Konoha: I have a clone in One Piece.

Chapter 142 The Ninja World with an Increasingly Strange Art Style, "Duck, don't die!"

"Jiraiya, hurry up!"

A toad the size of a palm, with white eyebrows and whiskers, shouted at Jiraiya.

This is none other than the hermit Shinsaku, who has cultivated on Mount Myoboku for eight hundred years!

Jiraiya hurried along, shouting, "Boss, I'm still training Minato and the others! Why did you summon me here so urgently?"

Fukasaku jumped onto Jiraiya's shoulder and gave him a hard tap on the head: "Of course I called you here because it's important!"

Jiraiya looked puzzled: "What important thing is it?"

Fukasaku the Sage shook his head: "I'm not quite sure either. It was the Great Toad Sage who was in a hurry to find you."

"what?"

Upon hearing that it was the Great Toad Sage who was looking for him, Jiraiya's expression immediately turned serious.

You should know that the Great Toad Sage is the oldest sage of Mount Myōboku!

It usually sleeps most of the time and rarely cares about anything.

But this time, the fact that Boss Fukasaku urgently summoned me here suggests that he might have found the Child of Prophecy.

With this in mind, Jiraiya did not delay any longer.

Accompanied by the hermit Fukasaku, they hurriedly headed towards the habitat of the Great Toad Hermit.

Before long, the man and the toad arrived at the Myoboku-san Temple.

At this moment, another hermit from Mount Myōboku—Shima the Hermit—had been waiting here for quite some time.

Fukasaku jumped from Jiraiya's shoulder to the Great Toad Sage and shouted, "Great Sage, little Jiraiya is here!"

The giant toad sage opened his eyes a crack and mumbled sleepily, "Who? Who's here?"

"..."

The man and the two toads were speechless.

Sitting on the other side of the Great Toad Sage, Master Shima muttered under his breath, "The old man must be getting senile!"

Fukasaku the Hermit quickly said, "Hey~ Mother of the child, don't talk nonsense!"

Looking at the giant toad sage sitting back in place, seemingly about to close his eyes and fall asleep again.

Fukasaku, exasperated, leaned closer to his ear and shouted even louder, "Jiraiya! Jiraiya! Didn't you tell me to call him here?"

The Great Toad Sage glanced at Jiraiya standing in front of him, and after observing him for a while, a look of sudden realization appeared on his face:

"Oh, I remember now, it's little Jiraiya!"

Upon finally being recognized, Jiraiya, unfazed by such sights, hurriedly asked, "Great Sage, have you found the Child of Prophecy?"

According to the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, the ninja world will undergo a great upheaval unprecedented in a thousand years, and the Child of Prophecy is the key figure who will influence the future fate of the ninja world!

Therefore, in recent years, Jiraiya has been searching all over the ninja world for the child of prophecy.

He has found two very likely disciples, Nagato Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze, but Jiraiya is conflicted and confused about which of the two is the real one, or whether he is the child of prophecy.

"No, Jiraiya."

The giant toad immortal shook his head.

Jiraiya was immediately somewhat disappointed: "Then what did you call me here for?"

The Great Toad Sage seemed to be recalling something, and after a moment of pause, he slowly said:

"Little Jiraiya, I've realized I can't see the Child of Prophecy's face clearly anymore!"

"The future seems to have changed."

"There seem to be more children of prophecy now, how strange..."

What? There are more children of prophecy now?

What does this mean?

After a moment of stunned silence, Jiraiya quickly asked, "Great Sage, did you see what they looked like?"

The giant toad immortal shook his head.

His predictions only offer a vague glimpse into the future.

Even the original chosen one of prophecy could only barely sense some vague and ambiguous information.

Not to mention the future that has been inexplicably altered.

Jiraiya's eyes widened instantly, then his brows furrowed deeply: "So that means an unknown change has occurred in the ninja world, causing your prophecy to change as well?"

"And perhaps the original Child of Prophecy still exists? Or has it been concealed, or has it become less important?"

The Great Toad Sage nodded and slowly said, "Perhaps."

Jiraiya pondered seriously for a moment, then asked, "Great Sage, do you know about the revival of the ninja world?"

