Konoha Riverfront.
Tsunade stood tall on the back of her giant slug, fists planted on her hips, her presence radiating raw dominance.
There was no way she—an elite jōnin of Konoha, one of the fabled Sannin—would ever pale in comparison to Orochimaru. She wasn't just a medic. Her monstrous strength rivaled both Orochimaru and Jiraiya's.
All around, the forest had turned into hell itself. Konoha shinobi clashed with the forces of Sunagakure, ninjutsu detonating like fireworks across the battlefield.
Flames roared. Rivers burst forth. Gales screamed. Lightning cracked. Earth split and crumbled beneath the weight of destructive chakra. Mountains trembled as though the world itself couldn't withstand the war.
The ground shuddered with explosions in the distance.
Tsunade's golden eyes locked onto a lone figure standing gracefully atop a rocky outcrop: Chiyo of the Sand.
That name alone carried weight. This was a kunoichi from the same generation as Hiruzen Sarutobi—one of Sunagakure's pillars. Rumor had it she wielded a puppet capable of wiping out entire nations. Tsunade knew better than to underestimate her.
And yet… the war so far tilted in Konoha's favor.
Sand's forces were buckling under the offensive. Against Konoha—the village with the most diverse arsenal of ninjutsu—trying to outmatch them head-on was suicide. And with Tsunade's slugs healing Konoha shinobi mid-battle, the advantage was overwhelming.
Still, something was off.
"...Where are the puppets?" Tsunade muttered, narrowing her eyes.
Sand's famed puppet corps was nowhere to be seen. She had heard stories of their vast army, yet only a handful of puppet masters were scattered across the battlefield.
Her gaze sharpened on Chiyo.
A faint twitch of her leg, and Tsunade launched forward, covering the distance in a blur.
"Wind Release: Wind Killing Formation!""Chiyo's" hands flashed through seals, summoning a roaring vacuum current that threatened to drag Tsunade in.
But Tsunade didn't slow. She tore straight through the gusts, her heel raised high—
—and brought it crashing down.
"My foot's gonna regret this later!" she hissed as the ground exploded beneath her strike.
The false Chiyo barely avoided a direct hit, but flying debris slammed into her regardless.
"That hag doesn't use ninjutsu," Tsunade growled, crouching low, fists cocked back. "So who the hell are you?"
Her punch detonated like thunder. The shockwave hit first, followed by the fist itself. The fake "Chiyo" couldn't dodge in time—bones shattered, organs ruptured, blood sprayed. She dissolved into smoke, revealing a disguised kunoichi.
"Retreat!!" came the panicked cry of Sand's forces.
With their ruse exposed, they broke and fled.
Konoha shinobi surged around Tsunade, dropping to one knee in unison."Tsunade-sama!"
Their morale spiked, but Tsunade didn't smile.
If "Chiyo" had left a stand-in here… then where was the real one?
Her stomach tightened. She already knew.
"The puppet army…" she thought grimly. "Their target's not this battlefield. It's Sakumo."
She rose on her slug, voice sharp as steel."All forces—advance! Head for Kawa no Kuni!"
Meanwhile, elsewhere…
Hatake Sakumo—the White Fang of Konoha—was already locked in battle.
Chiyo herself commanded the legendary Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu, her bloodshot eyes burning with grief and fury. She had watched her son and daughter-in-law die at Sakumo's hands. Now, her finest creations danced at her command.
Sakumo blurred through the battlefield, but this wasn't like mowing down ordinary puppet masters.
The Ten Puppets were different. Each was forged by Monzaemon, the father of puppetry. They were faster, tougher, and stronger than most jōnin. Their taijutsu alone rivaled specialists, and together they unleashed devastating coordinated ninjutsu.
Even with Sakumo's speed, they kept pace. And Chiyo's seasoned control meant every move was deadly.
For once, Sakumo found himself pressured.
Chiyo's fingers wove into a blur. Three puppets linked together, swirling with chakra."Puppet Art: Three Treasures Suction Crush!"
A monstrous tornado formed, dragging Sakumo toward its core. He stabbed his tanto into the ground, muscles straining, but the pull was relentless.
Other puppets closed in for the kill.
"Damn it—"
Sakumo's free hand flashed through a single seal."Lightning Release: Sixteen Pillar Binding!"
The ground erupted, forming a massive stone box around the three puppets. Lightning ripped through the prison, frying them inside. At the same time, Sakumo's tanto carved through the air, unleashing a blazing blue crescent that hurled back the rest.
"Lan Zhan—Advanced Crescent Cut!"
Breath steadying, lightning dancing along his blade, Sakumo became a streak of white light. He tore straight for Chiyo.
She reacted instantly."Puppet Art: Mechanical Light Shield Seal!"
One of her puppets deployed a translucent blue barrier in front of her.
Sakumo's crescent slammed into it, sparks hissing. Behind him, more puppets swarmed in, chakra threads snapping around his limbs. Chiyo's control tightened, pinning him down.
But Sakumo didn't falter.
His tanto blazed with white light, veins bulging across his face as he poured everything into his next strike.
"Crack."
A fracture split the shield.
Chiyo's eyes widened in shock."Impossible—!"
"Crack-crack-crack!"
The barrier shattered into shards of blue light.
In that instant, there was nothing between them but air.
And Sakumo's tanto was already raised, the White Fang's blade descending faster than her puppets could ever move.