Guarding Athena Tsunade

"White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu Five Puppets" ×2

The sibling pair of Chiyo and Ebizo each controlled five puppets, their minds perfectly in sync with flawless coordination.

Under their separate control, the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets moved with far greater finesse than when Chiyo handled all ten alone, their combat power undiminished and even enhanced.

Guided by their hands, ten distinct puppets, clad in white robes with varied movements, lunged at Orochimaru as if alive.

"Damn it." Orochimaru's face turned cold. Despite his vast arsenal of techniques, he lacked strong assault capabilities, making him utterly useless against puppets that were impervious to conventional tactics.

"I'll help you!" Jiraiya leaped into the fray. The duo of Jiraiya and Orochimaru faced off against the sibling pair of Chiyo and Ebizo.

On the other side, Hyuga Ao stood guard in front of Tsunade.

With Tsunade acting as a fountain of healing, Konoha's endurance in prolonged battle soared. The Current Nara Clan Head directed the battle from the center, communicating telepathically through the Slug.

Thus, Sunagakure's fight grew increasingly difficult, hinging entirely on whether they could break through Konoha's center in one decisive push.

Sunagakure concentrated their superior forces to strike at Konoha's core, but Konoha had deployed mobile units on both flanks to encircle and harass them. The longer Sunagakure lingered in the center, the tighter the noose would become.

Hyuga Ao stood ready in the central battlefield.

The shaft of Sunagakure's Arrow Formation was stretched thin by Konoha's flanking forces, but the arrowhead remained intact, its momentum unbroken. With Konoha's sustained healing, they needed to avoid a single all-out clash and instead drag the fight out.

But the terrain offered no room for such maneuvering, forcing Konoha to meet Sunagakure head-on.

Thus, the front line of the main battlefield was filled with ninjas skilled in defense or survival, relying on Tsunade's healing to stack the thickest armor and endure the harshest punishment.

Hyuga Ao happened to be among them.

Hyuga Ao activated her Wind Cloak, weaving through the rain of projectiles with precise prediction and the cloak's deflection of small weapons. She danced amid the storm of shuriken and kunai, untouched as if not a single drop could land on her.

Others weren't as fortunate as Hyuga Ao. Outgunned by Sunagakure's firepower, they were pinned down, barely daring to show their heads, only occasionally releasing defensive jutsu and taking cover behind camp structures.

Thankfully, the ordeal didn't last long. Sunagakure's arrowhead had already slammed into them.

Hyuga Ao deflected an incoming shuriken, slapped aside a thrusting kunai, and tapped the attacker's wrist. Before she could press the advantage, she sidestepped a puppet's scythe swinging from her left.

The ground beneath her feet turned soft. Sensing danger, Hyuga Ao leaped back, watching the spot she'd stood on collapse into quicksand.

No sooner had she landed than a fresh wave of Sunagakure ninjas charged at her. Hyuga Ao was steadily pushed back by the relentless assault.

Fortunately, Hyuga Ao excelled at defense. Amid the tide of Sunagakure ninjas, her bare hands moved like a sealed barrier, her Byakugan's near-360° vision predicting every move, with Rotation saving her at critical moments and the Wind Cloak aiding her mobility.

Thus, Hyuga Ao stood like a reef, firmly rooted in the surging flood of Sunagakure.

After a long while, Hyuga Ao felt the endless stream of enemies finally thin out. The hardest wave had passed.

Coming to her senses, she saw few Sunagakure ninjas left around her.

Surveying the battlefield, Hyuga Ao realized she'd been pushed to the rear of the camp. In her Byakugan's vision, the area before Tsunade's barrier was a chaotic melee, with everyone gathered there.

Hyuga Ao immediately moved to guard Athena, but as she started, a figure blocked her path.

The man was in his thirties, wrapped in a white turban, with purple paint on his face and a Sand Jonin vest. From his muscular arms and calloused hands, he was clearly a master swordsman.

"Kid, with your skill, you must be a big shot from the Hyuga Main Family. Impressive—coming through that swarm of Sand ninjas unscathed. But after all that, how much Chakra do you have left?"

He chuckled. "Guess I'll take the easy pickings today. They say the Byakugan sees through everything. Can you see how this ends?"

With that, the Sand Jonin drew his blade in a flash, unleashing a lightning-fast Iaido slash.

The Sand Jonin's draw was incredibly swift, aided by a sword forged from a lifetime's savings, infused with Chakra metal. With Wind-natured Chakra enhancing it, the strike reached nearly one-third the speed of sound.

Confident and focused, the Sand Jonin swung, but felt no impact. He leaped back, sheathing his blade, his expression grim as he stared at Hyuga Ao. He knew he might have bitten off more than he could chew.

