A Puppet Technique That Needed No Chakra Threads!

As night fell, the already overcast sky was filled with an even heavier downpour.

Outside the window, Thunderstorm and rain raged, and large raindrops pattered loudly on the eaves.

Tōka sat by the window, having not slept all night, while directly opposite him sat Hozuki Mangetsu, who was being controlled by Lightning Release.

With the input of Lightning Release Chakra slowed down, Hozuki Mangetsu's state gradually recovered, and he could now at least maintain his human form.

"What do you want?" Hozuki Mangetsu stared intently at Tōka, his eyes filled with seriousness.

How much time has passed, and this guy has already acquired such despair-inducing power?

Since Kisame has already betrayed Kirigakure, it means the Fourth Mizukage, Yakura, is likely in grave danger. Was it this brat who did it? Or was there someone else secretly helping him?

Hozuki Mangetsu's mind was in complete chaos, a jumble of questions flooding his head.

Tōka remained seated opposite him, smiling as she gazed at him, as if examining a perfect work of art.

For some reason, this thought suddenly popped into Hozuki Mangetsu's mind.

At that moment, Tōka suddenly moved.

Hozuki Mangetsu's expression changed, and he stared intently at Tōka's palm.

Crackling sounds...

A piece of Ash Bones protruded from Tōka's palm, decaying and ethereal, a sight that sent chills down one's spine.

Immediately afterwards, a tiny, shimmering Green Light One Flash.

Then the light gradually magnified, and the surrounding energy gathered in Tōka's palm, shining like a dazzling pearl.

Green represents the breath of life, but the green orb in front of him did not give Hozuki Mangetsu the slightest sense of vitality.

Instead, it filled Hozuki Mangetsu with boundless fear.

You absolutely must not come into contact with this thing; if you do, there will be serious consequences that you cannot predict.

"No need to waste your energy. The reason I'm only making a move now isn't because I need to prepare anything." Tōka noticed Hozuki Mangetsu's struggle and increased his input of Lightning Release chakra a little more.

He was experimenting, testing how much power of Lightning Release would be needed to immobilize the Water Transformation Technique while simultaneously granting the opponent the ability to maintain their human form.

It was just Tōka's pure, morbid curiosity; now he's figured out what he wanted to know.

Tōka's eyes narrowed, shimmering with Ice Blue light, and he slammed the green orb in his hand into Hozuki Mangetsu's chest!

The power of the Tenseigan entered Hozuki Mangetsu's body, and his eyes instantly lost their color. He sat there blankly like a puppet under a manipulator.

"This isn't just a simple Puppet Technique, and just in case, I've added something extra..." Tōka's lips curled up slightly, revealing a wicked smile.

Once the Puppet Technique is broken, the Ash Bones encased in the green sphere of light will lose their barrier, and Hozuki Mangetsu will instantly turn into Withered Bones.

With a thought from Tōka, Hozuki Mangetsu stood up as if obeying a command.

"Very obedient, Water Transformation Technique!" Tōka looked at Hozuki Mangetsu with great interest, a slight smile playing on his lips as he instructed Hozuki Mangetsu.

Snap!

Instantly, Hozuki Mangetsu's body turned into a puddle of water, lying lifelessly on the ground.

"He'll be with you from now on, which will make things much easier for you in Kirigakure." Tōka glanced at a faint, lurking presence in the shadows of the corner.

As Tōka finished speaking, a dark shadow slowly emerged from the corner of the wall—it was the White Zetsu that Object Transformation into Yakura!

Yakura stared intently at Hozuki Mangetsu. With such a powerful expert as the Hozuki Clan leader by his side, he felt much more confident.

"No problem." Yakura nodded confidently.

"Let's set off at dawn and go take a look around Kirigakure!" Tōka turned his head and looked out the window at the gray expanse outside.

The raindrops pattered on the eaves, and the night passed quickly.

The next day, the weather cleared up, but there was still a layer of hazy frost outside. This was a common sight in the Land of Water.

Tōka, Kimimaro, Yakura, Kisame, and Hozuki Mangetsu left the inn, heading towards Kirigakure in the Land of Water.

Kimimaro, Kisame, and Hozuki Mangetsu possessed the identities of Kirigakure Ninja. Tōka had Kisame and Hozuki Mangetsu follow Yakura around as temporary Shadow Guard.

Kimimaro was young, so he publicly claimed to be a disciple favored by Yakura.

In this way, Yakura would have three allies by his side, and Yakura would be kept out of sight as much as possible to avoid giving away the White Zetsu.

The group of five traveled directly to Kirigakure in a small sailboat.

Just after the group left, three furtive little fishing boats swayed in the wind and waves as they approached Ringed Mountain Island; their blurry silhouettes didn't look very real.

