First defense zone.
In the jungle, a rock giant is fighting against Hanzō's Human Puppet. The one controlling this rock giant is the Tsuchikage's bodyguard, ' Akatsuchi '.
Earth Release: The Earth Release: Golem Technique.
"I... I can't hold it in any longer..."
Akatsuchi's face turned bright red, and he held his breath, casting a pleading look at Ōnoki.
Iwagakure and Sunagakure are arch-rivals and have no shortage of experience fighting puppeteers, but this is the first time they have encountered such a difficult puppeteer.
He and his master Ōnoki, took turns trying, but after half an hour, they still couldn't win.
Whoosh!
Ōnoki descended from the sky, projecting another cube.
Unlike before, this cube covered a space of hundreds of meters around it, allowing for a wide-ranging attack with no blind spots. At the critical moment, Sasori manipulated Hanzō's Human Puppet to throw himself away, barely managing to dodge the attack. The Human Puppet was then broken down into atomic states.
Dust Release: Limit Detachment Technique
"That old bastard actually had a trick up his sleeve, damn it!" Scorpion cursed angrily.
Previously, although Ōnoki's Dust Release was terrifyingly powerful, its range was limited, and he was able to find a safe distance after only a few tries.
Little did he expect that his opponent had been holding back a powerful move, launching a surprise attack that robbed him of his trump card.
A gentle breeze blew by, carrying away the toxic air.
"Phew... phew... finally, we've dealt with this poisonous corpse."
Ōnoki finally breathed a sigh of relief. The powerful attack he had just used had consumed a terrifying amount of Chakra, and at his age, he was finding it difficult to withstand.
An eagle and a cobra fought; one could fly, the other was highly venomous. Fortunately, the old eagle was more skilled and won the crucial round.
Click!
"Ah... my back, ouch."
Akatsuchi approached and said, " Lord Tsuchikage, you should rest and recover your Chakra. Leave the rest to me."
In his mind, a puppeteer who loses his puppets and poison is like a tiger with its teeth pulled, posing no threat whatsoever.
"Be careful, this guy is no ordinary person," Ōnoki warned.
"Okay, I understand."
To be on the safe side, Akatsuchi still opted to use the rock giant to probe the area for him, rather than foolishly charging in himself.
"Sigh! I've had enough. An old man and a big, clumsy guy have been holding out against me for so long."
Sasori took out the Performance of a Hundred Puppets Scroll from behind him, released all the Human Puppet inside, opened the cover on his right chest, and connected the Chakra Threads.
"I didn't originally intend to use this technique, but since you're all so capable, why don't you have a proper fight with my puppets?"
"Ah... so much."
Akatsuchi's jaw dropped; it could fit an egg in his mouth. What's the difference between this and a whole ninja squad?
Faced with a swarm of attacks, the stiff-moving rock giant was completely unable to create a solid defense from all sides.
Dust Release: Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique
At the critical moment, Ōnoki once again used Dust Release to save his disciple, but after such repeated ordeals, his Chakra was completely depleted.
As people age and their bodies weaken, their physical energy declines, and it takes a considerable amount of time to gather Chakra again.
Sasori had anticipated this move. His Dust Release only killed a dozen or so of his Human Puppet, which was insignificant. He continued to surround and kill the rest.
Unable to withstand the attack, Akatsuchi had no choice but to fly into the sky to escape its range. The master and apprentice could only watch helplessly as Scorpion and his Human Puppet lay below.
At that moment, a figure flew in from afar; it was Kurotsuchi.
"How is it?" Ōnoki asked anxiously.
" Deidara, having no other option, chose to self-destruct, killing many of us."
Kurotsuchi didn't dare tell the truth; many of the soldiers from Iwagakure in the Second Regiment didn't survive.
"There's nothing we can do about it, that's war. Is the Fifth Kazekage alright?"
"He went to reinforce the Third Defense Zone. I heard that an immortal ninja there used a terrible Kinjutsu. I wonder how Father is doing."
Kinjutsu?
Ōnoki wasn't worried about Kitsuchi; he was worried about the ordinary soldiers of the Allied Forces, who were basically powerless against Kinjutsu.
Although Akatsuki's core members are only a few, each of them possesses unique skills and is very difficult to deal with.
Kurotsuchi also saw what was happening below and her eyes widened. "Is this guy really a puppeteer?"
"It seems to be Kinjutsu as well. You and Akatsuchi should team up and see if you can find a weakness," Ōnoki instructed.
His Dust Release consumes a lot of mana, making him more suitable for waiting for an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow from the sidelines.
"Clear."
Kurotsuchi swooped down, forming hand Hand Seals, and spat out clumps of lime to cover the Human Puppet.
Lava Release: Lava Release: Quicklime Congealing Technique.
Sasori didn't know what kind of technique this was, but that didn't stop him from setting up a defense. More than ten Human Puppet raised their arms to form Chakra shield in front of him.
Water Release: Water Horn Technique
The water flow impacts the lime, creating a solidifying effect that binds the enemy, while the viscous lime slurry is blocked by the Chakra shield.
Kurotsuchi suddenly accelerated, raised his right fist, and his arm was encased in a protective layer of rock.
" Rock Fist: Ultra-Added-Weight Rock Technique "
boom...!!
The heavy blow struck the Chakra shield, instantly shattering the honeycomb shield formed by the dozen or so Human Puppet.
"Such powerful strength!" Scorpion exclaimed in admiration.
With a gentle flick of his finger, he detonated the Explosive Tag hidden among the shattered Human Puppet parts.
Boom boom boom...
The Kakkō from the explosion engulfed the Kurotsuchi, leaving it nowhere to escape.
