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Sawara Kiri's figure swept through the air, his flame-ignited blade crossing with the steel armor on the puppet's surface, tearing open a deep mark of molten steel.
But how could a puppet feel pain?
Spinning blades cut through the air, shooting out in all directions, forcing back the figures attempting to close in on Monzaemon.
The outer armor peeled away, revealing inner spikes.
At the same time, three other puppets, almost in perfect synchronization, lunged towards Sawara Kiri with lightning speed.
Sawara Kiri completely ignored the attacks coming from all around him, his blade a blur, deflecting everything.
His gaze remained fixed on the arrogant and wild old man not far away.
"Hee! Ha—!"
Monzaemon, with his white beard and hair, spread his arms, letting out strange cries. His ten fingers, like playing a piano, rapidly moved the Chakra puppet threads in the air.
Under his 'performance,' the Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets acted like ten Jonin working in perfect unison, as if they were one.
Flying blades, greatswords, steel cables, mechanical arms.
A barrage of diverse attacks came ceaselessly. He seemed tireless, as if he had wagered all his strength on this period of time.
Among the trees, figures rapidly intertwined.
Taking this opportunity, Namikaze Minato had already picked up the two surviving Konoha Ninja on the ground and headed away from the battlefield.
However, Monzaemon completely ignored his movements.
He seemed to have focused all his attention on the two individuals in front of him.
"Interesting, interesting, interesting, interesting!!!"
Monzaemon watched Sawara Kiri dancing amidst the encirclement of the Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets, screaming incessantly like a lunatic. His hoarse voice was like the cry of a crow, and even his smile seemed ferocious.
"This old man has long wanted to see what kind of strength the rumored Konoha White Fang truly possesses."
"Now, since I haven't seen that Hatake Sakumo fellow, it's not a regret to witness your abilities, young man!"
The moment his words fell, two more puppets squeezed into the fray.
'Sense of Discrepancy.'
Sawara Kiri listened to Monzaemon's roar, but his mind was not on it at all. While fighting, his Six Eyes were constantly scanning the surroundings on a large scale.
From the moment he heard Yamanaka Omo's voice and discovered Monzaemon's presence, he realized something was amiss.
When he first learned that Sunagakure had dispatched a force of about a hundred people, no more than three hundred, to infiltrate Konoha from the southwest border, the conclusion he reached was actually similar to Orochimaru's.
That is, Sunagakure was highly likely to bring Ichibi or the Third Kazekage to Kikyo Castle, Konoha's main command center, to cause a major disturbance.
Therefore, during this time, he had mostly been leading his squad to search around the main road leading from the southwest border to Kikyo Castle, attempting to leverage the credit of stopping this force to further elevate his status.
The higher his prestige and status in the Village, the smaller the possibility of exposure.
Even in the end, if anyone were to spread rumors like 'he might be a spy,' the Konoha Ninja would most likely consider it a cruel and dark internal struggle within Konoha—at that point, he would truly be cleared!
To achieve this goal, Sawara Kiri had been enthusiastically searching for Sunagakure these past few days.
However, Monzaemon's location was too strange.
"Clang—!"
Metal clashed with metal, sparking scattered fireworks.
The thick special material shield could even block the Crimson Blade's flames for a moment, melting slowly enough to allow other puppets to surround him.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Release Song Technique!"
A surging, roaring flame suddenly swept towards Monzaemon's main body.
Trees and rocks blocking the way were all leveled.
Under this assault, two of the puppets that were encircling Sawara Kiri immediately paused slightly, seemingly about to turn around.
But...
"Hinokami Kagura: Burning Bones, Summer Sun! (↓)"
Suddenly blooming flowing flames, like a swirling crimson storm, and the blade light hidden within, were as swift as lightning.
In the blink of an eye, the four puppets surrounding him instantly shattered into pieces.
However, as he accomplished this, Sawara Kiri's body seemed to be acting purely on instinct, and a hint of bewilderment vaguely showed in the depths of his azure eyes.
At this moment, only a small part of his mind remained on Monzaemon; the majority was dedicated to searching the surroundings.
No, no, nowhere, nowhere!
Where was that force of around a hundred people that had infiltrated the Land of Fire?
Why was only Monzaemon visible here now?
'Sense of Discrepancy!'
Seizing this fleeting opportunity, Uchiha Megumi, on the other side, rushed towards Monzaemon with the fastest speed.
