Chapter 228 : Chiyo: God's gift...? #
New episode.
After the initial clash, both Sunagakure and Konoha successfully obtained each other's intel.
The elite squad stationed at Mount Kikyo was stretched thin, making it impossible to adjust their defensive strategy. They could only rely on their limited combat strength to hold out as long as possible, as originally planned.
Unlike Konoha, Sunagakure's side was abuzz with discussion. Rasa, Chiyo, Ebizo, and other high-ranking officials repeatedly analyzed the map.
It wasn't until the vanguard reported Pakura's capture that the atmosphere in the entire tent suddenly shifted, adding a sense of urgency.
Chiyo had just finished calming down the somewhat impatient Rasa, who was too young, when she heard the enemy was skilled in swordsmanship, causing her to lose her composure as well.
Ebizo suggested quickly formulating a plan to rescue Pakura, but a calm Rasa rejected the proposal and ordered the army to attack immediately.
[Chiyo: Hmm?! Using a sword?! (Elements detected)]
[She really has White Fang PTSD. After all, Sakumo killed her family and destroyed her home...]
[Oh no, could this battle be between Chiyo and Naraku?]
[Rasa, you're quite a character]
[6, Scorch Release is so rare, and you just give it up?]
[And you still have the nerve to talk about Konoha? You're both just as bad!]
[At least put on a show. How disheartening would it be if news of abandoning a rescue mission got out?]
With the Kazekage's command, the Sunagakure camp immediately became busy. Messenger Ninja rushed around, and units of all levels quickly assembled and prepared for departure.
At the same time, Rasa realized that Mount Kikyo would be harder to take than expected. He prepared for the possibility that the main force attacking the main peak might be thwarted and that he would need to intervene himself, fully equipping all weapons and personal supplies.
Chiyo sat expressionless in her chair, her hand unconsciously fumbling with the clasp of the satchel at her waist.
This was her usual small bag for many years, containing the sealing scroll for Sunagakure's strongest puppets—the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu.
Ebizo had lived with his elder sister for decades and knew from her restless demeanor that the intel about that Uchiha had still affected her.
As if fate had some arrangement in the dark, just as the main force set off and the high-ranking officials were about to depart, a reconnaissance team returning from a supply run rushed back with a report.
The Uchiha who had captured Pakura was acting alone and happened to appear in the direction where the puppet corps was tasked with attacking.
-- This was a heaven-sent opportunity!
Chiyo didn't even need to think; she eagerly led her team to attack.
[Damn Hiruzen Sarutobi! Look at Rasa! The Kazekage actually takes action when there's trouble!]
[The Hokage cannot move lightly, I can barely understand that, but why aren't Mitokado Homura and Koharu Utatane on the battlefield?]
[Why is Naraku acting alone? Where is Inuzuka Tsume?]
[Danzo: My Konoha's Darkness truly has a successor!]
[Why are you in such a hurry? When the time comes, Naraku will die on his own T-T]
[Wow, what's wrong with you up front?]
The animation rewound the timeline to after Inuzuka Tsume had Kuro-Maru carry both Ebisu and Pakura away.
The two squads continued south for a stretch of mountain road, soon arriving at a foothills area suitable for setting traps.
Naraku was the first to discover a small Village at the foot of the mountain. With Inuzuka Tsume's permission, he went alone to the Village to evacuate the villagers.
The audience, remembering the previous message, immediately understood that Naraku would likely soon clash with Sunagakure in that small Village, and they clamored in the bullet comments for him not to go.
—Of course, everyone knew it wouldn't do any good.
Naraku hadn't gone far down the mountain when he suddenly stopped by an old tree and coughed violently twice.
Specks of blood splattered onto the wild grass leaves at his feet, slowly flowing down the veins and stems, falling into the damp soil, staining it with dark red marks.
He seemed unable to support himself any longer and collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest and breathing heavily, his brows tightly furrowed in discomfort. His fingers gripped a protruding tree root nearby, attempting to quell the surging pain within him.
Perhaps the animator couldn't bear it, so the camera moved away from Naraku's front, slowly tilting upwards from his rear-side.
The lush, leafy canopies pressed tightly against each other, sunlight flickering in scattered fragments through them, like a green lake.
But Naraku's painful coughs and gasps still echoed through the forest, gripping the audience's hearts tightly.
After more than ten seconds, the sounds gradually subsided, and the camera focused on Naraku once again.
The boy, tormented by illness, struggled to sit upright, reaching into his bag to rummage. He was drenched in sweat, a few strands of hair near his forehead damp with perspiration, softly drooping over his forehead protector like withered grass in winter.
His hand, loosely clenched into a fist, emerged from the bag, seemingly holding something.
As that hand slowly opened, the camera focused on his palm, where a pile of pills occupied the entire close-up shot.
Before the audience could count how many pills there were, he poured them all into his mouth and swallowed them, mixed with the residual blood.
Perhaps it was too many pills or he was still feeling unwell, but the sound he made while swallowing was not normal, tinged with a nearly choked anomaly that made people's noses ache and throats constrict.
[So Naraku wanted to act alone because he didn't want his companions to see him pushing through]
[Baby, please care about yourself a little, okay?]
[Don't push yourself, my dear. Come home, okay? Mikoto is still waiting for you to come home.]
