Using Flying Thunder God, Li Yu appeared at the source of the golden sand sea and spotted the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, guarded in the middle of the group.
"It was you! You were the one who stopped my Gold Sand Waves just now!"
"Since when did Konoha have an Earth Release ninja this powerful?"
Seeing Li Yu flash into view, Rasa stopped forming Hand Seals for Gold Dust Burial, his expression grave.
To conserve chakra for fighting Li Yu, the Fourth Kazekage hadn't been able to use Gold Dust Burial. Among the Konoha Ninja buried in the sand, quite a few were strong enough to dig their way out of the gold sand and escape.
Those who were too weak to escape suffocated and died beneath it.
Chiyo, standing beside the Fourth Kazekage, chimed in.
"He's Tsunade's younger brother, Senju Nawaki."
"He specializes in Earth Release and Water Release Ninjutsu. The Senju Clan's Taijutsu is probably pretty good, too."
"He actually dared to come here alone."
"And he's another ninja who can use the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju's Flying Thunder God. Lord Kazekage, be careful."
Li Yu glanced over the crowd of Hidden Sand elite ninja and counted silently. "Rasa, Chiyo, and fifteen elite ninja. Seventeen in all."
"Attack!"
Ten Sand ninja pulled out scrolls and rapidly formed Hand Seals.
"Release!"
More than twenty puppets appeared out of thin air, each one different, with all kinds of blades and weapons extending from their hands and feet.
They charged at Li Yu from all sides. Without wasting time on talk, they sent poison needles and poisoned darts flying, while their weapons slashed mercilessly at him from head to toe, as though they meant to chop him to pieces.
Li Yu dodged left and right, his two Kunai flashing through the air. With the Senju Clan's powerful Taijutsu and his beautiful Flying Thunder God technique, he handled the onslaught with ease, occasionally smashing a puppet to pieces with Strength of a Hundred.
"The Konoha ninja's Taijutsu is pretty good. Get out more puppets, quick!"
"Let's finish him here!"
They immediately pulled out more Sealing Scrolls and formed Hand Seals.
"Release! Release! Release!"
A huge number of puppets emerged. Every puppet master joined the attack, controlling their puppets as they swarmed Li Yu. Chiyo controlled the most—ten puppets by herself—while every other puppet master controlled at least three.
Only the Fourth Kazekage and five elite ninja stayed back to oversee the fight. The other eleven kept their fingers moving, controlling Chakra Threads at high speed and giving Li Yu no chance to catch his breath.
"Seriously? More of them? I was hoping to fight the Fourth Kazekage one-on-one."
"I can't believe you're all this shameless. You're going too far!"
Seeing the puppets charge again, Li Yu used Flying Thunder God to escape the encirclement, then quickly formed Hand Seals.
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"
He spat out a jet of water—a cutting stream that swept across the air, tracing a giant Z. In an instant, it sliced every puppet in front of him to pieces.
When the puppets had surrounded him, Li Yu had deliberately acted as if he were barely holding on, luring the enemy into sending out more. Then he'd wiped them all out with a single jutsu.
"Heh. Don't blame me, then."
After doing all that, Li Yu was suddenly struck by a whim. He pressed his legs together, turned his feet outward, bent his elbows, and angled both hands down to the sides with his wrists cocked. Then he shouted:
"Perfect!"
He struck one of Teacher Jin's signature poses to taunt his enemies and show just how pleased he was with himself.
The Fourth Kazekage Rasa, Chiyo, and the Sand ninja stared at him, dumbfounded. They couldn't make heads or tails of Li Yu's pose, but from their expressions, their anger was rising by the second.
Whether they were upset because all their puppets had been destroyed or because Li Yu had struck them speechless with his "Perfect," the group fell silent, their faces looking worse than one another's.
"Since that's settled, it's my turn."
Li Yu pulled out a Specialized Kunai, his expression changing as he prepared to put on a show.
"Ahhh!"
Under Li Yu's Flying Thunder God, even elite ninja went down with a single strike, just like Genin. Puppet masters were even easier targets, since most of their strength lay in their puppets—and Li Yu had already wiped out the best ones with Water Severing Wave.
The Sand ninja fell in groups, like wheat before a scythe. The Fourth Kazekage hurriedly used Gold Sand to shield the others.
"Magnet Release: Gold Sand Shuriken!"
