Next day, Konoha sent out several small teams to test out Suna's response. The teams were primarily consisted of a 20 Uchiha Chunins and three jonin, one or two Hyuga clansmen, and one Aburame clansmen.
Shinichi, as a jonin, lead one of the teams to the front.
They moved silently through the tall reeds of the Land of Rivers, the morning mist still clinging to the ground.
"Captain," Hyūga Daisuke whispered with his Byakugan active. "Ten—no, twenty—no… thirty chakra signatures, three hundred meters ahead."
Shinichi raised a hand, signaling the team to halt. Then he gestured for them to advance fifty meters.
"Report again."
Daisuke focused, veins bulging around his eyes.
"Thirty‑six signatures. Four jonin‑level, the rest chunin. They are not moving from their position; it seems they haven't detected us yet."
The team looked at Shinichi for orders.
"Daisuke, can you identify the puppeteers?"
The veins around Daisuke's eyes bulged.
"Two jonin are carrying coffin‑like boxes. Another has large scrolls. Ten chunin have puppet containers. Three more… I think so, but their equipment is wrapped in sealing cloth. I can't see through it."
One Uchiha chunin muttered, "They're more cautious than we thought."
Shinichi issued orders calmly.
"Daisuke, keep scanning. Osamu, conserve your chakra and switch in when needed. Alert me if another team arrives. Shinzo—use your insects to intercept puppets. Aim for joints, not bodies. The rest of you: protect them and support me with Fire Release from range. Retreat on my signal."
"Captain?"
Shinichi didn't answer as he unsheathed his sword and vanished.
Moments later, Shinichi burst from the brush with his sword drawn as fire flickered around him like a living aura. Behind him, twenty massive fireballs arced through the sky.
"ALERT! Konoha shinobi approaching!"
Suna reacted instantly.
Puppeteers unfurled scrolls and unwrapped sealed boxes. Others slammed their hands into the ground.
Doton: Doryūheki 土遁・土流壁 (Earth release: earth style wall)
Ten Suna‑nin combined their chakra, raising a massive wall of stone. But cracks spread across it immediately. It was clear that earth release was not their forte.
As Shinichi closed in, his sword began so shimmer in blazing red color while his left hand formed a hidden one‑handed seal.
Raiton: Raigekishou雷遁・雷撃槍 ( Lightning release: lightning lance)
A two‑meter spear of lightning crashed into the cracked wall, shattering it into a storm of debris.
Shinichi shot through the dust cloud, landing in between two Suna-nins.
Kenjutsu: EnkakenRyu: nishou- Enka 炎花劒流-二章-炎花 (Flame Flower sword style: second chapter – Flame Flower )
His blade erupted into swirling red‑orange petals as he spun.
One Suna‑nin's head flew. Another raised his arms to block, only to lose both limbs as flames devoured him.
"ARGHHH!!!"
He rolled on the ground, trying to extinguish the fire. But, the petals only bloomed faster, consuming him alive.
When the smoke cleared, Shinichi stood between two burning corpses.
A puppeteer jonin snarled.
"You bastard! You'll pay for this!"
"Everyone fall back! Let the puppet corps handle him!"
The Suna shinobi backed us as puppets surged forward, replacing their ranks.
Shinichi's Sharingan spun rapidly, analyzing every joint, every thread, and every movement, as he danced through the steams of attacks.
"So this is Sunagakure's puppet corps… interesting. So they are controlled through chakra threads, hm?"
"Sharingan?" One puppeteer shouted, "Be careful! He's an Uchi—"
Puchi!
"Uh???" The Jonin puppeteer turned his head in disbelief as he felt a piercing pain in his back. A Suna chunin stood behind him with his eyes glazed with a crimson three‑tomoe Sharingan.
"When?"
Blood slipped out of his mouth as he collapsed.
"DAMN it TAKU!"
The remaining jonin knocked the genjutsu‑struck chunin unconscious and tried to stabilize Taku's wound.
Everyone's attention was drawn to the two, but Shinichi was already moving.
Shinichi appeared next to closest puppeteer as he brandished his crimosn sword.
"That is strange. This shouldn't be first time that you encountered us Uchiha in this war. Why do you guys act like as if you never fought an Uchiha before?
The puppeteer's pupil dilated in shock and horror as the sword struck him down. As he fell, amidst his blurred vision, he saw his two comrades already down on the floor with multiple kunai and shurikens stuck in their vitals. They were supposed to guard him in close quarters combat.
Kenjutsu: EnkakenRyu: sanshou- Enkahinfun 炎花劒流-三章-炎花頻紛 (Flame Flower sword style: third chapter – Flame Flower scattering)
He blurred through the ranks as chakra petals scattered like burning snow.
