The Signal and the March
Yahiko gazed at the fireworks blooming in the night sky, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. Deep down, he lamented, It seems there's no avoiding this mess in Sunagakure.
"Move quietly. No noise!"
He issued the order in a low voice, signaling the advance with a tactical hand gesture.
The thousand-strong Akatsuki force quickly adopted a combat formation, advancing swiftly toward Sunagakure.
But they hadn't gone far before Yahiko, leading at the front as the "arrowhead," clenched his fist and signaled for a halt.
"Why are we stopping?! Why the hell are we stopping?!"
Higashi Shijin, the Iwagakure observer, stormed to the front of the formation, his voice filled with indignation.
"Leader Yahiko! Sunagakure has already sent the signal. Why are we hesitating? We have a contract to fulfill!"
Yahiko cast a disdainful glance at Higashi Shijin and replied in a low voice, "Bring me a torch!"
"You can't light a fire! That'll expose us—"
But the Akatsuki members ignored the "observer," and within seconds, a blazing torch was handed to Yahiko.
"See for yourself."
Holding the torch aloft, Yahiko extended it forward. Higashi Shijin squinted into the firelight, and what he saw left him dumbstruck.
The golden glow revealed a seemingly endless sea of puppet Arhats standing silently in formation.
Each puppet was painted in gold, their designs varied—some standing, some seated, some wielding weapons, others meditating. Though they remained motionless, an oppressive aura of death emanated from them.
"This... this is nothing to fear! Just a bunch of lifeless scrap metal! If the signal has been sent, it means the monitoring center has been taken out. These things must be deactivated. Leader Yahiko, we should move quickly!"
Higashi Shijin urged impatiently.
"Then why don't you go first?" Yahiko replied, gesturing with a mock invitation.
"You—!"
Yahiko sneered at Higashi Shijin's hesitation, then tossed the torch forward.
The torch spun through the air before landing on the ground, its flames flickering brightly. The puppet Arhats remained utterly still.
"See? Just as I said, they're nothing but lifeless objects. Let's move!"
After a moment's thought, Yahiko nodded. "Alright, move quickly."
In no time, the thousand Akatsuki members dispersed like black beans scattered into a dense forest, vanishing into the Arhat puppet formation. Even as the last member entered, the puppets remained eerily silent.
The Trap Springs
Meanwhile, in the underground control room of the monitoring center, Lu Shu issued a calm command.
"Alright, they're all in. Activate it."
"Yes, sir!"
Four hundred members of the Security Corps responded resolutely.
From the very beginning, the monitoring center had been designed with two control systems—one on the surface and a backup in the underground control room. With Sunagakure's abundant resources, such redundancies were a minor expense. Jing Hang had always believed it was foolish to entrust the village's safety to a single defensive system. If the "brain" was knocked out, even the most advanced equipment would be nothing more than scrap metal.
As the four hundred shinobi poured their chakra into the system, the massive Arhat puppet formation suddenly roared to life. The once-static puppets surged forward, unleashing a relentless onslaught on the intruders.
Each shinobi could control up to eighteen puppets. With four hundred shinobi, that amounted to 7,200 puppets—a staggering 7-to-1 ratio against the Akatsuki!
The Akatsuki force found themselves engulfed in a golden tide.
The Arhat puppets, though clumsy in their movements, overwhelmed with sheer numbers. From every direction, fists, blades, and weapons rained down like an unrelenting storm.
Daibutsu, wielding his massive iron staff, swung it like a windmill, smashing nearby puppets into pieces. Yet for every puppet he destroyed, another wave surged forward, each one "fearless" in its assault.
Of course, puppets felt no pain. Fearlessness was their default state.
Sasori, the mastermind behind these puppets, had put significant thought into their design. Standard elemental jutsu—Water, Fire, Lightning, Wind, and Earth—had minimal effect on them. Only by destroying critical components could the puppets be stopped. And with their alloy-reinforced construction, even the most skilled shinobi would struggle to take down more than a few.
Before long, many chunin and genin found themselves drained of chakra, succumbing to the puppets' relentless attacks.
"Yahiko! This isn't working! We can't hold out any longer!"
Nagato shouted, kicking a puppet away with all his might.
Yahiko, using his repulsive force to blast away the surrounding puppets, called out, "Everyone, regroup around me! Fall back!"
The scattered Akatsuki members slowly converged on Yahiko, though many fell along the way. By the time they reached him, fewer than five hundred remained.
"Nagato, you and I will clear the path! Daibutsu, you cover the rear! Everyone else, protect the flanks! Maintain formation and don't get bogged down—carve us a way out!"
The Akatsuki had ventured two kilometers into the puppet formation. Yahiko believed that if they could break through those two kilometers, they would escape the puppets' attack range.
The Final Push
Back in the underground control room, Lu Shu noticed the enemy's attempted retreat.
"Those bastards are trying to run! Hold on, everyone! Increase the pressure! Take down as many as you can!"
The Security Corps shinobi were also nearing their limits. Many had already collapsed from exhaustion, but the remaining ones persevered. At this point, it was like the final rounds of a boxing match—whoever could endure the longest would land the decisive blow.
The Akatsuki, however, were in even worse shape. Leading the charge, Yahiko no longer engaged the puppets, instead using his repulsive force to blast them away. Nagato covered his rear, shielding him from attacks.
As they neared the edge of the formation, the puppets' attacks grew fiercer. The density of puppets ahead was so overwhelming that it seemed like an impenetrable wall of gold.
"Leader, you must go on without me!"
Daibutsu roared, swinging his iron staff as he charged in the opposite direction.
His self-sacrificial act disrupted the puppet formation, drawing a large number of puppets toward him.
It was a classic suicide tactic. Soon, Daibutsu was swallowed by the golden tide, his figure obscured by the relentless assault. Only the sound of his staff striking metal could be heard.
But Daibutsu's sacrifice created a fleeting gap in the formation.
Swallowing his grief, Yahiko pushed his chakra to its limits and charged toward the opening.
"Ah!"
At last, Yahiko burst through the edge of the puppet formation. He was drenched in sweat, his chakra nearly depleted. Turning back, he saw Nagato collapsed on the ground, gasping for air.
Under the pale moonlight, Yahiko surveyed the survivors. Fewer than three hundred had made it out alive.
Behind them, the Arhat puppets continued to thrash at the boundary, as if furious at their escape.
From within the formation, faint metallic clashes could still be heard—Daibutsu was still fighting.
"Daibutsu!"
Tears welled in Yahiko's eyes. Watching his comrade trapped in the chaos while he could do nothing filled him with anguish and rage.
Suddenly, he spotted Higashi Shijin among the survivors. Fury ignited within him, and he stormed over, grabbing Higashi Shijin by the collar. His eyes burned with rage.
"You... what do you want?!"
Higashi Shijin stammered in terror.
Before Yahiko could respond, countless torches flared to life ahead of them.
A neatly arranged formation of Sunagakure shinobi surrounded the remaining Akatsuki.
"Well, if it isn't an old acquaintance. Hello again, little ones. Lu Shu, shut down the system!"
Jing Hang's voice rang out, laced with amusement. He scrutinized Yahiko for a moment before bursting into laughter. His gaze then shifted to Nagato, a glint of intrigue in his eyes.
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