Chapter 45: 43: A Great Work
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"Are you a medical ninja?"
"Yes..."
"Come with me."
"Yes..."
Shiraishi turned around and saw a beautiful woman with long brown hair manipulating the puppet. She appeared to be no older than thirty years old, and he recognized her as one of the two puppet masters of the Suna Army.
However, she had an arm cut off and was currently bandaging the wound, which affected her overall appearance.
Nevertheless, even with the loss of an arm, a puppet master of her caliber wouldn't see a significant decrease in strength. After all, the power of a puppet master lies in the puppets themselves.
The woman led the way unsuspectingly, seemingly not on guard against Shiraishi. Ignoring the puppet holding a Kunai to his neck seemed to be the right move.
Considering her current state, it was only natural for her to be cautious.
There was a sturdy tree that would require a dozen people to surround. Although it wasn't completely surrounded, its hollow bottom revealed a dark hole through which a faint light shone.
Shiraishi was compelled to enter, and with the external light, he could catch a glimpse of the conditions inside.
A red-haired man lay on the ground, extremely weak, with a shocking incision on his chest. Although hastily bandaged, the bandage was stained with blood, and it could only provide temporary hemostasis.
After some time, they would have to abandon him and escape alone.
However, according to the intelligence Shiraishi had obtained, the two puppet masters, a husband and wife, were the children of a high-ranking member of Suna.
They were a loving couple of ninjas. Rather than leaving her husband to fend for himself here, she might also think about sacrificing herself or even having suicidal thoughts.
Such a possibility existed.
Ninjas were still human beings. No matter how much they suppressed their emotions, it only made them stronger.
If one were to calculate only in terms of profit and loss, every individual would be a wise person unless it was the last resort.
However, in reality, there weren't always so many wise individuals who were completely exhausted.
In comparison to profit and loss, humans were creatures influenced more easily by emotions.
The woman's best choice would be to kill her husband, dispose of his body to prevent information leakage, and then leave alone as quickly as possible.
But she didn't do it, which was evidence in itself.
"Save him, no tricks."
The woman's words were brief, making it clear to Shiraishi what she meant.
"Understood. If I save him, can I request mercy and spare my own life?"
The woman remained silent.
The kunai held by the puppet around Shiraishi's neck almost severed his throat.
Shiraishi shrugged helplessly.
A faint green light appeared on his right hand. He crouched down and slowly lifted the bandage on the male puppet master's chest with his left hand.
The man was unconscious and let out a pained groan. Shiraishi enveloped the green light over the wound on the male puppet master's body, allowing it to heal as quickly as possible.
"This wound was caused by wind attribute chakra... I'll need ten minutes to heal it."
"As his student, don't you know the secret of White Fang's swordsmanship?"
The female puppet master frowned.
Shiraishi shook his head.
He knew that Sakumo's swordsmanship was formidable, but he didn't possess much knowledge about its secrets.
Perhaps the enemy knew, but those who knew the secret of White Fang's swordsmanship might have perished.
In Konoha, it was difficult to determine how many individuals were aware. It was likely that even Sakumo practiced in secret.
After all, it wasn't wise to casually delve into the secrets of a fellow ninja, as it could easily cause discord among themselves.
Especially for a powerful Jōnin like Sakumo, the secret of his swordsmanship might only be known in detail by high-level officials such as the Hokage.
As time passed, the male puppet master's condition improved, and his breathing gradually calmed.
The female puppet master looked at Shiraishi with a slightly surprised expression and said, "Your medical ninjutsu is impressive. No wonder you were placed by White Fang's side."
She understood the severity of her husband's injury, but she hadn't expected Shiraishi to heal him in ten minutes, without even resorting to surgery.
She felt relieved, knowing that Shiraishi was a Jōnin under Sakumo's command.
This medical nin who followed Konoha's White Fang might not be exceptional, but his medical ninjutsu skills were undoubtedly outstanding.
Even among the medical ninjas in their Sunagakurr, including those with remarkable medical abilities, it was unlikely that they possessed the same level of skill in medical ninjutsu as Shiraishi.
This explained why a Genin with average abilities was qualified to accompany Konoha's White Fang.
