Chakra Thirst

Takara wasted no time and signaled her toxins to start looting everything ruthlessly, breaking containers and triggering alarms if necessary.

Who would bother checking these things in the midst of an enemy attack in the heart of the village?

Konoha's grave markers were cracked as desired genetic samples were taken before identical gravestones were put in their place.

Various complexes and mansions were looted the moment their walls were breached, furniture broken without mercy as hidden secret hideouts were searched for.

The grain warehouse door exploded as figures dove into the smoke fearlessly, starting to carry off sacks.

Tempted to plunder Konoha's ninjutsu library, Takara refrained, remembering there were likely Root agents there, and instead raided the Hokage's office.

The only place to offer any resistance was the hospital, as medical staff hurried to protect their patients, but their medicines were what she sought, so it hardly mattered. She just needed to divert their attention.

As for Takara herself, she took advantage of the chaos to snatch a few people, as she would need some additional sacrifices soon. Not even civilians were spared!

One moment they were running for their lives or trying to comprehend what was happening, and before they could react, a door appeared beneath them, and they fell through it, disappearing the next second.

The worst part was that by the time they touched ground in a dark room, several humanoid figures emerged from the shadows, pricking their necks with needles, and they felt overwhelmingly sleepy.

Then everything went dark.

"It seems I won't be able to take that Sharingan after all," lamented Takara as she watched Kakashi remain on guard even while fighting Oto ninjas. "Well, I guess I'll have to settle for that boy," she narrowed her eyes and looked at a specific genin.

Takara moved to observe the battle between Gaara and Naruto, waiting for the moment Gamabunta appeared and taking advantage of the distraction during the clash of wind and water ninjutsu from the giant creatures to kidnap Sakura, tied to the tree by Gaara's technique.

"It would be a shame if the apprentice were separated from her teacher," Takara deemed it appropriate for the pink-haired girl to contribute her meager value to her purposes.

Minutes passed as the battle raged on, and once Gaara was exhausted, Takara appeared to take the siblings away.

"Orochimaru deceived us, and the strike has failed. I'll cover you, retreat!" Takara shouted as she drew her needle sword and aimed it at the present Konoha genin, Ram and Rem puppets standing guard to distract Sasuke and company.

Temari clenched her teeth and went to find her younger brothers, retreating to the agreed-upon point with Baki in case things went south.

Once out of sight, Takara dropped her friendly act, ready to sacrifice herself, and sent Ram and Rem to fight them, activating the detonation order when they were within reach.

And during the ensuing explosion, Takara used the smoke to blink near Naruto, planting a sealing talisman on his shoulder regardless of the blonde boy's cries, mentally ordering Nakime to create a door beneath them.

By the time the smoke settled, there was no trace of any of them.

But nobody noticed, as everyone present ended up unconscious due to the chakra explosion when the toxins hidden inside the puppets detonated.

When would they regain consciousness? Who knows, but a week was the minimum.

"Secure the Nine-Tails jinchuriki with the special restraints prepared and ensure he's heavily drugged to remain in a coma," ordered Takara to the Shizune puppet.

The biju's chakra is a great stimulant that aids in the host's recovery, but it can't completely neutralize drugs in his system, only reducing the time they're effective. So continuously inject him with enough.

Takara looked at a barely conscious Naruto after the intense battle, pondering for a moment before modifying her order.

"Actually, it's better to sever his limbs to avoid surprises," commented Takara after seeing Naruto could no longer stay awake and was losing consciousness.

She just needed him alive; she didn't need some stupid plot armor making Naruto able to pull out some strange ninjutsu out of nowhere.

The puppet nodded and raised its left arm, transforming into a noisy saw as it approached the unconscious Naruto.

Takara moved to another room and found Vegapunk Shaka.

"Has the loot from Konoha been tallied?" asked Takara with growing interest.

"We're still collecting, but we estimate we have at least two additional hours before we're forced to cease activities to avoid detection," replied the puppet as its antenna blinked, constantly updating its knowledge of the situation.

"The containment of sacrifices?"

"Successful; we've secured enough to cover the required amount extensively. It will also help replenish blood reserves, necessary to multiply metal reserves."

"Good," Takara nodded satisfied and moved to another room filled with trees.

If one paid attention, they could observe vitality increasing as she progressed among different rows.

"Report on the progress," ordered Takara to the Tsunade puppet.

There were five identical ones of her working right now, and the nearest one hurried to respond, as they were all connected to each other and only needed to interact with one.

This was an advantage that the puppets had over Edo Tensei.

While she could only resurrect a single Tsunade, her strength was limited by the sacrifice and had to be carefully controlled, he could make multiple puppets directly, though not at the same skill level, just close.

"The hybridization of Senju and Uzumaki woods has encountered several setbacks, but with the application of meteorite chakra extracted from the ninjas of Hoshigakure, we've achieved initial success," reported Tsunade number four. "So far, we have three saplings that meet the required criteria, but they show signs of unwanted mutations. How should we address the situation?"

"Use Karin's healing chakra," Takara pondered for a few minutes before ordering. "Conduct different tests to measure and inject the most ideal proportion of meteorite chakra with healing chakra. In a few hours, we can extract samples from the Nine-Tails' chakra; use them following safety measures to verify the effectiveness of the resulting wood from each test."

"Understood," the puppet nodded before returning to its position and starting to prepare everything for the next phase of the experiment.

Takara glanced for a moment and returned to Vegapunk Shaka's puppet.

"Give me a list of the secured sacrifices," Takara requested.

Since she would have to wait a few hours before evacuating with the rest of Sunagakure's stragglers, it was best to use the time and be productive.

Examining the list, she selected the first sacrifice she was going to employ.

"Bring me Konohamaru Sarutobi."