Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu, Konoha's White Fang

Clouds veiled the moon as Sunagakure's ninjas moved stealthily through the night.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

"Fire Style: Flame Bomb!"

The gale carried the flames, instantly sweeping over Konoha's frontline watchtowers.

"Enemy attack!"

The Konoha sentries had barely raised the alarm before several poisoned senbon pierced their throats.

Sunagakure's Puppet Force surged forward like a tide. Wooden joints clattered as poison-coated blades glinted with an eerie blue light in the firelight.

At the center of the battlefield.

Chiyo charged at the front, her gaze locked onto Konoha's Commander, Hatake Sakumo. Controlling three puppets, she attacked him like a gale.

"White Fang, today is the day you die!"

Hatake Sakumo's eyes were cold. His short blade, White Fang, was instantly wreathed in blinding Lightning Release Chakra.

The blade tore through the air with a shrill screech.

"Lightning Release: Flash!"

Crack!

One puppet was severed in an instant.

But Chiyo sneered and curled her fingers.

The shattered puppet actually reassembled itself and lunged at him once more.

"Useless. My puppets aren't so easily destroyed!"

Hatake Sakumo said nothing. His body moved like lightning through the puppets' encirclement, every slash precisely aimed at the joints connecting their mechanisms.

A trace of gravity flashed through Chiyo's eyes.

She immediately formed hand seals.

However, Hatake Sakumo was faster.

With a clatter, the three puppets fell apart like scattered components.

Hatake Sakumo looked up at Chiyo, his eyes brimming with killing intent.

In the span of an instant.

Holding his short blade, Hatake Sakumo seemed to transform into lightning as he rushed toward her.

Chiyo's expression changed in shock.

She instinctively twisted aside.

But she was still a step too late.

One of her arms flew into the air, blood pouring from her shoulder.

Chiyo gritted her teeth and retreated rapidly.

At the same time, she pressed her other hand against her wounded shoulder.

Emerald Chakra flickered as she used Medical Ninjutsu.

Her eyes remained fixed on Hatake Sakumo.

She quickly stopped the bleeding.

Then she pulled out a Scroll and summoned an exceptionally intricate puppet.

Its build actually resembled Chiyo herself.

Chiyo swiftly snapped one of the puppet's arms off.

She crudely attached it to herself, then connected it with Chakra.

Hatake Sakumo was somewhat surprised by Chiyo's actions. He had encountered many Puppet Masters before.

But none had been like Chiyo, directly replacing their own arm with a puppet arm.

Looking at the exquisite puppet, Hatake Sakumo did not dare let his guard down.

He tightened his grip on his short blade, and the Lightning Nature Chakra around it grew even more violent.

His figure vanished from the spot as he slashed toward Chiyo.

Chiyo merely stared coldly at Hatake Sakumo, a few traces of savagery appearing on her face.

She took several of the most important Scrolls from her robes.

"Puppet Jutsu: Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu!"

Boom!

Ten puppets of varying shapes appeared, each radiating terrifying Chakra fluctuations.

As her fingers curled, the puppets immediately met Hatake Sakumo's charge.

Their weapons collided with heavy impacts.

Hatake Sakumo felt the immense force transmitted through his short blade.

His pupils narrowed, but his gaze quickly returned to calm.

"Just as I thought, they're not simple. In that case..."

He drew a deep breath. Lightning Release Chakra erupted across his entire body, and White Fang blossomed with blinding lightning!

"Lightning Release: White Fang Slash!"

The lightning-wreathed blade instantly pierced through the three nearest puppets.

Chiyo's expression changed. Her fingers danced rapidly as the remaining puppets attacked from bizarre angles.

Aside from their tremendous strength, these puppets contained sealing mechanisms and Wind Release. Explosive traps emerged one after another as well.

Hatake Sakumo had never fought puppets of this level before and was forced to retreat again and again.

However, he was ultimately a battle-hardened veteran.

After figuring out the puppets' fighting patterns, he quickly adapted to their rhythm.

The two fought fiercely for dozens of exchanges. Puppet fragments littered the ground, but Hatake Sakumo's blade never stopped.

After all, Chiyo had lost an arm and still could not fully adapt to the mechanical puppet arm.

Furthermore, she had yet to fully master the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu.

Hatake Sakumo himself was no weakling, and Chiyo soon fell into a disadvantage.

In the end.

Bang!

The final puppet was cut in half at the waist, and Chiyo staggered backward.

"Retreat!"

She glared at Hatake Sakumo, her eyes seeming ready to spit fire.

But as she watched the Sand Ninjas retreat again and again across the battlefield, she knew the tide had turned.

Gritting her teeth, she ordered the remaining Sunagakure Puppet Masters to cover her retreat from the battlefield.

Hatake Sakumo did not give chase. He merely watched coldly in the direction of Sunagakure's retreat as the lightning on his short blade gradually faded.

Meanwhile, outside Konoha's medical camp.

Sunagakure's assault force had just broken through the first line of defense when they were stopped by the prepared Konoha Ninjas.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"

Ninjutsu clashed, plunging the battlefield into chaos.

"The Medical Team must not fall!"

Tsunade stood in the center of the camp, her light brown eyes sweeping over the battlefield as she prepared to act at any moment.

Suddenly, several Sunagakure ninjas broke through the defenses and charged toward the medical tents!

"Courting death!"

Qianye's figure suddenly flashed into view.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A massive, scorching fireball erupted from Qianye's mouth.

The Sand Ninjas who had just broken through the defenses were instantly cremated where they stood.

"This is the Medical Ninja camp! Kill them!!"

In the distance, a Sunagakure ninja saw the Medical Ninjas moving through the camp and immediately shouted.

Before his words had even faded, Qianye appeared in front of him.

Before he could react, his eyes met a pair of scarlet ones.

Three Tomoe slowly spun within them.

His expression immediately turned blank.

For a moment, he lowered the Kunai in his hand.

Qianye had already advanced to the Mangekyo. Even ordinary Sharingan Genjutsu was far more powerful in his hands than usual.

Looking at the ninja under his Genjutsu control, Qianye raised his blade and brought it down.

He killed him outright.

A burst of footsteps approached.

Having heard the earlier shout, dozens of Sand Ninjas were now gathering in this direction.

Before the remaining Sunagakure ninjas could react, Tsunade had already thrown a punch.

With a deafening boom, the ground cracked and the shockwave sent every enemy flying!

"Medical Team, continue treating the wounded! Combat units, hold the perimeter!"

Tsunade's voice was steady and powerful. The Konoha Ninjas' morale surged, and Sunagakure's offensive was completely crushed.

By dawn, Sunagakure's final desperate attempt had failed.

"Retreat! Full retreat!"

Sunagakure's Commander gave the order unwillingly, and the remaining troops fled the battlefield in disarray.

The Konoha Ninjas did not pursue. Instead, they quickly treated the wounded and reinforced their defenses.

Hatake Sakumo stood on high ground, watching Sunagakure's fleeing forces in the distance as he murmured softly.

"Looks like things on Sunagakure's side are about to end!"

Hatake Sakumo shifted his gaze to the corpses strewn across the battlefield and let out an unconscious sigh.

"War truly is far too cruel."