The hazy fog on the sea served as a natural curtain, concealing the silhouettes of the three small fishing boats in the shadows.

"Kakashi, how much longer until we get there!" Gai lay on the deck, feeling like he was about to die. A strong sour feeling welled up in his chest, and he felt like vomiting but couldn't.

Kakashi glanced at Gai, whose face had turned pale, then looked into the distance, where the outline of an island was faintly visible directly in front of the small boat.

As they drew closer to their goal, Kakashi felt increasingly uneasy.

"Oh no, there are other ships in the fog!" The team's Sensor Ninja was Captain Hizashi Hyuga, Byakugan's vision was enough to penetrate the thick fog.

Hizashi Hyuga kept his field of vision locked within a one-kilometer radius, so he could spot anything that happened immediately.

Upon hearing Hizashi Hyuga's shout, Kakashi and his teammate Namiashi Raidō quickly ran over.

"Captain, have you found anything?" Namiashi Raidō voice.

"There's no way any fishermen would be out fishing in this thick fog." Hizashi Hyuga's face was contorted with bulging veins, his Byakugan activated, giving him a Byakugan look.

"A ninja from Kirigakure?" Kakashi immediately perked up.

The main task this time is to investigate the huge chakra fluctuations that occurred in Kirigakure earlier. It is a top-secret mission, and it is best to avoid being contacted by the ninjas of Kirigakure as much as possible.

Hizashi Hyuga shook his head. "Not a ninja from Kirigakure."

"If it were ninjas from Kirigakure coming to investigate this place, would they only send out an Elite Squad like we have?"

While Kirigakure wouldn't send a large-scale operation to investigate the chakra fluctuations Ringed Mountain Island, they also wouldn't need to sneak around in a small fishing boat.

The weather at sea is unpredictable, and ships carry lives.

Even ninjas had to be careful in the face of giant waves and storms; if their boat capsized, even ninjas without special abilities would perish at sea.

"It seems they were sent by Kumogakure and Iwagakure." Kakashi quickly grasped the key point after a moment's thought.

The Land of Wind will most likely send people to investigate, but Kirigakure Sunagakure, so they can't arrive so quickly whether by land or sea.

"Kakashi, how is Guy?" Hizashi Hyuga knew the situation of the entire team, but he couldn't do anything about Guy's seasickness.

"Um... things aren't very good." Kakashi scratched his cheek, unsure how to answer.

Just thinking about Kai's pale face and how he was half-dead made me realize that sending him on this mission was a mistake!

Hizashi Hyuga could naturally tell from Kakashi's expression, and he could also hear Guy's painful groans from time to time.

"Prepare for battle, Kakashi. I'm leaving Guy in your care!"

"That's all we can do." Kakashi glanced at Guy, who was kneeling and crawling not far away, and immediately felt a headache coming on.

Meanwhile, ships from the other two directions Ringed Mountain Island rapidly approached the Konoha group, their direct approach without any concealment clearly indicating that they had already spotted them.

Hizashi Hyuga's expression changed slightly, and he gestured to Kakashi and Namiashi Raidō to be careful and be ready to fight at any time.

Upon seeing this, Kakashi immediately rushed to Guy's side and helped him into the cabin.

It's better to hide a teammate than to let the enemy see a teammate who is completely out of form.

Kakashi took the opportunity to hide in the cabin, leaving only Hizashi Hyuga and Namiashi Raidō on the deck.

Splash...

The bow of the boat cut through the water, the current swerved to both sides, and the two small boats approached rapidly like arrows released from a bow, soon appearing in sight.

The small boat's blurry outline could be seen even without the Byakugan Namiashi Raidō.

"Captain, shall we fight?" Namiashi Raidō's hands were already in the Hand Seals, ready to launch a ranged Ninjutsu attack at any moment.

"Wait, don't rush." Hizashi Hyuga calmly opened his eyes wide. Although the opponent was very fast, he did not sense any hostility.

They seem to be here to negotiate...

Bang!

The two small boats arrived almost simultaneously, and despite their forced deceleration at the last moment, they still crashed into the side of the Konoha team's small boat.

The ship lurched violently, and if Hizashi Hyuga and Namiashi Raidō hadn't gathered chakra in their feet and stuck to the deck, they would have been thrown directly into the sea.

"Hmph, a stench of decay, you can smell it from far away." A burly man with dark skin deliberately waved his hand in front of his nose, showing a look of disgust as he sneered.

On another small boat, a chubby ninja with an honest-looking face stared at Hizashi Hyuga's Byakugan with a greedy glint in his eyes One Flash quickly disappeared into the depths of his gaze.

Byakugan, one of the most coveted Dojutsu.

"The Hyuga Clan of Konoha?"

