Sosuke, gritting his teeth through the pain, kept moving his fingers, manipulating the puppet to strike Ebara.
But his wounds hampered him, dulling the puppet's agility.
Ebara was undaunted.
He pulled a kunai from behind, charging in.
Dodging the puppet's attack effortlessly, he dismantled it in seconds.
Without pause, he rushed Sosuke.
As he closed in, six blades slashed from behind—the remnants of the humanoid puppet.
Puppeteers' nuisance: even dismembered puppets could be lethal via chakra strings.
The blades pierced Ebara.
No blood—just a dull thud, thud, thud.
Poof! Ebara became a log.
"Substitution Jutsu!" Chiyo frowned. "But why a log for an Iwa ninja?"
Ebara's real self appeared before Sosuke.
His kunai flashed, slicing toward Sosuke's throat, nicking the skin.
Just as it was about to sever it, Sosuke arced upward, landing beside Chiyo.
"This child isn't yours to kill yet," Chiyo said, staring at Ebara.
She'd used her masterful puppetry to save Sosuke, severing his chakra strings.
"What's the famed Wind Country puppeteer doing in Konoha?" Ebara asked.
Chiyo, likely an elite jonin or Kage-level, didn't intimidate him. He had the Second Tsuchikage's experience card (Chapter 51).
"Konoha?" Chiyo's eyes flickered. "So you're not from Iwa."
Iwa ninjas used stone, not wood, for Substitution Jutsu. She'd noticed.
"Exactly," Ebara said, dropping his disguise scroll (Chapter 47) to reveal his true form.
"Ebara! What are you doing here?" Tsunade shouted, thrilled, dodging a puppet from Muro Ichiro.
Sawako glared at Jiraiya. "You're Konoha ninjas?"
"Duh. Why else bring you to the Land of Fire?" Jiraiya said, reverting to his true form, looking at her like she was an idiot.
Sawako's composure cracked.
She thought it was a deal, not a trick.
Recalling Ebara making her call him "Master" and ordering leg massages (Chapter 56), she wanted to tear him apart.
"Didn't Transformation Jutsu break during combat?" Kushina asked innocently.
"That's basic Transformation Jutsu. Ebara's scroll is way stronger," Jiraiya said, watching the fight, ready to jump in.
Sawako glared at Ebara, seething. "That bastard. I'll make him pay!"
Chiyo, stunned that Ebara's transformation held through combat, locked eyes with him, emotions swirling.
Her stare unnerved him.
This old lady Chiyo isn't into me, is she? Nah, I'm hot, but I gotta stay focused.
"Ebara Shokawa—what's your relation to him?" Chiyo asked coldly.
Ebara froze. His dad was only a couple years younger than Chiyo.
No way…
The thought was too wild to accept.
"Don't know him. Who?" Ebara said, dodging.
Chiyo nodded knowingly. "You're definitely his son. Even your shamelessness is a perfect match."
Her suppressed rage sent shivers down Ebara's spine.
Did I guess right? Did Dad have some history with her?
Swish!
A scroll slid into Chiyo's hand, unfurling in the air.
Bang, bang, bang!
Ten white-robed puppets appeared around her—the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets!
Created by puppetry founder Monzaemon, their immense power earned them the title "One Machine, A Thousand Enemies."
A master puppeteer could control them with a single finger.
Chiyo once took a castle with them.
Now they faced Ebara.
"No way! What kind of grudge is this?" Ebara muttered, stunned.
He regretted dropping his disguise.
Chiyo, who'd been observing, now looked ready to skin him alive.
Dad, what did you do to piss her off? And why do I have to deal with this?
As he cursed his father, the Ten Puppets charged.
They covered dozens of meters in a blink, faster than the eye could track.
Twenty steel blades slashed at his head.
"Feel the pain, Shokawa!" Chiyo said, eyes glinting with ruthlessness.
But confusion followed.
Her puppets' blades didn't feel like they hit flesh.
"How?" she muttered. "He's barely jonin-level."
She looked closer and gasped.
A towering stone giant blocked the puppets' attack.
"Earth Style: Golem Jutsu!"
The golem swatted at the puppets with massive stone hands.
Chiyo didn't hesitate, flicking her wrist to guide the puppets out of the way.
Seizing the moment, they counterattacked.
The Second Tsuchikage's jutsu was familiar to her.
Twenty rope-tied blades shot from the puppets, embedding in the golem.
Clang!
They barely penetrated, stopping short.
As expected, Chiyo twitched her fingers.
The puppets circled the golem, wrapping it in layers of ropes.
The golem was immobilized.
Chiyo surged chakra, shouting, "Release!"
The thirty-meter golem collapsed.
Chiyo's Kage-level strength was undeniable.
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