He fired a volley of sand Shuriken, forcing Li Yu back and opening some distance between them.
In that brief exchange, Li Yu had killed eight elite ninja. He flicked the blood from his Kunai and said coolly,
"Old Chiyo, I've heard all about your Chikamatsu Ten Puppets."
"Why haven't you brought them out this time?"
Chiyo ignored Li Yu's taunt and gave a cold snort.
"Aw, you're not taking the bait?"
His Strength of a Hundred and Water Severing Wave had apparently scared Chiyo out of using the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets. She was probably afraid he'd destroy them all.
"Forget it. I should quit while I'm ahead. I'm getting greedy."
Seeing that things were going badly, the group seemed to reach an agreement. They turned around and bolted.
Li Yu was stunned. A moment later, he hurled his Specialized Kunai and shouted,
"Hey! Where do you think you're going?"
The Fourth Kazekage Rasa manipulated Gold Sand into a wall and a wave to block the Kunai Li Yu had thrown, trying to keep him from giving chase.
Thud!
Thud!
Li Yu charged forward, smashing the sand wall and the sand wave in front of him with a punch and a kick. He was like a raging bull, unstoppable.
Against overwhelming strength, sand simply couldn't offer enough defense. Even with Gold Sand reinforced by Magnet Release, its density still wasn't high enough.
Seeing Li Yu closing in, the Fourth Kazekage Rasa resolutely stayed behind to cover their retreat.
"Go! I'll hold him off!"
"Lord Kazekage, we—"
"Go! I have a way to get away."
After saying this, he formed Hand Seals.
"Magnet Release: Gold Sand Waves!"
Li Yu hadn't expected the Fourth Kazekage to be so brave. Not only had he stayed behind, but he'd even turned around to use such a large-scale jutsu. While Li Yu was enjoying the fight, a wave of golden sand suddenly buried him.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Burial!"
Beneath the sand, Li Yu felt its density suddenly increase as the pressure on his body mounted. Fired up by the fight, he didn't use Flying Thunder God to escape. Instead, he put all his strength into his body—the most chakra-efficient method.
Boom!
He shot straight out of the gold sand, sending it flying in every direction. The move left the Fourth Kazekage Rasa staring in shock.
It was the first time anyone had ever broken out of his Gold Dust Burial by sheer force, completely unharmed.
Having been caught off guard, Li Yu took a quick step forward and threw a heavy punch at Rasa's face. Rasa was a Kage Level fighter, albeit a bottom-tier one. He gathered chakra in his arms and raised them to shield his face.
Thud!
The heavy blow knocked Rasa's arms aside and landed squarely on his right cheek, leaving him dazed and rigid.
Then Li Yu settled into Wing Chun Ip Man's opening stance and launched a flurry of blows.
"106, 107, and the final strike—Strength of a Hundred! 108!"
Cracks covered Rasa's body as the final blow sent him flying like a cannonball. He smashed through a row of trees and crashed into the mountainside, triggering a localized collapse that buried him.
Li Yu took a deep breath and exhaled, then shouted, "That was satisfying!"
"The Fourth Kazekage's shell is tough. I wonder how he compares to Gaara."
"I can take on ten more!"
Li Yu had just passed several broken trees and was heading toward the collapsed mountainside to check on Rasa when more than a dozen Shuriken made of Gold Sand came hurtling straight at him with a whistle. He dodged them on instinct.
"Magnet Release: Gold Sand Shuriken again? Rasa's not unconscious yet?"
A dark figure emerged from the collapsed mountainside. The Fourth Kazekage Rasa was covered in bruises, with blood running from the corner of his mouth and his eyes half open. He leaped several times, soared into the air, and landed on a mass of Gold Sand beneath his feet. Trailing a golden tail of light, he sped away.
"Seriously? He can fly?"
"No wonder he dared to stay behind. He had Gold Sand Armor and could fly, too."
Li Yu shook his head, knowing he couldn't catch up. The fight had cost him nearly thirty percent of his chakra. Adding in what he'd spent each day since arriving at the Land of Wind battlefield, he'd used almost forty percent in total.
He turned back toward Mount Kikyo and found that the fighting on the other side was still raging. Konoha's ninja were better trained, and with the Fourth Kazekage and Chiyo out of the picture, Konoha had a clear advantage. It was only a matter of time before Sunagakure's ninja were defeated.