Ninja and Puppets

The Spider Puppet, known for its speed, flew nimbly toward Akashi, the blades at its joints reflecting a cold light as it struck with lightning speed!

Though it was merely a puppet, it exuded an intense killing intent.

Akashi used his Sharingan to clearly track the movements of the chakra threads manipulating the opponent.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

In an instant, a powerful gust of wind and shockwave erupted.

The Spider Puppet's attack stalled in mid-air, its blades bending, before it was sent crashing backward two seconds later.

"This guy's Wind Release is strong!" Fukuyama exclaimed in shock.

"He can survive the first wave, but he won't survive the second," the Sand Ninja beside him remarked dismissively.

But before the words had even faded, the storm struck again.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

The Sand Ninja, who had just been preparing to launch a second assault, scrambled to defend themselves, staring in shock at the Uchiha youth before them: "Again? I want to see just how much chakra you have!"

Several Sand Ninja raised their Humanoid Puppets to unleash ninjutsu, accompanied by a rain of poisonous needles, as fine as hair and incredibly sharp.

Akashi formed seals again, his hands moving in a continuous blur!

Wind Release, Wind Release, Wind Release...

Great Breakthrough! Another blast of the technique!

The vibrating air formed a towering wall, layer upon layer, preventing them from advancing even an inch.

The puppets, forced to withstand the continuous wind pressure, began to rattle; their precision mechanisms collided under the repeated oscillation and crushing force until they finally collapsed!

The Sand Ninja, having lost their shields, stood face-to-face with Akashi.

Yet, another Great Breakthrough came rushing toward them!

"Again?"

This time, it was the Sand Ninja themselves who were sent flying.

Though the damage wasn't severe, they landed in a disheveled and wretched state, covered in dust.

"Damn it, is this his basic attack?" Fukuyama cursed loudly. "Should someone his age even have this much chakra?"

Akashi held off three or four Sand Ninja single-handedly, using his chakra advantage to drag out the battle.

Meanwhile, Kudo Yukiyuki summoned a beast to charge up the valley, and another jonin launched a large-scale Earth Release counterattack, giving the exhausted Konoha ninja a brief moment to catch their breath.

Of the twelve-man team, four were severely injured and three were lightly wounded, while the enemy still had nine.

Four puppets remained, rattling in the hands of the Sand Ninja. Their mechanisms whirred, the joints appearing as if they might fall apart at any moment, yet ready to draw weapons in an instant.

Their limbs were equipped with sharp blades, and their joints concealed hidden hatches for launching ninja tools.

They were incredibly intimidating.

Although the Konoha ninja had forced the Sand Ninja to slow their assault, the situation remained unchanged for both sides.

Faced with this, they had to break through as quickly as possible.

A warm wind blew past, bringing not a hint of coolness.

Akashi caught a glimpse of his companions struggling in the fray. Shingetsu possessed the ultimate insight of the Byakugan, enough to protect herself, but her several attempts to break through had been blocked. Surprisingly, Aobou, who had always been unremarkable, was performing exceptionally well, holding his own against two Sand Ninja without falling behind.

This guy was definitely not simple.

The Sand Ninja clearly didn't want to drag this out any longer; they exchanged glances and gathered together.

"I'll send you a grand gift!" Fukuyama swung his arms violently, and all the puppets activated their mechanisms.

The Humanoid Puppets brandished two large blades, whipping up a gale.

The other Sand Ninja's puppets opened their chests to reveal a massive hollow, and they formed seals behind the puppets to launch Wind Release.

The entire sequence was completed in a heartbeat.

At the same time, Fukuyama roared: "Vacuum Tornado!"

BOOM!

The air exploded. Two Wind Holes drew in the airflow, whipping it into a frenzy. The Wind Release was amplified through the puppets, forming a terrifying vortex.

The surrounding puppets combined like a stack of acrobats, suddenly extending countless sharp blades. The blades glinted with cold light as they spun rapidly, forming a massive meat grinder.

The tight coordination looked as if it had been rehearsed long ago.

Puppetry was originally an art performed on stage, transformed by ninja into a form of ninjutsu; it was unexpected to see it become such a spectacular show in the hands of these puppeteers.

The rock walls shook, the airflow turned chaotic, and shattered stones were sucked in and ground into powder.

The powerful suction held the Konoha ninja firmly in place. The injured who couldn't hold on were struck by the blades the moment their strength failed, blood splattering everywhere.

"Atsushi!"

"Damn you, Sand Ninja, ahhh!"

Seeing their teammate lose his life, the Konoha ninja charged forward, fueled by desperation.

