The sky was a dazzling, cloudless blue, like a massive sapphire, with the sun relentlessly scorching the boundless expanse of the sand sea.
As far as the eye could see, the air shimmered and distorted in the heat, the distant, undulating dunes swaying like water. There was only the dead silence of golden sands and the rising, tumbling heat haze.
On the edge of the desert, a lonely Sunagakure outpost stood like a forgotten fortress, baked in the scorching heat.
The main structure of the outpost was built from stacked rocks, topped by a rudimentary watchtower.
Inside the outpost, in a cramped and stuffy rest area, several exhausted Sand Ninja were slumped in the shadows, greedily sipping cool water and clinging to the thin coolness in the shade.
Sweat soaked their clothes and constantly streamed down their faces. The air was thick with a dry heat.
"Toshiji, Kenta, it's your turn for watch!" a slightly hoarse voice called out, urging them impatiently.
"Yeah, yeah, we got it..."
The young ninja named Toshiji responded sluggishly. He reluctantly stood up and patted the shoulder of his equally listless companion.
"Let's go, brother. Time to go get grilled."
The two playfully nudged each other as they pushed open the door of the rest area. A wave of even more intense heat instantly rushed in, making them squint as they struggled up the steep stairs to the watchtower.
Reaching the top of the watchtower, the blinding sunlight forced them to instinctively shield their eyes.
"I'm sick of this hellish weather."
Kenta complained, putting on his goggles, which instantly misted over.
"Be grateful. It's better than fighting those lunatics from Amegakure on the battlefield," Toshiji joked, picking up the binoculars, which were hot to the touch. He absentmindedly scanned the distant desert, which was intensely distorted by the heat haze, making it shimmer like waves.
Suddenly, he froze. The playful grin on his face solidified, replaced by a look of shock.
"Hey, Kenta," Toshiji quickly said. "Look over there. Are those people? Am I hallucinating?"
Kenta was momentarily stunned. He grabbed his binoculars and looked in the direction Toshiji was pointing.
On the distant horizon, in the desert wildly warped by the heat into a mirage, three figures were slowly but surely walking toward the outpost.
They walked on the intensely hot sand as if they felt no heat at all, their figures faintly visible through the rising heat haze. Their black robes were stark against the sea of sand!
"Who is it?"
Kenta's heart hammered. A sudden chill instantly drove away the heat in his body. He opened his mouth without hesitation, about to sound the alarm.
However, just as the sound was about to rush out of his throat.
In the distance, the figure in the center of the three slowly raised his hands.
Buzz! Buzz!
An indescribable, terrifying pull instantly spanned the great distance, seizing Toshiji and Kenta on the watchtower!
"Ugh..."
The two only had time to let out a brief yelp before their bodies were completely lifted off the ground, out of their control.
Like withered grass uprooted in a gale, they shot rapidly toward the three figures!
Their speed was so great that they left two blurred trails in the searing air.
The wide sleeve of the orange-haired figure retracted, revealing two black rods flashing with cold, metallic light.
The next moment.
Pffft! Pffft!
Two dull, bone-chilling sounds of penetration rang out almost simultaneously, crisp as tearing cloth, and incredibly sharp in the dead silence of the desert!
The bodies of the two Sand Ninja struck the black rods with precise impact, which pierced through their chests without resistance.
Hot blood erupted from the wounds like fountains, instantly staining the scorching golden sand beneath their feet. A sizzling sound of evaporation mingled with a thick, metallic smell of blood.
The two bodies twitched violently a few times, and the terror and life in their eyes quickly dimmed, finally solidifying into a blank stare.
"Tsk."
Watching the clean, swift slaughter, Oyakata-sama, standing beside the killer, smiled and sighed, "It sure is easy running missions with you, Boss."
Yahiko...
No, the Deva Path of Pain.
He was expressionless, not even raising an eyelid.
He pulled the blood-stained black rods out of the two corpses, which then heavily slammed onto the sand, kicking up a small cloud of dust. Their vacant eyes reflected the cruel blue sky overhead.
"Let's move," the Deva Path's voice was cold and flat. "We need to capture the One-Tail and then hurry to Konoha for the Nine-Tail."
As he spoke, he stepped forward, continuing his walk without pause. The sole of his black boot crunched on the blood-soaked sand.
