Naruto: The Scientific Ninja

'My subordinates or me... I want to see what you choose.'

The special jōnin puppeteer smiled to himself, convinced of his victory. Even if the Konoha captain tried to use his subordinates' bodies as shields, it would be useless. This was a mechanical senbon capable of easily penetrating a puppet. How could a mortal body withstand it? He had been waiting for this opportunity. He had even sacrificed one of his own subordinates, Iwago, to create it. 'Your death was worth it, Iwago. All for the Sand Village!'

"Captain, really...!" Tekudō shouted, but before he could finish, the whistle of death was heard.

Puff, puff, puff...

Like raindrops, the senbon pierced the already badly wounded Iwago from Sasuke's blind spot, and continued on to cover Sasuke and the other three.

"So cruel and ruthless," Sasuke thought, his eyes filled with a cold killing intent. Using his own men as bait... it was abominable. He would do anything to achieve his goal. As expected of a ninja born in the cruelty of the desert, his style was comparable to that of the Bloody Mist.

'What a pity? You think I knew nothing of your sneak attack?' Sasuke scoffed internally. Under his sonar radar's perception, all the enemy's secret actions were useless. He knew the puppeteer had taken control of his fallen subordinate's puppet. If he had feared that puppet, why would he have given the order to retreat in a way that grouped them together?

The only thing he hadn't anticipated was that the special jōnin would be so heartless as to sacrifice his own men.

"Captain, don't worry about us, run!" Tekudō shouted, his face filled with despair. Countless reflections of the senbon appeared in his eyes. How could they hide from a rain so dense? The captain was powerful; perhaps he would have a chance. If he tried to save them, they would undoubtedly all die together.

"Ah..." faced with such a terrifying attack, Chōmi froze, visibly overwhelmed by fear.

"Chōmi, I like you!"

Ryo, seeing Chōmi facing a danger she couldn't overcome, acted on pure instinct. "Chōmi, I like you!" he shouted, the words he had never dared to say rushing out in a torrent of desperate sincerity. He stepped forward, opened his arms, and stood in the way, facing the arrival of the senbon. Unfortunately, with his size, he could barely cover Chōmi's vital parts, and against the penetrating power of the needle rain, his sacrifice would be in vain. But at least, he would die without regrets.

"Running away alone is not my style," Sasuke said.

He had moved closer to his three genin precisely to protect them from this threat. How could he abandon them now? Besides, the enemy's technique covered an area of over ten meters, exceeding the maximum range of the Substitution Jutsu. He also didn't know any advanced high-speed movement techniques.

However, he did not panic. He had other countermeasures.

"Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!"

Sasuke's ten fingers flew at five seals per second, the afterimages flashing continuously as he completed the sequence.

Suddenly...

Hula la!...

A water tornado tore through the air and became a hollow ball of water, enveloping Sasuke and the other four.

"Watch out!" Ye shouted from a distance. Seeing Sasuke use a simple Water Prison to defend himself, he was stunned. He knew that a C-rank jutsu couldn't possibly withstand such terrifying penetrating power. 'Shouldn't he be using the Water Formation Wall? Or was he desperate and used the wrong jutsu?'

"It's delusional to want to resist my Rain of Needles with a petty Water Prison!" the special jōnin scoffed. This technique, designed by Elder Chiyo herself, was almost comparable to a B-rank attack ninjutsu. Trying to block it with a C-rank jutsu was laughable.

Just as the raindrops, after piercing Iwago, were about to impact the water prison, Sasuke clapped his hands together in the final seal.

"Spin!" he commanded. "Return to the Vortex!"

Sasuke's chakra surged, accelerating the prison's rotation.

Hula hula!...

The water prison spun faster and faster, driving the surrounding air and forming a small tornado. The large amount of water, which would normally spread into the hollow center, was pushed to the periphery by the centrifugal force, preventing internal suffocation while exponentially increasing the density and rotational strength of the aquatic barrier.

"What? It's a high-level water nature transformation!" the special jōnin exclaimed, feeling a strong shudder. Could someone really practice the C-rank Water Prison Jutsu to this level?

'No, this isn't the Water Prison Technique,' he corrected himself. 'It's a perfectly modified and weakened version of the Water Formation Wall, which also simplifies the number of seals. This person must be an expert in Water Style.'

"Despicable! It's a tactical fraud again!" he concluded, once again realizing the cunning of the ninja before him. He had been led to believe he was a trap master, then an Uchiha, and now a Water specialist. Nothing he had shown was true. All the superficial information he had gathered was false, an elaborate tactical fraud designed to confuse him.