Chapter 311: The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets
Chiyo and Ebizō had many enemies. The village's power was relatively weak, and many high-ranking officials considered them a nuisance, wishing the two would die quickly. If they wanted to protect their old lives, they had to come up with their own solutions.
Ebizō, the old man with a white beard and white hair, also possessed some sensory abilities and formidable sealing jutsu. The room where the siblings lived in seclusion was covered in his sealing formulas. He acted decisively, activating all the sealing formulas in the room.
Chiyo's left eye had already been completely rewritten by the Sharingan, and her right eye was beginning to deform. Once both eyes transformed into the shape of the Mangekyo, her will would be completely rewritten.
After the dense sealing formulas in the room were activated, she gained a moment of respite. The spiritual energy in her right eye was temporarily repelled, and the two forces reached a stalemate in her mind.
"Underwater… Uchiha!" she prompted in a hoarse voice.
Ebizō looked closely into the pond and saw a blurry figure bobbing up and down with the water's ripples. Even with his vast experience, he found it quite strange. The figure didn't look like a living person at all, its form ethereal. Could it be a ghost?
We've been living in seclusion for so many years, why would a ghost come seeking revenge now?
Although his head was full of questions, one thing was clear: it was the Uchiha clan's Sharingan controlling his sister!
Chiyo used her last bit of bodily control to flick a finger, sending a scroll with the character for "Seal" flying toward Ebizō.
After seventy years of living together day and night, Ebizō's coordination with her was flawless. He easily caught the scroll and tucked it into his sleeve.
The Uchiha's genjutsu invaded with incredible speed, but his sister was no nobody. She was currently resisting with all her might; he needed to help buy some time.
Ebizō's wide sleeve opened. He slapped both hands on the ground, and before the dust could settle, five puppets emerged. Four of them shot out in the four cardinal directions. He then controlled the fifth puppet to attack the strange enemy underwater, and finally, he slapped Chiyo's shoulder, attempting to use his chakra to help his sister resist the genjutsu.
With a soft "swish," the eastern puppet was split in two from top to bottom by the Water Cutting Wave.
This was followed by three crisp cracks as a Giant Rasengan, a Monster Strength Fist, and a Raikiri shattered the other three puppets, respectively.
The puppet attacking the blurry figure underwater hit nothing but air. Without spiritual energy, such a puppet could not touch a soul.
Ebizō looked around and asked bluntly, "You're ninjas from Konoha Village, aren't you?"
Before his words had faded, the four Konoha ninjas set up the Four Red Yang Formation, tightly enveloping the small hut with a barrier.
When the First Hokage and his team trapped the Ten-Tails, they created a red curtain that connected heaven and earth to prevent its escape. Now, dealing with Ebizō didn't require such a large scale. Jiraiya and his team's Four Red Yang Formation was only about ten meters high, with a yurt-like dome at the top, and the ground was also completely sealed by the formation.
An absolutely sealed environment was created.
Ebizō tried to help his sister break free from the genjutsu's control, but his hand was halfway there when a red wall shot up from the ground. Recognizing the ferocity of this technique, he quickly withdrew his hand and retreated. When he looked up again, he and Chiyo had been completely separated by this "one-bedroom, one-living-room" version of the Four Red Yang Formation.
His finger was almost burned by the Four Red Yang Formation. It was infused with dense Fire Release chakra; a single touch could result in being burned to ashes.
He could no longer help his sister. Only by defeating the four people casting the formation could he break out.
Ebizō's white eyebrows drooped past his cheekbones. His figure was so frail it seemed a gust of wind could blow him away.
He looked at the five of them in turn.
"Jiraiya, the Fifth Hokage. I truly never expected you to be so fierce. Your style is completely different from Hiruzen Sarutobi's."
"Tsunade, long time no see. Has your hemophobia been cured?"
"That pale-faced fellow must be Orochimaru, right? Have the three of you gotten mixed up together again?"
"The Copy Ninja, Kakashi? Konoha is truly full of talent. In comparison, the Sand Village is far too lacking."
"And this last one is so young. Judging by your appearance, you bear some resemblance to your father and grandfather. It's truly hard to imagine that a golden phoenix could fly out of a wild boar's nest."
Ino: "..."
This is the downside of the Yamanaka clan. In a verbal spat, we're already at a disadvantage from the start.
She replied with seeming modesty, "My father often spoke of Senior Ebizō's meticulousness and decisiveness when he was in charge of the Sand Village's intelligence work. He always told me to learn from you, old senior."
Ebizō's voice sounded utterly unfazed. "I'm old. My thinking can't keep up with you young people anymore."
He seemed to be talking about Ino, but he was actually including Jiraiya and the others in the category of "young people."
The old man, unhurriedly, raised his arm. The "Seal" scroll unfurled before him.
This was the masterpiece of Monzaemon, the first to learn puppet manipulation from the Second Kazekage and improve upon it, officially earning the title of Puppet Master in the ninja world: the renowned "White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets."
The outside world had always believed that only Granny Chiyo could control these ten white-robed puppets, but in reality, Ebizō also knew this technique.
However, compared to his direct, action-oriented sister, he preferred to devise strategies, plan from behind the scenes, and secure victory from a thousand miles away.
But even a cornered strategist will bite back. Ebizō now had to resist to the end.
Controlling one puppet with each finger, the sealing scroll circled around him. From the many large "Gate" characters, puppets walked out one by one. He arranged them in a three-three-four formation, protecting himself in the center.
"Ask Shisui how much more time he needs," Jiraiya said into his radio headset.
As long as they abducted Granny Chiyo, it was a victory. Whether they eliminated Ebizō was not that important.
Ino immediately connected her senses with Shisui's.
Shisui only had his left Mangekyo eye. Controlling the Mangekyo with his soul body, without Hashirama cells, the ocular power in his eye and his own chakra were nearly depleted. Chiyo was also resisting desperately, making his use of Kotoamatsukami quite strenuous.
"This Sand elder has numerous jutsu in her mind to prevent memory rewriting. One minute! Give me one more minute!"
"Alright, I understand."
The next second, Ino created a shadow clone to maintain the Four Red Yang Formation while her main body charged toward the Chikamatsu Collection. Ebizō was constantly trying to use the puppets to break their formation from the inside.
"Puppet Technique: Imperial!"
Three puppets formed a triangular formation like a human pyramid. The puppets opened their mouths, and the "Buddha," "Dharma," and "Sangha" mechanisms opened, forming the "Three Buddhist Treasures Absorption Crush." Ebizō attempted to use the immense suction force to absorb the Four Red Yang Formation's Fire Release chakra and disrupt the balance inside the formation.
Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Kakashi also created shadow clones to maintain the Four Red Yang Formation while their main bodies charged at Ebizō. Orochimaru, as if watching a play, watched from the side with a cold smile.
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