"Damn it! Sunagakure, how could you go back on your word? Have you forgotten the alliance agreement you signed with us?" a Konoha ninja demanded of the Sand Ninja before him.
"An agreement? Don't be naive. There are as many of those as you want—they're nothing but scraps of paper. Who cares about them? Today, we're going to erase Konoha from the Five Great Shinobi Villages!" the Sand Ninja sneered at their Konoha opponents.
"Hmph! Erase Konoha? What arrogance. Our ninja have already begun driving out the enemies hiding in Konoha. Your so-called Konoha Crush Plan won't succeed."
"Tch! Take them out!" The Sand Ninja didn't waste any more words.
Just as the people from Sunagakure were about to attack the Konoha ninja, a kunai suddenly flew toward them. Someone promptly knocked it aside, and it fell to the ground. The Sand Ninja saw that, apart from its strange shape, it had no Explosive Tag or anything like that, so they paid it no mind. Instead, they looked toward where it had come from and spotted an Anbu-clad ninja standing on high ground, staring down at them.
"A Konoha Anbu? Just another fool here to die!" a Sound Ninja sneered contemptuously.
"Is that so?" Chen sneered right back.
"Lightning Style: Chidori Stream!" Chen, who had been far away, suddenly appeared in the midst of the Sound and Sand Ninja. He spread his arms and unleashed Chidori Stream in an instant.
"Nani?!" The Sand and Sound Ninja didn't know about the Flying Thunder God, so they weren't prepared. Before they could react, Chen had appeared among them and unleashed Chidori Stream. Everyone but one quick-thinking jonin who managed to escape was struck by it, their bodies paralyzed. Chen promptly killed the rest!
"Ding! Host has killed [number unclear] Chunin and [number unclear] Special Jonin, earning points. Host's total points: 42843."
"What incredible speed! I couldn't even catch his afterimage. He's so strong!" the Konoha ninja exclaimed in shock as they watched Chen use the Flying Thunder God. They didn't realize it was the legendary Flying Thunder God; they assumed Chen was simply so fast that their eyes couldn't keep up. After all, Space-Time Ninjutsu was exceedingly rare.
"Damn it! I'll kill you!" the Sand Ninja who had escaped shouted furiously at Chen. "All right, I'll take it from here. Go support the others!" Chen ignored the Sand Ninja's bluster and spoke to the Konoha ninja behind him.
"Uh... yes, sir!" The Konoha ninja were now filled with awe for Chen and addressed him respectfully. Then they scattered and headed off to support the other parts of Konoha!
"Now it's just the two of us. Let's have some fun!" Chen looked at the jonin across from him.
"Hmph! You let your comrades leave. You'll realize how foolish that decision was. You've killed so many of our people—no matter what, I'll kill you today!"
"You talk too much!"
"Tch!" The jonin across from him didn't attack right away. He bit his thumb, quickly formed several hand seals, and pressed his hand to the ground, summoning a black scroll. Then he unrolled it.
"Poof!" A cloud of smoke billowed, and three humanoid puppets appeared on the scroll as if from nowhere. One was rather small and fitted with a pair of sharp claws. Another was shaped like an ox's head and stood taller than the other two. The last had very long arms, and its arms and head were covered in spikes.
"So he's a Puppet Master. From the looks of it, he can control three puppets at once. He must be someone of no small importance in Sunagakure!" Chen's expression turned serious when he saw the jonin summon three puppets.
Puppet Masters were a profession unique to Sunagakure. They usually controlled their puppets by releasing Chakra Threads from their hands. A Puppet Master's skill depended on how many puppets they could control at once. The most outstanding among them were Chiyo of Sunagakure and her grandson, Sasori of the Red Sands, who had defected from Sunagakure and joined the Akatsuki Organization.
"You should consider yourself lucky to witness my 'Black Secret Technique - Comedic Trio.' (Don't mind the name. It's just made up!) The skill of a Puppet Master is measured by how many puppets they can control at once. The one we Puppet Masters admire most is our Sunagakure advisor, Grandma Chiyo. She's the strongest Puppet Master in Sunagakure, and she possesses the First Puppet Master Monzaemon's ten masterpieces, the 'White Secret Technique - Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu.' Grandma Chiyo once used that technique to take a whole city by herself, earning the title of 'one puppet, a thousand men.' My 'Yellow Secret Technique - Comedic Trio' is still a long way from matching Grandma Chiyo's Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu, but my puppets are no ordinary things, either. They're humanoid puppets made by the genius puppet designer Sasori of the Red Sands, who's celebrated in Sunagakure. Whether as a designer or a Puppet Master, he has more talent than anyone. We Puppet Masters are proud to own Master Sasori's work. And I was lucky enough to get these three puppets, the 'Comedic Trio'! I may not have a record as illustrious as Grandma Chiyo's, but I once used them to slaughter a bandit gang!" The Puppet Master across from him proudly introduced his puppets.
