"How is the situation?"
"Reporting to Elder Chiyo, the Konoha army remains completely inactive. They have only surrounded us and show no signs of launching an attack!"
Upon hearing the reply, Chiyo immediately rushed to the village entrance, frowning as she gazed toward the Konoha encampment, her mind racing: What exactly is Konoha planning?
"Maintain strict vigilance! Report immediately at the slightest movement!"
"Yes!"
After reiterating the order to the ninja in charge of surveillance, Chiyo left the gate with a deeply worried expression. She couldn't shake the feeling that Konoha was brewing some scheme or waiting for a specific opportunity.
Meanwhile, in the Konoha encampment.
"Lord Jiraiya, several days have passed. Why haven't we launched our attack yet?"
"Lord Hiashi has just sent word that Pakura's forces have withdrawn from the Kirigakure front and will soon arrive behind our lines! When that happens, we'll be caught between two fronts!"
With the army stalled outside the Sand Hidden Village's walls, the commanding ninja gathered in Jiraiya's tent. No one could understand why, despite being at the enemy's doorstep, they were delaying the assault.
Facing their doubts, Jiraiya smiled and placed a specially crafted kunai before them. Seeing the unique mark of Lord Aoki on the kunai, everyone was startled.
"Lord Jiraiya, is the Hokage coming to the front lines as well?"
In response to their questions, Jiraiya smiled without answering and immediately channeled Chakra into the special kunai in his hand.
Far away in the Hokage Building, Aoki instantly sensed the fluctuation of the Flying Thunder God mark. Activating the Flying Thunder God Technique, his figure instantly appeared on the battlefield outside the Sand Hidden Village.
Seeing Aoki's sudden appearance, everyone in the tent erupted with joy.
"The Hokage!"
"Excellent! The Hokage is here!"
"Lord Hokage, are we launching the attack now?"
Aoki's arrival instantly ignited the morale of the camp. Everyone looked at him with eager anticipation, ready to charge toward the Sand Hidden Village without hesitation at his command.
Meeting their fervent gazes, Aoki smiled and shook his head.
"Don't worry, I won't trade your lives for victory! All you need to do is follow me and witness the dawn of a new era!"
As his words fell, the entire camp erupted into thunderous cheers. Having experienced the brutality of the Ninja World's wars, no one wished to die in vain. Their devotion to Aoki grew even more fervent, and even Jiraiya was no exception. In his eyes, Aoki was already the Child of Prophecy foretold by the Great Toad Sage, and he would follow him to the death.
"Move out!"
At Aoki's command, the army immediately followed behind him, advancing toward the Sand Hidden Village.
The Sand ninja who had just received Chiyo's order to closely monitor the Konoha army, seeing movement in the Konoha camp, hurriedly called for Chiyo, who had just left. Hearing that the Konoha army was on the move, Chiyo immediately led a group of Sand high-ranking officials to the gate tower. Watching the Konoha forces charging toward them, her face paled.
"All forces, prepare for battle! Konoha is launching their attack!"
At Chiyo's command, the entire Sand Hidden Village instantly entered a state of combat readiness. The Sand ninjas standing at the front nervously swallowed, fully aware that they were about to face the strongest army in the Ninja World—the Konoha forces.
As the Konoha army continued to advance, Chiyo also noticed Aoki walking at the forefront.
"Hmm?! The Fourth Hokage of Konoha has actually come as well."
Upon clearly seeing Aoki's figure, Chiyo was filled with shock. She never expected the Hokage of Konoha to personally come to the front lines. She had long heard that after the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was deposed, the new Fourth Hokage, Aoki, was ambitious. In just half a year, he had annexed three countries, and now he had set his sights on the Sand Hidden Village. It seemed his ambitions were not small.
Aoki led his army to a spot not far from the gates of the Sand Hidden Village. Chiyo directly shouted toward him, "Fourth Hokage!"
"It's been a long time. I am quite curious—why have you specifically chosen to attack our Sand Hidden Village this time? Can't you see the environment of the Land of Wind? Compared to your Land of Fire, this barren land is nothing more than a worthless, uninhabited wasteland!"