The girl's Kunai bravely blocked a blade swung by a puppet, her crimson Sharingan, with its explosive Chakra and dynamic capture ability, recorded every single movement of the opponent into her eyes.
In her vision, even the sense of time seemed to slow down.
'Left index finger, ring finger, pinky finger...'
'Can three more move?'
The instant this thought flashed through Uchiha Megumi's mind, her body had already moved faster than her consciousness.
Shuriken shot out from her left hand like flying swallows, tracing an exquisite arc like a flowing ribbon in mid-air using Uchiha throwing techniques, aimed directly at Monzaemon's main body.
At the same time, she formed a hand seal with her right hand.
"Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!"
With a flick of her fingertips, an invisible scythe-like wind blade severed the large tree beside her, causing it to fall.
The position beneath the fallen tree perfectly blocked the area behind the girl that was about to be attacked.
The series of poisoned needles, accompanied by a metallic clang, that shot out from the black-faced puppet, all embedded themselves in the tree trunk.
And the few shuriken from earlier were also intercepted by another puppet.
'One more!'
On the surface of her crimson pupils, black tomoe spun like flywheels, her eyeballs darting rapidly within their sockets, constantly searching for any possible traces in the surroundings.
Until the next half-second, Megumi caught sight of a thread extending into the ground.
The girl's figure suddenly leaped up, stepping onto the tree trunk that was about to fall.
"Bang!"
Almost in the same instant, the puppet that burst out from underground shot forth, its six simultaneously extended arms grasping at empty air.
"Hmph."
Uchiha Megumi showed a slight smile on her face.
But what she didn't notice was that a cold smile appeared on Monzaemon's face at the same time.
Silently, a puppet figure with a red bun suddenly sprang out from inside that poisoned needle puppet, closing in on the girl's back, and abruptly spread its arms.
Hidden beneath the white robe was a grotesque embrace covered in fine blades.
Shadow enveloped her.
Almost at the same moment.
"Pop—"
Monzaemon seemed to catch a faint sound of an air bubble in his ear, though he wasn't sure if it was an illusion.
The next moment, his white robe was suddenly enveloped by a howling gust of wind, making a flapping, vibrating sound.
Sawara Kiri's figure, who had just shattered four puppets, abruptly vanished.
It wasn't until the image captured in his pupils shifted to the next frame that Monzaemon's ears were suddenly filled with a thunderous roar like a collapsing mountain, shaking his brain and making his body tremble.
It was a mixture of footsteps, sonic booms, punches, and puppet shattering sounds, all compressed into a single tremor in an extremely short time.
Scattering blades and puppet fragments sprayed through the air like a celestial maiden scattering flowers, and the red bun rolled and spun in the sky.
Sawara Kiri held the girl with one arm, while his other arm remained in the posture of having thrown a Ninja blade.
His clothes flapped, and his hair flew.
Under an irresistible force, the steel blade, from tip to hilt, was compressed into a crumpled iron ball in an instant, slamming into the center of the wooden puppet's body.
"Boom!"
The delayed sound rang out.
Uchiha Megumi maintained her turned head, holding her breath, deeply imprinting this scene into the deepest part of her brain.
Despite having just experienced a life-or-death crisis, the girl's eyes held a sparkling, joyful light.
As if she hadn't taken any of these dangers to heart.
'Ha.'
This was why she absolutely had to keep Kiri by her side...
How could she let go?
However, the girl apparently didn't notice that Sawara Kiri's eyes still held a slight sense of bewilderment, clearly still searching in all directions.
"What?!"
"This speed..."
Monzaemon stared blankly at Sawara Kiri's sudden surge of movement, his gaze involuntarily freezing.
A bad premonition suddenly arose in his heart.
Could it be...
From the beginning, this young man hadn't used his full strength?
The instant this thought surfaced in his mind, a howling sound of rushing air abruptly sounded from behind him.
After sending off the injured, Minato had silently infiltrated the rear.
Until this moment, catching the instant all of Monzaemon's fingers stopped.
"Rasengan!"
The swirling, high-density Chakra sphere, with its intense and surging diffusion, slammed powerfully into Monzaemon's back.
However, just as the Rasengan was about to hit him.
Monzaemon's head suddenly distorted 180 degrees, turning from front to back.
And opened his mouth wide.
Minato's expression suddenly froze.
Almost at the same instant, Sawara Kiri's eyes widened abruptly, staring intently at a certain direction in the distance, his expression serious.
So, they were all here?
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