Chapter 404: Young Temari's Death
Young Temari happened to pass by a puddle of Venom. The symbiote swiftly wrapped itself around her body.
"This is..."
Though she was confused by the sudden change in circumstances, one thing was crystal clear to the young Temari—she had become stronger.
Venom's right hand morphed into a battle axe, which effortlessly cleaved the scientific ninja tool puppet that had been about to kill Shikamaru in half.
"Shikamaru, are you alright?"
As she spoke, young Temari helped Shikamaru up from the ground.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Even as he spoke, Venom detached itself from young Temari and moved onto Shikamaru, rewrapping him in its protective embrace.
"I didn't expect... that you were actually Lord Venom..."
"No need for honorifics. Just call me Shikamaru," he replied, feeling a little awkward being addressed so formally by a childhood version of his wife. "Temari, do you know what's going on?"
Hearing his question, young Temari's eyes began to well up with tears. "A traitor, desperate to survive, led the puppets here. The survivor base has been completely destroyed. I don't even know how many people made it out…"
A heavy sense of despair hung between them.
"...Let's go together, Temari."
Shikamaru spoke softly. Though he knew this young Temari was likely a clone—and very possibly tampered with by S.H.I.E.L.D. in ways even she wasn't aware of—he still chose to bring her with him.
Not solely because of her resemblance to his wife.
Within just a few days, the entire Land of Water had fallen. Human towns had been leveled to rubble. Scientific ninja tool puppets patrolled everywhere, hunting down any surviving humans and killing them on sight.
From several encounters, Shikamaru had come to understand one thing: when a scientific ninja tool puppet learned something, all of them knew it.
Which meant—Venom's fear of fire was now known to every puppet. This forced Shikamaru to become even more cautious in battle.
Ribbit ribbit.
At present, Shikamaru and young Temari were hiding in a rainforest. She stayed in a makeshift wooden hut preparing food, while Shikamaru stood some distance away on lookout duty.
He glanced down and saw a frog by his feet. His expression brightened.
The frog's presence meant Jiraiya had new intel.
Shikamaru crouched down, formed hand seals, and the frog stopped croaking. It opened its mouth and spat out a scroll before hopping away.
"…"
Reading the scroll's contents, Shikamaru's face lit up with hope. This time, the intel was critical—it revealed the location of a scientific ninja tool puppet factory.
Destroying it would significantly slow their production.
…
"Temari... do you want to wipe out the scientific ninja tool puppets here?"
Shikamaru asked while eating the breakfast she had prepared.
"Of course."
Young Temari replied without hesitation.
"...I'm planning to go destroy one of their factories. It could be extremely dangerous, so I think you should—"
"No matter where you go, I'm going with you."
She set her bowl down and interrupted him, looking Shikamaru dead in the eyes.
She had long since made up her mind to follow him. While heading to the puppet factory was indeed dangerous, she had no means of surviving on her own without Shikamaru.
One of the factories wasn't far. Carrying her in his arms and using his jōnin-level speed, Shikamaru was able to reach it in half a day.
Suddenly, gunfire erupted within the factory.
The infiltration had begun.
Shadows entwined the puppet soldiers, yanking those stationed on high platforms down to the ground, smashing them into scattered pieces.
"It's safe now, Temari."
After wiping out all the puppet guards, Shikamaru turned back to the corner where young Temari was hiding.
She stepped out from her hiding place.
Red warning lights blared throughout the facility.
"Ahh!" Shikamaru dropped to one knee as Venom began to grow violent. "Venom... calm down..."
The ground trembled beneath them—dozens of enemies were closing in fast.
"Shikamaru! Shikamaru!"
Young Temari rushed to his side in a panic.
"Temari, run!"
He looked at her with urgency.
"But…"
As a child, young Temari couldn't decide fast enough.
"Hurry! Take Venom and get out of here—no! Venom! What are you doing?!"
As Venom's host, Shikamaru could sense its thoughts clearly.
It wanted to consume Temari. Just one more host, and it could complete its evolution—after which it would no longer fear sound.
"Temari, run! Now!" Shikamaru cried, feeling himself losing control. "This... this one thing must not happen!"
They were soon completely surrounded by scientific ninja tool puppets.
Their protocol was simple—no talking, just kill intruders.
"Temari!"
Explosion and fire engulfed the scene. Shikamaru, protected by Venom, was mostly unharmed. But young Temari—unprotected—was completely killed. Her small body lay on the ground, the scent of charred flesh in the air.
Venom rewrapped itself around Shikamaru.
Though the fire and noise affected Venom, it wasn't enough to destroy it.
Shadows pulled Temari's scorched corpse to Shikamaru's side. He no longer resisted.
She was already gone.
"I'm sorry, Temari… now, please stay with me forever…"
Venom opened its maw and swallowed the small corpse whole.
Shikamaru could feel it—Venom had indeed evolved. This level of sound no longer affected it at all.
Beneath the Land of Water—
"At last, evolution is complete." Orochimaru nodded in satisfaction. "Skynet, I'm taking a break. I'll leave the rest to you."
"Yes, Lord Gray Wolf."
Skynet's image flickered as it responded.
Though Shikamaru succeeded in destroying the puppet factory, there was no sense of victory—only sorrow hung heavily over his heart.
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