Battle Against the Puppet Master

"Damn it! Sunagakure, you've betrayed your oath! Have you forgotten the alliance agreement we signed?" The Konoha ninja demanded, glaring at the Sand ninjas before him.

"Agreement? Don't be naive. Those things are a dime a dozen—just scraps of paper. Who cares about them? Today, we're going to erase Konoha from the Five Great Shinobi Villages!" The Sand ninjas sneered back at the Konoha ninjas.

"Hmph! Erase Konoha from the map? What big talk. Our Konoha ninjas are already driving out the enemies lurking inside the village. Your so-called Konoha Crush Plan will never succeed."

"Tch! Kill them!" The Sand ninjas didn't waste any more words.

Just as the Sand ninjas were about to attack the Konoha forces, a kunai suddenly flew toward them. It was quickly deflected and fell to the ground. The Sand ninjas noticed the kunai had an odd shape but no Explosive Tags or anything similar, so they ignored it and looked toward the direction it came from. They spotted a ninja in Anbu gear standing on high ground, staring at them.

"An Anbu from Konoha? Just another fool coming to die!" a Sound ninja sneered dismissively.

"Is that so?" Chen replied with a cold smirk.

"Lightning Style - Chidori Stream!" Chen, who had been far away moments ago, suddenly appeared in the middle of the Sound and Sand ninja groups. He spread his arms and instantly unleashed Chidori Stream.

"Nani!" Since the Sand and Sound ninjas didn't know about the Flying Thunder God, they were caught off guard. Before they could react, Chen had already activated Chidori Stream among them. Except for one quick-reacting jonin who escaped, everyone else was paralyzed by the technique and then swiftly killed by Chen!

"Ding! Host has killed 8 chunin, 1 special jonin. Gained 1000 points. Total host points: 42843."

"Such speed! I couldn't even catch a glimpse of his afterimage—so strong!" The Konoha ninjas watching were stunned by Chen's Flying Thunder God. They didn't realize it was the legendary technique; they just thought Chen was so fast their eyes couldn't keep up. After all, space-time ninjutsu was incredibly rare.

"Damn it! I'll kill you!" The surviving Sand jonin roared at Chen in fury. "Alright, leave this to me. Go support elsewhere!" Chen ignored the Sand ninja's rant and spoke to the Konoha ninjas behind him.

"Uh... yes, sir!" The Konoha ninjas, now filled with awe and respect for Chen, addressed him with honorifics before scattering to assist other parts of Konoha.

"Now it's just us. Let's have some fun!" Chen looked at the jonin across from him.

"Hmph! Letting your comrades leave—you'll realize how stupid that decision was. You killed so many of our people; no matter what, I'm taking you down today!"

"You talk too much."

"Tch!" The jonin didn't attack immediately. Instead, he bit his thumb, quickly formed a few hand signs, and slammed his hand on the ground, summoning a black scroll. He then unrolled the scroll on the ground.

"Poof!" After a puff of smoke, three humanoid puppets appeared on the scroll. One was short with sharp claws, one had a bull's head and a larger frame than the others, and the last had long arms covered in spikes, along with a spiked head.

"So he's a Puppet Master. Looks like he can control three puppets at once—this guy must be no ordinary Sand ninja." Chen's expression grew serious as he saw the jonin summon three puppets.

Puppet Masters were a unique profession in Sunagakure, typically using chakra threads released from their hands to control puppets. Their skill was measured by how many puppets they could control simultaneously. The top masters were Sunagakure's Grandma Chiyo and her grandson, Sasori of the Red Sands, who had defected to join the Akatsuki Organization.

"You should feel honored to witness my 'Black Secret Technique - Comedic Trio' (don't mind the name, it's made up!). A Puppet Master's ability depends on how many puppets they can control at once. The one we all admire most is our Sunagakure advisor, Grandma Chiyo. She's our strongest Puppet Master, wielding the first Puppet Master Monzaemon's ten masterpieces, the 'White Secret Technique - Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu.' Grandma Chiyo once used that technique to single-handedly conquer a fortress, earning the title 'One Puppet Equals a Thousand.' Though my 'Yellow Secret Technique - Comedic Trio' is far inferior to Grandma Chiyo's Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu, my puppets are no ordinary junk. They were crafted by Sunagakure's genius puppet designer, Sasori of the Red Sands. As both a designer and a Puppet Master, he has talent beyond compare. We Puppet Masters consider it an honor to own Master Sasori's works. And I was fortunate enough to obtain 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 an entire bandit stronghold!" The Puppet Master boasted proudly about his puppets.

