The Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu excelled at both close-range and long-range combat. Chiyo, who inherited them, had once used them to conquer a city. It was easy to imagine the power they could unleash in the hands of their creator, Monzaemon.
Monzaemon kept two puppets beside him while the other eight swiftly surrounded Kazemori Masaki. They drew their weapons and aimed at his vital points, intending to finish him in a single strike.
Kazemori Zhenghui took in the directions from which the eight puppets approached, yet made no move to dodge. Instead, he charged straight at them. He moved so fast that the afterimage trailing behind him looked like a Black Threads to an ordinary observer.
Five iron cables emerged from the head of a bald puppet and lashed down like tentacles. They collided with the Black Threads for only an instant before all five were knocked aside. Though they had not been severed, deep cuts remained in their surfaces.
Two puppets joined hands, and a massive blade of chakra light sprouted from the head of one, spinning like a windmill. As the bald puppet attacked, the other hurled its partner with the spinning chakra blade at Masaki. The deadly flash of its blade swept toward him—
The two sides clashed again, their gleaming blades crossing. Zhenghui's figure came into view as the blade of light collided with Wind Cutter. Then the puppet's chakra blade shattered first.
That brief interruption gave a female puppet with red twin tails time to close in and slash down with two swords. Zhenghui turned with the motion, blocked both blades with Wind Cutter, and swung his scabbard like a club with his other hand, striking its waist. That single blow nearly knocked the puppet apart.
Monzaemon's pupils contracted slightly. The exchange had lasted only