Naruto: From Extra to Savior

Ninjas trained in stealth and assassination knew all too well the dangers of poison. Yet after everyone took Mizuki's pills, their conditions improved slightly. But the effects of the toxin weren't limited to just its lethality—battlefield pain was another serious issue. The damage had already been done—no pill could erase the pain so easily. When facing powerful enemies, enduring that agony while fighting meant every disadvantage got magnified. Fighting through unbearable pain usually ended in death.

"Watch out—it's coming again!" Learning from his earlier mistakes, Red Sand of the Desert would never act as recklessly as before. These enemies weren't helpless weaklings with no countermeasures—they'd almost taken him and Deidara down just moments ago using sudden Rinnegan techniques. So best to kill them first, then deal with the One-Tail Shukaku problem. All that mattered was keeping the Jinchuriki alive.

Ever cautious, Red Sand of the Desert realized his Senju Art: Kamaitachi hadn't finished off the enemy. Immediately, he activated the Third Kazekage's human puppet, unleashing its strongest Iron Sand technique. From the suspended puppet's mouth, black grains of iron sand poured forth, floating forward before gathering into a swirling mass ahead of it. Twisting and churning continuously, they soon formed a vast cloud resembling scattered buckshot.

"Don't engage directly—evade now!" Seeing this, Hiashi Hyuga urgently warned his teammates not to confront it head-on. For Hiashi, understanding the Third Kazekage—who was regarded as the greatest Wind Shadow in history—was relatively easy. Possessing a Kekkei Genkai known as Magnet Release, capable of controlling iron sand, this individual had once been a legendary figure whose mighty power resounded across the entire ninja world.

The Third Kazekage's Magnet Release allowed him to manipulate iron sand far denser and deadlier than regular sand. This terrifying jutsu fused the One-Tail Jinchuriki's sand control with his own magnetic chakra nature, forming an extremely deadly technique equally fearsome in offense and defense. Especially dangerous were its toxic properties and its ability to destroy enemy weapons and tools—this was truly a killer's weapon. His title "Strongest Wind Shadow" was well-earned, unlike the Third Hokage who claimed to be the greatest Fire Shadow ever yet didn't make the top three—quite the ego bruise.

Facing Konoha's numerically superior forces, Red Sand of the Desert immediately launched Iron Sand Drizzle—a rapid projectile attack nearly impossible to defend against if you misjudged the timing even a second. If he struck at the right moment, escape became nearly impossible without precise foresight and quick reaction.

Originally, the toxicity carried by those wildly flying iron sand particles had been a major concern. But now that Mizuki's life-saving pills were working effectively, everyone's resistance to toxins had significantly improved. There was no longer any need to exhaust themselves avoiding every possible injury like they had previously done.

Massive iron-sand bullets rained down like hail, but the six Leaf ninjas had already moved out of the attack's path. This time, unlike when they faced the Senju Art: Kamaitachi, they weren't falling apart completely. Gaara was still unstable, so he might need Temari to keep an eye on him. But with Mizuki constantly giving him life-saving pills, Gaara might regain enough power soon.

Though regular sand couldn't match the power of iron sand, the Iron Sand Body technique evolved from Gaara's own secret art of controlling sand. The principles behind it were close enough to how Gaara controlled sand that deflecting weaker attacks came easily to him.

Even if his techniques didn't immediately succeed, the never-ending stream of iron-sand bullets continued falling like rain. Under Sasori of the Red Sand's command, the iron-sand barrage chased the Konoha ninjas, driving them to flee in all directions.

"This can't go on," Hyuga Hiashi thought urgently. "If we keep playing defense forever, eventually pressure will force us into a mistake."

As the team leader, Hiashi was growing desperate. Although his Byakugan had already pinpointed that regenerative core weakness, none among them possessed any way to strike it effectively. They could only keep stalling like this without making progress. Of course, if they could hold out just a little longer, maybe backup would come—just might give them a better shot at surviving.

High above, Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sand hovered in the sky—with Deidara temporarily unable to fight. But even Sasori's single Third Kazekage Human Puppet alone was enough to completely suppress their movements.

The magnetic defense of the Iron Sand Body, especially when combined with the magnetism shield, formed two powerful Kekkei Genkai-based defensive ninjutsu. These abilities utterly stifled enemy attempts at long-range attacks using ninja tools. The magnetism shield was particularly formidable—it not only attacked but, if skillfully manipulated, could completely deflect thrown projectiles like shuriken, kunai, and senbon.

While the current situation seemed slightly more manageable than facing the Hundred Puppet Army earlier, now they faced the powerful Third Kazekage Human Puppet. Though greatly reduced in numbers, its quality had increased dramatically. Without more backup, the Konoha group still stood little chance of victory.

"Mizuki! Kurenai!" Hiashi commanded urgently. "You two will cover me. I must bring them down."

Letting the enemy fly freely and bomb them from above left them way too exposed. Their only option lay in creating an opening—an opportunity for Hiashi to close in and completely disable Deidara. There couldn't be any chance left for him to control that Explosive Clay Giant Bird again.

"Sure beats throwing grenades at airplanes, but not by much..."

Mizuki sure as hell didn't want to charge headfirst, but he had no choice now. Aside from Hiashi himself, who else but Kurenai Yuhi—and Mizuki, the most aggressive fighter—were the only ones capable of handling cover duties?

As for Hyuga Ko, whose overall strength was inferior, he wasn't suitable for this task. Temari and Gaara weren't helpful at the moment either—having them face off against the Human Puppet of the Third Kazekage and the legendary [Iron Sand Body] technique would drain their morale before the fight even started. Plus, these two exhausted Sunagakure Genin were already pushed to their limits. If they could just protect themselves and survive, that would be good enough.

