Naruto: The Hidden Shadow Style

For Menzuomen, this battle had dragged on far longer than it should have. In theory, he was supposed to end everything within ten seconds.

But facing Haseo, a ninja capable of unleashing wide-area ninjutsu, Menzuomen—as a puppet master, no matter how skilled—had his limits. Against enemies with mismatched specialties, any ninja would find themselves at a disadvantage... To counter a jutsu specialist, the proper solution was always another jutsu specialist.

And compared to regular ninja, Haseo's speed when casting techniques was just too fast—so fast there wasn't even an opening for the puppets to strike between spells. This went far beyond mere hand-seal speed… Even the fastest seals had their limit, yet Haseo's casting speed seemed to have surpassed that theoretical limit that shouldn't have been breakable.

Was he forming seals with just one hand? No, impossible. That thought barely flickered through Menzuomen's mind—he'd clearly seen Haseo using both hands to form seals.

Luckily, during this fight, Haseo hadn't yet displayed his ability to mix two chakra natures at once, or else Menzuomen might've lost his mind from frustration.

After diving underwater, Haseo was just lying low and chilling, completely unaware—and probably unconcerned—about what was going on up top.

Nagisa Nara swiftly appeared beside that squad of reinforcements and gave the simplest possible explanation: "There's only one enemy—the Sunagakure ninja Menzuomen. Preliminary judgment suggests he has been active here for some time already, and our captain is currently holding him off."

Upon hearing this report, the leader of the squad nodded slightly before asking, "What about this fog around us?"

"It's our captain's Water Release Ninjutsu."

The commanding ninja nodded understandingly—he recognized this as the Hiding in Mist Technique. However, they needed to confirm whether the person who released it was ally or foe. Then, turning to another ninja behind him, he asked, "Can you see what's happening inside?"

The mist technique used by Haseo for self-defense had indeed created significant obstacles for the arriving reinforcements.

The ninja standing behind the captain scanned through the fog with his gaze before replying, "One enemy and ten puppets inside. So odds are pretty high the enemy is none other than Menzuomen, while our comrade has hidden himself underwater and is currently not in any life-threatening danger."

Instantly grasping the entire battlefield situation? The way this ninja reported made Nagisa Nara instinctively shift his eyes toward him—and then he saw a pair of eyes with completely white irises and pale pupils.

It was the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan. Of course—fog like this wouldn't even slow them down.

Hearing the Hyuga ninja's report, the commander addressed his subordinates: "Listen carefully. The enemy is Menzuomen. From this point on, our mission is to take him down—right here, right now. If he breaks free, authorize moderate pursuit... A few of you stay here for support and await further reinforcements."

The next words were addressed to Nagisa Nara by the squad leader. He said that the young ninjas had already done more than enough, and they wouldn't be needed for the battle ahead.

Nagisa nodded in agreement with the arrangement. He understood perfectly well—this four-man squad was entirely made up of elite Jonin. These were people who moved across battlefields every day, dedicated specifically to eliminating high-value enemy targets… and Menzuomen was exactly the type of target they had come to deal with.

Menzuomen truly lived up to his reputation as an experienced ninja. The moment battlefield conditions shifted, he immediately sensed danger and withdrew without hesitation.

This elite Konoha squad quickly gave chase.

Meanwhile, Haseo was still hiding underwater like a fish.

He had been holding his breath until reaching his limit. However, fearing someone might suddenly smash open the top of his skull the moment he surfaced for air, he kept enduring it.

Soon afterward, faint chirping sounds reached underwater—this was a signal from his teammates indicating, "Support has arrived. Enemy has fled. The team is safe."

The signal sounded clearly three times. This time, Haseo realized the enemy had really left, so he slowly floated upward, first revealing his eyes, then gradually breaking the water surface with his whole body.

"Cough cough…" Crouching atop the water, Haseo continuously coughed lightly, expelling water from his mouth and nose.

His teammates quickly moved in, crouching down around him—some keeping watch, others checking his condition… after all, Haseo had taken on the majority of pressure and attacks during this fight.

Haseo took a few deep breaths, finally easing the tightness in his chest. "Friends," he said, "I think I might need some CPR."

Thankfully everything turned out okay. Once safety had been confirmed, he even felt like cracking a joke. But unexpectedly, his joke received a completely unforeseen response.

"I'll do it."

The one speaking was Chichio.

…

Haseo and the other two team members froze momentarily before instinctively leaning their bodies backward in shock once they realized what Chichio meant.

"Oh right, I was kidding." Haseo awkwardly replied. Who'd have thought someone would actually take him seriously? That kunoichi on the team was definitely too bold.

Indeed, Chichio's boldness differed significantly from what Haseo imagined. Moreover… perhaps he thought a bit too highly of himself.

"Don't move."

Chichio knelt upon the water surface, lifting one of Haseo's arms with her hands. She removed the protective forearm guard tied to it, then rolled up his sleeve… ultimately revealing two very fine wounds.

Earlier while blocking an attack from the puppet, its blade had slightly pierced through his armor. However, since the wound was extremely shallow, he hadn't noticed at all back then.

Now his arm had already turned pitch black—puppets and poison always went hand-in-hand. If a puppeteer didn't use poison, they weren't a true puppet master.

Then, Chichio placed one hand on Haseo's arm. Her fingertips brought a refreshingly cool sensation—an oddly soothing feeling… until her other hand drew out a kunai—a sharp throwing blade.

"Shall we amputate it now? The faster we act, the better—the poison has already started spreading."

Within moments, Haseo's entire forearm had turned pitch black. Yet looking at Chichio's calm gaze, he couldn't help but sense an unusual eagerness from her.

It must be a hallucination. Definitely just my mind playing tricks.

So, Haseo replied firmly:

"I still think... there's still time to save this."

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