The gale howled as a sandstorm conjured from thin air formed a solid barrier, forcibly holding the enormous Iron Sand pyramid aloft. The shrieking friction made every Sunagakure ninja's teeth ache, but the devastating attack had indeed been stopped.
"St-Stopped it?"
"It's reinforcements! Konoha reinforcements!"
Across the deathly silent battlefield, the Sunagakure ninjas who had survived the catastrophe erupted into scattered cheers. Their morale, on the verge of collapse, miraculously recovered a sliver.
Chiyo's relaxed muscles tensed again. She looked at the petite girl floating at the center of the storm, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
"Platform Release... Even a lost Kekkei Genkai like this, Konoha can find and cultivate it..."
Inside Hiruko, Sasori's movements did not pause in the slightest.
"Interesting, but not enough."
He controlled the Third Kazekage puppet and changed his hand seals. The massive Iron Sand pyramid exploded apart, turning into countless black iron needles as fine as hairs. No longer charging with brute force, they became a dense, deadly black cloud, shrieking as they seeped toward the wind wall Qianfeng was maintaining.
"Ugh!"
Qianfeng grunted. Maintaining such a massive wind field drained her enormously, and fine beads of sweat had already formed on her forehead. The wind wall began to slow, and visible gaps appeared within it.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Dozens of Iron Sand needles broke through the defense and shot into the Sunagakure crowd behind it. Several ninjas fell at once, their arms or thighs pierced through. Their wounds rapidly blackened; the needles had clearly been coated in potent poison.
The hope that had just been kindled was instantly doused with cold water.
The Sand Ninjas watched in despair. With Magnetic Release countering metal projectiles and the endless Iron Sand assaults, they had no chance of winning at all.
"The battle isn't over