Sunagakure Retreats

"Worry about yourself first, old hag!"

Yūske refused to yield, not giving an inch verbally either. His mind raced as he considered how to defeat Chiyo.

"Hmph!"

Chiyo sneered and sent new puppets into the battle. Yūske manipulated the threads throughout his body to intercept Chiyo's puppets, while casually hurling the puppet he had just taken control of toward Hatake Mōsō.

Then, he deftly wielded the threads and became entangled in combat with Chiyo's puppets. Suddenly, when Yūske drew near, one of the newly deployed puppets rapidly spewed out a large amount of poisonous gas.

"Yūske!"

Seeing this, Hatake Sakumo drew the blade from his back, ready to rescue Yūske at the critical moment.

Yūske inevitably fell victim to Chiyo's poison. He swiftly leaped out of the toxic mist, then pulled out the antidote Tsunade had prepared beforehand and jabbed it into his arm without hesitation.

"Whew!"

Yūske felt the poison immediately suppressed, its effects on his body gradually weakening.

However, Chiyo was not about to stand idly by while her enemy took medicine and stacked buffs. Taking advantage of the opening while Yūske treated himself, she drove her puppets to unleash ninjutsu once more.

"Puppet Technique: Three Treasures Crushing Absorption!"

The three puppets—"Buddha," "Dharma," and "Monk"—stacked together once again and viciously began drawing in everything in Yūske's direction.

"Sky Road!"

With no time to evade and the poison not yet fully purged, Yūske simply bound the clouds overhead with his threads and rapidly escaped the battlefield.

"Damn it!"

One of the puppets, holding a lion's head, had already circled behind Yūske. Chiyo cursed viciously. She had never expected her plan, just on the verge of success, to fail because Yūske had "flown" away.

Chiyo then shifted the direction of Three Treasures Crushing Absorption and pursued Yūske closely.

"Super Kick Whip!"

As Yūske watched Chiyo relentlessly pursue him, he instantly opened the Gate of Pain and, with all his strength, lashed out toward her with a long, brutal kick.

Sensing danger, Chiyo immediately tried to withdraw her puppets. Yet under the pull of the suction force, the Super Kick Whip actually accelerated further.

BOOM!!!

After striking the ground, the Super Kick Whip violently swept toward Chiyo. It caught many people in the blast, kicking up a cloud of dust that enveloped the entire battlefield.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

The ninjas engulfed by the sand and dust could not help coughing. Once the attack ended, Konoha's ninjas had already returned to their own camp. As for the comrades who had been caught in the blast, they could only count themselves unlucky.

After all, when using large-scale ninjutsu in war, it was difficult to avoid injuring one's own side. As long as it could affect the course of the battle, it was worth it.

Everyone's gaze focused on Chiyo's position. The Sunagakure ninjas silently prayed that Chiyo was safe, while Konoha's ninjas desperately hoped she had perished.

Meanwhile, Yūske stood in midair, drenched from head to toe.

After delivering that full-force kick, his Eight Inner Gates state had already ended. To keep the enemy from noticing, he endured the soreness throughout his body and gazed down at the battlefield without expression.

Chiyo, at your age, you should get more rest. Don't be so ungrateful.

Yūske silently muttered to himself.

"Big sister, you mustn't let anything happen to you!"

Ebizo stared at the chaotic battlefield with a face full of worry, silently praying in his heart.

At that moment, a sensory ninja flashed to Ebizo's side and reported, "Lord Ebizo, Lady Chiyo is unharmed. She has only expended too much chakra, likely to defend against Watanabe Yūske's attack."

"That's great, Lord Ebizo. Should we use Wind Style to disperse the dust and check on Lady Chiyo's condition?"

Upon hearing the news, Chiyo's subordinates all breathed sighs of relief and began making suggestions.

Ebizo furrowed his brow. After pondering for a moment, he decisively shook his head. "No. This is their battle. We cannot interfere! The situation is still unclear. If my sister mistakes our Wind Style for an attack from Watanabe Yūske, the consequences would be unthinkable!"

The others found his reasoning sound and said no more.

Ebizo kept his eyes fixed on Watanabe Yūske in the sky, his emotions mixed. He resented Watanabe Yūske for repeatedly ruining Sunagakure's plans, yet he also deeply admired his composure at this moment.

For now, both sides on the battlefield remained wary, and no one made any rash moves.

Before long, a natural breeze slowly blew through the canyon, gradually dispersing the dust in the air.

What emerged was a long, narrow, bottomless fissure, with Chiyo and her puppets standing at its far end.

The ground around Chiyo was littered with puppet wreckage. Only five puppets remained intact, guarding her side.

Chiyo was half-kneeling, her hands braced on her knees. She stared sorrowfully at the devastation before her.

The instant Yūske's Super Kick Whip came crashing down, Chiyo had controlled her puppets to use the Puppet Technique, Machine Light Shield Seal, to block the damage. Even so, she had still lost several puppets.

Her losses in this battle had been devastating. Recovering from them would be impossible in the short term.

"Watanabe Yūske, I concede this time."

Chiyo raised her head, stared tightly at the expressionless Watanabe Yūske in the sky, and shouted through gritted teeth.

She conceded? The ninjas on both sides could hardly believe it. Was this fierce battle really ending just like that?

Coming to his senses, Ebizo quickly sent people to help Chiyo out.

"Big sister, are we still going to continue fighting?"

"Retreat!"

Chiyo fixed her gaze on Hatake Mōsō, who had yet to enter the battle on the other side. She understood that Sunagakure had already lost this confrontation.

Continuing to fight would only result in more casualties. Besides, more than half of her Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu had been destroyed, and one was under Konoha's control. Their combat strength had already been greatly diminished.

"Ninjutsu corps, attack and cover our comrades' retreat!"

Chiyo immediately gave the order.

At her command, Sunagakure's ninjutsu corps quickly assembled and began forming hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Prison Wall!"

Konoha's ninjutsu corps refused to be outdone, swiftly using defensive ninjutsu to block the attack.

"Pursue them!"

With a nod from Hatake Mōsō's clone, Nara Shikamaru swiftly issued the command.

Upon receiving the order to retreat, the Sunagakure ninjas were filled with unwillingness. Some carried their wounded comrades in their arms, while others hoisted them over their shoulders as they began to withdraw.

Konoha's ninjas closely followed, launching their pursuit. Shouts shook the battlefield, forming a stark contrast to Sunagakure's defeat.

"This kid really did it."

Hatake Sakumo, hidden on the battlefield, wore an equally incredulous expression. Even for him, defeating Chiyo would not have been easy.

Yūske finally breathed a sigh of relief. After all, he no longer had the strength to fight again. He slowly controlled his body as he descended, resisting the overwhelming drowsiness.

Hatake Sakumo noticed something wrong with Yūske and swiftly rushed to his side. Only then did he clearly see Yūske's condition. He hurriedly supported him and said in an exceptionally gentle voice,

"Yūske, you've done more than enough. If you're tired, go ahead and sleep."