Chapter 399: Scientific Ninja Tool Puppets
After a long absence, Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, and Jiraiya, along with his son Kogure—born of scientific ninja tools—were now stationed at the surface-level test site in the Land of Water.
"They're just clones, Kushina."
Minato tried to convince Kushina, though in truth, he was trying to convince himself as well. After all, they had both personally witnessed how an embryo inside a cultivation pod could grow into an adult within a matter of days. Still, neither of them could turn a blind eye to the brutal abuse the clones were suffering.
But this was a S.H.I.E.L.D. test site, and Minato and Kushina just so happened to be nominal S.H.I.E.L.D. members.
Neither of them could go against S.H.I.E.L.D. They hadn't forgotten that their current bodies were still under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s control. If S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted, it could manipulate them at any time to harm the people of Konoha.
Although the only one with control authority over them was currently Vice Director Shunhi, who had already been confirmed as a double agent, the authority ultimately rested with the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.—and surely, the Director couldn't be a double agent too, right?
Elsewhere, Shikamaru had just arrived on this land.
The last time he came to the Land of Water was shortly after Naruto had become Hokage, on a diplomatic mission.
Never would Shikamaru have thought that his return to the Land of Water would coincide with its fall as a nation.
Something's not right. Why does everything look so peaceful?
Shikamaru stood dumbfounded. Wasn't the Land of Water supposed to be destroyed? Even if time had smoothed over the scars of its fall, this kind of recovery shouldn't have been possible so quickly.
Just as he was still trying to make sense of things, a sudden explosion rang out.
"Run! Everyone, run!"
A grown woman shouted as she fled in panic.
"Mom, please, we have to move faster!"
A man in his thirties pulled his elderly mother by the hand as they ran.
"Leave me, son! Just go!"
The old woman panted, clearly on the verge of collapse.
"I can't go on…"
"Has anyone seen my son?!"
Regardless of gender or age, everyone was equal in the face of this catastrophe. Wails of despair filled the air.
"I can't run anymore. Just leave me behind—let me die here."
"I won't let that happen."
Shikamaru, now transformed into Venom, leapt from above and landed in front of the fallen elderly woman. Beside her, her equally elderly husband clutched her hand, trying to help her back up.
"Who… are you?"
The old man looked up at the fearsome figure of Shikamaru, a look of fear flashing across his face.
"I'm Nara Venom," Shikamaru said, using an alias before revealing his true identity. "I'm here to buy you time to escape."
"No! You can't stop them alone! You need to run with us, or you'll die here too!"
"Look out!"
Venom's muscular body shielded the frail elderly couple as a ninjutsu cannon blast struck his back, triggering a violent explosion. The flames blew away the symbiote covering Shikamaru's back—but it quickly regenerated, spreading once more across him.
The old man hadn't even finished speaking when the attack came.
If not for Shikamaru's timely intervention, he and his wife would have died right then and there.
"Go, now!"
The old man, who had just brushed past death, didn't waste time trying to convince Shikamaru any further. He pulled up his wife and turned to flee.
Shikamaru stood up from the ground, staring at the scientific ninja tool puppet that had just attacked. He clenched his fists tightly.
For some reason, the image of the liquid metal robot incident flashed through his mind.
Are we really doing this again? No… they can't shapeshift—so is this a full-on robot army?
Shikamaru struck first. Enhanced by Venom, he fired his Shadow Sewing Technique, binding one of the puppets at the front.
He swung the bound puppet, smashing it into several others and knocking them aside.
The puppets' eyes glowed an eerie red as they simultaneously raised their weapons and opened fire on Shikamaru.
Though the ninjutsu blasts had little effect on him physically, their numbers were overwhelming, and there were still too many civilians who hadn't escaped.
Even if he used up all his strength, Shikamaru couldn't wipe out every puppet here.
Saving those civilians had to take priority.
Using one puppet to bash the others caused enough disruption for Shikamaru to shoot his shadow toward a tall building. He hauled his large body into the air.
"Please, don't hurt my son!"
A young mother, cornered and clutching her newborn, begged the three approaching puppets with a face full of tears.
But the puppets showed no reaction—they were simply following orders.
Three rifles aimed squarely at the mother and her wailing child.
At the moment they pulled their triggers, three shadows blocked the barrels. The weapons exploded in their hands, taking the puppets with them.
The young mother looked up along the black shadows.
The joy of surviving vanished the moment she saw the monstrous figure standing above her—it was Shikamaru, but in some ways, far more terrifying than the puppets themselves.
The mother sank to her knees, still holding her child.
Shikamaru dropped down in front of her, picked her up, and started running.
Because of his movements, the puppets shifted their attention to him. A large number of them began chasing Shikamaru, firing ninjutsu cannon blasts as they went.
"Please… take me somewhere safe. At the very least, take my child somewhere safe…"
"Don't worry. I'll protect both you and your child."
Shikamaru replied while continuing to run.
Underground, in the Land of Water—
"An intruder?"
Lord Fang stopped what he was doing when he heard the alert from Skynet and looked up at the monitor. The screen that had previously displayed Skynet's avatar now showed the scene unfolding aboveground.
"Venom?" Lord Fang was well aware of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s latest creation. But since it wasn't a scientific ninja tool, he had never paid it much attention. "Report this to Lord Gray Wolf."
Though Lord Fang himself wasn't interested, Orochimaru certainly would be.
"Yes," Skynet replied.