Chapter 147: Curse Mark Unleashed! Desert Sandstorm Assault!
Realizing that the one targeting him was Ebizō, a veteran Sunagakure ninja also in charge of intelligence and espionage, Aburame Ryoma's heart sank.
This explained everything.
The sudden intelligence leak, the secretly escorted supplies, and the apparent Konoha attack on Sunagakure—all of these were actually a carefully orchestrated scheme. Through meticulous planning, they had lured Konoha into attacking, while Sunagakure patiently waited for their prey to fall into the trap.
Now, he was caught like a fish in a net!
"It seems my time is coming to an end."
Aburame Ryoma gazed up at the rapidly spinning poisonous purple mist surrounding his Insect Tornado. All the strength seemed to drain from his body.
He sighed helplessly.
Even knowing the answer, he was trapped in the middle, powerless to change his fate.
No matter how much he struggled, as long as he couldn't escape the poisonous fog, death was the only outcome.
Thinking this, he turned his head, his face grim as he gazed eastward.
"Tsk!"
"The intelligence can't get out. The assault force must be locked in fierce battle now. Hopefully, that kid will realize this soon."
"And then—run away quickly."
He sighed again, watching the Insect Tornado thinning in the poisonous fog, waves of poisoned parasitic insects falling to the ground, wisps of poison almost seeping through.
Aburame Ryoma slowly closed his eyes, silently awaiting death.
However, at that moment—
A clear, youthful roar instantly pierced through the poisonous fog, the raging winds, and the tornado!
"Aburame Ryoma, get down!"
Immediately afterward—
BOOM!!!
A roar and a sandstorm swept across the sky, blotting out the stars!
A sudden change had occurred!
"Those people standing by the purple mist are Sunagakure ANBU!"
Standing atop Manda's head, Uchiha Shisui solemnly declared:
"Thirty shinobi—the size of a Sunagakure squadron!"
"And the one in the lead, judging by his appearance, seems to be Ebizō, the younger brother of Sunagakure Elder Chiyo!"
Inuzuka Mingyi exclaimed in shock:
"What the hell?!"
"Why is Sunagakure's highest-ranking commander here?!"
"Woof!" Meimaru barked in surprise, his body trembling involuntarily.
In an instant, all four on Manda's head showed expressions of shock. Ebizō was a figure on par with the Three Legendary Sannin—Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade—who were high-ranking commanders in their own camp!
Upon hearing this, Tsukasa quietly activated his Sharingan, sat cross-legged, and solemnly gazed at the group of Sunagakure elites beside the purple mist.
He focused on the old man wearing a black robe, a thick white mask, and a hood, with white hair and beard. A knowing glint flashed in his eyes.
He had already realized something was wrong.
In retrospect, their entire raid was a trap deliberately set by Sunagakure.
Sunagakure was using the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, as bait—intending to sacrifice him to gain an advantage on other battlefields and further weaken Konoha's forces.
The life or death of Rasa, who had just become the Fourth Kazekage, was ultimately irrelevant to the Sunagakure leadership.
There was no doubt that if Sunagakure could sacrifice Pakura, they could certainly sacrifice Rasa, especially when they had no other choice.
Rasa, desperate to prove himself and secure his position as Kazekage, had no choice but to accept this high-risk mission as bait.
What need was there for a Kazekage to escort supplies and negotiate? Sunagakure wanted victory!
Victory by any means necessary!
At this juncture, the core reason that truly prompted Sunagakure to declare war on Konoha and trigger the Third Shinobi World War wasn't the disappearance of the Third Kazekage, nor their genuine desire to invade a Konoha they clearly couldn't defeat.
It was because of the Daimyo!
They desperately needed a victory to change the newly appointed Daimyo's disastrous decision to cut Sunagakure's military budget.
At this critical juncture, with their backs against the wall, Sunagakure was on the verge of madness!
And faced with this near-insane, desperate behavior, Tsukasa knew—
Only by being more ruthless than them, only by hitting them where it hurt most, only by making them feel excruciating pain, could these desperate warriors be subdued!
Seeing this, he no longer hesitated. He flicked his wrist and pulled out a kunai from his pouch, fiercely plunging it into the gaps between Manda's scales, deep into the snake's flesh and blood. He raised his fingers to pull on the wire thread tied to it, checking the tension.
Tsukasa suddenly stood up and said in a deep voice to Shin'ya, who was controlling Manda:
"Now's the time!"
"Shin'ya!"
"You all get down now and dispel the genjutsu!"
Shin'ya looked up in astonishment. "What are you going to do?!"
Tsukasa didn't answer, but looked at him solemnly and asked earnestly:
"Can you trust me?"
Shin'ya looked deeply at Tsukasa, gritted his teeth slightly, then turned to the other three and said in a deep voice:
"Let's go down!"
Shisui and Mingyi exchanged a glance and nodded. At Tsukasa's signal, Root ninja Tori jumped down as well.
Tsukasa stepped forward, walked to the tip of Manda's snout, turned around, activated his Sharingan, and waited quietly.
The genjutsu that had been controlling Manda for so long was quietly dispelled the moment Shin'ya and the others landed.
Manda's muffled, heavy breathing suddenly quickened, and the three-tomoe Sharingan markings in its serpent eyes faded, revealing a pair of indifferent, ruthless golden snake eyes.
"HISSSSS!!!"
The moment it regained consciousness, Manda erupted in fury, its snake eyes shrinking to pinpoints as it stared at Tsukasa before it!
"Insolent brat, I'm going to devour you!"
Tsukasa calmly met its gaze, then suddenly widened his eyes.
Bloodshot whites and the eerie crimson Sharingan were deeply reflected in Manda's eyes.
Genjutsu: Sharingan!
The next moment, in the desert, a gigantic purple serpent suddenly rose into the air, its massive body erect like a skyscraper rising from the ground!
Then—
Tsukasa's expression hardened, and he leaped from the serpent's head into a downward dive!
The skyscraper instantly collapsed, and Manda's massive purple tail lashed out like divine punishment, striking the ground with devastating force!
The raging wind, sharp as a blade, whipped up Tsukasa's hair, tearing at the corners of his tattered clothes and pulling his face back violently!
In an instant—
BOOM!!!
The impact exploded with a deafening roar!
As the wind and sandstorm soared higher, Tsukasa struggled to maintain his Sharingan, frantically calculating his trajectory. He adjusted his position in mid-air with his left hand, then suddenly released!
He shot forward like a cannonball, riding the overwhelming sandstorm, hurtling toward the purple-mist-shrouded Sunagakure forces!
"I've come to save you, Aburame Ryoma!"
Standing in the wind, he watched the Sunagakure shinobi grow larger in his field of vision, starting as tiny figures in the distance.
Tsukasa grinned fiercely, his left hand gripping his neck tightly.
"Curse Mark: Release!"
The next instant, dense black flame-like patterns crawled across half his body, making his face appear demonic!
He glided through the air, roaring through the wind, amidst the rumble of thunder and sandstorm—
His hand forming the Tiger seal, his fingers pointing downward!
The boy's clear roar instantly pierced through the poisonous fog, the raging wind, and the tornado!
"Aburame Ryoma, get down!"
End of Chapter 147
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