Chapter 61: The Invisible Enemy
After discovering that even a Jonin had been silently poisoned, Ishiro and his companions immediately withdrew from the area, quickly returning to the outpost. The eight shinobi informed Miyake, the commander, of their findings.
Upon hearing that a Jonin had been poisoned without detection, Miyake was alarmed and immediately said, "I'll gather everyone in the outpost. Please have your Anbu comrade check whether anyone else has been poisoned."
Ishiro nodded in agreement, realizing it was difficult to be certain if others within the outpost were still safe. Miyake might not be the strongest ninja, but his quick concern for his subordinates proved he was a competent leader.
Miyake swiftly assembled the remaining forty shinobi into the hall, and Ishiro began employing his sensory technique. With a clear goal, Ishiro quickly completed the scan. However, the results shocked him, prompting him to exclaim, "There are poisoned individuals—at least twenty people!"
His announcement caused an uproar. The poison's stealthiness was terrifying, but even worse was the scale at which it had spread. Ishiro immediately pointed out all twenty poisoned shinobi, who were then checked by a medical-nin. This examination revealed that three people already had physical symptoms, with abnormal bodily functions developing.
Yet, the three shinobi merely believed their conditions to be minor ailments, never suspecting poison.
The medical-nin, limited in expertise, couldn't fully neutralize the toxin but provided standard antidote pills from the village. After taking them, Ishiro noticed that the poison's activity significantly reduced.
Though unable to completely cure them, it at least offered some control. Now, their main priority was finding and neutralizing the hidden enemy responsible for this poisoning.
Shiden immediately spoke, "We need some protective gear against the poison. Does this outpost have anything like that?"
Miyake replied, "We do have some gas masks prepared from the war against Hanzo of the Salamander. Though Hanzo was eventually occupied by Konoha's Sannin, and they never saw use."
Shiden nodded. "Starting now, everyone wears a gas mask. We'll search together, maintaining close groups—our enemy is clearly formidable."
"Poisons spread either by chakra infusion or through wind currents. Thus, we'll begin our search at the windward side," Shiden instructed. Miyake quickly divided the shinobi into teams.
Moments later, the entire group of nearly fifty shinobi left the outpost. Before departure, Ishiro—the sealing expert—set up a barrier around the outpost. Though it wasn't exceptionally strong, Ishiro could sense if someone entered, provided he remained relatively close.
With everyone deployed, Ninneko Dango (Shironeko's ninja cat) struggled to sniff out the enemy due to the cumbersome gas mask. Thus, the search relied primarily on ninja expertise, carefully progressing towards the suspected enemy position.
As the team moved steadily upwind, Ishiro regularly used his sensory ninjutsu every kilometer to confirm their direction.
After about ten kilometers, Ishiro abruptly warned, "The poison concentration ahead is increasing—I can even vaguely sense it now. We shouldn't go further; our masks might not fully protect us. We should detour."
No one objected, and the group carefully circumvented the heavily poisoned zone, eventually reapproaching from a safer angle.
Shortly after repositioning, they found fresh footprints.
Little Stone analyzed, "Looks like the enemy retreated after seeing our formation."
Another shinobi suggested, "Tracks lead toward the Land of Rain. Should we pursue?"
Miyake immediately shook his head. "We can't all pursue. A single infiltrator might go unnoticed, but if all of us cross into Rain territory, it becomes an international incident. We can't bear that responsibility."
Shiden volunteered, "Our Team 18 will pursue. We're not poisoned yet, and we have someone who can detect poison immediately, making us better equipped to handle this."
Miyake agreed, saying, "Be careful. We'll stay behind and gather samples of the poison for the village."
One significant advantage of belonging to a major ninja village was their ability to neutralize threats once identified. Developing a counteragent against this toxin would severely cripple their enemy's future actions, as poisons required tremendous time and resources to perfect.
Separating from the main force, Team 18 began tracking the footprints. Soon, however, the trail split into three directions. Undaunted, Shironeko removed Dango's mask, and the ninja cat quickly identified the correct scent, leading the squad deeper into the Land of Rain.