"Fast!" Hyuga Ao marveled. Without her Byakugan detecting his Chakra buildup in advance, dodging that strike would've been tough. She smiled lightly:

"You said the Byakugan sees through everything. Didn't it occur to you it could see your Chakra flow too?"

"I see." The Sand Jonin realized his mistake. Since a sneak attack failed, he'd have to force a win.

He drew and slashed again. Hyuga Ao tilted her head to dodge, then jabbed a finger at the acupoint on his arm.

But the Sand Jonin had held back some force. He reversed his grip and thrust backward at Hyuga Ao.

Hyuga Ao ducked low and struck his abdomen with a palm. Forced to adapt, the Sand Jonin changed his move again.

As his blade came down, Hyuga Ao pulled back her hand, then swung her left palm hard against the sword's back. A strange vibrating force traveled up the blade.

The Sand Jonin felt his hand go numb, and his sword clattered to the ground.

"Damn it!" He gritted his teeth and retreated, his hand still tingling, with a strange energy writhing inside.

The Sand Jonin backed off, but Hyuga Ao didn't. She stepped forward to pursue.

Just then, a fully equipped Sand ninja squad appeared behind Hyuga Ao.

The squad immediately launched an attack on her, while the Sand Jonin, his hand growing more abnormal, withdrew.

Hyuga Ao dodged the incoming projectiles with swift, agile movements. She spun around and delivered a heavy palm strike that shattered a puppet. With her Wind Cloak fully deployed, she flickered and killed a lone Sand Puppeteer in one blow.

The Sand ninjas surrounding her were so frustrated they could spit blood.

Rather than them trapping Hyuga Ao, she was firmly holding them in place.

This Hyuga ninja, despite her youth, was no slouch in combat.

Ninjutsu couldn't hit her, sneak attacks failed, and poison needles or projectiles were useless—a swirling wind around her deflected any light weapons before they got close.

Letting the puppet get close meant either she'd sever the Chakra threads, or with a bit of force, shatter it with a single palm strike. Trying to circle around her was useless—she was too fast, and one lapse in attention and she'd Body Flicker in for a cheap shot.

But here they were, eight people in their squad—four Puppeteers and four ordinary ninja—none of them good at close combat. The only Taijutsu jonin had already run off.

But if they wouldn't move, Hyuga Ao would.

Just then, a gust of wind blew at her back. Hyuga Ao rode the wind, using its momentum to accelerate, two slender crescent blades condensing in her hands as she charged into the crowd.

The Sand ninja were startled. We were worried about catching you, and you dare charge right at us?

The Puppeteers backstepped to create distance. Four ironwood puppets swung sixteen arms, spitting poison needles from their mouths as they surrounded Hyuga Ao, while the other ninja formed hand seals.

"Earth Release: Quicksand Trap!" "Earth Release: Earth Mound Dumpling!" "Wind Style: Net!" ×2

Hyuga Ao clapped her hands together, merging two Wind Blades into one massive crescent blade. She spun and slashed.

Wood chips flew as the four puppets were cleaved apart, severed limbs scattering across the ground.

But puppets were things that could still function even when damaged. Among the broken limbs, still-operable mechanisms activated, and the severed arms thrust various ninja tools toward Hyuga Ao.

Hyuga Ao ignored the puppet debris. Without mechanical transmission, puppets relying solely on the Puppeteer's threads couldn't break through her Wind Cloak.

She leaped into the air, dodging the quicksand trap beneath her feet, and slashed down. The massive Earth Mound Dumpling split cleanly down the middle. Hyuga Ao kicked off, sending both halves of the rubble into the forming Wind Nets to slow their encirclement.

Two empty palm strikes destabilized the Wind Nets' structure. Finally, her Wind Cloak accelerated, condensing a Wind Blade, and she cut through wind with wind, bursting out of the Net.

The Sand ninja were horrified, but they had already exhausted their options and couldn't close the distance with Hyuga Ao.

A few stray shuriken were casually swatted aside by Hyuga Ao as if she were walking through an empty field.

Two palms broke their guard, one palm struck their chest. Repeat eight times. Hyuga Ao easily dealt with the Sand ninja before her.

Having temporarily cleared the nearby enemies, Hyuga Ao sensed the overwhelming presence coming from Athena and Tsunade's location and couldn't help but complain, "Am I one of the Five Bronze Saints or one of the Twelve Gold Saints here?"

She observed again with the Byakugan and realized she was already at the edge of the battlefield. She activated the Yin Seal to replenish her Chakra and picked up the sword dropped by the Sand jonin.

Then she set off again, heading toward the barrier where Tsunade was.