Spoils of War
"Boom!"
An explosion echoed in mid-air. The white flying dragon descended slightly amidst the smoke and dust. Immediately after, a puppet jumped onto the flying dragon without being controlled.
"Hoo!" A gust of wind swept through as Temari, wielding the Three-Tomoe Fan, unleashed a Great Sickle Weasel Technique with all her might.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
A series of explosions, like firecrackers, created aftershocks that forcefully dispersed the gale. The flying dragon continued onward without the slightest hesitation.
"Thump!"
Gaara, covered in cracks and unconscious, fell, only to be caught by the autonomously acting sand, creating a muffled sound.
During his confrontation, both sides had been silently infiltrating and laying ambushes with clay and sand. In the end, he failed to notice the clay that had quietly mixed into the sand, nor did he use his Sand Armor to block the shockwaves. He suffered the setback nearly three years earlier than he should have in the manga.
Fortunately, the softened clothing he wore absorbed most of the direct damage and flames, leaving him only briefly stunned by the force.
They got away.
Lin Ke deactivated the Chakra Scalpel, watching the flying dragon rapidly disappear over the horizon. He looked down at the captured puppet.
The strange inscription 'Scorpion' had vanished from its chest—
This was exactly as depicted in the manga. When faced with an unavoidable attack, Scorpion seemed capable of directly transferring his core. This transfer didn't appear to be a conventional removal or ejection.
Given that this guy frequently used the Summoning Jutsu to release ninja tools and mechanisms, it was highly likely that he used the Summoning Jutsu to circulate his core among all his puppets.
So, it seems that Scorpion really held back against Chiyo and the puppets Father and Mother in the manga. Otherwise, this ability to transfer his core at will would have made him quite difficult to kill.
Lin Ke thought to himself. Seeing Gaara regain consciousness and the disheveled Temari and Kankuro approaching from afar, he picked up his wallet. Feeling its emptiness, he felt a pang of—well, heartache? Mainly because, when facing an expert who could single-handedly kill the Third Kazekage, he couldn't be stingy with his money. In that situation, he couldn't leave some behind or throw out a portion; he had to throw it all out at once.
Now, all the missions from the past few months were for nothing, and even the money from selling the apartment was more than half gone.
Lin Ke clutched his chest, instructing his shadow to gather the dozens of puppets and the 'Scorpion' puppet scattered across the battlefield. He wasn't entirely without gains.
Scorpion had fled in a sorry state. After all, he couldn't even defeat Lin Ke in his original body. After switching to a weaker puppet body, he had even less hope. To survive, he had decisively abandoned all his collectibles and ran.
The puppets left behind on the battlefield were actually quite valuable.
The 'Scorpion' puppet alone was priceless. The level of technology it contained and the power it possessed when controlled were treasures for any puppeteer. But…
Who could he sell this to?
I should take it back and have a professional look at it first. If there are no problems, then I'll have to find a suitable buyer.
Lin Ke glanced at Kankuro, who was standing beside him, feeling guilty for not contributing much to the battle and needing protection.
"Teacher," Temari said, approaching with a weary expression. Larger-scale Ninjutsu meant greater consumption. After a Cutting Dance at maximum power and a Great Sickle Weasel Technique at maximum power, she didn't have much stamina left.
Gaara looked down at the sand. When he was blasted at close range, he didn't immediately lose consciousness due to the protective ability of his clothes, but he vaguely sensed something strange.
"Clean up and prepare to return," Lin Ke said, tossing a *Soldier Pill* to Temari and directing Kankuro to seal all the puppets into scrolls.
Then, he walked to the Jinchuriki who was in a daze and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I…" Gaara hesitated, unable to articulate what he wanted to say.
He didn't know how to describe his emotions and feelings just now.
Lin Ke patted him on the shoulder and said, "If you have any questions, just ask. Whether it's me or those two, we should all be willing to listen."
"Hey, stop touching it and get to work," Lin Ke said, looking up after comforting his strangely emotional subordinate. He noticed that Kankuro was obsessively stroking the 'Scorpion' puppet.
The feeling was too awkward: a strangely dressed teenager, with a mysterious smile, stroking another boy-like doll.
His XP is a bit weird.
Kankuro reluctantly unrolled a scroll and sealed the 'Scorpion' puppet inside, his hand still caressing the scroll's cover.
"Touch it again and I'll sell it to you," Lin Ke warned.
"Really?" Kankuro asked, his face full of surprise.
"Three hundred and fifty million taels. Cash on delivery," Lin Ke stated bluntly.
Asuma was worth thirty-five million taels; Scorpion had to be worth at least ten Asumas, right?
Kankuro's smile froze on his face, and his entire being almost completely turned gray.
Lin Ke was about to say a few more words when he suddenly sensed someone approaching and restrained his relaxed expression.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" Seven or eight Anbu and Shimura Danzo landed on the ground. As soon as Danzo landed, he looked around with a serious expression.
"Is there something you need, Danzo-sama?" Lin Ke asked with a smile.
That old guy is really riding high lately.
Shimura Danzo looked at Lin Ke, hesitating in his heart whether to use that technique to control him. They weren't in the village at the moment, and the other party had extremely high value, yet he was too close to Hiruzen. If he could control him, his chances of becoming Hokage would definitely increase greatly. -- On a speeding flying dragon.
"I can't believe we actually have to run away, Sasori-danna."
Deidara said coolly, "It seems like all your collections were left behind, even..."
"Shut up, Deidara." Sasori rudely interrupted his companion.
With only a core made of human flesh, he originally thought that he would no longer feel those suppressed emotions he had as a living person. He never expected that tonight, he would once again experience what it was like to feel uncomfortable.
Most of his savings were lost all at once. More than twenty years of accumulation, just thrown away like that. It was hard to describe that feeling.
The key was that when he thought about his collection possibly being destroyed by Lin Ke, or his main body being used by that paint-splattered kid, negative emotions kept surging up.
"Lin Ke..."
Sasori muttered the target's name, firmly remembering it in his heart.
"Sasori-sama." Yakushi Kabuto, standing next to him, pushed up his glasses and smiled, "Have you ever considered cooperating with Orochimaru-sama?"
"Oh oh~" Deidara laughed, "Sounds like your people betrayed you, Sasori-danna."
Sasori watched quietly, without answering or dealing with the subordinate suspected of betrayal.
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