One-Tail Shukaku! Chiyo and the White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets!

Tailed beasts were magical beasts said to have been left behind by the Sage of Six Paths. There were nine of them in total, from the One-Tail to the Nine-Tails.

They were the most terrifying calamities of the chaotic era.

Until Hashirama Senju rose to prominence, using his invincible Wood Release to suppress them one by one and distribute them evenly among the major ninja villages, maintaining the fragile balance of the ninja world.

The Land of Wind received the One-Tail Shukaku.

However, not everyone could toy with tailed beasts in the palm of their hand like Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.

Most of the time, when a tailed beast went berserk, the first thing it destroyed was its own village.

That was why the Second Hokage had been so astonished when he saw the One-Tail Shukaku appear.

At that moment, a young Sunagakure ninja stood atop Shukaku's enormous head.

Looking down at Tobirama from above, he shouted sharply, "Lady Chiyo! Take Lord Kazekage and retreat! Leave the Second Hokage to me!"

Tobirama's eyes turned cold as he gave Lin Hai an order.

"Take men and bring the Second Kazekage back to me!

Take him alive! The Kazekage is the best bargaining chip for forcing the Land of Wind to end the war!

Also, send two men to the front lines to spread news that the Kazekage has been killed. Break their morale!"

"Yes!" Lin Hai and seven ANBU immediately accepted the order and chased after Chiyo.

Tobirama turned back and looked coldly at the boy atop Shukaku's head.

"Using your own life as a sacrifice to forcibly awaken Shukaku? With such a crude medium technique, I wonder how long you can last."

"Long enough to kill you! False Sleep Technique!" the boy roared as his body slowly sank into Shukaku's head.

The moment the boy disappeared completely, Shukaku's huge coin-like eyes snapped open!

Its pupils spun wildly as it threw back its head and let out a mad laugh that shattered the clouds.

"Hahaha! I'm finally out! I want to kill! I want to kill!"

Shukaku's enormous eyes locked onto Tobirama below as it opened its gaping maw.

"Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet!"

Two enormous, highly compressed balls of high-pressure wind hurtled toward Tobirama with a shriek!

Unruffled, Tobirama tapped the ground with his foot and activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, vanishing from the spot and appearing high in the sky.

He pressed his hands together, and immense water-nature chakra surged into the heavens.

The already rainy sky instantly turned into a torrential downpour.

Tobirama merged into the rain, forming a giant of water dozens of meters tall in midair. It swung a massive fist down at Shukaku.

Boom!

Shukaku swept its enormous tail, smashing the water giant apart in one blow.

Just then, Tobirama suddenly appeared atop Shukaku's head and formed hand seals. "Water Release: Water and Sky Flood!"

The rain filling the sky instantly became a gigantic net of water that covered the heavens, trapping Shukaku tightly within it.

Shukaku roared furiously as violent hurricanes rose around it, trying to tear apart the water net. At the same time, its huge tail lashed toward Tobirama above with a piercing whistle.

Tobirama leaped even higher and raised his right hand. "Water Release: Hard Whirlpool Water Blade!"

A massive, solid-looking water blade descended from the sky and slashed brutally into Shukaku's shoulder!

"Roar—!"

Shukaku let out a scream as one of its thick arms was forcibly severed!

Wracked with pain, Shukaku went mad, wildly firing Drilling Air Bullets in every direction as it tried to find Tobirama.

Elsewhere.

Lin Hai and the seven ANBU raced through the rainforest.

Because of Shukaku's rampage, there were very few Sunagakure ninja intercepting them along the way, and the ANBU quickly cleared them out.

Before long, they caught up with Chiyo.

Seeing the Konoha pursuers arrive, Chiyo placed the heavily wounded Kazekage beneath a large tree and released a puppet to shield him from the rain.

Then she turned around, her gaze icy as she looked at the approaching Konoha ninja.

"For Lord Kazekage, all of you will die here!"