At this moment, Chiyo truly could not understand what Aoki was thinking. Why would he attack the Sand Hidden Village instead of other places? In all the wars throughout history, no one had ever targeted the Sand Hidden Village for this desert.
Aoki smiled as he looked at Chiyo. "Elder Chiyo, do not underestimate the Land of Wind. This place may seem ordinary, but as for what I intend to do, there's no need for you to worry."
Standing on the high platform, Chiyo couldn't help but narrow her eyes slightly. Seeing the glint in Aoki's eyes, she knew this matter was far from as simple as it appeared on the surface.
Before Chiyo could respond, Aoki, standing at the very front, suddenly formed hand seals.
"Heavenly Obstruction Quaking Star!"
Aoki activated the dual powers of the Rinnegan and the Tenseigan, directly pulling a meteor down from space. After performing the technique, he slowly lowered his hands, gazing playfully at the Sand ninjas before him.
At this moment, Chiyo and the others had not yet reacted to Aoki's actions. They only saw him form a seal, as if performing some kind of ninjutsu, but there was no movement in the surroundings. Everyone exchanged puzzled glances. Just as they were wondering, a sudden exclamation shattered the calm:
"Oh my god! Look at the sky!"
"What is that?!"
"It's a giant meteor! It's crashing toward us!"
Amidst the exclamations, all the Sand ninjas, including Chiyo, looked up at the sky. They saw a terrifying meteor instantly break through the clouds, its bottom glowing red from friction with the atmosphere.
"How is this possible?!"
"What level of ninjutsu is this?!"
At this moment, countless Sand ninjas fell to their knees in despair. Faced with this disaster-level ninjutsu, everyone felt an overwhelming sense of powerlessness. Even Chiyo now felt the urge to give up, but as an elder of the Sand Hidden Village, she could not simply surrender. Otherwise, the Sand Hidden Village would truly be finished.
Boom!
Just as everyone was plunged into despair, Chiyo instantly pulled out a scroll from her waist. A puff of smoke rose, and a white-clad puppet suddenly appeared beside her—the very Secret Technique she had once used to slaughter cities: Chikamatsu's Ten Puppets!
These ten puppets were created by the first puppeteer, Monzaemon, and later fell into Chiyo's hands, earning her fame throughout the Ninja World with this puppetry technique. Chikamatsu's Ten Puppets possess terrifying power in Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and weapon techniques, and can even merge to change their numbers, unleashing a wider array of abilities.
Looking at the old puppets surrounding her, Chiyo sighed helplessly. To intercept this meteor hurtling toward the Sand Hidden Village and protect the entire city, she knew that the puppets she had painstakingly crafted were likely to be completely destroyed this time.
"Everyone! Don't give up! Gather all your strength! Let's block this meteor together!"
Chiyo shouted loudly, and after giving the order, she directly controlled Chikamatsu's Ten Puppets to charge into the sky toward the meteor. The ten puppets instantly positioned themselves directly beneath the meteor, the terrifying pressure almost snapping the Chakra threads she used to control them. Feeling this dreadful force, Chiyo quickly increased her Chakra output.
At the same time, she manipulated the three puppets responsible for defense to quickly form a formation, erecting a defensive barrier.
Crack!
Even so, cracks began to appear on the bodies of the ten puppets, and the meteor's descent showed no signs of slowing. Seeing this, Chiyo grew increasingly anxious.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Wind Release: Sickle Weasel Technique!"
"Wind Release: Vacuum Bullet!"
Just as Chiyo felt powerless, the Sand Hidden ninjas who had regained their composure also began to unleash their own Ninjutsu one after another. Countless wind blades instantly slashed toward the meteor in the sky. They didn't aim to completely stop it, only hoping to shatter it and reduce the destruction it would cause upon impact.
But these wind blades were insignificant in the face of the colossal meteor that blotted out the sky, failing to inflict even the slightest damage.
"Damn it, it's useless!"
"What do we do now?!"
"It's over, everything is over!"
Seeing that all their Wind Release attacks were ineffective, a wave of intense despair swept through the crowd. Even Chiyo felt a sense of helplessness at this moment—the defense of Chikamatsu's Ten Puppets was nearing its limit.
Just as everyone was plunged into desperation, a sudden shout rang out:
"Magnet Release: Golden Sand Tsunami!"
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