On the other side, the massive Fūma Shuriken shrieked through the air, spinning toward the second Sand captain—a bona fide Jonin, and a formidable one at that.
Clang!
The Sand Jonin reacted swiftly, raising his blade to block. But even he underestimated the sheer force behind the shuriken. The Wind Country-standard ninjato cracked like a spiderweb under the impact.
At the last second, he twisted his wrist, deflecting the blow just enough to avoid being bisected along with his sword.
Lucky for him—but the Chunin behind him wasn't so fortunate.
Squelch!
The Chunin was cleaved in half at the waist, organs spilling onto the dirt in a grotesque, bloody mess.
And it wasn't over.
Just as the two giant shuriken were about to pass the remnants of the Sand formation—
"Retrieve!"
Umino Yoru yanked an invisible wire with a sharp backward pull.
Zing—!
Twin streaks of silver flashed across the battlefield.
Creeeak…
The wires dug into a massive tree ahead, slicing so deep they nearly severed the trunk in half.
"Watch out!"
"Trap shuriken!"
Before the Sand-nin could recover from the initial assault, death came for them again—this time from an angle they never saw coming.
These were elite shinobi, but they weren't Uchiha Itachi.
Even Itachi—the goddamn Prodigy—had taken a hit to the leg when Yoru ambushed him with a wired Fūma Shuriken. Sure, Itachi had been holding back, but even then, the move had worked.
If it could land a blow in a Kage-level fight, just how terrifying was this technique?
But Yoru wasn't targeting a single opponent. There was no need to slow the shuriken's flight like Yoru had. Instead, he used the wires to slash across the entire battlefield.
The wires became blades of silver light, cutting through the smoke-choked air like a bootleg Water Release: Water Severing Wave.
The attack was too sudden. Too fast.
At first, the wires passed almost silently.
The Sand Jonin barely reacted in time—but not enough.
Slick!
His left hand's fingers flew off, blood gushing.
The wires didn't stop.
A Chunin puppeteer—unprepared—lost his legs at the knees. His lower half stood there for a surreal second before his torso collapsed into a pool of blood, screaming.
"As expected of Yoru's signature move. Devastating."
Yoru watched dismembered limbs litter the ground, blood dripping from the wires like crimson dew under the firelight.
The biggest threat—the Sand Jonin—had just lost his ability to seal. No fingers, no hand signs.
Sure, some shinobi could perform one-handed seals (cough Haku cough), but this guy? Unlikely.
The Sand puppeteers, though—annoyingly resilient—had managed to block most of the wire assault. Still, half their squad was now crippled.
And Yoru wasn't done.
"Shukudou—now!"
"Blow it!"
Both men formed the Tiger seal.
Rustle…
A faint crinkling came from inside the Fūma Shuriken.
Because they weren't just shuriken—they were hollow.
Packed with explosive tags and poisoned senbon.
"Art is… Boom."
BOOOOOOM—!
Thousands of toxin-laced needles erupted in a deadly fan-shaped spread, blanketing the remaining Sand-nin.
"Shit—!"
"More traps?!"
The Sand-nin barely had time to process their injuries before another wave of death came crashing down.
Pale-faced, they realized—this was the work of a Konoha Jonin, a master of traps and ambushes.
Survival, not victory, was now their only goal.
Thunk-thunk-thunk!
The poisoned needles found their marks.
The legless Chunin became a pincushion, joining the Pure Land's roster.
A puppeteer—too close—had his puppet obliterated by the blast, leaving him wounded and defenseless.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
A bald Sand Chunin barely managed to raise a barrier—but only for himself.
Sweating, he watched his comrades fall.
The Jonin captain—now missing fingers—had three senbon embedded in his right shoulder, the wound already turning sickly green.
Everyone else was similarly poisoned.
"The antidote—it's not working?!"
The Jonin's face darkened as he tightened a makeshift tourniquet.
Lady Chiyo's specially formulated Antidote —meant to counter even Hanzo's salamander venom—was useless.
They could suppress the toxin with chakra, but that was a temporary fix. Once their reserves ran dry…
"Even if it's hopeless—we retrieve that intel!"
The Jonin's voice was steel.
Yoru's pulse spiked.
Cornered beasts fight hardest.
Whatever they'd stolen… it was worth dying for.