Tsunade and Orochimaru's pupils shrank as they sucked in cold breath.
Based on their experience, they had never heard of puppets being manipulated like this before...
"With the weight of these puppets, how could such powerful wind be created?"
Orochimaru's gaze darkened. The puppets of Chikamatsu Collection were about human-sized, yet under the same volume, their weight far surpassed that of regular puppets—because chakra threads had limits on how much they could bear.
Therefore, they observed that the chakra threads Chiyo originally used to control the Ten Puppets had become only one thread—precisely because of this reason.
That wind barrier was just like a hurricane—it didn't affect Chiyo at all, but completely scattered the surrounding flames.
"Shshshsh!"
Now, centered on Chiyo, the dispersed firelight looked like meteoric flames shooting across the sky, extremely magnificent.
Within a radius of nearly one hundred meters, all remaining poison mist either got blown away or burned off entirely.
The water wall in front of Tsunade and Orochimaru evaporated after blocking most of the flames. As for what little sparks remained, they couldn't even reach the two.
Yet the wind wall formed by Chiyo's Chikamatsu Collection around her hadn't dissipated yet.
Chiyo's fingertips trembled again. The ten interconnected puppets instantly scattered, thick chakra threads splitting into ten finer ones, each controlling a single puppet.
Those threads had originally been combined when Chiyo released chakra from all ten fingers at once.
This gave Tsunade new insight—judging the strength of puppet masters in the ninja world relied on how many puppets one could control.
Chiyo's manipulation with all ten fingers already represented the pinnacle of puppet mastery. Yet no one had ever imagined these ten puppets could achieve such perfect synchronization.
With other groups of puppets besides the Chikamatsu Collection, such feats likely wouldn't have been possible.
"She wants to do what?" Tsunade furrowed her delicate brows.
Orochimaru shook his head, then exchanged glances with her. "This time, you still take the lead. It seems we'll need to shift our emphasis to ninjutsu."
Tsunade gave a slight nod.
"Youngsters, don't think of me as someone you can easily control."
As the two prepared to act, a voice tinged with age and firmness came over. Having once stood among the legendary greats alongside the Third Hokage, how could she accept being suppressed by his two disciples?
"Then witness the might of a true Puppet Master!"
Chiyo moved her arms, her ten fingers trembling simultaneously. Azure chakra threads floated along.
"Clack! Clack!"
The Chikamatsu Collection made mechanical sounds. Then, right before Chiyo's eyes, they arranged themselves into an odd formation.
In front stood a single puppet. Behind it, pairs of puppets formed three rows, with the last three bringing up the rear.
Ten puppets total, divided into lines of one, two, two, two, and three—a total of five ranks.
"This..." Tsunade and Orochimaru stared in shock.
At that moment, Chiyo moved again, her eyes flashing with determination.
As her words faded, the Chikamatsu Collection hovered in midair. The puppets lined up in twos and threes, all interconnected with chains. Each row also had chains linking front to back.
"Hoo! Hoo!"
In the next instant, these five groups of puppets started spinning wildly, forming a terrifying conical white whirlwind.
The storm stirred up violent gales. Even a slight overflow of its force carved two-inch-deep slashes into the cliffs and giant boulders on both sides.
Chiyo's icy voice rose along with the windstorm.
[Puppet Technique: Wind Spear!]
"Boom!"
This colossal Wind Spear seemed to pierce through air itself as it shot directly toward Tsunade and Orochimaru.
"Retreat!"
Seeing the Wind Spear rapidly expanding within their vision, Orochimaru roared for them to withdraw—but his voice was instantly drowned beneath the howling gales.
In the blink of an eye, that Wind Spear struck the spot where Tsunade and Orochimaru had been standing, slamming into the ground. Immediately, the impact shredded the earth, carving an enormous crater where even the ground appeared to have been sliced over a hundred times within that instant.
"Swoosh! Swoosh!"
Amidst the raging winds, the two pushed their speeds to the limit, fleeing onto the rocky walls of the valley on either side. Barely dodging the attack, they panted heavily.
Beads of sweat formed on the brows of both Tsunade and Orochimaru. If they'd hesitated even the slightest moment earlier, they probably would've been torn apart by that Wind Spear.
The mighty Wind Spear drew everyone's attention across the battlefield.
"Tsunade... Orochimaru... have turned into such formidable opponents? Not only did Mother end up using the Chikamatsu Collection, but now she's even unleashed a secret art like Wind Spear..."
Both Kouhi and Nagare came to the same realization at the same time. Since their puppet techniques were personally taught by Chiyo, they naturally knew every move of hers intimately.
Wind Spear was one of the ultimate puppet techniques usable only by the Chikamatsu Collection, a skill that Chiyo alone had mastered ever since the era of the First Puppet Master, Monzayemon.
"But now that Wind Spear has been unleashed, this war should soon reach its conclusion."
They had full confidence in Chiyo's strength. Even though Tsunade and Orochimaru were formidable, they stood little chance against her now.
Immediately afterward, Kouhi intensified his assault while Nagare's metallic puppet attacked more frequently than ever.
Hyuga Hiashi and Hatake Sakumo watched the scene unfold, concern clearly written on their faces.
Yet after merely a fleeting hesitation, their expressions quickly shifted into sharp, determined glances.
They believed in Tsunade's and Orochimaru's capabilities too!
...
At this moment, Minato and Mikoto had completely exited the valley. Even from far away, they still witnessed forests destroyed by the Wind Spear's lingering shockwave.
"What is that?" Mikoto murmured softly as she glimpsed the vague outline of the Wind Spear.
Beside her, Minato sat leaning against a large boulder, his deep blue eyes narrowing slightly.
Even with all his knowledge, he couldn't identify this massive Wind Release Technique—or rather, what it truly was...
...
Within the valley, Wind Spears raged relentlessly. With such power, Orochimaru and Tsunade dared not confront it head-on and could only flee along the cliffs on either side.
As a result, the Wind Spears sliced through the valley walls, carving out numerous gaping holes.
The howling winds fully revealed the devastating power of the Wind Release Technique at this moment.
Whoosh!
Orochimaru maneuvered behind Chiyo, aiming to close in—only for a Wind Spear to roar toward him the very next moment.
At the same time, Tsunade, who had just stopped escaping, lunged forward as well. Observing this, Chiyo smirked coldly.
"Hoo!"
That Wind Spear positioned itself directly above her head. Orochimaru and Tsunade hastily retreated, because the next moment, Chiyo's attack came.
Attempting to strike the Puppet Master directly—had failed!
Now standing on opposite cliff faces, they exchanged uneasy glances—completely out of options!
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