The Great Toad Sage looked puzzled: "The ninja world is reviving?"

Jiraiya said with certainty, "Yes, that means the ninja world suffered a great disaster in the past, but it is now beginning to recover, and many mutated creatures have recently appeared in the ninja world."

As he spoke, Jiraiya took out the Ninja World Newspaper.

The two hermits, Fukasaku and Shima, took the newspaper and read it for a while, then looked at each other in bewilderment:

"I remember the old master did mention a great catastrophe in the ninja world in the past, but we don't know anything about its revival."

After saying that, the two immortals looked at the giant toad immortal.

"..."

The Great Toad Sage rarely showed a serious expression.

He always kept the story of the Otsutsuki clan in mind, and naturally had a deep understanding of the disaster that happened a thousand years ago.

But, is the ninja world reviving?

The giant toad immortal frowned and pondered.

a long time.

The Great Toad Sage, unable to find the answer in the records and memories of Mount Myōboku, could only offer an uncertain answer based on his own experience: "Probably, possibly, should, perhaps, there will be a revival?"

"Little Jiraiya, I've never encountered anything like this before."

"Is that so? Okay, I understand."

Jiraiya left Mount Myōboku with doubts and a heavy heart.

……

The Land of Wind, a land of yellow sand.

A group of Sunagakure ninjas are chasing three Kumo ninjas.

"Damn barbarians! Put our running ducks down!"

A Sand Ninja shouted angrily.

"Quack quack quack—"

Several fast-running ducks cried out in terror as they felt themselves being lifted high into the air.

Not far away, three Cloud Ninja, carrying fast-running ducks, were running swiftly through the yellow sand, laughing heartily:

"dream!"

"You bunch of trash Sand Ninja! You can't even catch up with us in the desert! You're utterly useless!"

"Hahaha, go back to Sunagakure and suckle!"

Hearing such mocking words, the Sand Ninja gritted their teeth in anger, and veins popped out on their foreheads!

Other Sunagakure ninjas might have been able to catch up with these three Kumogakure ninjas.

However, they are a puppet army, and puppeteers are not particularly good at speed.

Watching the Cloud Ninja getting further and further away, one of the Sand Ninja puppeteers couldn't help but look at a red-haired teammate in the group, a hopeful expression on his face, and said:

"Scorpion, please!"

With his delicate features, Sasori of the Red Sand, who was almost fifteen years old this year, glanced at the Cloud Ninja in the distance and nodded expressionlessly.

In fact, he didn't care about these few cloud-borne scorpions who had survived but found their own way.

It was just a chance encounter, and his purpose in coming out this time was not to chase after the Cloud Ninja who stole the Runaway Duck.

However, since his teammates had pleaded with him, Scorpion didn't mind having three more test subjects.

Then Sasori of the Red Sands unfurled the scroll behind him, and with a bang, a metal scorpion-shaped puppet appeared.

He leaped onto the puppet, several strong chakra threads extending from his fingertips, and then rode the metal scorpion at breakneck speed towards the Cloud Ninja, leaving the billowing yellow sand behind him at incredible speed.

The three Cloud Ninja turned around and were immediately horrified:

"Damn it! How could this guy be so fast?"

"Wait, that puppeteer seems to be..."

"Red Sand Scorpion!"

As the number of missions he completed increased, Scorpion's reputation gradually grew.

The three Cloud Ninja recognized the young genius from Sunagakure upon seeing the iconic scorpion-shaped puppet.

The three felt a chill run down their spines. After exchanging a glance, they decisively prepared to split up and flee!

However, Scorpion, who was not far away, saw this scene and quickly pulled out several shuriken from his waist pouch, then flung them out.

The shuriken flashed through the air, accurately striking three Cloud Ninjas.

Although it was just a minor scrape, but...

"ah--"

With three screams, the three Cloud Ninjas were instantly poisoned and collapsed by the shuriken covered in deadly poison.

As Scorpion approached, his eyes were filled with ruthlessness and indifference as he looked at the Cloud Ninja lying on the yellow sand, still clinging to life.

Soon after, the remaining eight Sand Ninja arrived.

"Damn barbarians! Humph!"