"Yes, yes, we should definitely hurry,"
Oyakata-sama shrugged playfully, his tone still light. "Otherwise, Shin'ō might actually die alone at the hands of those two 'Sannin' in Konoha."
As the words fell, Oyakata-sama vanished from the spot, and with him, the Jigokudō (Naraka Path) of Pain also disappeared, leaving only a small plume of dust.
For this Tailed Beast Capture Plan to succeed, Nagato had deployed his Six Paths of Pain, while he and Konan stayed at the rear to prevent accidents.
The Blood-Bound Clone
Meanwhile, inside the outpost's rest area, the air was still muggy and thick, broken only by the slight sounds of water being passed around and low chatter.
"That brat Toshiji is complaining again," one Sand Ninja muttered lazily, taking a large gulp from his canteen, his Adam's apple bobbing with effort.
"He's probably slacking off up there again," another ninja wiped the kunai in his hand without lifting his head, the blade reflecting a faint, cold light in the dim room.
Just then, the wooden door to the rest area slowly creaked open, the hinges grating with a dry, harsh sound.
Squeak...
A figure stumbled in, their steps shaky and staggering, as if they were drunk, heading toward the center of the room.
The Sand Ninja instinctively glanced over. Seeing it was "Toshiji," they lowered their heads dismissively, continuing with their tasks.
"You're back already, Toshiji?" one ninja asked casually. "Where's Kenta?"
However, he received no reply.
The rest area instantly fell into a strange silence, broken only by the staggering footsteps echoing hollowly in the dead, muggy air.
The few Sand Ninja simultaneously sensed that something was wrong.
They suddenly raised their heads.
The moment they looked up, the figure—"Toshiji," whose hair had been covering most of his face—also violently lifted his head.
His normally familiar face was now completely drained of color.
The whites of his eyes were a frightening blood-red, and the center of his pupils were strange, purple horizontal slits, like a goat's!
"Genjutsu?"
"Sharingan?!"
Two of the Sand Ninja instinctively blurted out.
But they quickly realized their mistake.
Those eyes had no tomoe. That fixed horizontal pupil was definitely not the Sharingan!
"Attack!"
The fastest-reacting Sand Ninja roared, simultaneously throwing several poisoned kunai from his hands!
The kunai tore through the air, making a sharp, whistling sound!
The others instantly reacted, flipping over, drawing their blades, and forming hand seals. Their movements were swift, the wind they generated sounding loud in the hot air!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Kunai, shuriken, wind blades...
Various attacks rained down on "Toshiji"!
Pffft! Pffft!
The attacks hit "Toshiji's" body without resistance. Dull thuds of metal piercing flesh rang out, and blood instantly stained his clothes. Hot droplets of blood splattered onto the dry floor.
However, "Toshiji" showed no expression. He reached out a hand, stained with his own blood, and grabbed one of the kunai embedded in his chest.
Then, he forcefully slashed!
Slicing sound!
A spine-chilling ripping sound clearly echoed in the dead silence of the rest area!
"Toshiji" had actually used the kunai to violently rip open his own chest!
There were no internal organs! No bones!
The substance surging from the wound was not blood, but a viscous, writhing mass of purplish-black matter.
It poured out violently, like a living thing, instantly engulfing the entire body of "Toshiji."
It formed a purplish-black sphere of flesh, which pulsed violently like a heart.
Each beat gave off a dull "thump, thump," pounding against the hearts of everyone present.
A furious wave of chakra, like a volcano about to erupt, gathered madly within the sphere!
This was the power of the Kekkei Genkai called the Ketsuryūgan, the ability to turn a living being into a "Blood Dragon Bomb."
Seeing this, even though they didn't know what it was, the Sand Ninja felt a chill crawl up their spines at the savage chakra, their faces turning pale.
"Hurry..."
One Sand Ninja let out a nearly hysterical shriek.
However, it was too late.
Boom!!
A deafening explosion suddenly ripped open. The purplish-black ball of flesh, swollen to its limit, instantly released a destructive energy shockwave, like a detonated bomb!
Blinding light consumed everything in the rest area. The savage explosion and shockwave spread furiously outward!
The entire outpost was instantly blown apart by the furious blast. The solid rock walls were shredded and pulverized like paper.
Sand was swept high into the sky by the violent wind, forming a massive, sun-blocking cloud of dust.
