Sea of Trees (Part 2)

Monzaemon flicked away the chakra threads controlling his substitute puppet. Since he had been forced to reveal himself, the substitute was no longer of any use. He then spread his arms, finally beginning to directly control the movements of the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets.

The puppets, which had previously moved with a certain sluggish stiffness, became incredibly agile the moment Monzaemon took direct command. Hanyu and his team, stared down by those ten pairs of hollow eyes, were overcome by a sudden, bone-chilling sensation.

"Retreat! I'll cover the rear." Hanyu took a deep breath. Realizing that this was an enemy he could never hope to defeat, he chose to withdraw. Though he felt a pang of frustration that his first mission would end in failure, it was a necessity; besides, the command center would have nothing to say about such a retreat—Konoha could hardly expect a genin to deal with a ninja like Monzaemon.

Furthermore, the mission of Hanyu's squad was to delay the enemy and relay intelligence. Strictly speaking, their mission could not be called a failure—after all, they had successfully located Monzaemon.

"Hanyu, I don't think that's meaningful. You won't be able to hold him for long," Nara Nagisa said. Although Hanyu's order was consistent with his responsibilities as a squad leader, it seemed futile; how could the enemy possibly let them escape so easily?

"Retreat!" Hanyu repeated his order firmly. Just as he brought his hands together to begin weaving signs, the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets were already hurtling toward him at an unimaginable speed.

But no matter how fast these toys were, Hanyu's first jutsu was completed just a step ahead. This extreme emergency forced Hanyu to push his hand-sign speed to the limit, and once the first jutsu was finished, the subsequent ones followed without a single pause.

Water Style: Water Formation Wall!

First came the initial jutsu. A semi-circular wall of water rapidly pushed back the puppets charging at Hanyu. When those things attempted to flank him, the Water Formation Wall instantly collapsed, surging outward with an even more massive force.

Old man, do you really think the ground you're standing on is secure?

With that thought, Hanyu's hands did not stop moving.

Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!

In an instant, a vast ocean appeared within the forest. The scale of Hanyu's jutsu this time far exceeded his previous efforts; he no longer had the luxury of conserving chakra. It would be no exaggeration to say that his technique had reversed the very process of "seas turning into mulberry fields."

Yet, Hanyu's hands did not stop until the next jutsu was complete—Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu.

Before the surging water could settle, a thick, dense fog rose from the surface. In mere moments, it had completely concealed the figures of Hanyu and his squad members.

The Hidden Mist Jutsu was a signature water technique of the Mist Village, but in reality, it was neither difficult nor particularly classified; it was fair to call it a common water jutsu. The true difficulty lay in the Silent Killing technique used in tandem with it; only by combining the two could they realize their true value.

Hanyu clearly did not know the Silent Killing technique, but for him, the Hidden Mist Jutsu was more than enough.

His eyes might not be able to accurately track the movements of the puppeteer and all his puppets, but with the Hidden Mist Jutsu, things were different. First, this vision-obscuring technique greatly increased his teammates' chances of escape. Second, the mist was now saturated with Hanyu's massive chakra, which extended his senses; in this state, he could at least accurately grasp the positions and movements of Monzaemon and the ten puppets.

"Is that so? So the so-called Fire Style ninja was just a ruse to distract me. Compared to Fire Style, it is clear you are more adept at Water Style. Your ability to make such a decision in this situation is commendable, but... what use is it?" Monzaemon's voice drifted through the thick fog.

The Hidden Mist Jutsu had definitely been effective; otherwise, the enemy wouldn't be wasting breath on such nonsense. However, what caused Hanyu some anxiety was that he could clearly sense his squad members had not yet cleared the battlefield, but were instead remaining in the mist, holding their positions.

But Hanyu could no longer worry about them. He was undoubtedly the one in the most danger, and he was clearly the enemy's primary target.

Beneath Hanyu's steady breathing was a state of high-strung focus. He had fully mobilized his five senses. Suddenly, he kicked out into the mist at his side, and a dark figure went flying backward.

He could sense the puppets' movements, and the distinct sounds they made while active were impossible to hide.

Hanyu had no time to deal with the puppet he had kicked away. He spun around, raised his arm, and with a metallic clang, a pair of sharp, barbed claws struck his vambrace.

The little trick of using words to distract an enemy was not something only Hanyu knew; Monzaemon used it too, though neither had achieved any significant success.

Those white-clad puppets looked elegant from a distance, but up close, they were hideous—so hideous that Hanyu couldn't help but retort: "If you're the greatest puppeteer, you should at least make your toys look like Rozen Maiden. If you did, I could at least harbor a sense of sadistic pleasure while doing this."

As he spoke, he twisted his forearm, using his vambrace to snap the puppet's claws. He then pressed his palm against the puppet's shoulder, used the leverage to lift his body, and delivered a knee strike to the puppet's neck.

With a snap, the puppet's head twisted backward.

However, Hanyu's target was a puppet, not a human, so this attack had no effect other than making his own knee ache.

The puppet's body jerked, and its head snapped back into place.

Hidden crossbows, flames, and poison—various mechanisms emerged from every joint and part of the puppet's body as it launched a counterattack with even greater ferocity than before.

Given Hanyu's physique and speed, he could not possibly block this.

Fortunately, he didn't have to. He released the chakra from his soles and sank beneath the surface of the water. When he used the Exploding Water Colliding Wave last time, it was to drown his enemies; this time, it was to drown himself.

The puppet's movements were indeed unimaginably fast, and it wasn't impossible for it to follow Hanyu into the water, but he refused to believe that the puppet could maintain its land-based speed under the heavy pressure of deep water.

Moreover, once submerged, Hanyu's speed actually increased significantly. Aided by Water Style: Wave Riding Strike, he moved as gracefully as a fish.

With the tables turned, Monzaemon could no longer do anything to him.

Or perhaps Monzaemon could evaporate this entire body of water, but could he actually do such a thing? No, the real question was: did he even have the time?

After the desperate struggle and delay by Hanyu and his team, Konoha's reinforcements had finally arrived. They hadn't been particularly fast, but they were just in time.