Chapter 154: The Second Phase

No one can endure being surrounded by four men spraying white liquid, least of all a handsome man like Sasori.

The Hiruko, manipulated by the twitched second finger, abruptly raised its ugly, patchy head, its mouth opening to reveal a dark gun barrel extending from within.

"Hiruko: Senhachiba!"

Bzzzzzz……

A tiny, mosquito-like hum emanated from Hiruko's abdomen, sounding like an upset stomach or perhaps some chain spinning crazily—like a six-barreled Gatling gun.

"Under Senhachiba, all beings are equal. To be worth me wasting ten million ryo, you should feel proud," Sasori said indifferently, twitching his ring finger.

Rat-tat-tat……

Countless senbon needles burst from the barrel in Hiruko's mouth, the high-density toxic needles forming almost a solid black line as they swept toward Baki.

"Good grief! He even pulled out a Gatling gun!" Baki was so startled his hair stood on end. High-grade steel senbon needles cost about a hundred ryo each, and buying in bulk might get you a discount, but ten million ryo worth of senbon meant one hundred thousand needles!

Wherever the Senhachiba swept, the walls were densely pierced with senbon needles, packed tighter than the raised hands of French soldiers in the Place de la Concorde. The needle tips gleamed a sinister blue, definitely laced with a lethal poison.

The four Baki clones ran for all they were worth, their legs spinning like propellers. But no matter how fast they ran, could they possibly outpace Hiruko turning its neck?

The solid black line threatened to grind right into Baki's rear. Once hit—even if the needles weren't poisoned—he could forget about ever becoming the Desert Emperor, because he would turn into a desert sea urchin.

It was time to make a decision!

"Number Seven, Number Two, Number One, there's no other way. It's been too long, Kakuzu's heart is failing, Yasuo's power is fading, and I can't cast the wind wall anymore. Take turns blocking the poisonous needles!" Baki commanded.

"Damn it! Why aren't you blocking them for us!"

"Exactly! Once I finish you off, I'll be the real body!"

"Protect our team's Baki Number Seven!"

Although the three illusion clones muttered complaints, they didn't drop the ball at the crucial moment. Clone Number One activated his Blade Surge and stepped forward to block.

A Wind Blade spun like a propeller, deflecting the incoming Senhachiba entirely outside a curtain of steel. With clanging sounds, the senbon needles broke in half and scattered across the floor.

"Oh?" Sasori was slightly surprised, glancing sideways. The firing rate of the Senhachiba reached three thousand six hundred rounds per second, yet someone could block it with pure swordsmanship alone?

No matter. How long could he hold out? He only needed to make one tiny mistake, let a single needle slip through, and venom capable of killing an elephant would send this fellow to the Pure Land.

Five seconds later... Blade Surge's duration ended.

"Take good care of my Karin for me! I'm going!" Number One screamed, pierced into a honeycomb by countless toxic needles, before bursting into a few small boxes with a pop.

Continuing, Number Two stepped up. He lasted a mere five seconds as well. When Blade Surge ended, unable to hold out for a single second longer, he exploded into a cinerary urn.

"This guy... how many needles does he even have?! I don't want to die!" Baki Number Seven cried tears as he took over.

Sasori spoke expressionlessly: "Three hundred seconds."

"Oh ho! Looks like the real body is coming to keep me company after all."

Five seconds later, the clone exploded once more.

The real Baki was revealed with a look of sheer terror on his face, feebly waving his blade curtain. With five seconds left before bidding farewell to this world, what would he say?

"This play by yours truly is god-tier!"

Bang!!

"Baki's Real Body" exploded again, leaving behind three clown boxes sticking out their tongues and making raspberry noises, as if mocking Sasori's stupidity.

"Hmm? Still a shadow clone?" Sasori's voice held a trace of surprise. Even though he had been turned into a human puppet, a puzzled expression appeared on his face.

If all four were shadow clones, where had the real body gone?

Sasori even curled his middle finger, ready at any moment to counter a potential sneak attack, given that his true vital point was housed within his own body.

