A New Puppet

In the pitch-black fog, Sakura Haruno could only rely on her memory and Chakra senses to swing her fist forward.

Thud--

She did indeed hit something extremely hard and thick, something like a shell, the power of the Star Cannon Hammer pierced through it, and then hit nothing.

"Cough, cough," the black sand scattered in the air was choking like dust, and Sakura coughed twice, pulling her hand back. "What did I hit?"

Her expression shifted, and she looked up to the upper right.

Then, a gust of evil wind blew from there.

Sakura stared intently, and in the hazy black sand and dust, a huge, vaguely visible black shadow loomed over her head, pressing down like a mountain.

Boom!

Ice shards and pebbles flew everywhere, thick smoke billowed. The dark figure smashed through the thick ice without hesitation, also striking the afterimage of Sakura Haruno...

The moment she noticed the disturbance, Sakura Body Flicker Technique vanished from that spot and appeared on the ground not far away.

"What did he do?" Sakura Haruno emerged from the ice mirror, looking in Sasori's direction with a puzzled expression, and some guesses began to form in her mind.

It seems another puppet has been summoned.

Sakura thought to herself. Dust and black sand swirled around, obscuring their vision. In the hazy distance, they couldn't see Scorpion or the Kazekage Puppet, only an extremely large shadow.

It was impossible to see what it was, but its size alone was terrifying enough.

Sakura's mind raced as she considered how to deal with the new enemy; countless thoughts flashed through her mind, but they could all be summarized in one sentence:

Whatever it is... let's figure out a way to get our hands on it first!

With such a large size, she was an easy target for Sasori, especially with the black mist obscuring her vision. Sasori had no idea that she was preparing this Ninjutsu.

Hey, someone, take my Italian... ptooey, it's Wind Blade Torrent coming out!

The moment the thought crossed her mind, the hand Hand Seals were already complete.

Water Release: Wind Blade Torrent!

Call out--!

A silver streak of water flashed, slicing across the open space shrouded in black mist, and slashed horizontally at the shadowy figure whose outline was indistinct.

Swish! The first cut slashed through the air, followed by the faint sound of a heavy object falling to the ground. The girl's slender fingers twirled, the water line drawing a graceful arc in the air. Just as she was about to make the second cut, a rumbling sound came from the other side.

The dark figure had already vanished.

"This is a huge problem..." The girl bit her lower lip, looking a bit of a headache. "It can actually burrow underground and went underground."

The sound of such a massive object burrowing into the earth was astonishingly loud, even with deliberate suppression. Sakura, standing so far away, could feel the vibrations emanating from the ice beneath her feet.

That way... we won't be able to hit it.

However, similarly, the opponent's body was too large to move silently underground, so she was no longer afraid of a scorpion's underground attack.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking at her right hand, which was covered in black sand, Sakura was about to wash it off with Water Release, when she noticed the black sand scattered on her hand flying upwards.

Following its drifting path, one could see the fine black mist in the air constantly wriggling and contracting, before finally coalescing into a huge iron block. The air returned to its clean and clear state.

Then, the view on the other side became clear.

Sakura Haruno finally saw what she had just done.

Scorpion had Kazekage Puppet on her body and stood on a huge, dark brown pincer, tens of meters long, with a gap she had just broken off. The smooth, flat cut indicated that it was the part that had been cut off by the Water Blade Technique.

The newly summoned creature is likely a puppet created from some kind of giant, carapace-covered scorpion... In the depths of the desert of the Land of Land of Wind, in what is known as the wilderness, it's not surprising that such a giant scorpion exists. Judging from the size of its pincers, the scorpion, including its tail hook, must be at least two hundred meters long!

A massive, black iron block, as heavy as a mountain, stood in front of the scorpion, guarding against Sakura's Wind Blade Torrent.

Sakura Haruno was also eager to try it out. What would happen if she used this Ninjutsu to cut through an iron wall tens of meters thick? Theoretically, as long as Chakra was continuously injected, the water pressure was increased, and the Nature Transformation of water and wind was further enhanced, this level of defense could be cut through like tofu.

