Naruto: Troublesome Ninja Haruta

Chapter 21: The Chaotic Sunagakure

Amidst the battlefield, Haruta and Shisui were locked in a fierce battle against Sasori.

It had to be said—when Sasori wielded the Third Kazekage as his puppet, his offensive and defensive capabilities were seamlessly integrated.

The combination of highly concentrated iron sand and his masterful puppet control made it nearly impossible for an average ninja to find an opening.

However, both Haruta and Shisui had noticed something—Sasori seemed to be toying with them, treating them like mice caught in a cat's game.

"Are we... being looked down on?"

Haruta raised an eyebrow, but he didn't mind. In fact, this was a good thing. Besides, neither he nor Shisui had gone all out yet.

Haruta hadn't used his Cursed Seal or Yin Release powers, and Shisui hadn't activated his Mangekyō Sharingan. At this stage, they were merely testing the waters.

But Haruta had no intention of continuing to play around. The moment he saw Sasori, an idea had already formed in his mind.

Originally, he had planned to let Shisui struggle a bit, but now, he had an even better target.

"Time to step it up—otherwise, he might escape."

With that thought, Haruta instantly activated his Cursed Seal state.

The natural chakra within the Cursed Seal required no effort on his part to gather—just like Orochimaru's Cursed Seals, it could replenish itself.

While its duration was still an issue (since this technique was only at level 3), the power boost it provided made it Haruta's go-to move against powerful enemies.

"Earth Release: Rock Lodging Collapse!"

Forming hand seals, Haruta slammed his palm onto the sand beneath him. Instantly, the ground trembled violently.

"Hmm?"

Sasori's expression changed, but before he could react, the sand beneath his feet began to collapse!

A massive section of the desert caved in at an alarming speed, forming a deep pit—and Sasori was caught right in the center of it.

"Now!"

Wasting no time, Haruta pulled out a signal flare he had confiscated from Pakura and ignited it, sending it soaring into the sky.

A brilliant burst of color exploded in the air. Meanwhile, Sasori, now trapped in the pit, looked up, his expression growing darker.

"You..."

Sasori's gaze was cold as he stared at Haruta.

"Brat, are you looking for death?"

"Haruta, this..."

Shisui had also arrived by now. He somewhat understood Haruta's intentions, but he couldn't help but feel this was too reckless.

"Isn't this a bit too risky?"

Instead of answering directly, Haruta simply smiled at Shisui and said, "Do you remember what I told you earlier?"

Shisui was momentarily stunned, unsure of what to say. Haruta patted him on the shoulder.

"Leave it to me. Don't worry."

Then, Haruta turned his gaze toward Sasori, who was already using the Third Kazekage puppet to levitate. Haruta grinned.

**"It seems there's a misunderstanding between us, sir. I was just thinking—your expertise in puppetry is truly remarkable, especially being able to create puppets that retain the Kekkei Genkai of their former selves.

With such mastery, I can only think of one person in Sunagakure who could compare—Lady Chiyo.

So, I thought... you'd be very interested in meeting her."**

Haruta's words made Sasori's expression even more grim. At this moment, he truly wanted to strangle the brat in front of him.

There was no doubt in Sasori's mind—this kid was doing this on purpose. He knew exactly what would happen once the Sunagakure ninjas arrived. Things would spiral out of control.

"Do you really think you can keep me here?"

Sasori was livid. His voice was cold as he looked at Haruta and Shisui.

"You should be more worried about how you're going to deal with the incoming Sand ninja."

Haruta ignored Sasori and turned to Shisui.

"We need to go all out. We can't let him escape—got it?"

"Mm..."

Shisui nodded. At this point, there was no turning back.

Haruta had forced the situation by launching the signal flare. Once the Sand ninjas arrived, retreat would no longer be an option.

Even if they were strong, facing a horde of enemy shinobi could easily mean death.

Their only chance was to force the murderer of the Third Kazekage to stay and let Sunagakure and Sasori tear each other apart.

With this realization, Shisui's Sharingan began to spin.

At the same time, the Yin Release power within Haruta's body started to surge...

---

Elsewhere in the Land of Wind

"Move faster!"

Across various locations in the Land of Wind, countless teams of Sand shinobi were rapidly converging toward the same point.

Sunagakure was already on high alert—threatened externally by Iwagakure and internally infiltrated by Kirigakure's assassins.

And, most importantly, their village's hero—the one who had dealt a devastating blow to the Mist—Pakura had gone missing.

This was something no Sunagakure ninja could accept.

They had been desperately searching for clues, but after days of waiting, they had found nothing. It was unbearable.

Now, at long last, they had spotted a signal flare—there was no way they would ignore it!

However, as they got closer, they started to realize something was wrong.

The nearer they got to the flare's location, the stranger the desert became.

Ear-piercing roars echoed through the air, eerie wails filled the battlefield, and the ground trembled unnaturally. The entire landscape seemed to be in the midst of a cataclysmic battle.

"What the hell is happening?"

With growing unease, they pushed forward. When they finally arrived at the battlefield, they were utterly stunned.

"W-What... is this?!"

Above them, countless dark figures moved rapidly through the sky—an entire swarm of puppets!

The sheer number of them blotted out the sun.

Among them, one particular puppet stood out, its entire body surrounded by a swirling mass of black iron sand.

That iron sand rained down from above, piercing the ground and forming structures that resembled massive barriers. The density of the iron sand turned into lethal spikes that relentlessly attacked everything in sight.

On the ground, a colossal green figure lurked among the puppets and sandstorms, barely visible.

The battlefield was littered with the shattered remains of countless destroyed puppets.

But what truly sent shivers down their spines was something else—a massive stone dragon, over fifty meters long, roaring and rampaging across the battlefield.

The desert trembled. The earth howled.

Everything they saw left the incoming Sand ninjas completely dumbfounded.

"Quick—send an emergency distress signal!"

Finally, one of the Sand shinobi snapped back to reality, shouting at his comrades.

"Send it immediately! And make sure it reaches the village! We might have just found... the Third Kazekage!"

"Yes!"

Though momentarily stunned, the Sand ninjas quickly regained their senses.

There was no need to debate what the swarm of puppets meant, nor did they need to guess at the power of that massive stone dragon.

The sheer presence of the black iron sand alone told them everything—they were facing something beyond their control.

The Third Kazekage—their long-missing leader, hailed as the strongest Kazekage—was here?

No matter what, this information had to be sent back to the village immediately.

Not just them—other Sand squads across the region reacted swiftly as well.

At that moment, countless signal flares and messenger hawks soared into the sky.

The already blazing sun of the desert was now painted with even more dazzling colors...