[Oh my goodness, he's covered in sweat. How much pain must that be, boo hoo hoo hoo]
[I can clearly feel that Naraku has a bit of a self-destructive tendency. Who takes medicine like that, QAQ?]
[This part is too agonizing. It made my tears flow like a waterfall... naraku fans are really broken, boo hoo hoo hoo]
[Is Naraku crying? (T ^ T)]
[I actually hope he cries. At least, it would mean he can still feel sorry for himself.]
The green light of Medical Ninjutsu glowed faintly around Naraku, and the boy's weak but stubborn muttering revealed that this was not a simple healing jutsu.
-- Creation Rebirth · Modified.
-- Although there will be some side effects... -- But now, this is the only way.
The light faded, and he stood up from the ground to continue his journey towards the Village.
[I remember this is a forbidden jutsu created by Tsunade?]
[It's a jutsu that accelerates cell division to promote rapid healing of injuries.]
[Cell division has a limited number of times, so this jutsu overdraws life force.]
[There are too many debuffs. It's hard for me to believe Naraku can survive after this...]
[Passing away is an irreversible fate TAT]
From the moment the Sand Ninja attacked the villagers, the subsequent animated plot was the same as Naraku's experience.
The only difference was that the animator deliberately removed his interaction with the little boy.
After the last Sand Ninja fled in a panic, the scene shifted, and Naraku was already on his way back.
[Damn it, burning, killing, looting. How is this any different from bandits?]
[The supply lines are too long, and Sunagakure's logistics can't keep up, so...]
[No wonder one ran off. Naraku is still young and too soft-hearted.]
[If it's a choice between protecting and killing enemies, Naraku will definitely choose the former, even at the cost of his own safety.]
Naraku, engrossed in his journey, keenly sensed a large number of people moving nearby and unhesitatingly pulled out a red smoke bomb.
Bright red flames blazed in mid-air, accompanied by tense and intense sound effects. The camera rapidly zoomed in repeatedly until the signal flare occupied the center of the screen, like a blood-red sun hanging in the sky.
The background music became increasingly profound and stirring, as if foreshadowing some kind of outcome.
[It's over, they really ran into each other now!]
[What should we do? To be honest, Chiyo is really strong.]
[I don't think Chiyo is strong enough to be Naraku's opponent for his exit.]
[Oh, right, there's still Jin! He can't just watch Naraku die, can he?]
[If Naraku really dies at Chiyo's hands, do you believe Sakumo would jump out of his sickbed and storm into Sunagakure to slap Chiyo?]
[Hiss... that's too brutal...]
At the beginning of the next episode of the animation, the signal flare was still flashing in the sky, then gradually shrank into a star reflected in Inuzuka Tsume's eyes.
She controlled her emotions and, as a squad leader, rejected Might Guy's request.
Might Guy was not an unreasonable person; he understood that his teacher, like himself, had both emotion and reason tearing at her Ninja heart.
Light and shadow flickered, and a memory emerged from the center of the screen.
Even a man as strong and resolute as Maito Dai would be overcome with regret after losing an important comrade, returning home to sit blankly for a long time.
It wasn't until the last trace of sunset was swallowed by the night sky, and the moonlight spread like gauze, enveloping the entire room, that he said:
[Might Guy, we must work even harder.]
[We must become strong and reliable!]
[For the sake of having the power to protect our comrades...]
Might Guy, still a bit naive back then, nodded, his silhouette gradually overlapping with his current self, his expression becoming identical to his father's.
The same person had caused both father and son to experience unspeakable pain.
[Uncle Dai, even a true man can't withstand that kind of blow... boo hoo hoo]
[I don't want to see this kind of inheriting the father's legacy, ah ah ah ah /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~]
[Might Guy and his father's Moonlight and Nightmare]
[Might Guy: Dad, I can't do anything...]
And when the scene shifted to Naraku's side, he was already in close combat with the enemy.
The camera started with a close-up of Naraku precisely deflecting dozens of poison needles with a lightning arrow, then circled around him, filming.
Along the way, broken and destroyed puppets, lingering flames on tree branches, and relentless enemies, all made the audience's adrenaline pump wildly, gradually getting them hyped up.
A sharp shriek of air being torn suddenly rang out. The camera,Just right filming Naraku's back, turned with him to look behind.
Two white-robed puppets cooperated, and the red-faced one's blade almost spun directly in front of Naraku, its cold metallic reflection in his eyes like the Shinigami's scythe.
The moment the blade tip sliced through his clothes, the white smoke that appeared as his body transformed into a wooden stake was like a taunt.
The orange-haired female puppet, wielding two swords and launching a stealth attack, also failed, instead getting her core pierced by Naraku's blade.
Even the red-faced puppet, due to its excessive inertia, couldn't turn around in time, allowing Naraku to use the downward momentum to disable its movement.
[Such precise control, as expected of an Uchiha.]
[Basic operation, nothing special.]
[This long, single-shot sequence is too amazing?! Old Thief is awesome!!!]
[The fight choreography is truly invincible, smooth and fluid, not a single frame is off!!!]
[Watching the Hatake Father and Son's battles is simply a pleasure, characterized by being clean, decisive, and breaking everything.]
[Chiyo is really struggling in this fight, she's already lost two puppets.]
[Hatake swordsmanship is a natural counter to puppet masters, plus Naraku has the Sharingan's dynamic vision, so it's no wonder she's struggling.]
[Chiyo: Is everything related to White Fang anathema to me?]