Victory

(There have been some things going on lately, I might take a few days off, or maybe not, I'll see how things go...)

"Scorpion"

Chiyo took off her outer clothes.

Revealing two arms made of machinery.

Chiyo had also modified herself, but compared to Scorpion's, it was nothing more than a drop in the bucket.

Read Taiwanese novels at Taiwanese Good Book Selection, t̸̸w̸̸k̸̸a̸̸n̸̸.c̸̸o̸̸m̸̸, super worry-free.

Sakura, seeing that Chiyo was fine, finally relaxed her worried heart. She immediately used a healing jutsu on herself to recover from her injuries.

Meanwhile.

Gamakichi's summoning time ended. After saying goodbye to Josuke, he was summoned back to Mount Myōboku.

Sakura was temporarily unable to fight.

Chiyo took out her puppets and engaged Scorpion in a head-on battle between puppets, with parts shattering with every blow.

A single exchange resulted in the destruction of several puppets.

This is what puppeteers are like; they only need to focus on fighting the enemy, while the repair masters in the back have many things to consider.

"We can't keep this up any longer," Josuke thought.

His chakra was running low, and it would be best to finish this quickly.

After a moment of thought, Josuke had an idea. He went behind Chiyo and mumbled something to her.

Then he released the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

In an instant, kunai and shuriken were thrown towards Scorpion.

"You think you can defeat me with just this?"

Scorpion sneered inwardly. He admitted that Josuke had some skill, but that was all.

He would capture Josuke and turn him into a puppet, achieving his eternal art!

He and Deidara were indeed two famous artists of their generation in the Naruto world. One pursued fleeting art, while the other sought eternity? Thinking about it, Scorpion should get along well with a certain Japanese wife living in Inazuma.

Cough cough

"Turning Josuke into a puppet, how perfect!!"

He casually used Magnet Release: Sand Iron Wall to block the attack. "Is that all? Is that all?" Some kunai, due to the sand iron wall, flew over his head and behind him.

But Scorpion didn't care at all.

He took out a few more scrolls, and a large number of puppets appeared.

"Little cat brother, you've let your guard down," Josuke and Chiyo exchanged a glance, and Chiyo nodded in understanding.

Josuke formed hand seals and unleashed Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation, a B-rank fire ninjutsu. Chakra gathered in his throat, and he spat out a large sheet of flame, like seawater, in front of him.

The high temperature melted the sand iron wall.

"I won't make the same mistake twice," Scorpion controlled a Water Style puppet to release Water Style, cooling the sand iron wall.

Just then, Flying Thunder God! Activate!

Josuke used the Flying Thunder God kunai he had placed behind him to instantly appear behind Scorpion.

He condensed Chidori in his hand and charged at Scorpion.

Just as he was about to pierce Scorpion, he was struck by a sword!

Scorpion twisted his head 180 degrees without using his body, and two swords emerged from his elbow, piercing Josuke's chest.

As he struck, he didn't forget to jab Josuke with a few more elbows.

"Josuke!!!"

Sakura cried out. As a medical ninja, she knew what this meant. Josuke was probably doomed.

"No, no!!"

"Scorpion's heart rejoiced, thinking he had found material for a puppet. "Boom!"

The impaled Josuke disappeared, releasing a large amount of lightning.

Lightning Style: Lightning Clone.

A solid clone created using Lightning Style chakra, adding the nature transformation of lightning to the Shadow Clone. When the Shadow Clone is destroyed by the enemy, it can transform into lightning to attack the enemy, causing paralysis.

And also...

Once a Flying Thunder God mark is placed, it can never be removed.

So, the second stage of Flying Thunder God was released. As the Lightning Clone disappeared, Josuke instantly appeared behind Scorpion. Then, the Lightning Clone released lightning to paralyze Scorpion, and his Rasengan followed closely behind.

"What?"

"How could this happen?"

Scorpion immediately summoned the Third Kazekage Puppet to defend.

The Third Kazekage Puppet's hands transformed into blades, clashing head-on with Josuke's Rasengan.

Scorpion breathed a sigh of relief, though the Third Kazekage Puppet's arm was still broken.

But Josuke wasn't the main attacker in this fight; it was Chiyo!!

Chiyo's puppets were deployed at the same time, leaping over the iron sand barrier and stabbing towards Scorpion's true body.

Another sudden, cold attack. Scorpion had no choice but to use the Third Kazekage Puppet to defend again. The puppets resembling Scorpion's parents stabbed the Third Kazekage Puppet, directly dismembering it.

Without the slightest hesitation, the two puppets, after dismembering the Third Kazekage Puppet, immediately lunged towards Scorpion. At this moment, Scorpion didn't dodge; instead, he smiled as he faced the incoming attack.

Pfft!!!

Two blades pierced Scorpion's body. Scorpion didn't counterattack at all. Enduring the pain, he took control of the puppets resembling his parents.

Chiyo was shocked. How difficult was this move? Even she, a puppet master, couldn't always achieve it.

With trembling hands, she controlled the puppets to embrace her, just like when she was young. The dozen scrolls scattered around, unsealed, told the whole story.

Scorpion no longer wanted to fight. He was tired...

The warm embrace of his parents felt like it wouldn't be so bad to die here...

Scorpion slowly closed his eyes. His hands controlling the puppets lost their consciousness and drooped in the air.

Scorpion, deceased.

Josuke also lay on the ground, utterly exhausted. Scorpion had definitely held back in this fight; otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy. Those dozen scrolls might not have changed much, but they could have certainly made Josuke and the others pay a much higher price.

Scorpion's elbow strike just now had startled him. If his true body had charged forward then, Josuke would probably have been dead. Fortunately, the righteous path always triumphs over the wicked; he had leveled up.

"Grandma."

Sakura, having recovered, noticed everything and looked at Chiyo. Chiyo sighed softly. Scorpion wasn't just an S-rank Rogue Ninja; he was also the child of her son and daughter-in-law.

Her own grandson.

Now, she was truly alone.

Chiyo shook her head.

"I'm fine. Let's keep going."

Hearing Chiyo speak, Josuke and Sakura didn't say much more and continued heading in Gaara's direction.

Josuke's gaze lowered. Once they arrived, he would have to implement the next step of his plan...

Meanwhile, in the distance, Orochimaru and his group appeared. Were they searching for something, or waiting for someone?

And at this very moment, Gaara had already been extracted from his body. He was of no use to the Akatsuki Organization anymore, so Deidara had discarded him.

Gaara's condition was critical.

But just like in the original story, Chiyo sacrificed herself to activate the forbidden jutsu, the Reanimation Jutsu, trading her life for Gaara's.

Gaara's resurrection marked the end of the mission. After a brief rest at the scene, everyone planned to head back. With the mission over, the next steps were to collect their reward, settle some final matters, and rebuild Sunagakure.

And just then!!!!

Josuke! Stopped in his tracks!!!!!