Second Kazekage 2

Seeing Li Yi flying toward him, the Second Kazekage, Shamon, narrowed his eyes. They had only just received word that even the Third Raikage of Kumogakure could not handle Li Yi, who had slain three of the Raikage's guards before departing with ease.

He had not expected to encounter Li Yi on the battlefield so soon.

Li Yi flew to a spot not far from the Second Kazekage and came to a halt. As he watched the man, he recalled the intelligence provided by Utatane Koharu: the Second Kazekage excelled in Puppet Technique and the Sand Control Technique, and was also highly skilled in the use of poisons, which Li Yi needed to be wary of.

"Li Yi of Konoha, I did not expect us to meet on the battlefield so quickly!" the Second Kazekage greeted him with a refined air.

Li Yi replied in kind, "The Second Kazekage is the restorer of the Hidden Sand Village. Why, then, would you invade my Land of Fire and leave behind such an inglorious mark?"

Shamon smiled. What was the essence of war? It was a vital means of resolving internal and external conflicts. His village needed to develop, and that required resources. Where were resources plentiful? Naturally, in the Land of Fire. For the sake of their development, how could they not wage war against you?

"Sand Hand!" Shamon reached out, and a massive palm of sand erupted from the ground below, reaching out to grab Li Yi.

A giant ball of blue light appeared in Li Yi's hand. With a downward press, the sand hand was instantly churned into a pile of dust, which then cascaded to the ground.

Seeing the Second Kazekage make his move, Li Yi stopped holding back. He performed hand seals in rapid succession, took a deep breath, and exhaled toward Shamon.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A massive, black-and-red fireball instantly took shape, surging toward Shamon with scorching heat.

Before Shamon, a wall of earthy-yellow sand formed, shielding him from the flames.

However, Li Yi's fire was no ordinary flame. It quickly burned through the sand, leaving the surface vitrified into glass.

Shamon scrambled to dodge. Witnessing the power of Li Yi's fire, he finally realized the true extent of its lethality.

"Sand Waterfall Funeral!" Shamon reached out toward Li Yi. Beneath Li Yi's feet, a massive amount of sand instantly formed a vortex, surging toward him in the sky.

It swirled like a tornado, intent on swallowing Li Yi whole.

Li Yi shot straight into the clouds, the tornado chasing after him, but upon reaching a certain altitude, it lost its momentum and fell back down. Li Yi then dove, bearing down on Shamon.

Seeing Li Yi charging, Shamon did not move, but four puppets suddenly burst from his sides, surrounding him. One of the puppets opened its mouth, spraying a multitude of tiny needles at Li Yi.

Another puppet extended over a dozen arms, each tipped with a sharp blade that shimmered with a pale blue light—a clear sign that the blades were coated in lethal poison.

As these arms swung, they enveloped Li Yi completely.

"Hmph, Kagero!" Li Yi gave a light shout. His left arm transformed directly into flames, and he fired a pillar of fire from his palm. The so-called poison needles and the attacking blades were all consumed by the flames, and the two puppets were no exception.

When the flames dissipated, the two puppets had been reduced to ash. Li Yi's fire was a hard counter to the Hidden Sand Village's Puppet Technique; after all, the puppets the Second Kazekage was currently using were made of wood.

The Second Kazekage had already retreated a significant distance. Seeing his two puppets turned to ash, he was not particularly surprised; if Li Yi could be dealt with so easily, he would not have survived until now.

"Attack!" With a wave of Shamon's hand, the two remaining puppets rushed at Li Yi.

Simultaneously, Shamon performed a subtle hand seal, and a massive layer of sand surged toward Li Yi, blotting out the sky.

"Sand Waterfall Imperial Funeral!"

Facing the overwhelming tide of sand, Li Yi reached behind his back and drew Ryujin Jakka. "All things in the universe, turn to ashes. Ryujin Jakka!"

In an instant, flames crawled across the blade. Li Yi swung forward and shouted, "Slash!"

A massive arc of flame was unleashed, carving a vacuum through the sand layer wherever it passed.

This was a powerful strike Li Yi had developed by combining the power of Ryujin Jakka with his own Mera Mera no Mi, perfect for large-scale destruction.

It was the perfect tool to cleave through the Sand Waterfall Imperial Funeral.

However, the two puppets hidden within the sand were also caught in the blast. Although they were shattered by Li Yi's strike, the poisonous mist concealed within their bodies enveloped him.

Seeing his plan succeed, Shamon smiled slightly. This was a poison mist he had secretly developed; even an elite jonin could not last more than a few minutes against it.

What he did not know was that Li Yi had already turned into his elemental form and exited the range of the mist.

When Li Yi reappeared, he commanded, "Taimatsu!"

In an instant, a massive tornado of fire engulfed the Second Kazekage, the intense flames scorching Shamon.

But at that moment, Shamon transformed into a pile of sand, and the Taimatsu dissipated—it was a Sand Clone.

Li Yi frowned; he hadn't noticed when the Second Kazekage had used the Sand Clone.

He pushed up his forehead protector, revealing his Sharingan. The three tomoe in Li Yi's eyes began to spin, and the Second Kazekage slowly emerged from the ground.

He bit his finger, performed a few quick seals, and slammed his hand onto the ground, summoning three puppets.

Li Yi raised an eyebrow. These puppets looked different—were these... Human Puppets?

They were nothing like the previous ones; they were crafted from actual humans. He hadn't expected the Second Kazekage to be an expert in this field.

Li Yi soon realized it made sense. The Puppet Technique had been developed by the Second Kazekage himself before spreading throughout the Hidden Sand Village. Even Chiyo and Ebizo, who were currently fighting Mitokado Homura and the others, had been taught by him.

Looking at the three puppets, he saw they were wearing the headbands of Kirigakure. It was easy to imagine: these three unfortunate souls had been slain by Shamon and turned into Human Puppets.

The key was that the Second Kazekage was using them to deal with him, clearly intending to use Water Style to counter his fire.

He was truly a Kage of a village, having made preparations long in advance.

The three puppets moved. One of them performed rapid hand seals, exhaling a vast cloud of water mist from its mouth that instantly covered the surroundings, obscuring even the vision of the Sharingan.

"Wait, there's poison in this mist!" Li Yi's expression shifted slightly. He instantly turned into his elemental form, and the burning flames cleared the toxins away.

"Hm? What state is this? Could it be his Kekkei Genkai?" Shamon muttered to himself, watching Li Yi's strange transformation.