"Ganroku, watch out! Reinforce your defense!"
The Sunagakure jōnin immediately noticed the heavy weapons—iron spheres, steel hammers, and other massive blades—raining down like a collapsing mountain onto the earthen wall.
BOOM—CRACK—
Under the relentless barrage, the sturdy Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall finally gave way, fissures spiderwebbing across its surface.
"Damn it!"
The defensive line shattered, leaving the bald chūnin and the two puppeteers exposed to the remaining force of Tool Manipulation: Heavenly Blade Storm.
But the veteran Special Jōnin puppeteer reacted swiftly—he still had a trump card.
With a quick motion, he pulled out a small sealing scroll from his robes, unsealing it to reveal a spare puppet. The puppet lunged forward, shielding the three of them from the deadly onslaught.
CRUNCH.
The backup puppet was instantly smashed to pieces, reduced to scrap.
Yet, the storm of weapons continued, their momentum barely slowed. However, that brief delay was enough.
The Special Jōnin puppeteer's fingers flicked outward, chakra strings whipping through the air like razor threads, deflecting the smaller blades. At the same time, two strings wrapped around his comrades' waists, yanking them out of harm's way.
When the metal storm finally subsided, the battlefield was littered with glinting weapons, their cold edges radiating menace.
"Hah… hah…"
The puppeteer panted heavily, drained from the sudden burst of chakra control. Nearby, the bald chūnin was also gasping—casting two B-rank Earth Walls in succession had taken its toll.
"My puppet… damn it!"
The Special Jōnin glared at the wreckage. Puppets weren't cheap—this spare had taken him years of savings to build. And now, thanks to these Konoha bastards, it was gone.
Rage burned in his chest. He wanted to tear them apart.
"Found you."
The Suna jōnin's blade snapped forward. Their initial charge at the "monkey-masked" Konoha chūnin had been a feint—their real goal was to pinpoint the Tool Master's location.
"Die, Konoha scum!"
The puppeteer channeled his fury into speed, his hands flashing through seals—four per second.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Blade!"
SWOOSH—
Razor-sharp gusts of wind sliced through the air, cutting down trees like a scythe through wheat. The cross-sections were smooth as polished wood, the rings perfectly visible.
But with his Sonic Radar Technique, Umino Yoru saw everything. He remained calm, yanking Tekuno down just as a vacuum blade sheared the tree above his head.
"Whew… almost lost my head there." Tekuno patted his chest, heart pounding.
"Hm? Kikaichū?"
Yoru paused. Aburame's bugs had appeared on the battlefield. Gen's squad was closing in—less than three kilometers away.
"Just a little longer."
He formed the Ram seal, activating Transformation Jutsu.
His chūnin vest morphed into the distinctive Uchiha flak jacket, complete with the fan crest. His eyes shifted into the Three-Tomoe Sharingan—though a closer look would reveal they lacked the true depth of the real thing.
Still, with chakra surging through his ocular pathways, his eyes glowed crimson, mimicking the signature flare of the Sharingan's activation.
Good enough to fool these guys.
"Sunagakure… do you wish to dance?"
With a dramatic leap, Yoru landed atop the severed tree trunk, striking a pose worthy of the Ghost of the Uchiha himself.
"Shit—a Uchiha jōnin!"
"We're done for. Forget the intel—we'll be lucky to escape alive!"
"No wonder his tool mastery was insane—he's not a Tool Master, he's a damn Uchiha!"
"Three Tomoe… is this guy an elite jōnin? Maybe even Kage-level?"
The Suna shinobi panicked. The sheer aura of an Uchiha—the arrogance, the red eyes—was enough to crush their morale.
Not a single one doubted the illusion. Not even their jōnin.
Fear had taken root.
The Uchiha were legends—each one a master of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. A Three-Tomoe wielder? That meant elite jōnin, possibly even touching Kage-level.
Their Will of Wind had been snuffed out in an instant.
Meanwhile, behind the tree stump, Tekuno clamped a hand over his mouth, shoulders shaking.
Yoru's "Bluffing Jutsu" was too damn good.
This wasn't just deception—it was art.
Even an A-rank genjutsu wouldn't have been this effective.