"I'm gonna beat your dog head crooked!! Spt!" Baki's figure slowly materialized beside Hiruko, spitting a glob of saliva onto Hiruko's head, and holding the Gale Blade in a golfing stance.

"Hole in one!!!"

Bang!!!

The launcher barrel extending from Hiruko's mouth was knocked violently askew. The Senhachiba, unable to stop firing in time, detonated internally, producing a rapid sequence of jamming noises within the body.

"Troublesome!" Sasori thoroughly detested having his puppets damaged. With a flick of his little finger, Hiruko's tail stinger pecked toward Baki like a silver lightning bolt.

"Oh, damn it! How much longer are you two going to just stand there watching?" Baki dodged the tail stinger attacks in a disheveled state. The euphoric period of sustained pleasure was always short-lived, and the acceleration effect had worn off, leaving him feeling rather sluggish now.

"Oh oh oh... that was terrifying just now, let's go!" Baki finally snapped out of the shock caused by the Senhachiba, forced his somewhat stiff legs to move, and charged at Sasori.

Yura gritted his teeth and charged forward as well.

Sasori didn't even glance at them. He crooked a finger to pull a chakra thread, hooking a freshly completed mechanical weapon from the table that hadn't yet been fitted into a puppet.

Rat-tat-tat……

Another dense barrage of scattered pear-blossom senbon volleyed forth. Though it didn't even qualify as "Sen-ichiba" in terms of power and density, the two individuals who had just been terrified by the previous wave of Senhachiba hastily rolled and hid behind a rock.

That was terrifying!

"Damn it! Apart from screaming fiercely, what else are you two good for?" Baki had hoped the two of them would help divert Sasori's attention, never expecting them to be so completely unreliable.

"Who says so? Wait... my legs are just a little numb, not sure if I'm poisoned." Baki hurriedly rubbed his calves, poking his head out to check Sasori's position, only for another volley of senbon to come whistling over. If he hadn't ducked back quickly, he would have had incense scars burned onto his scalp.

"Scorch Style: Vapour Explosion!" Yura gritted her teeth, pressed her back against the wall to form hand seals, and hurled two Scorch Style fireballs at Sasori.

Sasori glanced up slightly at the fireballs, showing not a shred of fear, but instead wearing an expression of keen interest. "Another Bloodline Limit ninja? Excellent. Become part of my collection; I will preserve your beauty as much as possible."

Assembling puppets required extreme precision in fitting parts together; flawless installation could dramatically extend a puppet's lifespan without quality issues. Top-tier puppeteers used the principle of thermal expansion and contraction, freezing components with liquid nitrogen, while mid-tier puppeteers who couldn't afford liquid nitrogen used fire, and clumsy puppeteers hammered things together noisily on the street.

"Mechanism: Liquid Nitrogen Freezing"

Sasori raised a hand, a black pipe extending from his palm to spew a stream of white cryogenic mist that instantly extinguished the Scorch Style flames.

Yura clenched her teeth tightly. She hadn't fought a single proper battle since setting foot in this desert, and look at the kind of enemies she was facing now!

And now, even her own body had become the object of someone else's covetous desires.

Baki was also experiencing a massive headache. What on earth was this Hiruko made of? His sword was practically notched and dulled, yet the tail stinger remained glaringly bright. A glob of corrosive saliva spat onto it didn't even produce smoke; it was obviously a special steel mixed with rare metals, possessing an extremely high corrosion resistance.

Though its size seemed small, its weight was as heavy as collapsed matter. The hurricane kicked up by Steel Tempest couldn't budge it at all, let alone using an ultimate attack.

Watching Kakuzu's wind-attribute heart grow increasingly withered, with the red warning light flashing beep-beep-beep, the depletion of chakra meant that Yasuo's joyful times were coming to an end...

Well, let it end. Yasuo wasn't suited for fighting tanks anyway.

"Karin, can you lend dad your steam fists to play with?" Baki twitched his fingers, already casting covetous eyes on his daughter's birthday gift.