Naruto: The Scientific Ninja

"Phew..."

Cold sweat covered Sasuke's forehead. The relief he felt was so intense that his knees almost buckled. If it weren't for his sonar radar technique granting him extraordinary perception, with a chūnin-level reaction speed, he never would have been able to execute the Substitution Jutsu in time to dodge the special jōnin's fatal attack.

"Huh?" The puppeteer's gaze was stern, his heart shocked. He thought his attack was a guaranteed hit, yet his target had dodged it with insulting ease. It seems this "Konoha jōnin" was not only a master of transformation but also of substitution. His mastery of the fundamentals was so solid that it reaffirmed his belief that he was facing a true Konoha jōnin.

"Let's see how many times you can dodge."

After his failed sneak attack, the puppeteer pulled out another kunai and lunged at Sasuke again.

"Hmph," Sasuke scoffed inwardly. The man in front of him had created distance and regained some control of the rhythm, but he hadn't taken the opportunity to launch another Wind Style ninjutsu. It was likely because his chakra, already depleted from suppressing the poison, was running low.

Without Wind Style or puppets, this supposed special jōnin was nothing more than a slightly stronger elite chūnin. There was nothing to fear.

With the pressure reduced, Sasuke expanded his sonar radar's perception range to assess his comrades' situation. Overall, the scales of victory were slowly beginning to tip toward Konoha.

The only ones in some danger were Tekudō and his team. They were facing the bald chūnin, Iwago, who, despite being exhausted and poisoned, continued to fight with incredible tenacity. If not for his Hyōrōgan pills, he would have already been defeated by Ryo's Gatsūga. Sasuke had to admit that Suna's elite policy produced ninja with an impressive fighting will.

What really surprised him was Ye's battle. The spiky-haired jōnin, Yanlang, though unable to form hand seals, was still a jōnin-level threat with his swordsmanship alone. But Ye, with his secret Konoha-style kenjutsu, moved like a dancer under the moon, his movements as fluid as clouds and water. The afterimages he left were a mesmerizing sight that concealed an extreme killing intent.

As for Kagejirō, he should have already won his fight against a half-crippled chūnin.

"What a magnificent Dancer of the Moonlight... this battle is under control," Sasuke thought, finally relaxing. With Maru's support less than a kilometer away, victory was within reach.

But at that moment, Kagejirō became a problem again.

"Ye, the mission is more important! Cover the rear, I'll take the information and retreat first!"

After forcing his opponent back, Kagejirō immediately turned and fled without a backward glance. The chūnin puppeteer he was fighting stood there, stunned, not even reacting to pursue him. He was probably just happy to have escaped death.

Sasuke: ??? You're leaving? Support is about to arrive, you just had to hold on a little longer!

In an instant, the balance of power was broken and began to tilt in the opposite direction. Now, the half-crippled chūnin puppeteer was free to join the fight against Sasuke's team.

"You brats, you're dead!"

Under the siege of two Suna chūnin at the end of their strength, Tekudō and the other two were in grave danger. If not for Ryo and Akimaru's hybrid transformation into a two-headed wolf, they would have already been defeated.

"Ryo, hold on!" Sasuke shouted, parrying an attack from the special jōnin to worriedly check on his team's battle.

"At a time like this, you still have the mind to worry about others?" the puppeteer taunted, hoping Sasuke's distraction would reveal a flaw. "I wonder if my Wind Style will tear you apart first."

Sasuke remained unfazed and verbally counterattacked. "And you, Mr. Puppeteer, how much chakra do you have left? Can you even release a C-rank Wind Style? Let me test it."

"Hmph!" The special jōnin snorted and stopped talking. Sasuke had hit a nerve. He had very little chakra left. Now it all depended on who could last to the end.

"Tekudō, retreat to the other side of the river!" Sasuke commanded.

He forced the special jōnin back and briefly joined his team's battle to share the pressure. His plan was to draw them to the river, use it as a barrier, and retreat to the other side to wait for Maru. It was the safest option.

"I was right. You care about the safety of these three subordinates," the special jōnin sneered, believing he had finally discovered Sasuke's fatal flaw. From then on, he specifically targeted the three genin, forcing Sasuke to counter him head-on.

Just as Sasuke managed to push the special jōnin back again and was about to lead his team across the river, the puppeteer suddenly leaped up, launching a long-planned tactical surprise attack.

"Puppet Mechanism Technique: Rain of a Thousand Needles!"

Suddenly, a dense rain of thousands of senbon covered Sasuke and his team.

"You didn't expect to fall into a trap, did you?" the jōnin laughed to himself, filled with pride. 'Who said you can't use puppet techniques without a puppet? If I don't have mine, why not use someone else's?'

Secretly, he had released his chakra threads underground and had taken control of the injured Sunako's "Black Ant" puppet. Though its user's legs had been severed, the puppet itself was well-preserved.

'With such a wide-area attack,' he thought maliciously, 'let's see how you dodge this. And even if you manage, can you take your three subordinates with you?'