She raised her hand and slowly extended her index finger; Scorpion's eyes flickered slightly, staring intently at the girl's straight, outstretched index finger as if facing a formidable enemy. His finger moved repeatedly, controlling the iron wall to firmly and solidly block the vital area of her chest.

The girl blinked, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Those clear eyes seemed to speak volumes as they moved.

Want to have some?

Hmm, her eyes... that's what it means, right?

Scorpion's calm gaze was as still as an ancient well as he met Sakura's eyes, his face expressionless.

"Come on, face me head-on!"

Sakura felt that he probably meant something like that... uh, that should be right!

"Aren't you going to use that move to attack?" Scorpion waited for a while, and seeing that she was just posing but not attacking, he asked.

He hates waiting the most.

"Forget it, no need for that trick." The girl smiled and curled her index finger back.

No, it wasn't intentional to toying with her opponent... She simply considered it for a moment and decided not to recklessly use Wind Blade Torrent to directly confront the opponent's prepared defense. Although Sakura was confident that she could easily cut through Scorpion's defense, that would mean she would need to push the power of Wind Blade Torrent to an extremely high level.

Wasting Chakra.

She clearly had a better way to deal with the enemy!

Sakura lowered her eyes, glanced around indifferently, then looked back at the iron wall in front of Scorpion, and said, "No wonder you value Kazekage's puppet so much."

Her voice was soft and distant; at such a distance, an ordinary person would have no chance of hearing a young girl's voice. But for ninjas with keen hearing and eyesight, especially those of their rank, it was no problem at all.

"Your Ninjutsu has such a powerful cutting ability... To defend against Ninjutsu," Sasori said, a charming smile playing on his lips, completely belying his ruthless and bloodthirsty nature, "the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release is essential."

The two of them glanced at the giant pincers that Sakura had cut off.

"You seem very confident," Sakura said, looking up.

His gaze turned cold. "Are you so sure that Magnet Release can stop my attack?"

"If you don't believe me..." Scorpion's smile turned cold, "You're welcome to try."

His expression gradually darkened.

Sakura Haruno fell silent. She kept quiet. Sasori's subtle provocation had no effect on the calm and collected Sakura. She wouldn't be angered by it, nor would she forcefully attack the Magnet Release defense system just to prove herself. Besides, even if she could cut it off, Sasori probably had a backup plan. What he did in the black mist was unknown.

With the aid of Ice Release, she was always able to maintain a rational mindset, suppressing all negative emotions deep within her heart. Her heart was like a frozen lake, hard as ice, undisturbed, without surprise, anger, haste, irritability, shame, or embarrassment.

Sakura Haruno is now gradually realizing that this might be the biggest boost her Ice Release would give her to her combat abilities.

The two faced off calmly for a moment.

They were all searching for the perfect opportunity to start a battle; they were also silently recalling the battle they had just fought and analyzing the enemy's intelligence.

Sasori of the Red Sand's abilities...

The first is the Kazekage Shadow Puppet's Magnet Release. He can use black sand to create iron walls and shields, which can defend against Monstrous Strength Technique and Wind Blade Torrent to some extent.

The Monstrous Strength Technique can penetrate iron plates tens of centimeters thick, and may even shatter iron walls several meters thick, but if it were a mountain of iron tens of meters thick... the power of the Nintaijutsu would probably only be able to knock it away, not pulverize it.

Wind Blade Torrent could indeed penetrate such a thick iron wall, but that would consume a huge amount of Chakra and wouldn't be very effective—this is a battle, not a fight of wills!

There's no need to fight against the Kazekage Puppet's Magnet Release defense.

That puppet is almost beyond repair; the power of the technique has greatly decreased, and Magnet Release can only be used for barely defensive purposes...

Sakura glanced at the surroundings and already had a rough idea of a tactic in mind.

This requires the use of... the third stage of the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals.

(Guaranteed minimum/Bonus chapter 1/1.)

(Done at midnight! Requesting monthly tickets and subscriptions~~ Double monthly tickets today! Those who still have tickets, don't be stingy, cast them now~~) 89