"Lord Tetsusai... there's nowhere left to run."
Umino Yoru hovered in the air atop Shiro, while below, the Fūjin and Raijin brothers blocked the Suna-nin's escape.
Tetsusai was completely surrounded.
And his opponents? No pushovers.
- Front: The twin titans Fūjin and Raijin, clad in Sticky Syrup Armor, capable of unleashing taijutsu on par with jonin—especially deadly against puppeteers.
- Left: Hakumo Yozan, master of the Vacuum Blade, whose skill rivaled a jonin's—a weaker version of Hatake Sakumo, equally lethal to puppeteers.
- Right: Andō Raito, a chunin by rank but with tokubetsu jonin-level swordsmanship and lightning jutsu.
- Rear: Yoru's Mecha Shadow Clone—a five-meter-tall war machine crafted from the Mechanical Shield Puppet, reinforced with giant lizard bones and scales, and armed with a three-meter greatsword.
A humanoid Gundam, piloted from within by a shadow clone.
---
"How do you have Gessho's Mechanical Shield Puppet?!"
Tetsusai's eyes burned with murderous fury—hinting at a deep connection. Perhaps they were disciples of Chiyo.
"DIE!"
Tetsusai activated Red Secret Technique: Triple Puppet Control, layering himself with shield armor while sending his Scroll Puppet and Salamander Puppet charging at the mecha.
The mecha tanked the Scroll Puppet's Lightning Prison Technique with its shield, then slammed its greatsword into the Salamander Puppet—ignoring the counterattack.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The Salamander's Whirlwind Slash struck the mecha's waist—only leaving white scratches.
This thing's defense was insane—it could take a Rasengan head-on without a dent.
The mecha's greatsword shattered the Whirlwind's rotating blades into scrap.
Meanwhile—
Fūjin and Raijin leaped, their giant iron staffs crashing down. Even the shield puppet couldn't fully absorb their monstrous strength.
Hakumo and Andō flanked, their blades severing chakra strings mid-motion.
Hakumo's Vacuum Blade sliced the Scroll Puppet's strings instantly, while Andō struggled—two strings still connected the Salamander.
The mecha bull-rushed, tangling the remaining strings around its sword and yanking hard.
"Water Release: Starch Syrup Marsh!"
Yoru spat a deluge of syrup, gluing both puppets in place.
Now, Tetsusai was a tiger with no fangs—only his shield puppet remained.
"Fūjin! Raijin! Kill him, and I'll DOUBLE your rations!"
The twins roared, attacking with berserk fury.
Hakumo and Andō pressed harder.
Yoru joined the fray.
---
Even without his puppets, Tetsusai was a monster.
He blocked all five attackers, even countering—
Andō took a shield slash to the thigh, nearly dying if not for Yoru's last-second rescue.
But slowly, the elite puppeteer faltered.
"ROAR! FOOD AFTER THIS!"
Fūjin and Raijin's deafening bellows stunned Tetsusai as their staffs smashed down.
"VACUUM BLADE!"
Hakumo struck at the neck—a kill shot.
Tetsusai stacked shield layers, but—
Yoru had predicted it.
His finger jabbed at the split-second gap between shield shifts.
"Spiral Piercing Wave!"
A drilling wind spear shot from his fingertip—
—and blew clean through Tetsusai's jaw and skull.
"STOP!"
Yoru halted the assault—save the shield puppet!
Tetsusai collapsed, his armor clattering to the ground.
---