"Hm?"
Chiyo's grizzled eyebrows instantly furrowed. The almost instinctive sense of crisis, honed by countless battles, shot up her spine like a venomous snake.
But, in the next moment, the "rain" pierced through the camp tent above and fell.
Whoosh!
A Suna ninja, looking up, didn't even have time to fully display his astonishment before a pale blue arrow pierced his mouth, effortlessly penetrating his fragile neck. It burst out from beneath his nape, carrying splattered bone fragments, tracheal tissue, and copious amounts of crimson blood, slamming deeply into the wooden table behind him. The arrow's tail still vibrated violently, emitting a buzzing aftersound. The light in the Suna ninja's eyes instantly extinguished, and large gushes of fresh blood surged from the ruptured wound, staining the map of the Land of Rain on the wooden table behind him!
"It's the en—"
A quick-reacting Suna ninja instinctively cried out half a syllable. The next moment, he was drowned out by the piercing shriek of something cutting through the air, merging with the dense sound of rain.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The Suna ninjas finally saw clearly. That wasn't rain.
It was an astonishing number of arrows!
A rain of arrows, condensed from chakra of no specific nature, effortlessly pierced through the tough tent canopy.
Splat! Splat! Splat!
The dull thuds of arrows penetrating flesh instantly played out like a terrifying symphony within the tent. Caught off guard, several people present were impaled by multiple sharp chakra arrows! An arrowhead, trailing a viscous mixture of red and white brain matter, emerged from a right temple... A body was pierced, fragments of lung tissue and bloody foam exploding out... Like rag dolls impaled by countless spikes, warm liquid splattered onto the horrified faces of those nearby!
"Enemy attack!"
Chiyo roared, shocking everyone present, and without hesitation, she whipped out the purple scroll from her waist.
Shhh!
The scroll unfurled in the air, revealing ten identical incantations. But before her chakra could surge into the scroll, a dull thud echoed.
Bang!
A figure plummeted from above, landing on the conference table. At that moment, the arrow rain ceased, stopping abruptly and unnervingly.
"It seems everyone's here."
They heard the voice, trembling with excitement, and saw a strangely shaped blade in front of the person, revealing only a pair of eyes filled with murderous intent and coldness.
"Hanzo!?"
Chiyo's furious roar, filled with shock and anger, rang out, her face showing only uncontrollable fury, finally revealing the identity of the intruder!
The next moment, as everyone's pupils contracted, Hanzo, crouching on the conference table, sneered and suddenly swung the scythe of his kusarigama, unleashing a sharp whistle capable of tearing eardrums!
Sword Art: Kusarigama Two-Stage Strike!
Slice!
The pouring rain curtain was violently torn apart by a black blade's light. The whistling airflow was split into two, separating above and below, forming a visible circular blade light before their eyes. Almost instinctively, they raised their weapons, blocking in front of themselves.
Rip!
In an instant, a horrifying hiss sounded. Sparks burst forth in front of everyone, and weapons were instantly sliced in half, the cuts perfectly clean. All of this happened too suddenly. The heads of the fortunate Suna ninjas flew into the air, expressions of astonishment still etched on their faces. As for the more unlucky Suna ninjas, they were directly cut in half through the chest or waist.
"Ah!!"
As chilling, ghost-like screams of terror and agony erupted, their severed lower bodies slowly slid away from their upper halves. Organs and blood spilled from the crimson cross-sections. People who are cut in half at the waist do not die immediately; instead, they become abnormally stimulated by fear, pain, and blood loss. At the same time, they experience the terrifying fear of death with absolute clarity.
"Ah! It hurts so much!"
"Lady Chiyo, save... save me!"
"My intestines, no, no..."
Chiyo, who had retreated immediately, also had a streak of blood splatter on the ground!
"Pfft!"
Chiyo coughed up a mouthful of blood, staggering back a few steps. She looked down at the wound on her abdomen; her waist was soaked crimson with blood, the wound almost deep enough to disembowel her. She then looked at the Suna ninjas, who were merely half-bodies, still screaming and crawling on the ground, dragging trails of their internal organs...
"Hanzo!!"
Chiyo's veins bulged on her face. She suddenly looked up at the figure on the conference table and said coldly, "Daring to trespass into Suna's outpost, you're looking for death!!"
Boom!!
She clenched the scroll in her hand, and chakra surged forth from it, engulfing the characters as it burst from the surface, transforming into three humanoid puppets!
Three of the "White Secret Technique: Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu!"
Chakra threads extended from her fingers, connecting to the three white-robed puppets. Chiyo let out a low roar: "Attack!"
If the Second Kazekage, Shamon, was the founder of puppetry, then Monzaemon was the one who improved and perfected it on that foundation, an idol revered by all puppeteers. The Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu were Monzaemon's magnum opus. He could simultaneously control ten puppets with ten fingers, manipulating the essence of puppetry freely, allowing them to cooperate and form formations.
The puppet wielding two large swords, under Chiyo's control, charged at Hanzo, then unleashed a rage-filled slash!
Whoosh!
The fierce wind stirred up by the great sword tore through the air, demonstrating the immense force behind the strike.
"Come!"
Hanzo's mouth curved into a sneer. He gripped his kusarigama and met the attack.
Clang!!
Upon impact, a deafening roar, almost tearing eardrums, erupted. Dazzling sparks scattered and splattered, and violent air currents surged from the collision, dispersing the rain suspended between the two. Feeling the force transmitted through the chakra threads from the puppet, Chiyo's expression suddenly changed, revealing incredulity.
"This feeling, how is this possible?!"
As a puppeteer, her strength hadn't diminished much due to old age. Hanzo, as a taijutsu-style ninja, should have been the opposite. But now, the Hanzo before her felt even faster and stronger than before?!
"Hmph, old puppet hag, you've really gotten old."
The scythe was locked in a stalemate with the two sword-wielding puppets, sparks raining down as the blades gnawed at each other. Hanzo looked at Chiyo behind the puppets, the excitement in his eyes growing even stronger.
"In that case, let me send you to your death!!"
Bang!
As his words fell, he suddenly exerted force, actually pushing back the two puppets. Then, reflected in Chiyo's constricted pupils, several Suna ninjas lunged at Hanzo. Hanzo raised his hand and bit his finger, splattering blood into the air.
"No..."
Chiyo's terrified shriek was too late to fully escape her throat as Hanzo's palm slammed onto the tabletop.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
In an instant, a duller explosion than thunder echoed from beneath everyone's feet!
Boom!!
The hard ground, repeatedly compacted by countless footsteps, showed no signs of cracking spreading. Without warning, without any buffer, it suddenly arched upward, burst, and shattered! The thick ground broke into pieces like fragile crackers, violently thrown open by an unimaginably powerful force.
"Roar!!"
A colossal, suffocating black shadow, filling their entire vision, crashed through the ground, emerging with a deafening roar!
Meanwhile, atop the high tower in Amegakure (Rain Village), "Kage" stood alone. In his hand, the cube-sized container of paradise constantly spun. A distorted, powerful figure battled and devoured within the container, consuming all the souls accumulated thus far.
"Don't rush," Kage looked up at the distant rain curtain and smiled. "The sustenance is coming."