The Puppet Remained, but the Puppeteer Was Gone

"Nicely done, Captain Lan!"

A nearby Konoha Chunin was greatly encouraged.

However, Uchiha Lan did not dare relax in the slightest. The A-rank Great Fire Dragon was immensely powerful, but its chakra consumption was equally staggering. The chakra within him had already dropped by a noticeable amount.

Moreover, the chaos and casualties he had caused immediately drew an even fiercer counterattack from the Hidden Sand ninja!

"Damn it! It's the Sharingan, that evil Uchiha brat!"

An enraged roar rang out.

"Puppet squad! Take down that Uchiha brat!"

"Don't let him use that Fire Style again! Everyone else, charge with me!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several black shadows shot out of the smoke and fire like ghosts! They were the puppets of Hidden Sand's puppet masters!

Their puppet masters controlled puppets of all shapes and sizes, their joints clacking as they moved.

Some wielded poisoned blades, some spat poison needles, and some had spinning blades spring from their joints. Flashing with deadly cold light, they closed in on Uchiha Lan from every direction!

The reason these puppets had been sent to deal with Uchiha was simple: puppets could not fall under genjutsu.

"Watch out for those puppets! If you're poisoned, take an antidote immediately!"

Several Chunin who had fought in the Second Shinobi World War shouted stern warnings.

Amid the chaotic battlefield, those puppets wildly fired countless poison needles and kunai. Ignoring the flames and thick smoke, they had a clear target—Uchiha Lan!

"Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!"

A Konoha Chunin skilled in defensive Earth Style reacted swiftly at Uchiha Lan's side, slamming both hands against the ground!

A thick earthen wall instantly rose from the ground, blocking the area before and to the side of Uchiha Lan!

Thud, thud, thud! Poison needles and blades buried themselves deep in the earthen wall!

"Cover the captain!"

The other Chunin responded at once, hurling Fireball, Wind Blade, and Water Bullet jutsu at the advancing puppets as though they cost nothing, while others attempted to strike the puppet masters hiding in the shadows.

Uchiha Lan reached both hands into his ninja tool pouch. His fingers were already filled with specially made kunai and shuriken as he blew on them and infused them with Wind Style chakra.

He had learned this move from Shimura Danzō in the anime, though unfortunately, he had not developed it to the level of the Pot Kage.

His Sharingan remained fixed on the nearly transparent chakra threads connecting the puppets and their masters.

"Wind Style: Manipulated Shuriken Technique: Windmill!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Dozens of shuriken flew like windmills granted life, slicing through the air with sharp whistles. They traced all manner of inconceivable arcs, shooting with flawless precision at the joints of the charging puppets and the areas where the fine chakra threads were most concentrated!

Clang, clang, clang! Snap!

The sounds of metal colliding and threads snapping mixed together! The joints of the two puppets charging at the front were instantly destroyed. Their movements stalled, and they staggered to the ground.

Several crucial chakra threads on another puppet were precisely severed, sending it crashing out of control into a burning tent nearby.

"Nani? How is that possible?!"

"Shut up, you idiot!"

A startled cry came from underground. Though the voice was faint, Uchiha Lan still caught it.

Just as he prepared to give them an underground Thousand Years of Death, those puppet masters seemed to realize they had been exposed.

A massive Scorpion Puppet suddenly burst from underground. Its entire body was covered in dark armor that seemed steeped in venom, while its vicious tail hook glimmered with an eerie blue light. The tail hook, soaked in poison for forty-nine days, stabbed straight toward Uchiha Lan's back.

Whoosh—!!

The piercing sound of tearing air carried a foul, fishy stench.

Uchiha Lan's Sharingan spun wildly! His dynamic vision caught the trajectory of the tail hook tearing through the air, but the scorpion tail was too fast and its angle too tricky. He could not dodge it at all.

He could only form the two simplest hand seals with the speed of a lifelong bachelor!

Stab—!!

The poisoned hook plunged in brutally!

A thread of ghostly blue venom seeped into the wound like a living creature! A searing pain instantly spread through his body!

"Ungh!"

Uchiha Lan groaned, his face turning pale at once. The numbness spreading through half his body made his movements falter.

"Got him!" A puppet master's suppressed, excited whisper came from underground.

"Captain!"

The two Konoha Chunin beside him cried out in shock.

No way, that's it? Didn't they say he had Jonin-level strength? He's still too young. Better watch out in his next life and don't become a ninja!

Though they were frantically mocking him inwardly, several kunai carrying Explosive Tags still shot toward the hole from which the Scorpion Puppet had emerged, as well as toward the Scorpion Puppet itself.

Boom! The explosion blasted up sand and dirt!

The Scorpion Puppet swayed from the blast, but its shell was exceptionally sturdy and suffered no serious damage. Instead, it whipped its tail hook even more violently, forcing back the group of Chunin.

Just as it passed Uchiha Lan's stiff body, that paralyzed body suddenly turned into a cluster of sparks and exploded.

There was no blood or flesh flying everywhere. Only a blazing, brilliantly orange-red flame erupted out of thin air!

The violent shockwave and scorching blast slammed into the nearby Scorpion Puppet!

"Nani?! A Fire Substitution Technique?!"

The Hidden Sand ninja controlling the Scorpion Puppet underground screamed in utter horror!

He had not sensed anything unusual about the chakra threads at all. When had his opponent completed the substitution?! That poisoned hook had clearly struck him!

The close-range blast threw the Scorpion Puppet's movements completely out of control. Its sturdy shell sizzled under the scorching impact of the flames, while the intricate mechanisms inside seemed to be disrupted as well. Its massive body shook and spun violently in place.

Meanwhile, the real Uchiha Lan had already used the instant his opponent let down his guard to silently slip underground with Earth Style!

His Sharingan shone in the darkness like scarlet searchlights, accurately locating several Hidden Sand puppet masters scattered and hidden like moles several meters underground, controlling their puppets through chakra threads!

The threads connected to the puppets, emitting their distinctive chakra fluctuations, were as clear as fireflies in the darkness within the Sharingan's vision, directly exposing their hiding places!

"Lightning Style: Chidori!"

A low voice brimming with killing intent rang through the sealed underground space, though no one above ground could hear it through the layers of earth.

Crackle, crackle, crackle—!!!

A terrifying sound, as if a thousand birds were shrieking, suddenly erupted!

Violent blue lightning burst from Uchiha Lan's right palm, bathing the dim underground space in a ghastly blue glow!

Uchiha Lan's figure lunged through the earth like a ghost!

His body's speed reached its limit under the stimulation of Lightning Style chakra!

Ignoring the soft soil and scattered chunks of rock, he headed straight for the nearest puppet master, who was frantically trying to stabilize the Scorpion Puppet again!

"Wha...?!"

That puppet master only had time to sense deadly lightning bearing down on him. He looked up in terror, his eyes reflecting that violent mass of blue electricity and a scarlet eye!

Stab—!!!

Chidori's incomparably sharp lightning hand blade pierced through his heart as easily as a hot knife through butter!

The violent Lightning Style chakra instantly scorched and carbonized his internal organs!