At the same time, roughly ten kilometers ahead, a figure rushed deeper into Rain Country—a youth with distinct red hair. It was none other than Sasori of the Red Sand, who would one day be renowned throughout the ninja world for his deadly puppet techniques.
At this time, Sasori was slightly older than Ishiro but still a young shinobi. As a puppeteer, his strength mainly came from his poisons and puppets. However, with Team 18 already alert to his toxins, Sasori's advantage diminished. Nevertheless, with his genius-level puppet mastery, even without relying heavily on poison, Sasori's strength was already comparable to an experienced Jonin.
However, Sasori understood his pursuers included multiple elite ninjas and didn't intend to fight directly. Initially, he'd attempted to mislead them using clones, but Dango's acute senses quickly distinguished the real from the fake.
Not being physically strong himself, Sasori was slower, allowing Team 18 to gradually close the gap.
Sasori had come to the Land of Earth's border specifically to test a new poison designed to weaken captured shinobi for his experiments with human puppetry. Since it was his first attempt, Sasori remained secretive, venturing alone for experimental subjects.
Realizing escape was futile, Sasori prepared for battle in a terrain ideal for puppeteers—a dense mixture of trees and scattered rocks, perfect for ambushes and concealment. Here, he quickly deployed poisons, set traps, and strategically positioned numerous puppets. Given more time, Sasori felt confident he could handle even two Jonin.
Soon, Team 18 reached the edge of Sasori's poison-filled area. Clearly, the enemy intended a decisive battle.
Protected by his teammates, Ishiro performed a sensory scan. Immediately, he realized his perception was a direct counter to puppet masters. Despite puppets not being living creatures, they required chakra threads to connect to the puppeteer. These thin threads, difficult for typical sensors, were plainly visible to Ishiro, especially after his recent improvements. As Ishiro pinpointed every hidden puppet, he informed Shiden's team.
Shiden smiled calmly after hearing Ishiro's thorough report and began forming hand seals—slowly, due to the unfamiliarity of her newly learned A-rank jutsu. After nearly ten seconds, she unleashed:
"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!"
A powerful wave of wind chakra surged forward, obliterating the forest and destroying traps, poisons, and the numerous puppets Sasori had prepared. Most were instantly rendered useless, and his carefully arranged battlefield was ruined.
This destructive attack targeted not just the traps, but Sasori himself. Forced to respond, Sasori immediately deployed his strongest puppets as a shield. Although he managed to survive unharmed, these powerful puppets sustained severe damage and became virtually unusable.
Following the devastating attack, Team 18 didn't immediately charge—Sasori's poison was still a threat. Instead, Shiden began forming hand seals again, clearly preparing another large-scale attack.
Desperate, Sasori realized he couldn't survive a second wave. He quickly manipulated the remaining puppets to attack directly, forcing Team 18 into close combat.
But Shiden, Shironeko, and Little Stone were experienced taijutsu experts. Swiftly and efficiently, they dismantled Sasori's damaged puppets.
Seizing this opportunity, Ishiro—hidden behind his teammates—quickly performed hand seals, casting his Genjutsu—Body Binding Technique—onto Sasori.
Focused entirely on his puppets, Sasori initially overlooked Ishiro, allowing the Genjutsu to trap him successfully.
Though immobilized, Sasori still maintained chakra thread control and desperately tried to break free by having his own puppet attack him. But it was already too late. Shiden, familiar with Ishiro's technique, instantly intercepted the puppets, preventing them from helping Sasori escape.
Within seconds, Shiden broke through Sasori's defenses. Using a perfectly timed Body Flicker Technique, she delivered a heavy blow to Sasori's back, breaking the Genjutsu but simultaneously disrupting his chakra control, further hindering the puppets' movements.
Before Sasori could fully recover, Shiden decisively slashed her blade twice, severing both of Sasori's arms in an instant.
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