Indeed, Konoha was truly the cradle of geniuses.
"The injury has been healed, but there are still serious internal injuries. To fully recover, I'll need an operating room and some herbs."
Shiraishi stepped aside and stood obediently.
"No need, that will do for now."
The female puppet master's face showed a hint of relief.
Just as a weight seemed to lift from her heart, the male puppet master lying on the ground suddenly screamed. His lips turned a dark shade of red, and he began coughing violently, spewing out strange, dark red blood.
Poisoned!
Shock washed over the female puppet master's face. Simultaneously, the fingers on her one remaining arm started twitching, and her eyes emanated a terrifying killing intent as she prepared to control the puppet to attack.
Her movements were not slow. In fact, her fingers were more agile than Shiraishi's to some extent. However, Shiraishi had a plan.
Taking the male puppet master's screams as a signal, Shiraishi condensed blue chakra in his hand, forming a blade-like shape.
He swiftly turned around and swung his hand.
Just as the puppet was about to make its move, it was sliced to pieces by Shiraishi's hand blade. A loud bang reverberated through the air as a shower of wooden splinters scattered in front of Shiraishi.
"You!"
This level of reaction and speed was beyond the capability of an ordinary Genin.
The female puppet master finally grasped the gravity of the situation.
All her strength was focused on the puppet.
Before, her puppet had been destroyed by White Fang, and now she controlled her husband's puppet, which had also been shattered.
Even if she wanted to summon a new backup puppet, it would take time.
However, Shiraishi's speed and reflexes caught her off guard. Without further thought, she grabbed her poisoned and blood-vomiting husband and rushed out of the tree hollow.
All she could do now was flee for her life.
Just as she made her way outside, having taken only a few steps, a petite figure suddenly landed in front of her.
Three tomoes rotated within the scarlet eyes.
"Well..."
The female puppet master froze in place, unable to move a muscle.
Her husband rolled on the ground, coughing in agony, with his lips turning black.
Pfft!
A blade pierced through the female puppet master's back, piercing all the way through to her chest, impaling her heart.
She toppled forward, a look of unwillingness in her eyes, and she breathed her last.
With the blood-stained ninja sword in his hand, Shiraishi glanced indifferently at the lifeless body of the female puppet master, then approached the poisoned and unconscious male puppet master. Without hesitation, he sliced open his chest, bringing an end to his suffering.
"That was easier than planned."
A smile appeared on Ruri's face.
"Of course, the puppet master's main source of power lies within the puppet itself. If we cannot directly target the puppet master, then destroying the puppet by seizing opportunities is the way to go. With Sakumo's strength, he can simply focus on attacking the puppet master directly. There's no need for this frustrating performance and time-wasting."
"It seems luck is on our side. You deserve the credit for these two."
Shiraishi generously attributed the credit to Ruri, content to remain in the background.
Ruri nodded calmly, accepting the credit.
"By the way, I forgot to mention that the Yamanaka clan excels at gathering information from corpses. As long as the brain remains intact, remember to clean the scene thoroughly and leave no trace behind."
Ruri suddenly remembered something and spoke up.
"Understood. It's quite troublesome, and I'm wasting my medical supplies again, making it appear as if I'm up to no good."
Shiraishi casually complained, rummaged through his pouch, retrieved two syringes filled with lavender liquid, and approached the two lifeless bodies on the ground.
"Don't complain. We happened to catch quite the big catch this time, and the village will surely reward us handsomely."
Ruri took one of the syringes from Shiraishi and injected the liquid into the neck of the female puppet master's corpse.
Immediately, the pathways on the surface of the female puppet master's body surged as if they were about to burst through the skin.
This ugly phenomenon lasted for less than three seconds before the corpse returned to its previous state, as if nothing had happened.
"I've heard that Hokage-sama possesses a scroll book that contains various powerful mysteries and forbidden techniques..."
"Don't even think about it. The Senju Clan wouldn't be so generous to outsiders. Perhaps in the time of the First Hokage, such a possibility existed."
Ruri had a talent for dousing excitement with cold water.
After erasing any traces, Shiraishi and Ruri returned to the sentinel with the two lifeless bodies.
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