The Sand Ninja closest to the explosion's center didn't even have time to scream. Their bodies were torn apart by the terrifying explosion, turning into a mist of blood mixed with the flying sand!
Only two Sand Ninja, who were the quickest to react and slightly further away, instinctively retreated just before the blast.
Thump! Thump!
The two were uncontrollably thrown into the air by the blast, landing heavily on the scorching sand dozens of meters away.
"Waugh!"
"Puh!"
Both spat out a large mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs. Their bones felt shattered. The violent explosion made their vision blur and their ears ring sharply!
One of them struggled to look up, staring blankly in the direction of the outpost.
The outpost was completely gone!
All that remained was a charred, smoking crater, littered with severed limbs, broken bodies, and dark red, uncongealed blood. The air was thick with the stench of blood and something putrid!
What terrified him even more was that it wasn't just their outpost; in the visible distance, plumes of smoke were also rising from the locations of several other Sunagakure border outposts!
"E-enemy attack?!"
His voice trembled with disbelief.
"Quick! Send the signal!" the other Sand Ninja forced himself to stand up, suppressing the excruciating pain. He frantically reached into his clothes and pulled out a signal flare.
His fingers shook from the pain and terror, barely able to grasp the small metal tube. He used every ounce of strength to hold the flare up.
However, just as he was about to launch the signal.
Pata!
A pair of feet wearing black shinobi sandals appeared in his peripheral vision, then lifted and came down.
Crunch!
A sharp, teeth-grinding sound of breaking bone clearly rang out, like a dry stick snapping!
"Aahhhh!!!"
The Sand Ninja let out a bloodcurdling scream. His wrist was crushed by the foot. The signal flare flew from his grasp and rolled onto the sand.
Immediately, two cold, strong hands gripped their necks, effortlessly lifting them from the ground.
"Gasp! Gasp!"
A feeling of suffocation instantly enveloped them. The two struggled painfully, their feet kicking futilely in the air, their eyes, bloodshot and bulging from lack of oxygen, wide with terror!
Appearing before them was the towering Jigokudō (Naraka Path) of Pain.
Behind him, a massive, grotesque head materialized.
It was the King of Hell (Yama), the summon of the Naraka Path!
The Naraka Path's bizarre, mesmerizing Rinnegan eyes, like purple whirlpools, stared coldly at the two men, who were like lambs ready for slaughter.
"Tell me," his voice was emotionless. "Where is the One-Tails Jinchūriki being held?"
Hearing that the target was the One-Tails Jinchūriki, the two Sand Ninja's pupils contracted.
"Ga! I... I don't know..."
One of the Sand Ninja's voices was hoarse, squeezing out a few painful words from his throat.
However, the moment he spoke the lie, the King of Hell detected it.
"Gag!"
His tongue was forcibly pulled by an unseen power, unnaturally sticking out of his mouth, bizarre and horrifying!
The King of Hell behind the Naraka Path slowly opened his giant mouth!
Immediately, an incredibly thick, purplish-black tongue shot out of the King of Hell's maw. The tip of the tongue, shaped like a human hand, grabbed the Sand Ninja's extended tongue!
"M-m-m-m!!"
He stared in horror, letting out muffled whimpers, his body convulsing wildly!
Pshh!
With a skin-crawling tearing sound, the purplish-black tongue ruthlessly tugged, ripping his entire tongue out by the root!
The Sand Ninja let out a silent scream, his body spasming violently and drooling!
The purplish-black tongue-hand, holding the severed tongue, slowly retreated into the gigantic mouth!
The King of Hell closed its mouth, its huge head shaking slightly, making a gnashing, chewing sound, as if savoring a delicacy.
The King of Hell and the tongue were manifestations of the soul; lying resulted in the tongue (or soul) being extracted.
Only the person being judged and Pain could see this happen.
The other Sand Ninja could only see his comrade's eyes suddenly fill with terror after lying, and then he died.
Witnessing this bizarre, terrifying scene, the remaining Sand Ninja completely broke.
His body shook violently like a leaf, his face a sheet of ashen terror!
"Tell me..."
The Naraka Path's cold gaze slowly turned to him. His voice was still flat, yet it carried a chill that seemed to freeze the soul: "Where is the One-Tails Jinchūriki being held?"
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