Chiyo flicked both hands, throwing ten scrolls into the air. "White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Ten puppets of varying forms instantly descended onto the battlefield!

Under the control of the chakra threads from Chiyo's ten fingers, these supreme masterpieces left behind by the first generation of puppet masters erupted with terrifying combat power.

Some puppets opened their mouths and spewed raging flames. Others unleashed violent wind blades and lightning. Some wielded dual blades and giant scythes as they charged into the ANBU formation like ghosts.

Lin Hai and the seven ANBU immediately scattered, falling into a bitter battle against the ten puppets.

On the main battlefield.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was drenched in blood, leaning on the Golden Cudgel as he gasped for breath.

Looking at the seemingly endless Sunagakure ninja around him, he gritted his teeth and said to Koharu Utatane beside him:

"There are too many Sunagakure ninja. Wave after wave, we can't kill them all. If this keeps up, they'll wear us down to death sooner or later!"

Just then, a disturbance suddenly erupted in the rear of the Sunagakure forces, followed by several terrified, hoarse cries:

"Lord Kazekage has been killed!"

"The Second Hokage killed Lord Kazekage!"

"Run! The Second Hokage is slaughtering his way in from behind!"

Those shouts spread through the Sunagakure army like a plague.

The Kazekage had not appeared for a long time, and the terrifying explosions from deep within their camp had already pushed Sunagakure's mental defenses to the brink of collapse.

Those cries became the final straw that broke the camel's back!

Panic rapidly spread, and the Sunagakure army's formation began to fall into disorder.

Standing on high ground, Ebizo watched the troops, who no longer had the will to fight and were showing signs of collapse. He closed his eyes in pain.

"Order a retreat..."

Ebizo's voice was hoarse.

"Our morale is gone. If we keep fighting, the entire army will only be wiped out. Gather the elite jonin to cover the retreat. The whole army withdraws!"

Hearing the commotion from the Sunagakure camp, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others were instantly invigorated.

"The Kazekage is dead? Great! Brothers, counterattack with me! Kill them all!"

The Konoha ninja's morale soared as they launched a desperate counterattack!

Back at the battlefield between Tobirama and Shukaku.

Tobirama was like a ghost in the rain, never giving Shukaku any chance to catch him.

Since they were in the Land of Rain, water was everywhere. Shukaku could not gather enough sand to defend or repair itself, leaving it only able to wildly lash out with its remaining arm and tail while roaring in rage.

A flash of blue light, and Tobirama appeared at the base of Shukaku's thick tail.

"Water Release: Water Surface Cutter!"

A high-pressure water blade instantly condensed and sliced through Shukaku's enormous tail at its root as easily as cutting tofu!

"Roar!"

Shukaku writhed madly in pain, suddenly turning around and opening its gaping maw. Several Drilling Air Bullets blasted toward Tobirama in rapid succession.

This time, Tobirama did not dodge.

His hands formed seals at lightning speed. A huge whirlpool of water condensed out of thin air before him, then transformed into a water spear dozens of meters long!

"Break!"

Tobirama exerted force with one arm and hurled the water spear forward!

The spear shot out like a meteor chasing the moon, piercing through every incoming Drilling Air Bullet before brutally impaling Shukaku in the abdomen!

The instant it made contact, the spear exploded, transforming into a devastating water tornado that forcibly blasted Shukaku's massive body dozens of meters backward!

Before Shukaku could react, Tobirama had already flashed above its head.

"Water Release: Water Clear Wave!"

Layer upon layer of towering waves, like a tsunami, crashed endlessly onto Shukaku's head.

Under the repeated heavy blows, Shukaku finally let out a mournful howl and crashed to the ground.

Tobirama instantly landed atop Shukaku's head, formed hand seals, and slammed his hands onto the sealing node!

"Seal!"

The sleeping Sunagakure boy was forcibly pulled out. Without pausing, Tobirama formed a complex sealing formula in his other hand and slammed it into Shukaku's brow.

A mass of yellow chakra was forcibly extracted! Tobirama brought his hands together, suppressing the two masses of chakra tightly against each other.

