"Who's got the guts to interrupt my dance practice?!"
A raspy, female voice echoed from nowhere, and the moment the words landed, countless needles erupted from the ground. They seemed to dart chaotically, but every gleaming tip was aimed at a living soul in the vicinity.
The barrage of shimmering, hostile needles screamed danger. Konan reacted instantly, summoning layers of white paper to shield herself and Pain at the center.
Konan didn't bother protecting the others. Sasori, a puppet, only needed to guard his core. Kakuzu wrapped himself in his Earth Grudge Fear tendrils. Hidan, ever the fanatic, spread his arms wide, reveling in the pain of the needles piercing his flesh, letting out some downright indecent moans.
Karin curled up under her dark crimson human-skin cloak, cursing inwardly.
Damn you, Granny! I'm undercover here! Can't you go a little easier? We're on the same side—why so ruthless?
Each member deftly countered the first wave of embroidery needles in their own way. Deidara, the reckless hothead, was the exception. He commanded his clay bird to soar high, itching for a mano-a-mano showdown with the needles.
A swarm of tiny clay insects rained down, followed by dazzling bursts of fire. The ground took another brutal beating, scattering the refugee militia. Unmodified humans—those not twisted by whatever dark arts fueled this army—fled in all directions.
Deidara's clay bombs slipped into cracks blasted open in the earth, detonating deep underground. The resulting firelight briefly illuminated a vast subterranean cavern, revealing a chilling sight.
Countless bodies, riddled with needles and suspended upside-down by black threads, hung in a dormant slumber. The explosions stirred them, and one by one, they "awoke," crawling from the depths to the surface. Their lifeless, deathly eyes glared at the intruders.
...
"Four-Tails and Eight-Tails Jinchuriki—I see them!" From a distant vantage point, hidden inside a tree disguised with paper, Nagato's crimson hair framed his face as he spoke through the Six Paths of Pain.
"Eliminate anything that moves!" Nagato's Rinnegan glowed with cold purple light as he surveyed the grotesque soldiers emerging from the ground. He wasn't bloodthirsty, but these "people" were no longer human—they were abominations wreaking havoc on the ninja world. He had no qualms about wiping them out.
"This is my specialty! I'll send 'em all to Jashin-sama!" Hidan's face twisted with manic glee. He tore off his black-and-red Akatsuki cloak, revealing a body riddled with worm-eaten holes. The triangular pendant of his Jashin cult gleamed on his neck as he swung his scarlet triple-bladed scythe at a group of militia soldiers.
The scythe sliced through their bodies, but no blood spilled—only black, foul-smelling pus. Severed limbs and torsos writhed on the ground, twitching as they tried to reassemble. Hidan stomped their skulls, but even that didn't fully stop them.
A flash of pink caught his eye—a massive flower. Before he could react, a colossal slap sent him flying.
The impact cratered the ground, and Hidan scrambled to his feet, spitting a mouthful of blood laced with insect eggs.
He looked up, pupils shrinking at his attacker. "What the—an old hag?!"
Hidan froze for a split second, but it didn't slow him down. His smooth, single-track brain had no room for concepts like respecting elders.
"Who're you calling an old hag, huh? Got manners?" Granny's voice rose and fell with theatrical flair, her eerie eyes glinting. The wrinkles on her face quivered as she locked onto Hidan.
"I'm not even seventy yet—still in my prime! My Needle Dance is perfected, and you're the perfect practice dummy!"
"What a weirdo," Hidan muttered, scratching the back of his head. "Will Jashin-sama even accept a sacrifice this bizarre?"
...
Nearby, Kakuzu unleashed a volley of massive Fire Release jutsu, charring several modified soldiers. The air reeked of burnt, rotten flesh. But from the ground's fissures, black threads slithered out, dragging the scorched corpses back underground. They were stitched and patched together, reborn as fresh soldiers.
"Cold-blooded, even to your own men?" Kakuzu's eyes narrowed. He noticed black threads creeping around him, slowly encircling his position.
Granny sent Hidan flying with another monstrous slap, then turned to Kakuzu with a mocking smirk.
"Hearing you talk about compassion is rich. Word is, the legendary bounty hunter cashes in his own comrades' corpses for coin."
Kakuzu wove hand signs, tossing out banter to distract her.
"That heartless, huh? Aren't you worried your soldiers will desert?"
The Akatsuki was small, its rules loose. Pain could strong-arm a handful of members, each handled individually. But a militia this size, ruled by brutal force? Didn't she fear a mutiny?
Ninja usually operate in small squads—large armies are rare. Kakuzu's talk of mutiny shows some hard-earned wisdom from his long years.
Granny snorted, flicking several needles toward Kakuzu's eyes. As a demonic clone crafted by dark forces, she didn't care about unity. Her soldiers were just food. If they rebelled, she'd eat them all!
The militia flocked to her for food and pay, not ideals, morality, or peace.
Kakuzu deftly deflected her tracking needles. His stitched torso split open, black tendrils bursting out like lightning to strike at Granny.
His Earth Grudge Fear technique looked disturbingly like the warped byproduct of exposure to some ancient, malevolent deity.
Granny cackled. "If I didn't know better, those threads would make me think we're kin. Quite the family resemblance!"
Kakuzu paused. "I want nothing to do with you."
"Nor I with you," Granny shot back, her tone dripping with disdain as she loosed another volley of needles.
"Beast and human don't mix. And with a face that ugly, you'd never get a second glance in a harem!"
Kakuzu: "…" Too far. A wrinkle-faced hag calling me ugly?
...
Hidan, undeterred, charged back in. Deidara harassed from above, his clay bombs raining down. The trio's assault on Granny was a mess—zero coordination. Deidara's explosions and Kakuzu's jutsu kept hitting Hidan, prompting Granny to tilt her head with a sly grin.
"What's the deal with you three? Something's off here, ain't it?"
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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