A Konoha ninja burst into laughter.
Deep within the forest—known by the people of the Land of Rain as the "human forbidden zone."
Before him, the leading Sand ninja's expression turned ugly, while the dozens of Sand ninjas behind him stared at the laughing Konoha ninja in fear.
"What are you laughing at?!" Izawa Yūki gritted his teeth. From Yoru's laughter, he could clearly hear disdain—it drove him mad.
"Haha… I can't, this is too funny…" Yoru laughed so hard he almost lost his breath. "If Sunagakure is full of idiots like you, then we don't even need to fight this war."
Izawa Yūki's face turned ashen.
Never—never in his life had anyone humiliated him like this!
And among the Sand ninjas—
Hidden within their fearful expressions—
Was a trace of agreement.
He's right… please just kill this idiot and let us live…
They silently begged.
"Bastard! All of you—attack! Kill him!" Izawa Yūki roared at the Sand ninjas. Seeing their terrified state, he cursed them inwardly as useless trash.
"Go! Flying Ant! Jizo! Kui Oni!"
Knowing they were useless, Izawa Yūki decided to act himself.
He pulled out three sealing scrolls and formed hand seals rapidly. Thick smoke burst forth, and when it cleared—
Three puppets appeared before Yoru.
One resembled a winged ant—Flying Ant.
One crouched low like some unknown creature—Jizo.
The last was humanoid, with three heads and six arms—Kui Oni.
"Hmph! These are my puppets! Yoru of Konoha—I'll make you pay for looking down on me!"
Izawa Yūki declared proudly. These three puppets were his strongest assets. Among puppet masters, being able to control three simultaneously was already rare.
"Take this!" he shouted.
With a flick of his fingers—
Kui Oni creaked forward, charging at Yoru.
Oh? Chakra threads…
With Observation Haki, Yoru clearly sensed the threads connecting the puppets.
This—
Was the most difficult aspect of becoming a puppet master.
Exceptional chakra control.
Condensing chakra into fine threads—
To manipulate puppets.
Puppet masters were roughly divided into two ranks: Black and White.
The difference lay in how many chakra threads were needed to control a single puppet.
Since humans had ten fingers—
A puppet master could control up to ten threads.
Izawa Yūki—
Required three threads per puppet.
Thus, he belonged to the third level of Black-ranked puppet masters—
Able to control three puppets simultaneously.
The first level of Black rank—
Used all ten threads for one puppet.
The second level—
Used five threads per puppet, controlling two.
When a puppet required only two threads—
That marked the fourth level of Black rank—
Allowing control of five puppets.
Such puppet masters were extremely rare—even in Sunagakure.
They were called true puppet masters—
A nightmare for enemy ninjas.
So when these Sand ninjas called Izawa Yūki a "puppet master"—
They were overestimating him.
A real master—
Could kill him effortlessly.
The strength of puppets didn't simply add up—
It multiplied.
Each additional puppet exponentially increased combat power.
Different puppets had different functions—
And together, they created terrifying synergy.
As for the White rank—
That was legendary.
One thread per puppet.
Ten puppets controlled at once.
Even capable of combining techniques.
In Sunagakure—
Only one person had reached that level.
Chiyo.
Yoru watched the incoming Kui Oni, a faint smile on his lips.
In Izawa Yūki's excited gaze—
And the Sand ninjas' disbelief—
Kui Oni's blades pierced straight into Yoru's chest.
Pfft!
"No way… the Crimson Demon was hit so easily?!"
"We're saved!"
"What Crimson Demon? Lord Izawa Yūki is the strongest!"
Some were stunned.
Some rejoiced.
Some resumed their flattery.
Izawa Yūki's eyes gleamed with madness.
So this is the Crimson Demon?
Pathetic!
But then—
"That's it?"
The voice rang out.
Yoru looked at the puppet impaling him, his tone filled with disdain.
"What an ugly toy."
Silence.
The Sand ninjas' expressions froze.
Then—
Gurgle… hiss…
Crimson magma burst from Yoru's body!
It engulfed Kui Oni completely.
"My chakra threads—!"
Izawa Yūki's face twisted in horror.
His control—
Was gone!
Sizzle!
Under the terrified gazes of the Sand ninjas—
Kui Oni melted into molten slag.
"This… this is the Crimson Demon… Yoru…"
A Sand ninja screamed in despair.
"Shut up! There is no Crimson Demon! Die!"
Izawa Yūki's eyes burned red.
Kui Oni—
His first puppet—
Destroyed just like that?!
"Flying Ant!"
He moved his fingers frantically.
The ant-like puppet spread its wings—
And unleashed a storm of poisoned projectiles toward Yoru!
Flying Ant—
A long-range puppet.
Capable of turning enemies into sieves.
Each projectile—
Coated with deadly poison.
But—
"I'm getting bored."
Yoru's right arm transformed into a massive magma hand.
And swung forward.
Boom!
The projectiles—
Were obliterated instantly.
Like a joke.
The magma fist surged forward—
Crushing everything in its path—
Heading straight for Izawa Yūki and the Sand ninjas.
The Sand ninjas trembled.
Is this… something a human can do?!
"Damn it! Jizo!"
Panicking, Izawa Yūki activated his final puppet.
Jizo's back opened—
Revealing a massive shield.
A defensive puppet—
Designed to protect its master.
"My Jizo has the strongest defense! You can't break it!"
Izawa Yūki roared, veins bulging.
BOOM!
In his horrified gaze—
The shield shattered instantly.
Like paper—
Before the unstoppable magma fist.
It was utterly useless.
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