Kudo Yukiyuki shouted, "No!"

But it was already too late; the well-prepared Sand Ninja had unleashed two Wind Cutters from the left and right, slicing into him and sending bright red blood spraying from the cross-shaped wounds.

Shingetsu had kept her Byakugan active throughout the journey, consuming a significant amount of chakra, and she was now struggling to hold on.

She bit her lip, preparing to risk a breakthrough into the center of the wind pressure to use Rotation to break the deadlock, but she saw Akashi step in front of her as a thunderous shout rang in her ears.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

Sometimes, a shout is not meant to announce a technique, but to boost morale.

Several long snakes lunged forward, and even the Konoha ninjas were shaken!

The snake bodies were sucked into the Wind Hole at a speed visible to the naked eye; their abilities to constrict, intimidate, and restrain were useless against the puppets, and even their final bite could only damage the outer shells without delivering any poison.

Moreover, the suction of the tornado was immense; before the Hidden Shadow Snake Hands could even touch the enemy, they collided head-on with blades and swords.

Akashi's pupils constricted, and he roared, "Explode!"

The long snakes opened their mouths, sparks flickered from the Explosive Tags, and they detonated violently right in front of the puppets!

Bang!

The puppet combination jutsu collapsed instantly.

Several Sand Ninja were caught off guard and blown away by the shockwave; the puppets' blades shattered, and some even pierced their own masters. A defensive gap immediately appeared in the valley, and they had no time to recover.

The Sand Ninja were stunned, and even the Konoha ninjas were shocked.

Hidden Shadow Snake Hands was Orochimaru's technique, wasn't it?

How could an Uchiha use it?

And to use the long snakes to carry Explosive Tags into the center to break the Wind Style—no one had expected that!

While Kudo Yukiyuki was surprised, he felt invigorated.

He raised his blade and roared, "Counterattack!"

"You meddlesome brat!"

Fukuyama was both shocked and furious, roaring as he danced his fingers.

The surprise attack had caused the puppets to lose large portions of their bodies in the blast, leaving only the skeletons functional, but the sharp blades remained largely undamaged and continued to thrust toward Akashi.

However, the next second.

Aobou sprinted across the rock wall, his blade gleaming as he severed the chakra threads.

The puppets flipped forward and collapsed onto the ground.

What sharp swordsmanship!

Akashi couldn't help but frown slightly, feeling an inexplicable sense of dread.

At this moment, Kudo Yukiyuki, carrying two wounded men, broke through the obstruction under Shingetsu's cover, aimed behind the remaining puppets, and pulled out a Kunai, raising his hand sharply.

Slash, slash, slash—

The final puppets also fell to the ground.

The Sand Ninja's advantage gradually disintegrated, and Fukuyama glanced at the situation; the casualties were not optimistic.

Konoha still had seven men left, while he had no puppets remaining.

The puppeteer, having lost his greatest weapon, was quickly cut down, leaving only Fukuyama and three others.

"Atsushi's child just turned a month old; he could have gone home once the mission was over..."

The Konoha Jonin looked at his fallen comrade and clenched his fists, "I will avenge him!"

Fukuyama sneered repeatedly, "Hmph, Konoha ninjas have children, but don't our Sunagakure ninjas have children too? No one wants to die, no one wants to lose their loved ones, but who told you to come here and fight..."

"Don't try to excuse yourself!"

"Naive!" Fukuyama roared, "This is not my fault, but the inevitability of war. No matter how much you say, you are nothing more than a puppet."

A puppet... is that so?

Akashi killed a Sand Ninja and stopped in his tracks.

Indeed, wasn't the direction of the entire ninja world just like a puppet show?

Fukuyama's knobby fingers spread wide, his eyes twitching as he looked at his fallen comrades, tears welling in his eyes, "Ninjas and puppets are the same—they are all things manipulated by others!"

"Do not defile the name of a ninja!"

A arc of light emerged from behind Fukuyama; Kudo Yukiyuki's expression was resolute and unshakeable as he took a deep breath, "A ninja is absolutely not a puppet! We have dreams that cannot be trampled upon!"

With that, he twisted his blade.

The look of fury on Fukuyama's face froze.

The Sand Ninja in the valley were completely wiped out.

The mission had not been a success due to faulty intelligence, but fortunately, they had eliminated the enemy, which could be considered a gain.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

But at this moment, Shingetsu suddenly looked panicked as she gazed at Akashi, "Oh no..."

"What is it?"

"Sand Ninja reinforcements are converging on this location!"