Chapter 137: Just Let It All End, I Am Exhausted

"Damn it... I'm starving to death, and we still have to fight?" Baimu's limbs were so weak he could barely lift them.

"Let's just take care of it first..." Baki wasn't doing any better himself.

Two rows of launchers extended from the puppet soldier's flanks, each loaded with six rockets. That’s right, rockets—the same kind used by the Deva Path of Pain.

"Fire..."

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom...

The rockets streaked straight toward them. Fortunately, the technology hadn't evolved to the level of Pain's heat-seeking projectiles; they were just straight-line shots. But that was lethal enough!

"RPG!!!"

Baimu never thought he’d scream that in the Naruto world. He barely managed a side-step to dodge the rockets, which slammed into the ground at his feet, triggering a violent explosion. Countless shards of shrapnel rained down like a dense downpour.

"Counter-Strike... Activate!"

Relying on a final surge of adrenaline, Baimu forced a shred of energy to remain, unhooking the chain blade from his wrist and spinning it rapidly. The crisp sound of clashing metal echoed incessantly.

BOOM!

Although he deflected the shrapnel, the shockwave of the blast still sent him flying, slamming him hard against the nearby wall.

The others weren't faring much better; they were pushed beyond their physical limits just to perform basic self-preservation. Nonou had ducked behind Kakuzu the moment the puppet appeared, relying on his Earth Spear-hardened body to tank the rocket barrage.

"How is this possible... Why does such a weapon exist... Even Granny Chiyo never invented anything this terrifying... Who exactly is the puppeteer behind this?" Baki knelt on the ground, staring in disbelief at the charred crater, muttering like a lovelorn fool.

Only Baimu knew that Anlushan had traveled from over a decade in the future, bringing with him technology far ahead of the current world—which was precisely what he relied on to conquer the Ninja World. Who would have thought that while ninjutsu usually gained power with age, this would happen?

"Stop standing there like an idiot. We can't... we can't possibly die at the hands of a mere lackey, can we? That would be a humiliating story to tell for the rest of eternity," Baimu muttered, swallowing the blood pooling in his throat as he scrambled to his feet.

"We have to find a way to bring it down..." Pakura looked up at the puppet floating in the air.

"If we can restrain it, it might work... I only have one chance for an attack." Baki pulled a crescent-shaped blade from his ninja tool pouch. The blade rotated—a rare samurai technique preserved in the Land of Wind.

"I'll be the bait," Pakura declared, stepping forward.

The puppet soldier turned its head toward Pakura, its eyes flashing red as it locked onto its target. Two cold, steel blades popped from its wrists as it dived at breakneck speed, aiming straight for her.

Kakuzu unstitched the threads on his wrists, and his two large hands, trailing long tentacles, shot out. Before the steel blades could pierce Pakura, he precisely grabbed the puppet's legs, pinning it firmly in place.

Baki threw his rotating blade. The chakra-conductive metal allowed him to coat it in cyan wind blades. After circling above the puppet, it sliced through all the chakra control threads and returned to Baki's hand.

Deprived of its chakra support, the puppet soldier slammed into the ground with a thud and went motionless. However, the chaotic threads dancing from the pipes above were already scurrying down, attempting to reconnect.

"Heh—ptui!" Baimu spat a glob of acidic saliva, melting the puppet soldier's head into a puddle of yellow foam.

Everyone else looked at him with disgust.

Hey! When Terumi Mei spits like that, why don't you guys look disgusted? It seems like I need to take a trip to the Hidden Mist to learn a thing or two.

The puppet soldier’s central control system was in its head. With it destroyed, the chakra threads on the pipes lost their target and stopped trying to re-establish a connection.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief. It was hard to imagine that a group of big shots like them would feel lucky just for taking down a single lackey.

Baki crouched to examine the puppet. It was made entirely of metal. While it wasn't high-grade steel, the Land of Wind was resource-poor; even the puppets in the Hidden Sand were mostly wood, with steel used only for critical parts. It was hard to imagine that Loulan could produce entirely metal puppets.

Baimu picked up the steel blade that had fallen to the ground, flicking it with his finger in an affected manner. The sound was crisp and melodious, the surface as polished as a mirror—brand new, like a French rifle from World War II that had only been dropped once during a surrender.

"How is it possible... how..." Baki was still questioning his own eyes.

"Forget the possibilities. Let's move. This guy is definitely not the only one here, and for all we know, it’s the weakest piece of trash," Baimu urged.

As if he had a jinxed tongue, the moment he finished speaking, a buzzing sound erupted. Like five flying Gundams, five more puppet soldiers drifted into the air. These were clearly equipped far better than the one they had just destroyed.

"RUN!!!" Baimu took off. It had taken all of them working together to beat one "Capturer"—there was no way they could handle five stronger "Patrollers."