"Puppet Masters are experts at using poison. These three puppets are surely coated with deadly poison. If I get hit, I'll be poisoned. I wonder if the system can detoxify it." Chen eyed the three puppets, feeling troubled.

"System, is there any way to avoid poisoning?"

"The host can exchange for a Detox Pill. After taking the system's Detox Pill, you'll be immune to all deadly poisons for the next hour."

"Detox Pill? Exchange it for me!"

"Ding! Detox Pill, item rank: B-rank, requires 1000 exchange points. Proceed with exchange?"

"Exchange!"

"Exchange successful. Deducted 1000 points. Remaining host points: 41843."

After the system prompt, a pill the size of a thumb appeared in Chen's hand. He immediately popped it into his mouth and swallowed. Just as he finished taking the Detox Pill, the Puppet Master finished explaining his trump card.

"Every ninja who has faced my 'Comedic Trio' has been killed. This time will be no different." The Puppet Master extended three chakra threads from his hands, connecting to the three puppets. They came to life with a series of clicks, creaking as they moved.

"Let me show you—'Black Secret Technique - Comedic Trio,' attack!" The Puppet Master roared, controlling the puppets as they charged at Chen.

"Tch!" Chen gritted his teeth and met the puppets head-on. He immediately clashed with the bull-headed puppet. The smaller puppet kept ambushing him at every opportunity, while the long-armed puppet attacked from a distance, firing senbon and extending its arms to restrain him.

"These three puppets work together so seamlessly. The big bull-headed puppet engages head-on in close combat, the long-armed one provides ranged support to pin me down, and the small, agile puppet strikes at the perfect moment for a fatal blow, retreating quickly if it misses—like an assassin. This is troublesome. Sasori of the Red Sands' work? To create such outstanding puppets, he truly is a genius." Chen dodged the puppets' attacks while thinking of a countermeasure. "These puppets are all controlled by the Puppet Master's chakra threads. Attacking them is useless unless I can shatter them in one hit. I need to find a chance to get close to the Puppet Master and take him out."

"Haha! You're good at dodging! Let's see how long you can keep it up!" The Puppet Master taunted as Chen scrambled to evade the puppets.

"Tch! Just a few puppets, and you dare act so cocky? If a tiger doesn't show its might, you think it's a sick cat? System, exchange for Power Fist!"

"Taijutsu - Power, item type: Talent, item rank: A-rank, requires 5000 exchange points. Proceed with exchange?"

"Exchange!"

"Exchange successful. Deducted 5000 points. Remaining host points: 36843."

Another warm current flowed into Chen's body, and a piece of information appeared in his mind.

"Taijutsu - Power requires precise chakra control to concentrate chakra in any part of the body, then release it to create immense destructive force."

At that moment, the assassin puppet took advantage of Chen's absorption of the information to attack again. But this time, Chen didn't dodge. Instead, he swung his fist at the puppet.

"Get lost!" he roared, punching the assassin puppet directly.

"Crack!" The puppet shattered into pieces, scattering on the ground.

"Nani! How is it possible..." The Puppet Master stared in disbelief at his shattered puppet.

"Hmph!" Chen ignored the Puppet Master's shock and charged straight at him.

"Damn it! Trying to attack me? I won't let you!" The Puppet Master saw Chen coming and immediately saw through his intent. No longer mourning the broken puppet, he pulled the bull-headed puppet back to guard him and had the long-armed puppet fire senbon to stop Chen.

Chen dodged the incoming senbon while activating Shadow Snake Hand. The conjured giant snake agilely caught the long-armed puppet, dragged it in front of Chen, and then Chen punched it to pieces.

"D-damn it!" The Puppet Master was starting to panic. Now, only the close-combat bull-headed puppet remained. As Chen pressed forward, he could only use it to defend, but Chen punched it apart too.

"Hehe... Now it's your turn. Got any Red Secret Technique or White Secret Technique?" Chen grinned menacingly as he slowly walked toward the Puppet Master.