"Follow behind me; I'll block the iron sand attacks," Itachi said, stepping forward naturally. His Chakra Shield was indeed effective against this kind of assault.

Rushing into battle again and again, always charging headfirst, coming back each time badly injured—if it weren't for his Breath-Sealing Art, he probably would've died a dozen times over by now. But from yesterday—or rather the day before—several battles had consumed an astronomical amount of chakra. All the energy stored through the Breath-Sealing Art over such a long time had been nearly used up. Blocking the devastating barrage of Iron Sand Drizzle while boosting the Chakra Shield's defense would definitely consume far more chakra than usual.

Though somewhat unwilling and clearly not in top shape, Mizuki clenched his teeth and activated his Chakra Shield anyway. Then he dashed quickly toward the two figures riding on giant birds. Kurenai Yuhi and Hiashi Hyuga followed closely behind him from the left and right flanks. As for the rest? Sorry, but he couldn't protect everyone.

"The giant bird is fast, but we're more maneuverable on the ground," Hiashi explained. "Our goal is to close the distance. Mizuki handles defense. Kurenai, when we're in range, hit him with your genjutsu and lock down Deidara's movements. That's when I'll strike."

"Got it." Mizuki nodded. Staying out of close combat worked just fine for him—he was definitely not in the shape to be taking any unnecessary risks right now.

...

The chase didn't last long. At great chakra cost, Mizuki led Kurenai Yuhi and Hiashi Hyuga swiftly toward Deidara. Even Sasori couldn't stop this trio from closing in when it mattered most. Deidara tried to dodge, but in his weakened state, just keeping his giant bird stable was hard enough. There was no way he could react quickly now.

"The distance should be right. Prepare for attack," Hiashi silently calculated.

True, although the current distance wasn't ideal, getting this far under pressure from Sasori alone was already impressive.

At Hiashi's signal, Mizuki tossed several smoke bombs forward. Mid-flight, the incoming iron-sand bullets shattered the smoke bombs, sending thick clouds of smoke billowing out and completely blocking visibility between both sides.

"Now! I'll go first..." Saying so, Mizuki fired several kunai wrapped in chakra threads. His body shot forward as he darted straight into the smoke.

Red Sand of the Desert watched as three attackers charged forward—especially the silver-haired ninja he had cut down earlier. That man should've had no fight left in him. Even if he cheated death, recovery should've taken weeks. But somehow, his strength looked like it was coming back.

Soon after, several kunai shot out from the smoke, flying straight toward the giant bird soaring in the sky. Water behind them quickly closed in, charging forward like they were trying to pull off the same old trick again.

"You've gotta be kidding me—this trick again?" Seeing Mizuki use Chakra Thread—the signature technique of Puppet Masters—Red Sand scoffed. "It's not gonna work at all."

Sure enough, the incoming kunai hadn't even reached their target before being deflected by Iron Sand Body. Yet Mizuki pressed on without hesitation, rushing directly toward the airborne bird and hurling several more kunai attached with explosive tags. In response, Red Sand summoned part of his iron sand into a shield while shaping another portion into iron-sand bullets, firing them back at Mizuki.

At that moment, a second figure burst from the smoke—none other than Kurenai Yuhi.

[Genjutsu — Naraka Sight Technique] 

Kurenai swiftly flashed through hand seals and hit Deidara with a genjutsu. Already in terrible physical condition and nearly defenseless, Deidara instantly fell victim, his face twisting in horror, as if seeing something beyond comprehension. However, Red Sand of the Desert was standing close beside him. Upon noticing Deidara's affliction, he immediately moved to channel chakra into his partner's body to break the illusion.

Meanwhile, in the air above, Mizuki had blocked the iron sand with a chakra shield and now hovered dangerously close to the great bird. The previous explosion had clearly put pressure on Red Sand of the Desert.

"It's not over yet. Explosions aren't just Deidara's thing." Mizuki ignited with a loud whoosh as he accelerated his approach.

"Damn it—explosive tags again!" Realizing too late that he might have been tricked, Red Sand hurriedly redirected his iron sand to defend against the oncoming attack. "It must be a Shadow Clone. I should've been more careful."

Sealing Technique had been his whole life. If you asked what he knew best? Explosive tags, hands down. Guess this is where it all ends.

Even if he couldn't match Konan's power—one capable of killing even Madara Uchiha—it would still be more than enough to scare Deidara and Red Sand of the Desert. As the Mizuki shadow clone slammed headfirst into the iron-sand shield, a massive explosion erupted violently. With a thunderous boom, the devastating blast rocked both Deidara and Red Sand so hard they nearly lost their balance mid-air.

At this critical moment, Hiashi Hyuga seized his chance. His Byakugan pierced through the battlefield smog like it wasn't there at all.

[Eight Trigrams – Air Palm] 

The powerful Gentle Fist took advantage of the smoke, hiding its wide, sweeping motion to prevent the enemy from dodging it so easily. In an instant, the forceful palm strike crossed space, smashing into Deidara's gut and cutting off his chakra flow completely. Helplessly, Deidara plummeted from the giant bird.

"Got him!"

Seeing Hiashi Hyuga's attack land, the Konoha shinobi couldn't help but feel hopeful.

"Kurenai Jonin, fall back now!" Mizuki shouted urgently toward Kurenai Yuhi, who was still exposed outside the smoke cover after Deidara got hit.

Most genjutsu techniques didn't have particularly wide ranges, so to ensure effectiveness, Kurenai had rushed out from her smokescreen protection. Worse yet, the only Mizuki Shadow Clone that could provide her with a Chakra Shield had already self-destructed, while Mizuki's original body remained near Hiashi Hyuga to defend against possible attacks.

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