With two thuds, two figures leaped onto the small boat, which suddenly sank, making the already small space even more cramped.

A middle-aged ninja wearing Stone Ninja Forehead Protector glanced at Hizashi Hyuga, then turned and glanced at the Cloud Ninja beside him.

"I think we need to talk."

"Hmph!" The Elite Jonin the Cloud Ninja team snorted coldly, "Get to the point! I don't have time to waste on you two pieces of trash!"

Upon hearing this, Namiashi Raidō's expression changed slightly, and he almost attacked, but Hizashi Hyuga intervened first.

Meanwhile, the Elite Jonin Stone Ninja watched the two with a smile, seemingly oblivious to the Cloud Ninja's Poisonous Snake and the movements of Namiashi Raidō.

"You take the helm and watch the wind direction," Hizashi Hyuga said expressionlessly.

Namiashi Raidō glanced coldly at the Stone Ninja and the Cloud Ninja, then turned and left without a word.

At this moment, Hizashi Hyuga looked directly at the two people in front of him.

Cloud Ninja has a dark complexion and is very strong and muscular. His sleeveless shirt exposes his powerful muscles. He looks simple-minded and even a bit idiotic, but there is a sharp glint in his eyes.

"He deliberately acts arrogantly to make people look down on him; he's good at disguising himself, "Hizashi Hyuga thought to himself.

The Elite Jonin of Stone Ninja, on the other hand, has the appearance of a kind and honest old man, and you should never be deceived by his appearance.

How could someone who has become Elite Jonin, a skilled ninja who has survived the Battlefield, not have hundreds of lives on their hands?

Fierce Wolf and Porcupine...

"I am Konoha Jonin, Hizashi Hyuga," Hizashi Hyuga said calmly.

"Kumogakure Jonin, Tsukada Kenta!" the burly, dark-faced man said in a deep, booming voice, as if afraid that others would forget his name.

With his nostrils pointing sky-high, he seemed to have no Hyuga Clan at all.

The Elite Jonin leading the group from Iwagakure was much more low-key, his tone unusually gentle as he introduced himself with a smile, "Kojima Shin."

"I wonder what brings you two here to discuss?" Hizashi Hyuga didn't want to waste time with pleasantries and asked Gate of Opening.

Tsukada Kenta glanced at Kojima Shin, signaling for him to speak.

Seeing this, Kojima Shin thought for a moment, then organized his thoughts and spoke directly, "We already have some guesses about the massive chakra fluctuations near that island."

The Land of Lightning arrived by land and sea, and was the first group to reach the vicinity of Ringed Mountain Island.

However, Tsukada Kenta did not get too close, because he had witnessed Hozuki Mangetsu's large ship sailing into the island.

After waiting for Kojima Shin of Land of Earth, Tsukada Kenta decided to use the people of Iwagakure to go and investigate.

Kojima Shin wasn't stupid either; he harbored the same thoughts as Tsukada Kenta.

Thus, the two formed an "alliance" without prior consultation. As for how much of it was sincere and how much was false, only the two of them knew the truth.

"What did you find out?" Hizashi Hyuga's eyes narrowed as he observed the expressions on their faces.

Since someone's come to deliver intelligence, there's no harm in listening, is there?

As a member of the Konoha Hyūga, a powerful family in Hizashi Hyuga, how could Hizashi not be somewhat shrewd and calculating?

Do they want to use Konoha as cannon fodder, to test the waters?

The idea is good, but the wrong target was chosen!

Tsukada Kenta and Kojima Shin exchanged a glance. Seeing the other nod almost imperceptibly, Tsukada Kenta gritted his teeth and looked pained.

"Although it's just a guess, but..."

"What?" Hizashi Hyuga serious, and he asked in a deep voice.

"That is most likely... the chakra outburst of the Three-Tails Isobu!" Tsukada Kenta dropped his disguise, and a genuine sense of seriousness flashed in his eyes when he mentioned the Three-Tails Isobu.

Tailed Beast, the most terrifying creatures in the world!

Upon hearing this, Hizashi Hyuga Hizashi's expression changed drastically. The current Three-Tails Jinchuriki in Kirigakure is none other than the Fourth Mizukage, Yakura!

Three-Tails go berserk...

Doesn't that mean...?

"Is your intelligence reliable?" Hizashi Hyuga asked, sounding doubtful.

"Hmph, believe it or not!" Tsukada Kenta snorted coldly. He was already being kind by sharing information with them, and yet they doubted him?

On the stormy sea, the small boat bobbed up and down in the waves, like a leaf falling into a stream and drifting with the current.

It might overturn at any moment and sink to the bottom of the water.

For a moment, a deathly silence fell over the small boat.

The three of them each had their own thoughts...46