Puppeteer Chahachiro

The puppeteer did not even have time to scream. His body convulsed violently once, then he completely lost all signs of life. The chakra threads controlling the Scorpion Puppet snapped instantly.

The Scorpion Puppet also went limp on the ground.

"First!"

Uchiha Ran did not pause. His Sharingan spun, instantly locking onto another puppeteer behind him, who had sensed his companion's death and was fearfully shrinking back!

Chidori's shrill cry rang out again.

Sizzle—!

Another blue flash of death! That puppeteer tried to block it with puppet threads.

But before its absolute speed and destructive power, the tough chakra threads were effortlessly torn apart like a spiderweb!

"Second!"

"Enemy attack! Underground! Lightning Release! Spread out!"

The remaining puppeteers finally reacted, screaming in terror as they tried to control their other puppets to burrow underground and defend, or flee in different directions themselves.

But Uchiha Ran was too fast! Within the cramped underground space, with the Sharingan's insight and Lightning Release-enhanced speed, he was the deadliest hunter!

His figure flashed aside, evading a small defensive puppet that burst from the earthen wall beside him and swung a blade. Chidori, accompanied by its piercing shriek, punched straight through the chest of the Hidden Sand ninja controlling it!

"Fourth!"

He made a sharp turn and caught up to a puppeteer trying to dig his way out. Chidori's lightning arrived after the attack was launched but struck first, piercing both him and the earthen wall he had just formed before himself!

In only a few breaths, the underground space filled with the heavy stench of scorched flesh and blood.

The four Hidden Sand puppeteers lurking underground were all killed by Uchiha Ran's cold, precise Chidori ambush!

Those puppets, regardless of size or whatever they had been doing aboveground, became like wooden dolls with their strings cut, instantly losing all power and collapsing stiffly onto the ground or underground.

The boy holding lightning emerged from the ground, coughed out a mouthful of dirt, then stepped on a puppet and said coldly:

"Sometimes, when dealing with puppets, you don't need to destroy the puppets. This is called capturing the king before the bandits!"

Back on the surface battlefield, his Sharingan swept across the field:

The jonin group led by Baiyun Zaojian had already pushed deep into the camp, fiercely battling the Hidden Sand's elite forces. Firelight and the glow of ninjutsu kept flashing within the core area.

But the situation was not looking good. Several hundred Hidden Sand ninja had formed an attack formation and completely surrounded them.

Orochimaru and Manda's side was even more like the center of hell. The gigantic serpent's shadow churned, sweeping away whole swaths at once.

None of those ninja could restrain him either. They could only wear him down with long-range attacks.

It could be said that if Orochimaru had not tied down more than two hundred Hidden Sand ninja by himself, Baiyun Zaojian's jonin team would have been surrounded to death long ago.

Huh, that guy with the white cloth wrapped around his bangs was called Baki, right? He was actually hiding behind the others and secretly launching wind blades to ambush Orochimaru. No wonder he survived until Shippuden.

Uchiha Ran's side had it the easiest. Perhaps because the enemy had realized that their several dozen Chunin were not very strong, only around a hundred people had been sent to hold them back.

"Captain, watch above you!"

Just as Uchiha Ran was distracted for a second, a startled cry rang out!

Uchiha Ran abruptly looked up and saw an enormous iron net covered in barbs falling from the sky!

At the same time, countless poison needles shot toward him with sharp whooshes.

Another puppeteer was controlling puppets!

Uchiha Ran's pupils contracted sharply. His body erupted with chakra again at its limit, and he raised two fingers like a sword!

"Body Flicker Technique!"

His figure flashed through a gap almost at the instant the iron net closed!

The iron net crashed to the ground, and poison needles sank deep into the dirt, kicking up a cloud of toxic smoke.

"Damn it!!" The enraged voice of the puppeteer controlling the iron-net puppet came from afar.

The instant Uchiha Ran landed, he snapped his head around. His scarlet Sharingan pierced through the chaotic battlefield and billowing smoke, accurately locking onto a figure standing atop an earthen slope.

The man was not especially tall. Green paint covered his face, and his sharp gaze carried a composure and ruthlessness that did not match his age.

A huge bandage-wrapped scroll was strapped to his back. Before him stood two oddly shaped puppets that radiated danger:

One resembled a gigantic black fish, Ibuse, cold light gleaming from its joints as its tail hook was raised high. The other resembled a massive humanoid animal trap, Black Ant, its arms spread wide to reveal what seemed to be deadly mechanisms hidden inside.

A veteran Hidden Sand puppeteer—Chahachiro!

"Finally, someone decent has shown up."

Uchiha Ran's expression sharpened, and warning bells blared in his mind.

This man's chakra and precision in controlling puppets were far beyond the previous riffraff.

Chahachiro seemed to be assessing Uchiha Ran as well. His gaze lingered for a moment on the other man's scarlet Sharingan before he lowered his head again, a cold curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"An Uchiha from Konoha... no wonder you could kill those useless subordinates of mine. But your luck ends here."

Before his words had even faded, Chahachiro's fingers began to dance with elegant speed, as though playing the strings of an instrument!

"Puppet Performance: Salamander!"

Buzz!

The huge black scorpion-shaped puppet—Ibuse—suddenly activated as though it were alive!

Rather than charging straight at him like an ordinary puppet, it rapidly closed in along a strange, swift zigzag path, using battlefield debris and corpses as cover!

At the same time, the shell on its abdomen suddenly opened, and dozens of tiny poison needles shot soundlessly toward Uchiha Ran like a rainstorm!

The poison needles covered a huge area, sealing off the space to his left and right!

"Puppet Performance: Black Ant!" Chahachiro's second command followed immediately!

The humanoid animal-trap puppet—Black Ant—violently spread its arms, exposing the pitch-black launch ports inside!

Puff puff puff puff—!!!

Along with the poison needles came huge clouds of thick, dark-purple poisonous mist that gave off a pungent, foul stench!

Like living creatures, the toxic clouds rapidly spread outward, heading straight for Uchiha Ran and the Chunin squad behind him!

A combined killing move—poison needles to restrict movement, poisonous mist to clear the field and inflict sustained damage!

"Spread out! Stay away from the poisonous mist!"

Uchiha Ran shouted as his Sharingan spun wildly!

His dynamic vision took in the trajectories of the poison needles filling the sky! His body reacted instantly. Rather than using simple straight-line Body Flicker, he imitated Orochimaru's strange serpentine movements from before!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

His figure slipped through the gaps between the poison needles like a slick loach, changing direction repeatedly at unimaginable angles to evade them!

Most of the poison needles grazed past him and embedded themselves in the ground behind him, emitting sizzling corrosive sounds.

But the needles were too dense. Several still grazed his arms and calves, bringing the familiar burning pain and numbness. The poison was stacking up!

Even more troublesome was the poisonous mist! The purple miasma spread rapidly, about to swallow him and several nearby Chunin!