Just as the Konoha Assault Squad was slaughtering freely within Sunagakure's formation—
Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!
Hundreds of puppets appeared on the battlefield. Under the control of Sunagakure's puppet masters, they charged toward the Konoha Assault Squad.
Sunagakure's Puppet Corps had appeared!
"Careful! It's Sunagakure's Puppet Corps!"
When the captain of the Konoha Assault Squad saw a large number of puppets rushing toward his squad, he immediately realized something was wrong and shouted loudly.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Countless hidden weapons shot out from the bodies of the long-range attack puppets. The weapons glowed with an eerie purple light. One glance was enough to tell they were coated in deadly poison.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
The Wind Release ninjas in the center of the assault squad saw that the situation was bad and hurriedly used their best Wind Release ninjutsu.
Ten whirlwinds combined together, forming an enormous hurricane.
This terrifying whirlwind intercepted all the hidden weapons that filled the sky, stopping them in midair.
Pfft! Pfft!
Screams rang out. Although the puppets blocked most of the hidden weapons blown away by the hurricane, quite a few still stabbed into the bodies of the surrounding Sand shinobi.
Aside from the Sand shinobi struck in vital points and killed on the spot, the surviving Sand shinobi all had drastic changes in expression. They quickly took out antidote pills from their ninja tool pouches and swallowed them.
A moment later, their darkened faces finally returned to normal.
The puppet masters hiding inside Sunagakure's formation all changed expression. Clearly, they had not expected this assault squad to be so troublesome.
According to their expectations, this round of countless hidden weapons should have wiped out at least more than half of the squad.
They had never imagined that the hidden weapons fired by their puppets would not kill the enemy, but would instead cause losses on their own side.
But since long-range attacks were useless, the puppet masters moved their fingers slightly.
Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!
Hundreds of close-combat puppets wielding ninja blades that glowed with purple light charged toward the assault squad.
"Swallow the antidote pills!"
When the captain of the Konoha Assault Squad saw the puppets surging toward them like a tide, his expression changed sharply.
These puppets were too fast! Trying to avoid them now would be too difficult!
So the captain of the Konoha Assault Squad suddenly shouted.
Every squad member immediately took out a white pill from their ninja tool pouch.
This was a special antidote developed by Princess Tsunade, one of the Sannin. It could suppress any poison used by Sunagakure!
Crack! Crack!
Sharp ninja blades slashed across the puppets' bodies. Their wooden shells were cut into pieces by the wind-nature chakra.
Although some puppets managed to wound a few members of the Konoha squad with their ninja blades, they all avoided vital points, and the deadly poison contained on the blades was neutralized by the antidote pills they had swallowed. It did not affect their movements in the slightest.
Chiyo, who was stationed in the center of Sunagakure's army, saw this scene, and her face turned livid.
Princess Tsunade!
Chiyo gritted her teeth as she thought of that name.
It was that yellow-haired little girl again! Otherwise, how could her poisons possibly lose their effect?
Beside her, the Third Kazekage looked at the Konoha Assault Squad throwing his army formation into chaos and frowned. Then he suddenly waved his hand. When the messenger ninja beside him saw it, he immediately flashed out to relay the Third Kazekage's order.
"What troublesome bastards!"
A group of Sand shinobi who had received the Third Kazekage's order looked at the Konoha Assault Squad tangled up with the Puppet Corps in the distance, revealing sinister smiles.
"Earth Release! Super Rock Spear Technique!"
More than ten Sand shinobi quickly formed hand seals, then slammed both hands fiercely onto the ground.
The earth began to crack violently. Countless clumps of soil gathered in the air, compressing again and again.
An enormous rock spear took shape, carrying terrifying power capable of piercing flesh and crushing bodies.
"Wind Release: Thousand-Faced Wind!"
Another dozen or so Wind Release Sand shinobi quickly formed hand seals. A great wind swept out, and countless tiny wind blades attached themselves to the enormous rock spear.
"Combination Ninjutsu: Wind-Killing Spear!"
Combination ninjutsu—a terrifying class of ninjutsu possessed only by the Five Great Hidden Villages. It was released jointly by dozens of Special Jonin-level and above ninjas. Its terrifying power was even greater than ordinary A-rank ninjutsu.
Following the enraged shout of this squad of ninjas, the terrifying rock spear charged toward the Konoha Assault Squad with momentum that seemed capable of destroying everything.
The dreadful wind blades attached to the rock spear even sliced apart the air itself.
"Die! You Konoha bastards!"
"Die beneath the Wind-Killing Spear!"
"You're finished, trash!"
When the surrounding Sand shinobi saw the powerful ninjas on their side unleash a combination ninjutsu of such boundless might, they roared excitedly, as if they could already see those Konoha bastards dying beneath this terrifying technique.
At that critical moment—
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
A squad of Konoha elite ninjas shouted furiously from not far away.
"Combination Ninjutsu! Super Lightning-Fire Flame Bullet!"
Roar! Roar! Roar!
Three terrifying waves of raging flame became even more violent with the assistance of Great Breakthrough. Around the flames, terrifying currents of lightning coiled and crackled.
Konoha's three-element combination ninjutsu—Super Lightning-Fire Flame Bullet. Its power was comparable to ordinary forbidden techniques.
The speed of the lightning, fire, and wind combination was simply too astonishing, and it intercepted the Wind-Killing Spear.
Boom!
Terrifying energy overflowed across the battlefield.
The shockwaves from the collision of the combination ninjutsu buried many nearby Sand shinobi in a sea of fire and shattered stone.
"Konoha's Ninjutsu Elite Squad!"
The leader of that Sunagakure squad stared darkly at the Konoha squad that had released the Lightning-Fire Flame Bullet.
"Don't get in the way."
The captain of Konoha's Ninjutsu Elite Squad smiled faintly at the Sand shinobi.
"Your opponents are us!"
Pfft! Pfft!
Even though Konoha's Ninjutsu Elite Squad had stopped the terrifying Wind-Killing Spear, casualties still began to appear among the members of the Konoha Assault Squad.
There were too many puppets. And these damn things were dead objects that knew no pain.
"Fall back! Retreat!"
When the captain of the Konoha Assault Squad saw the puppet masters in the distance summon another batch of puppets, he made a decisive call and shouted.
If they did not leave now, this elite squad would be buried here.
The captain of the Konoha Assault Squad and two vice-captains shouted at the same time. A large amount of wind-nature chakra gathered on their four long chakra blades.
The violent wind pressure seemed as if it would tear the very air apart.
"Konoha Blade Technique: Wind Slash!"
The three of them roared, then swung the long chakra blades in their hands fiercely in all directions.
Boom!
Four terrifying wind-nature blade energies sliced outward, cutting all the surrounding puppets into pieces. They actually cleared out a "vacuum zone" around them.
"Go!"
The captain of the Konoha Assault Squad shouted loudly and led the remaining members back toward Konoha's formation.
Although Sunagakure wanted to stop them, they were firmly held back by Konoha's other forces. That Sunagakure ninjutsu squad was also entangled by Konoha's Ninjutsu Elite Squad.
The captain of that Sunagakure squad roared repeatedly in anger, but in the end, the Konoha Assault Squad still broke out of the encirclement.
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