As Hoshiyomi came charging in at high speed, Monzaemon was overjoyed. He immediately deployed five puppets—Twin Blades, Chain Blade, Fan Bla
As Hoshiyomi came charging in at high speed, Monzaemon was overjoyed. He immediately deployed five puppets—Twin Blades, Chain Blade, Fan Blades, and Thorn Vine—to surround and intercept him.
While they obstructed Hoshiyomi's line of sight, Monzaemon's fingers moved deftly, manipulating the last three puppets—the tricolor set—into formation. Two dropped into a wide, braced stance, while the third leapt atop their shoulders.
The three puppets formed the shape of the character "品" (signifying three tiers), and as Monzaemon pressed his hands into a Tiger Seal, the mouths of the three puppets opened.
From their tongue-like mechanisms, three large characters emerged: "Buddha (佛), Dharma (法), Sangha (僧)."
Beads of sweat covered Monzaemon's face, but he still wore the smile of a victor.
"There's no escape this time, brat—
White Secret Technique: Sanbō Kyūkai!" (Three Treasure Suction Crush)
As the words left his mouth, a violent Wind Release surged from the trio of puppets—but unlike a traditional offensive blast, this wind pulled inward, sucking everything toward the center.
The suction force was monstrous. Anyone caught in it would be dragged straight into the kill zone, where the surrounding puppets would turn them into a human sieve with their weapons.
And right now, Hoshiyomi was squarely within its range.
The technique erupted with terrifying force. Hoshiyomi's body began flying uncontrollably toward the trio of puppets.
And not just him—even massive swells of seawater were being sucked into the whirlwind's core.
Seeing this, Monzaemon was delighted. So what if I'm old? Even now, I can crush a gifted Konoha prodigy at his peak.
If he, an old man with one foot in the grave, could take out a potential future threat like this—it would be a worthy trade.
The more he thought about it, the more eager he became to see the panic on Hoshiyomi's face. The boy who dared claim he'd break through the legendary Chikamatsu Ten Puppets—what kind of expression would he make now?
Peering out from behind the ox-headed puppet that shielded him, Monzaemon craned his neck to see.
But what he saw froze him.
There was no panic on Hoshiyomi's face.
In fact, he seemed to be… smiling?
Was he insane?
Was he really arrogant enough to think he could escape Three Treasure Suction Crush?
Impossible. Unless he was a Kage-level shinobi, there was no way out. And this brat—what, seventeen? Eighteen? Monzaemon had spent decades reaching that level at forty!
He's bluffing. Arrogant little worm—just die already.
With a snarl, Monzaemon poured more chakra into the puppets, intensifying the suction force even further.
But then—through the roar of the wind—Hoshiyomi's voice rang out:
"You think I have no way out of this?
You think you've got me right where you want me?
If that's what you're counting on…
Then I suppose the battle is already over."
"Fourth Gate—Gate of Pain: Open!"
With that calm declaration, Hoshiyomi's entire aura transformed.
A faint green aura of chakra erupted around his body, forming a glowing shield as his energy surged.
He was still being pulled forward—but he was no longer helpless.
He slowly slid Mikazuki Munechika back into its scabbard and closed his eyes. After a steadying breath, he began his chakra nature transformation, converting all his Chakra nature to Fire Release.
Hand tightening on the sword hilt, Hoshiyomi looked directly at Monzaemon, who was peeking out from behind the puppets.
"Watch closely. This is the sword technique that cuts through the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets—
Secret Technique: Blazing Flame Draw Slash
The instant the words left his lips, Mikazuki Munechika flashed from its sheath, a blazing arc of red light slicing through the air.
A massive, ring-shaped blast of fiery sword energy exploded outward. The searing flames cut clean through the Three Treasure Suction Crush vortex and tore into the puppets behind it, their mechanisms disintegrating under the heat.
But that wasn't even the most terrifying part.
Because of Three Treasure Suction Crush suction, all the flame energy was drawn directly into the center. The blast, originally a horizontal sword wave, was now being pulled inward, growing into a massive fireball in the heart of the vortex.
Monzaemon's eyes widened in horror.
"No—STOP!!"
He frantically tried to sever the chakra flow to his puppets, but it was too late. Three Treasure Suction Crush had already drawn in the entire inferno.
The three puppets never even had time to react. The extreme heat caused them to combust and shatter into countless fragments.
With all three puppets destroyed, the Three Treasure Suction Crush naturally lost its effect.
Hoshiyomi propped himself up with a hand and landed steadily.
He didn't hesitate after landing
With the strength of the Gate of Pain and the acceleration of Body Flicker, he launched forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, aiming straight for Monzaemon.
In his hand, Mikazuki Munechika was now reversed, held in a backhand grip.
His other hand pulled out the wakizashi.
He shifted chakra natures again—this time to Wind Release.
Crescent Moon Slash: Modified Form – Moonshadow Flash.
With the combined force of:
Crescent Moon Slash
Gate of Pain
Wind Release Chakra
and Body Flicker—
—Hoshiyomi became a streaking meteor, slashing across the battlefield at blinding speed.
If before, you could just barely track his afterimages—now, he was nothing more than a flash of silver light.
Monzaemon hooked his fingers, attempting to manipulate his last two defensive puppets to protect himself.
In his final moments, he saw the two puppets standing before him, which brought him a moment of relief.
Meanwhile, Uzumaki Masahiko—still paralyzed and watching from the sidelines—could only watch helplessly as a silver "X"-shaped light flashed across his vision.
The next thing he saw: Hoshiyomi was standing behind Monzaemon.
There were no superfluous words, just the slow, silent sheathing of two blades.
Monzaemon felt as if a silver moonlight had flashed before his eyes, but he felt no pain
Am I alright?
He looked ahead. His two defensive puppets appeared completely intact. He actually let out a relieved laugh.
They blocked it. I'm still alive!
Then—
click.
The sound of Hoshiyomi's final sheathing.
At that precise moment, Monzaemon's face turned deathly pale.
Because he suddenly felt… like he was falling.
As the sensation of gravity returned, he looked ahead one last time—and saw the smooth, horizontal blade mark across both puppets.
The top halves of the two towering puppets slowly slid downward.
And along with them—a headless corpse, clothed in the exact same outfit Monzaemon wore.
Why did that headless corpse look so familiar…?
Ah—because it was wearing my robes.