Two more puppeteers fell to his sword. His free hand also did not rest as, seven more chunin collapsed with shuriken embedded in vital points.
Then, five puppets encircled him; Four from cardinal directions and one descending from above.
The puppets lunged at him as serrated blades extended out of their joints and limbs.
Shinichi held his sword held horizontally and spun.
Kenjutsu: EnkakenRyu: nanashou- Enkananpeki 炎花劒流-七章-炎花難壁 (seventh chapter – Flame Flower Wall)
A ring of flame erupted around him, spiraling upward into a fiery tornado.
As if the flames have masses, the puppets slammed into it and were instantly repelled. Their limbs charred and joints deformed from the heat.
The airborne puppet faltered mid-air from sudden heat current and the control turned clumsy as puppeteer lost its vision. Shinichi saw right through its flaw and thrust the sword towards the sky.
Meanwhile, the puppeteer controlling the airborne puppet closed his eyes and completed as series of hand seal, channeling chakra to share its vision.
He opened them, only to be greeted by a flaming sword rushing toward him. He reflexively retreated while moving the puppet's limbs to block.
Upon impact, the puppet detonated in a burst of fire, sending the puppet flying skyward.
Shinichi stood below with the sword raised toward the sky as chakra swirled violently around him, fluttering his dark hair wildly.
Kenjutsu: EnkakenRyu: hachishou- Enkamanten 炎花劒流-八章-炎花滿天 (Flame Flower sword style: eighth chapter – Flame Flower Engulfing the Heaven)
The flame tornado surged upward, devouring every ember from the earlier fireballs and every petal Shinichi had scattered.
The sky turned red as the flames swallowed the puppet whole, incinerating it into ash.
The puppeteer screamed once before severing the connection.
Silence fell. as every Suna‑nin, including the other Suna-nins facing off against Shinichi's subordinates, stared upward with their mouths open.
The original blue sky and white clouds were no longer visible, only red and orange color filled the sky, akin to the time of sunset. The sky was covered in sea of fire.
In the midst of silence, the Konoha shinobi quickly retreated as Shinichi lowered his sword toward the Suna forces. His Sharingan spun rapidly.
Kenjutsu: EnkakenRyu: Kyushou- Enkaseiu 炎花劒流-九章-炎花星雨 (Flame Flower sword style: ninth chapter – Flame Flower meteor shower)
A wave of genjutsu washed over them, it was weak but wide, just enough to freeze the Suna shinobis for a heart beat.
Three jonins broke free instantly.
The two puppeteers deployed their puppets in a hurry. Puppets unfolded its arms into spinning propellers, generating massive chakra barriers.
"Gather the rest towards me!!! Kueck!"
Flames rained from the sky like meteors.
The shields trembled violently.
The puppets created a wide range chakra shield, but this consumed a lot of chakra for them. Now, with shower of flames descending upon it, their chakra consumption tripled in an instant.
"HURRY! GET OUT OF HERE! We won't last long."
"Sensei! Come with us!"
"I can't move while maintaining the barreir! GO!"
The other two puppeteer jonin made eye contact with the other. They nodded at each other before, the younger one quickly withdrew his puppets and carried the wounded. The other controlled the three puppets at once; one to cover himself with smaller shield and two to cover the retreating group.
However, despite the jonin's effort, the chakra shield began to crack. Moreover, others have not yet escaped the range of the meteor shower. The jonin closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. Then he opened his eyes and roared out of desperation as he squeezed out the last of his remaining chakra.
"UWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!"
The Suna shinobis escaping the area quickly moved through the rain of fire under the cover of two puppets' shields. Then suddenly, one of the puppets increased its shield radius, covering the entire group, while the other moved to the rear and revealed a cylindrical tube from its joints. Chakra gathered inside the puppet and a strong wind palms released from the tubes knocking everyone far away into distance.
Suna shinobis quickly got back on their feet and sighed in relief as they were now out of the range of meteor shower. As soon as the relief settled in they noticed; the puppets once covering their retreat turned listless and fell from the sky like a marionette with its strings cut.
Every Suna-nin stood up and watched with reddened eyes as the puppets burned in the rain of fire. They all understood what happened to the puppeteer.
After a moment of respectful and mournful silence, the survivors retreated.
***
Shinichi sheathed his sword back into its scabbard and walked back to his team.
They all stared at him with awe and a little fear.
"Our mission's complete," Shinichi said calmly. "Return to our camp."
""" Yes! Captain!"""
They followed him back. However, before they departed, they took a one lasting glance at the sky where the flames had only just begun to fade.