afraid you'll have to walk for a day and a night with me and you won't be able to get there."

I frowned and looked at him. Since he has a special attachment to the word "companion", why would he be willful and not cooperate at this time.

Isn't he the only one who doesn't want his companions to die in front of him?

Is he the only one who knows how to protect and cherish his companions?

"Xia Zi, go by yourself."

"Just bring the medical ninja over here, I won't be able to die for the time being."

Indeed, even if I go back and forth, it will be faster than taking him on the road.

But leave him alone, if he meets the enemy in this state, he will surely die.

What if the puppet masters go and come back?

What if a new enemy appears?

I hesitated, and he seemed to sigh and said:

"If you take me with you, I'm afraid I'll die on the way before I see the big troops."

There was a hint of a smile in his tone.

This joke was not at the right time.

I glanced at him and said blankly:

"Senior Shuo Mao."

"You're really bad at making jokes."

"You found out."

After struggling for a while, I was finally persuaded by him to go to the army to find the medical ninja.

After walking a few steps, I turned around, thought for a while, and then said:

"Senior Shuo Mao."

He looked up, his eyes were listless with pain.

"You must wait for me."

Please hold on until I bring back the medical ninjas.

You still have a village and companions to protect, you can't die here.

He froze for a moment, and with great difficulty pulled out a very shallow smile on his pale face.

"Ah."