"Enemy attack!" a member of the Hidden Sand sensory squad shouted urgently. "There's an enemy behind us!"
At the very moment the first Sand ninja fell, the sensory squad realized that their rear defensive line had already been breached by a Konoha ninja.
But when they turned their eyes to the rear, all they saw was the corpse of their fallen comrade lying on the cold ground…
Where was the enemy?!
"Clang!"
Shimizu's second lethal strike was blocked by the next Sand ninja with a kunai.
What should have been a killing blow only barely grazed the opponent's chest, drawing a string of blood.
This one was a jonin.
Although Shimizu's speed had already surpassed the limits of what the naked eye could track, the moment someone shouted "Enemy attack!" all the Sand ninja had gone on high alert.
And no one who became a jonin was a simple opponent.
At the brink of life and death, that hair-raising sense of danger made their reactions far sharper than ordinary ninja.
Shimizu wasn't disappointed. He immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to leave his position.
But if that had been Minato's seal-less Flying Thunder God just now…
That strike would have been the end.
This… was likely the limit of an ordinary Body Flicker Technique.
"Puppet Master squad! Stop him!" Rashamon's heart pounded wildly. This Konoha ninja's Body Flicker was so fast he hadn't even seen him form hand seals!
He couldn't help but demand, "Where did this Konoha ninja come from?"
"I… I don't know. The first time we detected him, he was already behind us…" The sensory ninja sounded both confused and horrified.
A man had appeared out of thin air behind them?!
Rashamon narrowed his eyes.
Had he come from Konoha's position? But at that distance, how did he avoid detection by the sensory squad?
How did he do it?
Unless his speed was so fast that no one could perceive it…
Was that even possible?
Short black hair. A red-and-white striped cat mask. Konoha ANBU…
Who was he?
At Rashamon's command, four puppet masters burst out from formation and charged straight toward Shimizu.
So there really were puppet masters!
If he got entangled with them, even a slight scratch would be enough—the deadly poison could finish him on the spot.
Shimizu didn't dare be careless. As he rapidly retreated, he began forming hand seals.
He had already relied on his exceptional Body Flicker to infiltrate the Hidden Sand's rear position, completing the first step of his plan.
The second step was to tear open a gap in their defensive line so that the Team 6 elites and Mercury could successfully flank from behind, forming a pincer attack together with the Ninth Division's frontal assault.
"Stop him!" the puppet master squad leader shouted, trying to interrupt Shimizu's technique.
Think you can stop this?
Water Release: Water Formation Wall!
Suddenly, a surging, rotating wall of water rose from the ground upward, blocking all ten puppets controlled by the four puppet masters.
Shimizu had once again used a large-scale, jonin-level Water Release defensive technique in a place with no water source.
"Such fast hand seals… and there isn't any water source here!" the puppet master squad leader exclaimed in shock.
Within the water wall, Shimizu maintained both defense and outward visibility as he continued forming seals at high speed.
Water Release: Water Shock Wave!
A massive volume of water materialized out of thin air, swirling around Shimizu. After gathering power for several seconds, it suddenly surged toward one corner of the Hidden Sand's defensive formation.
Under similar conditions, the power of this Water Release technique surpassed even the signature jutsu of Kirigakure—the Great Waterfall Technique.
"Watch out!" The puppet masters were the first among the Hidden Sand to raise the alarm.
Faced with such a massive torrent of high-speed water, nearly twenty Sand ninja had no choice but to scramble up trees to avoid its force.
A few, however, reacted too slowly and were swept directly into the Konoha position by the current.
What awaited them were dozens of kunai and shuriken…
Shimizu had perfectly completed his objective—he had torn open a gap in the Hidden Sand's defensive line.
"Captain!"
Soon, Rakusui arrived with Team 6, along with Mercury.
"I'm leaving these puppet masters to you," Shimizu said as he dispelled the Water Formation Wall and charged straight toward the Sand formation.
He was well aware of his disadvantage. At the moment, his only close-combat weapons were kunai and shuriken.
As for Water Release—unless he used an ultimate S-rank technique, it would be difficult to destroy those puppets. But S-rank technique consumed enormous amounts of chakra, and this battle had only just begun…
Lightning Release techniques were similar—not only chakra-intensive, but also requiring close range. His taijutsu was indeed strong, but puppet masters excelled at close combat, and even the slightest scratch meant lethal poison.
One could say puppet masters somewhat countered his current combat style—especially when he needed to carefully ration his chakra.
Like right now.
So Shimizu wisely chose not to clash head-on with them.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed Mercury performing Eight Trigrams: Rotation. Spinning rapidly, combined with the Byakugan's powerful perception, she effortlessly deflected all projectile attacks from several puppets.
An ANBU elite squad plus a jonin with the Byakugan should be more than enough to handle that puppet squad.
Thus, Shimizu immediately opted for a more efficient approach—charging straight into the Hidden Sand formation.
"Don't let him break through!" Rashamon knew very well what would happen if a speed-type ninja like Shimizu penetrated their ranks. He immediately dispatched a squad to intercept him.
To every Sand ninja present, the Konoha ninja charging toward them left behind afterimages.
It was a terrifying speed.
Four Sand ninja unleashed a barrage of kunai and shuriken, weapons raining down like a storm—but they couldn't even touch the hem of Shimizu's clothing.
Each attack sliced uselessly through a fading afterimage.
Too fast!
Shimizu blasted past the squad's defensive line at an astonishing pace.
"His target is the sensory team! Team 3, prepare!" The Sand immediately reassigned another squad to intercept him. Their mission was to protect the "eyes" of the army—the sensory team—from surprise attacks.
With that, two squads had already been drawn away by Shimizu's movements…
But with a sudden pivot, he changed direction—heading straight for the position of the Hidden Sand commander.
"Damn it! Where does he get that confidence?!" Though Rashamon refused to acknowledge the enemy's strength aloud, if this cat-masked Konoha ANBU was truly determined to take his head…
He felt a flicker of fear.
"Team 7, intercept him," he ordered.
Rashamon himself gripped a kunai in reverse, ready for battle at any moment. His face remained calm and resolute, though beads of sweat had formed on his forehead…
Several kunai and shuriken flew toward Shimizu in succession, and a Wind Release technique blocked his path.
I've distracted three squads, plus the puppet masters—sixteen people in total, Shimizu calculated. That leaves only thirty on the main front.
That's enough!
Just as he was about to collide with Team 7, Shimizu's feet erupted with chakra. With a sharp "bang," he stomped two deep imprints into the ground—executing an instant stop from high speed to complete stillness.
In the next second, kunai and shuriken rained down in front of him, while invisible wind blades could only carve helpless grooves into the earth.
Hand seals!
Body Flicker Technique!
In the following instant, Shimizu appeared behind the Hidden Sand's main defensive force.
He raised his kunai…