"You Senju bastard! You have no honor! I just got out! I still want to kill..."

Shukaku's voice grew weaker and weaker. Finally, its enormous body vanished in a cloud of white smoke, while the boy completely lost consciousness.

Tobirama summoned a round ceramic urn half a man tall, stuffed the boy inside, and sealed it with the lid.

Then he jumped onto the lid and applied several more layers of seals.

"Finally dealt with that noisy dead tanuki."

Tobirama sat atop the urn lid and caught his breath.

"If this weren't the Land of Rain, where water vapor is so abundant, it really would have been troublesome."

Elsewhere.

Lin Hai and the seven ANBU had been fighting Chiyo's Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets for nearly ten minutes.

The more Lin Hai fought, the more alarmed he became.

These puppets had completely surpassed his understanding!

Not only were their bodies hard as iron, able to withstand C-rank ninjutsu without a scratch.

They could even coordinate to unleash Fire Release and Lightning Release. Some puppets could even absorb chakra and use sealing techniques!

Chiyo alone had actually suppressed all eight Konoha elites!

"We can't keep fighting them head-on! Capture the leader first. The target is the Kazekage!"

Lin Hai gave a tactical hand signal, and the ANBU immediately understood.

Two ANBU suddenly retreated, widening the distance as they formed seals together. "Earth Release: Earthfall Clay!"

Another two ANBU followed closely behind. "Earth Release: Opening Earth Rising Excavation!"

Clay poured down from the sky while the ground surged upward like an erupting volcano, instantly cutting Chiyo off from the heavily wounded Kazekage.

Chiyo was shocked and was about to control her puppets to return to his aid.

But Lin Hai had already appeared beside her like a ghost, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan blazing red!

"Genjutsu: Darkness Technique!"

Chiyo's vision instantly fell into absolute darkness.

"You think mere genjutsu can trap me? Puppet masters are the nemesis of genjutsu!" Chiyo snorted coldly, her ten fingers flying. "White Secret Technique: Three Treasures Suction Crushing!"

Three puppets instantly formed a triangular formation, their mechanisms opening—Buddha, Dharma, Monk!

A terrifying tornado formed between the three puppets, generating a massive suction force that dragged in the clay in the air and the surrounding rubble, grinding them to dust.

Caught off guard, Lin Hai nearly got sucked in and could only retreat with the Body Flicker Technique.

Chiyo sneered and controlled another puppet to use the Tail Release Seal, instantly dispelling Lin Hai's Darkness Technique.

"Konoha brat, die!"

Just as Chiyo was about to counterattack, a cold voice came from behind her.

"Don't move. Move again, and the Kazekage's head will come off."

Chiyo abruptly turned around.

Two Konoha ANBU had somehow already slipped beside the Kazekage, with two sharp ninja blades crossed against his neck.

"Kill me! Chiyo, lead Sunagakure in a counterattack! Hurry!" the Kazekage roared in despair.

Whoosh!

A flash of blue light. The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, appeared out of thin air beside Chiyo and sent her flying with a powerful punch!

Immediately afterward, Tobirama activated the Flying Thunder God Technique again, instantly appearing in midair. He seized Chiyo by the throat and held her tightly in his grasp.

Tobirama slowly descended, his cold gaze piercing the Kazekage.

"Kazekage, now both your life and this woman's life are in your hands."

"I'll give you only a quarter of an hour to think."

The Second Kazekage looked at Chiyo, whose face had turned bluish-purple from Tobirama's grip, then at the ninja blades pressed against his own neck. The light in his eyes finally faded completely.

He let out a long sigh and painfully lowered his proud head.

"This war... Sunagakure admits defeat."

Hearing that answer, Tobirama's lips curled into a cruel arc. He casually threw Chiyo to the ground as if she were trash.

"Facts will prove that you made the correct choice."

Then the ANBU escorted the utterly despondent Kazekage and the unconscious Chiyo back to the Konoha camp.