Naruto The Red Spiral Rebirth

"Yeah, it's not a good habit to casually take what belongs to others, little guy."

Shi Shenze's eyes remained calm as he looked at Tom. There was no trace of fear—instead, he seemed annoyed that Tom had already retrieved the puppet body from Mahjong Qiu Dao Lizhu. This only confirmed one thing: Shi Shenze had been under mental strain for a long time. A madman through and through.

"It's getting late. I need to dispose of this little guy quickly."

He wasn't referring to Tom, but to Zabuza. The corpse of a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist was a rare and valuable puppet material. And perhaps, if things went well, he could even acquire Kakashi's corpse. That, along with Tom's body... what a harvest it would be.

"Today is a bumper day indeed," he muttered gleefully.

With that, Shi Shenze drew out a scroll and bit his finger. "Ninja Art: Red Secret Technique - Multi-Puppet Formation!"

A cloud of smoke exploded, and more than thirty human-shaped puppets emerged in formation before Tom. Upon closer inspection, it became clear—each puppet had been crafted from the corpses of real ninja.

Tom didn't waste time speaking. Instead, he immediately created over thirty shadow clones, each one charging forward. Within seconds, the battlefield became a chaotic blur as clones and puppets clashed violently.

One puppet swung a massive blade at Tom. His weapon, the iron-fragmented fang, moved with snake-like speed, flashing through the air and leaving a spectral blur in its wake. In an instant, three approaching puppets froze mid-attack, a thin line forming across each of their necks before their heads tumbled to the ground.

Another puppet clenched its muscles and threw a powerful punch, the air howling from the force. Tom parried with a horizontal slash of his blade. The blow forced both man and puppet backward.

The puppet quickly regained its balance under Shi Shenze's control and launched another punch, this time from the side. Tom twisted his blade in a circular motion, diverting the strike.

But just then, the puppet's chest cracked open, revealing a hidden arm that shot out at lightning speed, smashing Tom square in the chest and sending him flying.

However, at that very moment, a clone of Tom emerged behind the puppet and, with a swift slash, took it down.

By now, the real Tom had already moved five meters away. In that time, more than ten puppets had fallen behind him—each one decapitated, disabled.

"You underestimated me," Tom muttered coldly.

Suddenly, one of the puppets launched a surprise attack. Its right arm split into four rotating blades, forming a windmill shuriken that aimed for Tom's lower body. Tom leapt backward to evade and immediately formed hand seals.

"Earth Style: Yellow Spring Swamp!"

The ground beneath the attacking puppet instantly turned into a muddy pit, pulling the puppet down and immobilizing it.

Before he could land, another puppet launched a surprise assault. Its mouth opened unnaturally wide, and from within, a cannonball-like object fired directly at him.

"Boom!"

A clone took the hit, bursting into smoke.

Tom himself reappeared beneath the puppet, his hands mimicking Sasuke's signature lion combo. He launched the puppet skyward, and another clone spun through the air, his iron-fragmented fang acting like a drill. The puppet was shredded midair.

Two puppets suddenly fused, linking back to back into a grotesque new form with four arms and two heads. One puppet's arms shot forward with iron chains, ensnaring two clones. The other body released a powerful lightning surge through the chains, obliterating the restrained clones.

Then, the torso of a third puppet split open, releasing eight sharp iron cables charged with electricity. They whipped out at deadly speed, destroying five more clones.

Two shadow clones rushed forward. The lead clone performed a quick hand seal—"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"—and produced five additional clones to intercept the lightning chains from different directions.

The second clone leapt into the air and slammed a Rasengan into the puppet's chest. The impact caused a massive explosion, sending parts flying.

Yet another puppet emerged, its body sprouting eight weaponized arms—axes, hammers, swords, and more. It fought like a war machine, easily destroying multiple clones.

But one shadow clone formed hand seals quickly: "Wood Style: Binding Vines!"

Seeds in his right hand rapidly sprouted thick vines that shot toward the puppet, wrapping it like a cocoon. Four other clones then thrust their iron-fragmented fangs into the vine bundle's seams, slicing the puppet into five clean segments.

Meanwhile, another puppet's arms bulked up dramatically, each fist the size of a siege hammer. It charged at a clone with ferocious speed. Two other clones quickly grabbed leftover iron cables, circled the puppet, and bound it tightly.

A third clone jumped high into the air. With a powerful swing, his iron-fragmented fang radiated a brown aura, the Earth Chakra pouring into it.

"Earth Style Slash: Mountain Break!"

The heavy chakra-infused weapon struck down like a landslide, cleaving the tank-like puppet in half.

Suddenly, three puppets armed with ninja blades surrounded Tom himself. Their blades shimmered with deadly light as they slashed at him from all sides. Tom's sword spun like a whirlwind, blocking each strike with precision.

But the attacks didn't stop. The three puppets moved relentlessly, their swords flowing like a deadly torrent.

Shi Shenze noticed this and abruptly recalled half the puppets on the field, regaining full control over a smaller number. He abandoned wide-field control in exchange for fine-tuned precision. Only nine puppets remained active—four protecting Shi Shenze, and five still battling the clones.

Despite the reduced number, their power increased dramatically. Only five shadow clones remained on Tom's side. As the recalled puppets collapsed to the ground, the three assault puppets gained three additional arms each. Suddenly, fifteen blades stabbed toward Tom like a cluster of shining silver flowers.

Tom's expression darkened.

"Earth Style: Rock Kick!"

He infused his leg muscles with dense Earth Chakra and swept in a wide arc, simultaneously using his iron-fragmented fang to deflect the oncoming blades. The force was immense—"Clang! Clang! Clang!"—fifteen blades were flung away.

Then—"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!"

A hand shot out from the ground beneath Shi Shenze, grabbing his ankle and yanking him downward.

Caught off-guard, Shi Shenze panicked and instinctively pulled back the chakra threads controlling his puppets. Four of them, which had stood beside him in a protective stance, extended their limbs in unison to form a defensive grid. Their arms stretched out five meters and sprouted sharp blades at each joint, creating a protective "thorn forest" around their master.

From above, it resembled a steel flower guarding Shi Shenze at the center.

This was Shi Shenze's last line of defense—his absolute guardian formation. But he made one fatal mistake: he forgot the threat came from beneath.

Emerging from the ground, Tom's left hand wrapped tightly around Shi Shenze's throat.

"Crack."

The sound of bones breaking echoed through the battlefield.

Shi Shenze's eyes widened. "No… I haven't yet made the name of Shi Shenze, Master Puppeteer, known to the world…"

His voice trembled. "Lord Sasori… I never reached your level… I never got to meet you in person. I wanted to offer you everything—my skills, my soul. I wanted your name to live forever… in the ninja world…"

His words faded to silence.

The battlefield, once filled with the clangor of blades and whirring puppets, now fell eerily quiet. Only the wind rustled through the debris of broken wood, severed limbs, and scattered iron.

Tom stood there, his blade dripping with oil and blood, the last light of battle fading in his eyes.

pàtreøn (Gk31)