"Hey, forget about those three guys. They're poisoned by the scorpion; there's no way they can escape!"

"Oh, right! Come and see how our ducklings are doing!"

"Quack quack quack—"

The Sand Ninjas quickly calmed down the frightened running duck.

One of the Sand Shinobi noticed a duck lying sprawled on the sand nearby and quickly ran over:

"Ah Wu, what's wrong? Get up quickly!"

However, the duck remained lying still, as if it had been frightened to death.

"Waaaaah... Ah-Wu, don't scare me!" The Sand Ninja felt the body temperature of her good friend, with whom she had spent more than a year, gradually getting cold, and tears of sadness streamed down her face.

The other Sand Ninja watched this scene with pity and began to offer words of comfort:

"Ugh, those damned barbarians!"

"Don't be too sad, take it back and give it a proper burial."

"Don't worry, when we get back, Lord Kazekage will definitely get you another one... uh..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

In an instant, all the Sand Ninja covered their necks in terror.

"Well--"

They stared in disbelief at Sasori, who had just silently severed everyone's necks with his chakra threads!

Blood gushed out immediately, staining the yellow sand with large patches of crimson.

even.

Even the few remaining fast-running ducks were instantly killed.

Scorpion watched this cruel scene expressionlessly, his eyes filled with ruthlessness and indifference.

After a while.

As Sasori used chakra threads to pull up one of the surviving Cloud Ninja, preparing to conduct an experiment.

"Are you creating human puppets?" A distant, loud, yet conspicuous question echoed from the vast, silent, deserted desert.

"!!!"

Scorpion paused involuntarily, instantly looking around warily.

however.

No matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find a single person in the vast expanse of yellow sand that seemed to stretch endlessly.

Scorpion's alertness immediately heightened: "Who?"

Because of their inherent weakness, puppeteers usually put a lot of effort into developing their perception, reaction, and defense.

As a puppeteer with exceptional talent, Scorpion possessed remarkable perception, yet even so, he couldn't locate the person who had spoken.

Scorpion's handsome face turned gloomy, and the chakra threads in his hand were silently retracted, ready to unleash their power.

Suddenly, in the far reaches of the yellow sand, a blurry figure appeared.

Scorpion immediately fixed his gaze on the figure, his eyes filled with vigilance.

In an instant, perhaps not even half a second.

The blurry figure flickered several times, each time traversing an extremely long distance, becoming clearer and clearer.

Scorpion's pupils suddenly contracted: "So fast!"

The next instant, before Scorpion could even react, the figure was already in front of him.

Suzuki, dressed in a black trench coat, calmly looked at the horrified red-haired boy before him: "Sasori of the Red Sand?"

A ninja from Kumogakure? Are they here to rescue their comrades?

Looking at the unfamiliar, powerful figure before him, whose body still faintly retained a trace of lightning, Scorpion was filled with apprehension.

While secretly preparing for the attack, he pointed to several Cloud Ninja beside him and said:

"You're here to rescue them, right?"

"Don't worry, they're still alive, just poisoned. The antidote is with me!"

Having witnessed that terrifying speed, Sasori realized the difference in strength between the two and decisively used the three Cloud Ninja as bargaining chips!

However, Suzuki glanced at the genius puppeteer and, after a moment's thought, understood what he was thinking.

Heh, are you afraid the puppet thing will be exposed, so you're treating me like a Cloud Ninja?

Suzuki looked at Sasori, whose expression was full of wariness, and smiled gently:

"I'm not from Kumogakure. You're mistaken. Whether these few Kumogakure ninja live or die is none of my business."

Ninjas in the ninja world, even genin, have all seen blood. Therefore, Suzuki was already used to the killing among ninjas, and besides, peace had never been his belief.

Scorpion was somewhat taken aback, then his face turned murderous: Since the bargaining chips are not working, it seems that I have to take direct action. Anyone who knows that I make human puppets must die!

next second.

Dozens of strong and sharp chakra threads transformed into a cage, completely surrounding Suzuki!

Suddenly, a large number of shuriken and poison needles coated with highly poison spewed out from what appeared to be normal sand!

Several puppets, which had been hidden in the yellow sand, emerged from the gravel and charged forward!

