0p0 Chapter 759 Turning Around
Chapter 759 Turning Around
Zhang Hai turned his head, a mischievous smile on his face, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Oh? Miss Mabuyi," he asked casually, "Do you think the relationship between our two villages needs me to sow discord?"
One sentence instantly silenced all of Mabui's objections. She was speechless. Indeed, the relationship between Kumogakure and Konoha was complicated and often fraught with friction; there was absolutely no need for Zhang Hai to interfere. She stomped her foot and angrily accused, "You're just up to no good!" With that, she turned and left, deciding not to waste any more time and to immediately leave this place that made her so irritable.
"Huh?" Zhang Hai seemed a little surprised. He took half a step forward and asked, "Miss Mabuyi, aren't you going to rest for a bit before setting off? And... what about breakfast tomorrow?" His tone was tinged with doubt, as if he was puzzled by her sudden departure.
Mabui didn't turn around. In the instant she turned, she coldly interrupted him: "I already know you have no intention of returning to Kumogakure." Her voice trembled slightly, but she quickly suppressed it. "Thank you for your hospitality these past two days. But if we meet on the battlefield again, I will show no mercy!" With that, her figure vanished like an arrow, disappearing into the night. She left so resolutely that even she herself didn't realize it, and a faint sense of reluctance arose in her heart. She knew that if she stayed even a second longer, she might change her mind, and that would be a risk she couldn't bear.
Zhang Hai stood still, his deep gaze fixed on the direction Mabuyi had gone, offering no obstruction. A meaningful smile played on his lips as he muttered to himself, his voice so low it almost blended into the night breeze: "Two days later, Sasori should be at his post. The Heavenly Delivery Technique… isn't that a ninjutsu sent to me by the heavens? It's mine after all, there's no way it can escape." A greedy glint shone in his eyes, as if he could already see the future.
Mabuyi sped through the night, the wind whistling past her ears. When she realized Zhang Hai hadn't stopped her, she initially felt relieved, but then a strange sense of loss quietly welled up inside her. She gave a self-deprecating laugh, shook her head, and forcibly suppressed the strange emotion in her heart. She wouldn't allow herself to be disturbed by these unnecessary feelings.
"Go back to the village!" she shouted coldly, her voice sounding particularly firm in the night.
Under Mabui's command, a dozen or so members of the Cloud Village's Anbu swiftly cleared a path ahead, escorting her as she sped towards the Cloud Village. It was late at night when they left Konoha, and as they traveled at a rapid pace, the sky was already beginning to lighten. The long journey had left Mabui feeling somewhat weary, but her mind remained taut.
However, her mind kept replaying the past two days with Zhang Hai. That flawless, polite, yet slightly cunning man—his every smile, his question, "Don't you want me to return to Yunyin Village?"—even his retort, "You're just up to no good," played back in her mind like scenes from a movie. Especially the scene where he verbally teased her, which filled her with shame and indignation, yet also stirred a strange emotion within her, rippling like waves on a still lake. She knew this emotion shouldn't exist, yet she couldn't completely suppress it.
Just as Mabuyi was lost in thought, one of the secret agents on guard at the front suddenly stopped, his body tense, and shouted sharply, "Who goes there?!" His voice was full of vigilance, indicating that he had noticed something was wrong.
After an eerie silence, a sinister smile emerged from the shadows ahead. Sasori, a member of the Akatsuki organization, Sasori of the Red Sand, slowly stepped forward. Behind him, a massive puppet also appeared, emanating an ominous aura.
"To think they could spot my trap, it seems the Cloud Village's Anbu are quite skilled." Sasori's voice was slightly hoarse, filled with confidence in his own work and contempt for his opponent.
“Scorpion!” Mabuyi’s voice was tinged with shock as she recognized the legendary puppeteer.
Upon learning their opponent's identity, all the Cloud Village Anbu members drew their ninja swords without hesitation, their chakra surging as they charged towards Sasori. Knowing Sasori's danger, they dared not hold back in the slightest, attempting to overwhelm him with their numerical advantage.
However, Sasori's strength far exceeded their expectations. Ten minutes later, the fierce battle ended. More than a dozen Cloud Village Anbu members lay dead in pools of blood, their ninja swords scattered on the ground, along with numerous puppet fragments. These fragments proved that the Anbu had fought desperately, but ultimately succumbed to defeat.
Only Mabuyi, weakly crouching on the ground, her face pale and a trace of blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, struggled to stay upright, staring in disbelief at the enormous puppet behind Scorpion. The puppet's shape was bizarre, emanating a peculiar magnetic aura that instantly reminded her of a nearly forgotten bloodline limit.
"That's... the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release?" Mabui's voice trembled slightly. She finally understood that Sasori's puppet was actually the strongest Kazekage in Sunagakure's history—the Third Kazekage! This discovery filled her with immense shock and fear.
Scorpion slowly crouched down, a bloodthirsty smile on his face. His gaze fell on Mabuyi, as if admiring a work of art about to be obtained. "Did you see that? Pretty clever," he said with a light laugh, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Don't worry, I won't kill you, I'll just let you sleep."
As he finished speaking, a pale purple gas emerged from his fingertips and instantly surged into Mabuyi's body. Mabuyi felt a sudden darkness engulf her, and her body instantly lost all strength. Before she could even utter a sound, she completely lost consciousness and collapsed limply into a pool of blood.
Under the dark sky, a black shadow carrying the unconscious Mabuyi swiftly disappeared into the depths of the forest, vanishing without a trace. It was the Third Kazekage puppet controlled by Sasori, moving nimbly and silently, as if it had never existed.
About half a day later, the rising sun bathed the forest in golden light. Another group of Cloud Village ANBU arrived along Mabui's planned retreat route. When they saw the horrific scene, they all gasped in horror. The blood-stained ground, the scattered fragments of ninja swords, and the bodies of more than a dozen of their fallen comrades all testified to a fierce battle that had taken place there.
Experienced ANBU ninjas quickly surveyed the scene and soon determined from the characteristics of the puppet remains that it was an attack launched by puppeteers from Sunagakure. All the ANBU members from Kumogakure were killed, while Mabui was missing and his fate was unknown.