Naruto: Troublesome Ninja Haruta

Chapter 22: Lord Sasori, Lord Danzo Sends His Regards

"Any news yet?"

"Apologies, Lord Kazekage, but… not yet."

Sunagakure, Kazekage's Office.

Rasa sat in his office, his face dark with frustration as he looked at the assembled shinobi before him. His mood was worse than ever.

Days had passed, yet there was still no sign of Pakura—neither alive nor dead. To make matters worse, the Mist was relentlessly insistent, refusing to give up on their pursuit of her.

On top of that, Iwagakure's movements were growing more aggressive. If this continued, the situation would only deteriorate further!

"This is just..."

Rasa was exhausted, barely stopping himself from blurting out the word "useless."

Suppressing his irritation, he exhaled sharply before speaking in a measured tone.

"Continue the search with maximum effort. But we also need to pull some of our forces northward—we can't afford to spread our manpower too thin."

"Understood."

The Sunagakure shinobi responded, though their expressions were filled with frustration and unwillingness.

Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do. The power struggles between ninja villages were ruthless—every ounce of profit had to be fought for, down to the last grain.

"Lord Kazekage!"

Suddenly, a voice rang out from outside the office, followed by urgent knocking.

"Enter."

Rasa frowned at the interruption, finding the lack of decorum irritating, but now was not the time to dwell on such things.

The door swung open, and a panting ninja rushed inside. Bowing quickly, he wasted no time in delivering his report.

"Lord Kazekage, urgent news—"

"Is it about Pakura?"

"No… but it might be something even more alarming and urgent."

Rasa's face darkened in disappointment. Right now, Pakura's whereabouts were his top priority. Still, he restrained his impatience and gestured for the shinobi to continue.

"Speak."

"Reports indicate a large-scale battle occurring in the central desert. Among those involved…"

The messenger hesitated for a moment before forcing himself to continue.

"One individual seems to possess puppet mastery on par with Elder Chiyo. And most importantly… everyone noticed it—

"The Third Kazekage's black iron sand!"

The moment the words were spoken, the atmosphere in the room shifted violently.

Every single ninja in the office turned pale.

The next second, they all bolted out the door—no further words were needed.

---

On the Battlefield

"Damn it..."

Sasori shot a glance at the rapidly approaching Sand ninjas, then turned his gaze back to the two troublemakers before him. His expression was growing uglier by the second.

He had severely underestimated these two brats.

The moment the first signal flare was fired, he had wanted to leave. But these two had blocked his escape at every turn!

Both were unnervingly fast, their attacks relentless and unpredictable.

And one of them—the one currently standing atop a massive stone dragon—was the main culprit behind this whole mess.

That brat had set off the first signal flare, escalated the situation, and, together with his companion, made it almost impossible for Sasori to retreat.

If he didn't attack them to keep them at bay, they would bombard him with an endless barrage of Fire and Earth Jutsu, constantly interfering.

But if he engaged them in combat, he would be stuck here longer—and the Sand reinforcements were only getting closer.

At this rate...

"You little pest! Die!"

Furious, Sasori swiftly commanded a swarm of puppets to rush at Haruta.

Click, click, click...

The hovering puppets trembled for a brief moment before launching forward in a wave.

Some wielded swords, others hurled ninja tools from a distance—it was an all-out saturation attack!

"Should've used more Fire Release…"

Seeing the overwhelming swarm of black figures approaching, Haruta couldn't help but curse internally.

Fire Release wasn't always lethal, but it was excellent for disruption and area control.

Unfortunately, he hadn't invested many points into it—most of his upgrades had gone into his overall physical abilities.

Though he had considered focusing purely on his body's strength, he knew that ninja battles weren't like samurai duels; even someone like Might Guy still relied on strong chakra reserves.

Without investing in chakra and Jutsu, his current combat level wouldn't be nearly as high.

"But in close combat… I have nothing to fear!"

Controlling the massive stone dragon, Haruta made it coil around him like a protective barrier.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A cacophony of impacts rang out as countless weapons clashed against the stone surface.

The moment the assault subsided, Haruta shot out from the dragon's body, snatching up a ninja sword as he moved.

"Konoha Style: Hazy Moonlight!"

With an afterimage effect, Haruta's blade flashed—several puppets were instantly shattered.

Then, just as more puppets landed, he suddenly raised one hand in a seal.

Boom!

From the stone dragon's body, countless razor-sharp spikes erupted.

In the blink of an eye, an uncountable number of puppets were impaled and destroyed!

But Haruta didn't stop.

While keeping an eye on Sasori to prevent his escape, he also monitored the advancing Sand forces.

At the same time, his sword continued slashing through the approaching puppets—one after another.

The battlefield was soon littered with their broken remains.

"This isn't sustainable, though..."

After cutting down another puppet, Haruta paused to assess his condition. He frowned.

His Cursed Seal Level 3 and Yin Release techniques weren't suited for prolonged battles.

His stamina was holding up, but his chakra reserves were running low.

Even though he had been conservative with his chakra usage, he still couldn't keep up.

"In that case..."

Haruta turned his gaze toward the Sand shinobi, who were now only about a hundred meters from the battlefield.

They were beginning to spread out—clearly attempting to encircle the three combatants.

This was Haruta's opportunity.

"You've been watching for long enough—time to get involved."

With one final strike, he cleaved another puppet in half. Then, without hesitation, he controlled the stone dragon.

"ROAR!"

With an earth-shaking bellow, the massive stone dragon surged forward—straight toward the Sand ninja!

"What?!"

The Sand shinobi weren't prepared. By the time they realized the threat, the dragon was already upon them.

"Dodge!"

Terrified shouts rang out, but it was too late.

The colossal dragon slammed into them with full force.

BOOM!

A deafening explosion echoed through the sky.

A dense cloud of dust and debris billowed outward, filling the air with gray haze.

Sharp stone fragments, shattered from the dragon's body, flew in all directions like deadly shrapnel.

Some ninjas were knocked unconscious by the impact; others, who had initially avoided direct harm, were struck by the flying debris—becoming unfortunate casualties.

Screams and pained cries filled the battlefield.

"Hmm?"

Haruta was still monitoring the Sand ninjas when his eyes suddenly narrowed.

He sensed several powerful chakra signatures rapidly approaching.

Squinting, he looked toward the distance—and a grin spread across his face.

"Die!"

At that moment, Sasori launched his counterattack.

The Third Kazekage puppet, along with a swarm of other puppets, charged toward Haruta.

The sheer pressure of the assault was suffocating.

But this time, Haruta didn't dodge.

Instead, he quickly formed a series of hand seals.

"Sage Art: Yin Release—Earth Spear Forest!"

In an instant, massive earthen spikes erupted from the ground.

The entire sand dune was transformed into a deadly stone forest!

Countless puppets were impaled in an instant.

Even Sasori's expression changed slightly as he hurriedly commanded the Third Kazekage to defend him.

At that moment, Haruta suddenly dashed to Sasori's side.

Seeing that Sasori was now encased in Iron Sand for protection, Haruta merely smiled.

"Lord Sasori, I'll leave the rest to you—your grandfather, Elder Ebizō, has arrived."

"...."

Sasori's expression turned even darker.

"You… you know who I am?"

"As a subordinate of Lord Danzo, of course I do."

Haruta chuckled.

"Looks like your escape is impossible now. Consider this our farewell."

"Also… Lord Danzo sends his regards."

With that, Haruta turned and ran—just as the Sand Anbu closed in.

***

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