For a time, Suzuki seemed to be trapped in a crisis from which he could not escape...

Sasori stared intently at the figure trapped by chakra threads, his hands already rapidly forming hand seals in preparation for the next attack.

How should a puppeteer deal with fast enemies?

Sasori had been pondering this ever since his parents were killed by Konoha's White Fang.

Ultimately, he came to two conclusions.

First, use a large number of attacks to restrict the enemy's movements!

Secondly...

The goal is to prevent the enemy from hitting you, while allowing you to attack at will!

"Wind Release: Wind Slicing Technique!"

More than a dozen sharp wind blades appeared in mid-air and then rushed towards Suzuki!

After finishing his ninjutsu, Sasori didn't hesitate at all. He immediately activated his hidden treasure, "Hiruko," and quickly prepared to hide inside the puppet's body.

However, the next moment...

The scorpion, whose body was already half inside the puppet, suddenly stopped moving.

He stiffly turned his head, staring at the hand pressing on his shoulder, his mind blank!

"Mr. Scorpion, it's very impolite to suddenly attack."

"And what are you hiding from?"

Suzuki looked at Sasori of the Red Sand with a hint of a smile in his eyes.

Bang bang bang!!

Only then did the previously impenetrable chakra threads, poison needles, and sharp wind blades finally strike the sand.

Behind the two, yellow sand swirled and dust rose in the air!

"..."

Sasori Akasaka, a boy who should have been stubborn and proud, felt a chill in his heart and broke out in a cold sweat, not daring to move an inch.

The hand pressing on his shoulder was very close to his neck.

With just a gentle swing, his head could be easily severed!

Suzuki glanced at the three Cloud Ninja lying on the ground nearby.

The three men were covered in festering sores and were spitting out dark red blood, clearly indicating the effects of a deadly poison.

Even the sand ants that crawled out of the sand after smelling the blood died instantly upon contact with the corpse.

Suzuki narrowed his eyes, then smiled:

"Mr. Scorpion is really ruthless."

"If I were truly a ninja from Kumogakure, I'd probably be poisoned to death by now, wouldn't I?"

Scorpion glanced at the dead Cloud Ninja.

In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through my mind, but in the end, only my parents, my grandmother Chiyo, and my belief in pursuing eternity remained.

He looked at Suzuki and began with difficulty, "I..."

Bang! ! !

Scorpion was grabbed by the neck by Suzuki and slammed onto the sand!

"No need for reasons, I've heard too many beggars already."

Suzuki calmly patted the dust off his clothes.

Then, looking down at Scorpion, whose bones were shattered and who lay paralyzed on the sand, unable to move, he slowly said:

"I didn't mean to kill you."

"However, since you have launched an attack on me, you should be prepared to die."

Suzuki held up one finger: "One strike."

"If you survive this next hit, your life is saved."

After saying that, Suzuki walked to the side and casually sat cross-legged on the sand.

He waved his hand lightly.

In an instant, lightning flashed across the sky, filled with an aura of destruction and power!

Scorpion's eyes widened, he gritted his teeth and struggled to move the few fingers he could barely move, summoning a large number of puppets from the scroll!

The next instant, the lightning bolt struck down.

Scorpion desperately surrounded himself with all the puppets and treasures, trying to block this terrifying attack!

Boom boom boom!!!

As a large amount of yellow sand was stirred up, a huge scorched sand pit appeared where the lightning bolt struck.

After a while.

Suzuki chuckled and said, "Not bad, your puppet's defense is quite excellent."

His Observation Haki allowed him to sense everything around him clearly.

In the sandpit, Scorpion lay on the charred fragments of the puppet, panting heavily: "Huff, cough, cough..."

"I'm alive!"

Even the proudest scorpion couldn't help but feel a sense of relief at surviving such a calamity.

Not far away, Suzuki stood up, dusted off his clothes, and slowly walked over.

Seeing Scorpion suddenly become wary and alert, Suzuki smiled and said, "Don't worry, I keep my word! Your life is spared."

"By the way, I heard you're a genius puppeteer."

"Have you ever heard of flesh and blood suffering, and machines ascending to immortality?"

(End of this chapter)