The Scorching Sand Ninja Front

Kaguya Takeori looked startled as he raised his head and met Uchiha Makoto's half-smiling expression.

Kaguya Takeori gritted his teeth and waved a delicate hand. "Let's go!"

And so, the Kaguya Clan left in a whirlwind, taking the ninjas who had not quite died with them.

Once their figures had vanished from sight, Uchiha Makoto's entire body went limp.

"Quick, medicine!"

Uchiha Makoto collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily as he called to Sanjie.

Sanjie immediately stepped forward, pulled out a disguised bottle of vitamin C, and poured it into his mouth.

The intense assault on his taste buds instantly twisted Uchiha Makoto's face into a mask of agony.

"Makoto! What's wrong with you?!"

Uchiha Fugaku cried out, his face full of exaggerated concern as he quickly supported Uchiha Makoto.

Uchiha Makoto tilted his head with the motion and immediately "fainted dead."

Meanwhile, Jiraiya and the others were leading Konoha's elite forces in a "final surprise attack" against the Sand Ninja.

"If this battle succeeds, our mission will be complete!"

Hidden in the shadows, Tsunade's face was filled with exhaustion. Several days of continuous, high-intensity remote healing had left her utterly drained.

"You've worked hard, Tsunade!"

Jiraiya was equally exhausted. If not for Tsunade and her summoned beast Katsuyu these past few days, they would never have dared to trade wounds for wounds and slaughter the Sand Ninja until they were steadily forced back!

"All I can do now is this. The close combat is still up to you!"

Tsunade shook her head. She knew perfectly well that Jiraiya was the main force on the battlefield; what she did merely added icing to the cake.

Just then, a shrill cry shattered the calm.

"Enemy attack!"

The Sand Ninja who heard it immediately prepared themselves to meet the assault.

Seeing this, Konoha's hidden forces simply revealed themselves and charged forward in a mighty wave.

White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu Ten Guardians!

Granny Chiyo, the puppeteer, immediately summoned puppets from a scroll. A chakra thread extended from each of her ten fingers, connecting her to them.

The next second, three puppets stacked into a triangular formation, each spitting out a mechanism bearing one of the words: "Buddha, Dharma, Monk."

Ninja Art: Three Treasures Absorption Collapse!

Granny Chiyo's fingers twitched. The three puppets worked in tandem, and a powerful suction force instantly dragged the Konoha ninjas toward them.

Seeing this, an elite ninja in the midst of charging rapidly formed hand seals and slammed a palm against the ground.

Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!

A thick earthen wall rose before the Konoha ninjas, rendering that powerful suction completely useless.

Ninja Art: Crescent Moon Dance!

The charging Konoha ninja drew his blade from behind his back. His figure split from one into three, and he instantly slashed toward the puppeteers.

The puppeteers had no time to retreat and could only hastily summon puppets to shield themselves.

Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!

The nearby Sand Ninja hurriedly provided support. With the two attacks combined, they temporarily drove back the Konoha ninja.

At that moment, the Sand Village's puppeteers retreated in perfect coordination, summoning hundreds and thousands of puppets one after another.

Puppet Secret Technique: Myriad Puppets Unleashed! *n

The puppeteers present shouted in unison. Countless kunai, shuriken, and poison gas bombs shot from the puppets, blanketing the entire battlefield without discrimination.

Many Konoha ninjas who failed to react in time were riddled with holes in an instant. Fortunately, they all had Katsuyu on them, so most were unharmed.

Araki, the Sand Ninja's other commander and a puppeteer, urged the battle excitedly. "Keep the Wind Style coming! Leave every one of these damned Konoha ninjas here!"

Just then, Jiraiya's voice rang out from midair. "Ninja Art: Toad-Oil Flop!"

A massive toad fell from the sky and crashed straight into the Sand Ninja formation, throwing their offensive into disarray.

At the same time, screams rose from the Sand Ninja ranks. Quite a few puppeteers were injured by the debris kicked up when the toad landed, and cries of pain rang out one after another.

Meanwhile, Chiyo, who was tied down by Konoha ninjas, also noticed something was wrong, but she found herself unable to break free for the moment.

Looking at the Konoha ninjas before her, Granny Chiyo drew several more scrolls and summoned dozens of puppets.

The Konoha ninjas hurriedly dodged aside.

Chiyo secretly laughed at the sight before her and leaped away from the battlefield.

Only then did the Konoha ninjas realize they had been tricked when they saw the motionless puppets lying on the ground.

"Chase her!"

The Konoha captain was furious and immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to pursue her.

He could clearly sense that Chiyo had no intention of fighting them.

"Naive!"

As Chiyo fled, her ten fingers moved, and the extended chakra threads instantly wrapped around several Konoha ninjas.

"Pay the price for your arrogant ignorance!"

Secret Technique: Puppet Manipulation Jutsu!

The Konoha squad captain's body instantly went out of his control, and he swung his blade at the teammate beside him!

The attacked teammate barely dodged. Seeing this, he immediately realized what had happened.

"Not good, he's been controlled! Quickly, cut the chakra threads on him!"

The remaining teammates attacked together and successfully severed the chakra threads on him, but by then Chiyo had already reached her destination.

She looked at Jiraiya, who stood atop the toad's head, mowing down enemies as if unstoppable.

Chiyo's chakra threads extended from both hands once more, successfully controlling several Konoha ninjas and using their bodies to intercept Jiraiya's assault.

Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!

Jiraiya threw out a kunai and formed hand seals. In an instant, dozens of kunai lined up in a row and shot toward Chiyo, forcing her to abandon those Konoha ninjas.

White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu Ten Puppets: Guard!

Chiyo shouted, and an ox-headed puppet instantly knocked away the incoming shuriken.

With Chiyo entering the battle, the situation on the battlefield shifted once more. Large numbers of Konoha elite ninjas were entangled by the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets.

White Secret Technique: Ten Puppet Performance!

The Chikamatsu Ten Puppets displayed their full power in Chiyo's hands, leaving even Jiraiya with no choice but to defend passively for the moment.

"You've pursued us again and again. How utterly reckless!"

With Chiyo's arrival, the puppeteers gathered once more and successfully held back the Konoha ninjas who joined the battle afterward.

"This attack has failed. Retreat!"

Jiraiya watched as the puppeteers, even after their puppets were destroyed, took the initiative to engage Konoha ninjas in close-quarters combat. The sight shook him to the core.

The Sand Ninja's morale was high!

Having received the order, the Konoha ninjas quickly disengaged from their opponents and retreated toward the rear.

"Too late, Konoha bastards!"

Along with Chiyo's hoarse voice, curtains of light rose in all four directions around the battlefield!

"A barrier!"

Jiraiya's expression instantly turned grave. What were the Sand Ninja planning? Were they going to perish together with them?

"This old woman only regrets that Konoha's White Fang is not here!"

Chiyo's hoarse voice swept across the battlefield once more.

At that very moment, figures emerged one after another from every corner of the battlefield, surrounding everyone completely.

"Rock Ninja and Cloud Ninja!" *2

Seeing the forehead protectors these people wore, Jiraiya and Tsunade, who stood outside the barrier, cried out in unison.