Naruto: The Honored One(Discontinued)

42

Chapter 42: A Symphony of Dolls and Dust

The air in the Land of This crackled, thick with the scent of ozone and spilled bean jam. Suguru Geto stood in the courtyard, a picture of placid amusement. Above, on a tiled rooftop, his former Akatsuki comrades stared down, their animosity a palpable force.

“Let the children play, Deidara,” Geto chided, his voice a smooth, velvet taunt. “Your business is with me.”

Deidara’s visible eye twitched. “Business? This is art! And you’re standing in my canvas, hm!” He plunged both hands into his clay pouches. From within his Hiruko puppet, Sasori’s voice grated, “Your sentimentality is a flaw, Deidara. Obstacles are removed.”

Hiruko’s mouth swung open. A torrent of senbon—Prepared Puppet: Eight Waves of Needles—shot out in a poisoned stream. Simultaneously, Deidara flung a dozen white clay spiders that skittered towards Geto from all sides.

Nearby, hidden behind a crumbling wall, Shikamaru Nara watched, his mind racing. ‘Two Akatsuki members against the guy who killed Naruto? What kind of mess have we walked into?’ He gestured silently to Tatewaki, the stoic samurai who had just joined him. “Stay put. Don’t rush in. Let them wear each other down.”

Tatewaki grunted, his gaze locked on the battle, his hand tight on his sword’s hilt. “My duty is to the Daimyō and Princess Chiyo. If that man fights to protect them, I will aid him.”

Geto raised a hand, and the ground before him tore open as Kage-Maru, the Titan, erupted from the earth. The shadowy spirit formed a living wall, absorbing the storm of poisoned needles without effect.

“Katsu!” Deidara roared.

The clay spiders detonated, but Kage-Maru strode through the smoke, completely unscathed. While his spirit engaged them, Geto’s eyes flickered towards the castle keep. He saw the Daimyo,Princess Chiyo and their retainers being herded by a new set of puppets. Geto sighed. “So tedious.” He gestured, and two more spirits materialized: the molten Magatsu and the crystalline Fafnir.

Shikamaru’s jaw tightened. ‘Three of them?! He summons monsters of that caliber with no effort. He’s on a completely different level.’

Deidara took to the sky on a clay bird, dropping his C3 bomb. “Art is an explosion!” he shrieked. Fafnir countered with a Seismic Roar, detonating the bomb prematurely while a Crystal Wall shielded Geto.

From the rooftops where they were making their escape, Ino and Choji turned back in horror. “Shikamaru’s still down there!” Choji cried, clutching the chest containing Lord Shu.

“We have to trust him, Choji!” Ino said, her voice trembling. “Our mission is to get Lord Shu to safety!”

Back in the courtyard, Sasori, now revealed in his true puppet form after Kage-Maru shattered Hiruko, unsealed his masterpiece: The Third Kazekage puppet.

“The Third Kazekage…” Tatewaki whispered beside Shikamaru, recognizing the legendary figure. “To defile a Kage like that… he is truly a demon.”

The Kazekage puppet unleashed a hailstorm of Iron Sand Drizzle. Geto calmly erected a Four-Pillar Prison to block it. As the Kazekage puppet’s Giant Spear pierced the barrier, Geto summoned Yōkai-Musubi, whose genjutsu momentarily trapped Sasori.

Shikamaru saw his chance. A minuscule window. “Tatewaki, now! While the puppet master is distracted!”

He shot his Shadow Possession Jutsu forward, the shadow stretching not towards Sasori or Deidara, but locking onto the Kazekage puppet. At the same time, Tatewaki burst from cover, his blade a silver blur as he charged the puppet from the side.