Never underestimate the survival instinct of a ninja. No matter how tired or hungry, they gritted their teeth and scrambled away, using the cover of tall buildings to dodge the pursuit of the patrolling puppets.

Along the way, they saw countless puppets dressed as civilians, living out their lives in fixed patterns under the control of chakra threads. They bought groceries, cooked, hit their kids, chopped wood, laid bricks, gambled, and even snuck off to visit prostitutes. Everything felt like the puppeteer was playing house. What was more terrifying was... what kind of person had the ability to control the actions of tens of thousands of Loulan residents simultaneously?

The puppet soldiers were numerous. The "Capturers," like the one they had killed, specialized in seizing surviving Loulan civilians, appearing at almost every street corner. The "Patrollers," with their superior equipment, usually moved in squads of five along the main roads.

By now, the entire Loulan's puppet force seemed to have received a collective order. They were moving at full capacity, drifting through the sky and scouring the streets for the group.

Two hours of cat-and-mouse later...

The group collapsed in a bell tower, unable to muster even an ounce of strength. Even if a puppet soldier came to knock on the door now, they wouldn't move an inch.

The entire city of Loulan was devoid of food; everything they saw was just stone or wood carved into toys. There were plenty of wells, but they were heavily guarded by the Patrollers to prevent survivors from stealing water. Unless they wanted to die, they had no chance of drinking under the gaze of those machines.

"Just let it end... I'm tired. I wonder if I'll respawn here or go back to base... I wonder if Obito will come along..." Baimu thought powerlessly, unwilling to move again.

Although he still had some gold coins in his system to buy potions, it would only delay the inevitable. And resetting his Summoner Spell to "Revive" would cost 500 gold coins.

The system hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.

"I'm so young, I haven't even fallen in love yet... I don't want to die..." Nonou didn't even have the strength left to cry.

"What's so great about men anyway? If you're going to die, just die. But the thought of rotting here with someone like him... it's disgusting." Even at the brink of death, Pakura was still looking down on Baimu.

"Why don't you just eat me? Eat whatever you want, just leave a piece of root to bury in the ground so I can grow back next year," Baimu smiled. He had come to terms with it. He could respawn, and if they survived, maybe they could tease each other again if they ever met.

The system whispered, not wanting to be cursed by its host at the last second, though it thought letting him die happily was actually a fine idea.

Thinking of this, Baimu smiled and held his hand out to Nonou.

"Umm..." Nonou looked at Baimu's forced yet sincere smile. He didn't seem to be joking, and she almost felt moved to tears—if she had any left.

"If you won't eat him, give him to me. I don't mind eating human flesh." Kakuzu could absorb life energy from flesh and blood to restore his chakra.

"Get lost! You haven't brushed your teeth in a hundred years!" Baimu gave him a look of disdain. If he had to be eaten, he'd prefer it be by a pretty girl.

"But..." Nonou was still hesitant. She didn't want to break her moral bottom line—the very thing she used to hate most.

"Are you really volunteering? Then can I take a bite?" Pakura didn't want to die either. Though she loathed the idea of cannibalism, if it was consensual, the psychological burden was much lighter.

"Tsk, tsk. You're not disgusted by me anymore? Fine, since you're half a beauty, go ahead and take a couple of bites." Baimu held out his other arm to Pakura.

"Then I won't be polite..." As a citizen of the tough-minded Land of Wind, Pakura acted decisively. She licked her parched lips and bit down on Baimu's wrist.

"Ughhh~~~" A flush rose on Baimu's pale face as he tilted his head and let out a pained groan.

"Ugh... why is it so tough..." Pakura used all her strength but couldn't break the skin; instead, she felt like she was biting something hard.

"Must be my thick skin. Bite the neck—the skin is thin there, and the blood vessels are rich. One bite and it'll burst with flavor~" Baimu was actually teaching her how to eat him. He didn't want to sell his "Thornmail" armor; he'd need it after he respawned.

Pakura changed positions, pressing against Baimu's neck to bite it. The posture was somewhat indecent and ambiguous.

"Ughhh~~~" Baimu groaned in pain again.

This time, she finally broke the skin. Feeling the sweet blood rush into her throat, Pakura gripped Baimu's neck tightly, sucking desperately.

Seeing this, Nonou's hunger overcame her reason. She couldn't hold back anymore, and following Pakura's lead, she leaned against the other side of Baimu's neck and bit down.

"AHHHHH~~~~" Baimu's howl was even more agonizing.

Baki almost couldn't help but join in, but he decided to wait and eat the leftovers.

"After I respawn... I want to drink cola, eat ramen, dango, chocolate..." Baimu felt his life force ebbing away, muttering to himself.

Just then...

BANG!

The door of the bell tower was kicked open. A beautiful girl with red hair stood there, hands on her hips, fuming as she pointed at Baimu:

"Dad! I've been looking for you for so long, and I never expected you to be doing this kind of thing here!!!"

???????

Everyone was stunned.