The north wind kicked up dust across the training ground, stirring the hems of their clothes.
Chiyo, dressed in Sunagakure's distinctive robes, looked at Mao in confusion.
The short-haired girl didn't draw the long sword at her waist. Instead, she held up the scroll in her hand and smiled.
"What is that?"
A breeze carried her question to Mao.
Mao gathered chakra in both hands and unfurled the scroll in midair. "It's a puppet, just like the one you're holding."
"A puppet?"
Chiyo saw the seriousness on Mao's face and didn't doubt her. She gripped the purple scroll and slowly loosened the cord wrapped around it.
The unfurled scroll billowed in the air like a long banner. Beside the cloud patterns, the character for "door" appeared amid purple smoke, seeming to float upward.
In the crowd, Ebizo tried hard to open his squinting eyes to show his surprise. After several failed attempts, he could only sigh theatrically. "I didn't expect them to use these two this time."
"Come on, Sunagakure needs to explain this properly." Hozuki Shoetsu, who had taken the bait, leaned toward him and complained. "Will there be that pink-haired female puppet from last time, the one holding two big swords?"
"Hey! There should be a limit to your obsession with weapons!"
Hoshigaki Kaito noticed the strange looks from those around them and hurriedly pulled Shoetsu back before he could embarrass himself any further.
"After learning our lesson from having the chakra threads cut when the enemy got close last time, we summoned the Guardian Puppet this time."
Ebizo ignored the tug-of-war beside him and gazed at the white smoke hovering in front of Mao as he spoke slowly.
"A taijutsu puppet?" Taketori Shusuke said calmly, frowning as he watched the White-Robed Bull-Headed Puppet take shape in the