Kazekage Rescue Battle!

Scorpion seemed arrogant, threatening the allied forces of Konoha and Iwagakure all by himself, but in reality, he had never let down his guard, remaining secretly prepared for a surprise attack by the alliance.

So although Shinji's sudden leap from the crowd had caught him off guard, Scorpion had not been unprepared.

On the contrary, the experienced man had already laid countless traps across the battlefield before the allied forces arrived, waiting for someone to walk right into them!

Thus, the instant Shinji lunged at Scorpion—

Swish, swish, swish.

One puppet after another that had been lying in ambush suddenly burst from beneath the battlefield, attacking Shinji!

Not only were these puppets numerous, but each had different methods of attack.

Some puppets swung metal whips at Shinji, some fired Senbon shimmering with a dark, eerie light, and some hurled Kunai wrapped with Explosive Tags.

There were even puppets that formed Hand Seals with both hands and unleashed ninjutsu at Shinji!

Attacks of every kind came from all directions, surrounding Shinji layer by layer. The battlefield, which had been calm moments before, instantly became a deadly trap.

"Hmph!"

The corners of Scorpion's mouth lifted as he let out a light snort.

In the distance, Juzo Biwa laughed. "Itachi, the brats from your Uchiha Clan really are impatient, aren't they!"

Deidara shook his head. "Brother Scorpion is too despicable!"

Itachi neither agreed nor disagreed, but his gaze remained fixed on Shinji.

On the allied side—

Kakashi's expression changed drastically. He had anticipated that danger might be hidden within the seemingly calm battlefield before him, but he had never imagined that Scorpion had concealed so many puppets!

"Shinji, watch out!"

Yakumo and Neji cried out in alarm!

The battlefield was still strewn with countless wounded Sunagakure shinobi, and many of them were puppet