On a battlefield choked with smoke and blazing with war, clouds of dust rose like a heavy pall, shrouding the sky in gloom. Chiyo stood tall atop a steep earthen mound, her aged frame looking all the more frail in the gale. Yet her once-clouded old eyes now glinted with chilling murderous intent, like a venomous snake lurking in the darkness, poised to strike as it fixed its gaze on its prey.
Her withered fingers trembled slightly—not from fear, but from the fierce excitement welling up deep inside at the prospect of controlling her prey's life and death. The Chakra radiating from Haotian before her was like a strange, mysterious flame, and it filled her with unease. The scarlet energy seemed to contain some kind of toxin that made her wary; one careless moment, and it could corrupt and destroy her. To avoid being affected by that terrifying radiation, she knew she had to eliminate this immense potential threat as quickly as possible.
"Kid, your time is up..." Chiyo's hoarse voice was like an owl's cry in the dead of night, sharp and eerie. It echoed across the empty battlefield, chilling the air around her.
As she spoke, she slowly raised her right hand, spreading her five fingers like dry branches, each one seeming to tell of the ravages of time. In an instant, a strange and powerful surge of Chakra rippled out from within her. The air seemed to be gripped by an invisible hand and froze solid, making it hard to breathe.
"Secret Technique: White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu Ten Puppets!" Chiyo murmured, her voice low but forceful. Ten puppets clad in magnificent armor shot from the enormous scroll unfurled behind her, like demons breaking free from the depths of hell. Each puppet exuded a chilling aura of power. Their cold metal shells gleamed ominously in the dim light, like messengers from the underworld bearing death.
This was Sunagakure's ultimate Puppet Technique, the peerless art that had made Chiyo famous! The ten puppets hovered in the air, weapons gleaming with a sinister chill like the scythes of death, ready to tear Haotian to pieces without mercy.
Just as Chiyo was about to unleash her lethal strike, a figure appeared out of thin air like a phantom and instantly stepped in front of Haotian. The newcomer had a pair of scarlet snake eyes that glimmered with a cold, eerie light. A sinister smile stretched across his paper-white face, making one's skin crawl. It was Orochimaru.
"Granny Chiyo, I'm your opponent." Orochimaru stuck out his long tongue and slowly licked his lips, the gesture strange and wicked. His raspy voice brimmed with excitement, as if he were savoring the feast of battle to come. "I won't let you have your way." As soon as he finished speaking, he rapidly formed Hand Seals and called out, "Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
In an instant, countless thick venomous snakes surged from Orochimaru's sleeves like a black tide. Their bodies writhed, their tongues flicked, and they hissed chillingly as they lunged at the puppets Chiyo controlled. The dense swarm was like a black cloud of death, blanketing one corner of the battlefield in an instant.
"Orochimaru, you..." Chiyo's face turned deathly pale, her eyes filled with shock and fury. She had never expected Orochimaru to interfere at this critical moment and ruin her entire plan.
"Hehehe..." Orochimaru let out a cold laugh. It echoed across the battlefield like a demon's whisper, sending a shiver down the spine.
On the battlefield, Chiyo's puppets and Orochimaru's snakes tangled together in an instant. The puppets' blades swung down, striking the snakes with dull thuds, while the snakes twisted and tried to coil around the puppets, spraying venom with a sizzling hiss. A suffocating pressure filled the battlefield. Every breath of air seemed ablaze, thick with the smell of gunpowder.
Haotian stood quietly behind Orochimaru, the scarlet Chakra still surging around him like raging flames. As he watched the chaos unfold, a nameless unease rose within him. Orochimaru always acted in strange and unpredictable ways. Why had he appeared so suddenly? Was it really just to save his life? Haotian furrowed his brow, suspicion showing in his eyes.
Orochimaru, what exactly are you trying to do? Haotian wondered, but he couldn't find a reasonable answer.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Kitsuchi stood with a dark expression, his face as gloomy as the sky before a storm. Beads of sweat the size of beans streamed from his forehead and rolled down his wrinkled cheeks. Minato Namikaze was simply too fast, darting across the battlefield like a streak of golden lightning, impossible to track. And Aburame Shimbi's swarms of insects came in wave after wave, leaving no opening to exploit. Kitsuchi struggled to fend them off, utterly overwhelmed.
Before you continue