After several battles, Chiyo had developed growing caution toward Minato.
It wasn't that she feared his strength—rather, it was because every time this young Konoha ninja somehow ruined her plans at the most critical moments.
Otherwise, there was no way Konoha would have completely overwhelmed Suna on the battlefield in the Land of Rain and then proceeded to invade the Land of Wind.
Tsunade slightly turned her head toward the Konoha forces behind her and asked, "Has Mikoto Uchiha returned yet?"
Instantly, everyone from the Konoha forces glanced around. One of them replied, "She's not here."
Tsunade gave a small nod. "I see."
Mikoto had been specially dispatched to look after Minato, specifically to handle situations like this one.
The poison mist hanging between the valley and the forest was dispersing slowly due to the trees obstructing its spread, but since Mikoto carried the antidote, and with Minato's intelligence, they should be fine.
Still, things had turned out differently than expected. Tsunade had underestimated Mikoto's sharpness. This time, it was entirely thanks to Mikoto that Minato had been saved.
At this moment, Minato and Mikoto were naturally making a quick escape from the area.
Seeing that Tsunade had completely ignored her, Chiyo's eyes burned with fury.
With a wave of her palms, she unfurled two scrolls. Smoke billowed out, and ten white-clad figures immediately appeared, forming a protective formation around her.
"Buzzzz!"
Azure-blue chakra threads extended from the tips of Chiyo's fingers and quickly connected to the ten puppets.
"Clack clack!"
The Chikamatsu Collection seemed to instantly come alive, locking their sights directly onto Tsunade standing before the Konoha forces.
A serious expression gradually formed on Tsunade's beautiful face. Chiyo's Ten Fingers Puppet Technique was already the pinnacle of puppet mastery, and the Chikamatsu Collection itself was an extremely powerful group of puppets.
When using them, Chiyo alone could rival any of the Kage from various nations.
Though there were differences in strength among the Kage, those of this level possessed terrifying power.
One individual capable of matching an entire army of ninjas!
"Let me test your Chikamatsu Collection again!"
Orochimaru's handsome face bore a chilling smile. His naturally gloomy aura combined with his unique demeanor made him stare at Chiyo like a venomous snake.
"Attack!"
Chiyo roared first. Four members of the Chikamatsu Collection darted forward as streaks of white light, crossing the final distance between both sides.
Two puppets merged together, transforming into a spinning Four-Bladed Chakra Blade, screeching through the air as if detonating sonic bursts.
Steel cords and Fuma shuriken streaked through the air beside the blade, striking from both sides.
BOOM!
Seeing this, Tsunade immediately crouched low and punched the ground beneath her feet. The earth cracked open, boulders shot skyward, splashing up like water, forming a barrier before Chiyo's assault.
WHAM! WHAM!
The steel cords and Fuma shuriken were halted—but the spinning Chakra Blade sliced effortlessly through the rocks like a knife through paper, leaving smooth, mirror-like cuts.
[Earth Release · Triple Earthen Wall!]
In the midst of flying debris, three thick earthen walls burst forth from the ground and stood tall.
"Sha!"
At the same time, Sakumo Hatake also shouted. His Chakra Blade radiated with lightning, flaring brightly as he charged forward fiercely.
Just then, a massive shadow blocked out the sky above him. The air seemed to buckle under unbearable pressure. Sakumo abruptly looked up and spotted a huge metallic puppet plummeting directly from overhead like a meteor.
Sakumo glanced sideways. In this valley terrain, the confined space would slightly hinder movements for the large steel puppet, yet dodging attacks was no easy task for him either.
Truthfully, he could easily ignore the metallic puppet. However, if he didn't restrain Liufei, merely due to its sheer size and brute force alone, it could cause devastating losses among Konoha ninja.
It could even disperse the force of ninjutsu. For ninjas, it was practically a perfect countermeasure.
Swish!
Then his feet forcefully stamped against the ground, using the momentum to propel himself forward rapidly. At the very last moment before the metallic puppet crashed down, he darted out from the shadows.
"Hong!"
The earth violently shook. Stones tumbled from both sides of the Valley.
At the same time, the Four-bladed Chakra Blade collided with the three Mud Walls, slicing straight through the first one instantly, continuing into the second wall.
Stiffening for an instant, the second Mud Wall was also split down the middle. Then the third Mud Wall lasted merely two breaths before collapsing with a thunderous crash.
Shwshw!
Then, two figures burst out—one on each side of the Chakra Blade—revealing Tsunade and Orochimaru.
Seeing this, Chiyo's lips curled into a slight smile. Her fingers quivered, and immediately one Puppet appeared right in front of Orochimaru, swinging two large blades downward at once.
Orochimaru's pupils constricted, but there was no time to evade the ghostly Puppet attack—it cleaved him into three parts directly.
However, the expression on his face froze; then his body, now divided into three, transformed into yellow stone.
[Earth Release: Mud Wall Clone!]
At that moment, Hiashi Hyuga sprang forth from behind, striking outward mid-air. In the air itself, an invisible shockwave was pushed forward.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
Suddenly, a wind-based projectile roughly the size of a human head appeared within two or three meters ahead of where Hiashi Hyuga had launched his strike. These two similar attacks collided, setting off an explosive reaction in the air.
Hiashi Hyuga glanced sideways. Several shadows quickly surrounded him, forming a complete encirclement.
Kouhi's expression turned grim. Instantly, among those several puppets, countless hidden ninja tools erupted outward.
"Byakugan!"
His temples swelled with veins. Immediately, all secrets of these puppets were laid bare before his vision. Yet at this moment, Kouhi's puppet launched its initial wave of assault.
Humanoid puppets were naturally much lighter than actual humans, making them faster.
Otherwise, Hiashi Hyuga wouldn't have been so easily surrounded.
He pulled both arms and legs inward, then spun rapidly. A semicircular chakra barrier erupted around him as he spun.
The relentless barrage of ninja tools striking the ground could've pierced a person like a pincushion ten times over, their metallic clangs ringing out.
"Boom!"
At that moment, just a few meters from where Chiyo stood, Orochimaru erupted from the earth. From within his sleeves, venomous snakes slithered out, coiling and surging toward her with deadly intent.
At the same time, Tsunade smashed her fist into the ground once more. The earth split apart, opening like a chasm, and the shockwave rippled beneath Chiyo's feet, causing her body to sway.
Controlling puppets relied on the subtle vibrations of Chakra Threads linked to them—requiring absolute precision. But now, with Tsunade shaking Chiyo herself, maintaining such delicate control had become impossible!
...
...
[Author's Note] I originally intended to make up the missed updates over these past two days, but since my mother fell yesterday, I've only been able to write a little today. I usually don't like bringing up personal matters, but I wanted to explain why there was no update. The makeup updates will also be delayed—I can only keep up with regular daily releases for now. Sorry about that.
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