Chapter 535: Wind Domain (1)
For the people living in the Yamakawa town, it had been a normal day like any other. Even though various schemes were operating underground, both figuratively and literally, they didn't affect the common citizens. Even in the Yamakawa family, very few were aware of the deal between Hiromu and Sunagakure.
Suddenly, several figures surrounded the central mansion and attacked it. At the same time, several figures appeared on the walls of the small town, completely surrounding it.
Yamakawa Hiromu immediately rushed out of the underground base. Koichi wondered aloud, "Who would attack them right now? Could it be Konoha?"
Okazaki shook his head and said, "That's unlikely. However, if they are the ones behind it, then this is a good thing for us. We could turn the entire Land of Rivers around them?"
Koichi nodded and replied, "Let's go and check out. If it is Konoha, then they might be after us as well."
Koichi passed some instructions to the remaining Suna ninjas and snuck out along with the Grandmaster.
Hiromu, who had rushed out without waiting, watched in shock as the majority of his family members had already been killed within a few seconds. His expression became extremely ugly as he noticed the culprit.
He thought, 'Puppets? It is Sunagakure's speciality. Don't tell me that those bastards double-crossed me. But why would they do that?'
The figures that attacked the mansion were all puppets! Fujin, who had exited the underground and was secretly watching the attack, was puzzled as well. He immediately activated his Space Time Sensing Technique. At the same time, his eyes glowed as he concentrated chakra in them.
He immediately noticed that all the chakra threads controlling the puppets seemed to be coming from just one place. And, there was only one disturbance in his field at that spot. Fujin wondered in surprise, 'To control so many puppets single-handedly... Sasori? Why is he here? Did someone pay Akatsuki to destroy this town?'
Fujin observed the area around the town more thoroughly and concluded, 'It looks like he arrived alone. Has Akatsuki still not recruited Deidara? There is just one other person hiding some distance away. It should be Zetsu or one of his clones…'
Standing outside the town, Sasori controlled all the puppets. The reason for the attack wasn't what Hiromu or Fujin speculated. While Sasori was locating Orochimaru, he discovered that some Oto ninjas visited the Yamakawa family secretly and repeatedly for some reason. He captured some Yamakawa family members but they didn't have any information.
It made him even more suspicious. He wanted to catch some Oto ninjas but they stopped showing up. As a result, Sasori decided to attack the Yamakawa family to provoke Orochimaru. If this town was important to Orochimaru, he would be able to lure Orochimaru out and kill him. If it wasn't, then he could just increase his puppet collection. Either way, it was a win for him.
Sasori never thought that this town wasn't important to Orochimaru and was instead important to Sunagakure who was his alliance partner. Nor did he think that Hiruzen also wanted the family destroyed.
The people in the town immediately began rushing to the bunkers for safety. In the castle, Hiromu destroyed a couple of puppets. A few others managed to destroy them as well, but all were stabbed by a few poisonous needles while doing so.
When Koichi arrived outside, he was shocked to see Puppets destroying the Yamakawa family! Koichi wondered, 'Did Lord Rasa change his min… No!'
Koichi recognized a couple of puppets and said, "Sasori of the Red Sand…"
Okazaki became serious as well. Neither of them understood why Sasori was the one attacking. Hiromu looked at the two of them and shouted, "You fucking bastards! I cooperated with you and this is how you repay me?"
Hiromu was about to attack the two of them preemptively when a few puppets attacked the two of them. Both immediately weaved hand signs.
'Wind Release: Blade of Wind jutsu'
'Earth Release: Earth Spikes jutsu'
Koichi launched several dozen blades of wind which cut through the incoming puppets and also deflected any needles they launched. At the same time, several spikes were launched from the ground and hit the puppets from below, ensuring that every one of them was dealt with.
Hiromu was surprised by the development. He didn't expect that the two of them would be attacked as well. Koichi and Okazaki had ugly expressions. Okazaki said, "It looks like he plans on killing everyone here."
Fujin observed as the chakra signatures in the castle kept disappearing. He wondered, 'Well, what do I do? He is doing my job for me… Should I just stay here and watch and collect the dead bodies after Sasori is done? The only issue is that Suna has poison that affects the brain. So, we won't be able to read any memories. There is also a chance that Sasori decides to take the bodies himself to make puppets… Hmm, should I just sneak attack Sasori when he comes to collect the bodies?'
Fujin thought for a few seconds before deciding, 'Sasori won't be a major headache for the future. There is no need to eliminate him now. Not to mention, killing him in one shot will be difficult and fighting him at close range will be tricky even with my Wind Domain. If I accidentally get poisoned, then it will almost be a death sentence…'
Fujin's eyes focused on a spot in the mansion as he continued thinking, 'It looks like Sasori can't kill everyone. At least not while he is staying outside the town. If the Suna ninjas run away, hunting them down will be a pain in the ass. Oh well, it's time to test this technique in an actual battle.'
Suddenly, Fujin started emitting chakra into the air. The chakra transformed seamlessly into the wind and mixed with the surrounding air. Despite being quite close to the mansion, no one detected Fujin's actions. It was as if nothing was happening there.
Sasori, who was still standing outside the town, realized, 'Hmm, there are a few strong ones. One of them should be the Yamakawa family head. The others might be related to Orochimaru. Since he doesn't want to show up, I'll add them to my collection!'
Sasori was about to move towards the mansion when his feet froze. He muttered, "What the hell is that chakra?"
He carefully observed and analyzed, 'This looks like Susumu's ability. Didn't he die a few years ago? Also, the amount of chakra Susumu used was pitiful compared to this. So who is it?'
Even though Sasori could sense the Wind Domain that was engulfing the mansion, he couldn't locate Fujin who was continuously emitting more chakra into the air.
Fujin's Wind Domain engulfed the mansion and even entered the underground base. Everyone was on alert due to the sudden attack and immediately realized the presence of a foreign chakra in the air. Koichi and Okazaki immediately disrupted their chakra flow to ensure that they didn't fall into a Genjutsu. In the base, a few veteran ninjas warned everyone to do the same as well.
Koichi cursed, "First Sasori and now Susumu? What is happening here?"
Hiromu heard his words and asked, "Isn't Sasori a rogue ninja from Suna? And isn't Susumu your Elite Jounin? Why the hell did they attack my family?"
Despite understanding that he was weaker, Hiromu was filled with rage and sorrow and couldn't think rationally. Sasori's puppets had killed everyone in the mansion! Unlike Hiruzen's order, Sasori saw no need to keep children alive. Other than the ones that had gone outside the mansion, every Yamakawa family member besides Hiromu was dead!
Okazaki answered, "We don't know either. This jutsu is used to cast Genjutsu. Prepare yourself against it. If you get influenced as well, then your family will disappear for good."
Hearing the word 'Genjutsu', Hiromu immediately disrupted his chakra. Sasori had stopped his attack as well due to the sudden change and was planning his next move when suddenly something happened that no one expected!
Blades of Wind appeared out of thin air without any sign or warning. Within the blink of an eye, all 20 Suna ninjas in the base were beheaded! Hiromu, who was disrupting his chakra, was caught off guard as well and died with his eyes wide open in disbelief!
Koichi and Okazaki managed to defend themselves, but were soon overwhelmed by dozens of Blades of Wind attacking them from every direction! They too died within a couple of seconds.
And they weren't the only casualty. Sasori watched in disbelief as several Blades of Wind suddenly appeared out of thin air and severed his chakra threads, disconnecting the Puppets in and around the mansion from Sasori's control! In an instant, Sasori lost control over most of his puppets!