"Puppet Masters are best known for using poison. Those three puppets must be coated in deadly toxins. If I get hit, I'll be poisoned. I wonder if the system can cure it." Chen regarded the three puppets before him, feeling that he was in a tight spot.
"System, is there any way to avoid being poisoned?"
"The host can exchange for a Detox Pill. After taking the system's Detox Pill, the host will be immune to all deadly poisons for the next hour."
"A Detox Pill? Exchange for one!"
"Ding! Detox Pill, item rank: B-rank. Exchange cost: [number unclear] points. Exchange?"
"Exchange!"
"Exchange successful. 1,000 points deducted. Host's remaining points: 41843."
After the system's prompt, a pill about the size of a thumb appeared in Chen's hand. He immediately popped it into his mouth and swallowed it. By the time Chen had taken the Detox Pill, the Puppet Master had finished explaining his trump card.
"Every ninja who's fought my 'Comedic Trio' has been killed. This time will be no different." As the Puppet Master spoke, three Chakra Threads extended from his hand, each connecting to one of the puppets. The puppets seemed to come alive, making a series of "click, click, click" sounds.
"Now witness the power of my 'Black Secret Technique - Comedic Trio'! Get him!" the Puppet Master shouted, sending his puppets charging at Chen.
"Tch!" Chen gritted his teeth and charged to meet them. In an instant, he was battling the ox-headed puppet. The smaller puppet kept sneaking up on him, while the long-armed one attacked from a distance. It could fire Senbon at Chen, and its arms could stretch out to restrain him.
"These three puppets work together incredibly well. The large, ox-headed one attacks head-on and engages its opponent in close combat. The long-armed puppet attacks from a distance to keep its opponent at bay, while the small, agile one always strikes at just the right moment, delivering a lethal blow before darting away. It's basically an assassin. What a pain. So these are Sasori of the Red Sands' creations? He really can make such impressive puppets. He truly is a genius!" As Chen dodged the puppets' attacks, he considered his options. "The Puppet Master controls these puppets with Chakra Threads, so there's no point in attacking them unless I can smash them to pieces in one hit. I'll have to find a chance to get close and take out the Puppet Master!"
"Haha! You're pretty good at dodging! Let's see how long you can keep it up!" the Puppet Master jeered as he watched Chen struggle to evade the puppets' attacks.
"Tch! They're just a few puppets, and they dare to act so smug. Don't mistake my restraint for weakness! System, exchange for Power Fist!"
"Taijutsu - Power, item type: talent, item rank: A-rank. Exchange cost: 5000 points. Exchange?"
"Exchange!"
"Exchange successful. 5000 points deducted. Host's remaining points: 36843."
Once again, a warm current flowed into Chen's body, and a stream of information appeared in his mind.
"Taijutsu - Power: Requires precise Chakra control to concentrate Chakra in any part of the body, then release it in a burst to create immense destructive force."
At that moment, the assassin puppet attacked Chen again while he was processing the information in his mind. This time, though, Chen didn't dodge. He met the puppet with a punch.
"Get lost!" he roared, punching the assassin puppet.
"Crack!" The assassin puppet shattered under Chen's punch, its pieces scattering across the ground.
"Nani?! How is that possible..." the Puppet Master cried in disbelief as he watched his puppet get smashed with one punch.
"Hmph!" Chen paid no attention to the Puppet Master's feelings and charged straight at him.
"Damn it! You're trying to attack me? I won't let you!" The Puppet Master saw Chen charging toward him and immediately saw through his intentions. He didn't waste time mourning the puppet he'd lost. Instead, he pulled the ox-headed puppet back to guard him and had the long-armed puppet fire Senbon at Chen to stop him.
As Chen dodged the Senbon flying toward him, he used Shadow Snake Hand. The giant snake that appeared caught the long-armed puppet with ease and dragged it right in front of Chen, who then punched it to pieces.
"D-Damn it!" The Puppet Master was starting to panic. Now he had only the close-combat ox-headed puppet left. When Chen charged at him, he could only use it to defend himself—but Chen smashed it with one punch, too.
"Heh heh... You're next. Got any other red or white secret techniques?" Chen said with a menacing grin, slowly walking toward the Puppet Master.
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