" Water Release Water Prison Technique "
The spherical water prison encloses itself, blocking explosions and flames, provided the flame temperature is not too high, otherwise it will be boiled alive.
"This young lady is quite capable! How about this?!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
The puppet spat out Senbon and hurled Kunai) bound with Explosive Tag.
"He has so many tricks up his sleeve; there's no way we can defeat him at this rate."
Kurotsuchi pondered silently, released the Water Prison Technique, dodged the attack by moving left and right, and quickly landed on the ground, pressing his hands down.
" Earth Release - Earth and Stone Stalagmites "
The mutated ' Earth Spear ' consists of sharp, intersecting stalagmites that rise abruptly from the ground. They are fast, have a wide attack range, and are impossible to dodge effectively.
"Trying to attack my main body? You're quite clever."
One end of the rope hidden in his abdomen was inserted into the soil beneath his feet, and under the control of Chakra, it formed a spiral staircase shape to secure it.
The scorpion's body rose higher and higher on the rope, without needing to touch the ground, thus escaping the attack range of the Earth and Stone Stalagmites.
"Tch! What a troublesome guy."
Kurotsuchi, Chakra Hand Seals again, preparing for a larger-scale attack. He manipulated the earth's pulsations with chakra to create a giant rock pillar tens of meters high.
" Earth Release ·Rock Pillar"
BOOM BOOM BOOM...!!
The terrain within a radius of several hundred meters changed instantly, creating a stone forest.
The rope on the scorpion's abdomen quickly extended, and its body continued to rise accordingly. The rope was several tens of meters long, which was more than enough.
Rumble...
Akatsuchi seized the opportunity and created another rock giant to charge at the group of Human Puppet, intending to prevent Scorpion from defending himself.
Scorpion withdrew some of his puppets and charged towards Kurotsuchi.
Kurotsuchi covered his Rock Fist with his arms and fought with the puppets. Each punch he threw shattered a puppet, and he collapsed from exhaustion after one round.
Scorpion was already adept at dealing with the attacks of the Akatsuchi Rock Giant, and he used a roundabout and entangled fighting style to hold it off.
The fighting style of the Iwagakure ninja is quite distinctive: they possess immense strength, but their weakness lies in their lack of endurance.
A moment later, Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi, panting, flew back into the sky and rejoined Ōnoki.
Kurotsuchi complained dejectedly, "Grandpa, it won't work. This guy is too cunning and has too many tricks up his sleeve. We're no match for him. You need to think of something!"
Ōnoki was also having a headache. He was the Tsuchikage, and his granddaughter would most likely become the future Tsuchikage, in addition to his bodyguard Akatsuchi, who was known for his unparalleled strength and was called the Tsuchikage's Akatsuchi.
Three people couldn't even handle a puppeteer; how are they supposed to survive in the future?
"We need to find the right opportunity to destroy his main body, but given his cautious nature, he won't let us get close. We need to create an opportunity."
After a short rest, Ōnoki felt he was ready again.
The next moment, the three of them launched an attack on the scorpion in the middle from three different directions.
Earth Release: Ash Stone Sealing Technique
Earth Release: Rock Cannonball Technique
Dust Release: Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique
Faced with this combined tactic, Sasori's first move was to dodge Ōnoki's Dust Release, resulting in the loss of a large number of his puppets.
He pulled the remaining dozen or so Human Puppet to his side, forming a circle around them, and each extended its arm to create Chakra shield to block the attacks from Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi.
bang bang bang...
The rock-blasting projectiles were deflected upon impact with the protective shield.
The problem was that the concrete made from the Kurotsuchi took the opportunity to solidify all his puppets together, making them inseparable.
"So your goal was to destroy my puppets?!"
Scorpion realized the problem; this was his last puppet, and only his true body remained.
Defeat in this battle was inevitable, and Scorpion was prepared for it. Few could withstand such an intense, relentless attack.
"Hmph, you've succeeded. Bring it on!"
The scorpion unfolds the spiral blades on its back; as its final weapon, the rapidly spinning blades are highly lethal.
"Be careful, this treacherous fellow is definitely plotting something," Ōnoki warned. He had encountered many opponents in his life, but this was the first time he had met such a formidable opponent, and he was even a little traumatized by it.
Kurotsuchi, somewhat impatient, volunteered, "Let's not play games. I'll give it a try."
Earth Release: Rock Fist Technique
Facing the scorpion's true form, she chose a direct attack, anticipating that it was out of options and posed little threat.
Whoosh!
The rope on the scorpion's abdomen darted out like a venomous snake, coiling and wrapping around Kurotsuchi's body.
"Tch, he was clearly putting on a show of wanting to go head-to-head with me just now, what a cunning fellow."
Kurotsuchi Tu smashed the tip of the rope with a punch, performed several backflips to escape its entanglement, and landed with his hands on the ground.
Earth Release: Rock Pillar Prison
Clang clang clang...
Several solid rock pillars rose up around the scorpion, forming a cage that trapped it.
"Now's the time! Make your move!"
Without her prompting, Ōnoki immediately activated the Earth Release Ninjutsu ' Rock Arm ', raising a rocky hand around the Rock Pillar Prison and grabbing it.
Click!
The Rock Pillar Prison, along with the scorpion's body inside, was crushed into pieces. Amidst the shattering of the rocks, a core, mixed in with the fragments, bounced into the body of a puppet lying on the ground nearby.
This puppet was a pre-arranged container, specifically designed for this moment.
"Phew... I finally killed him. I'm exhausted." Ōnoki breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed his back.
Seeing Kurotsuchi, Heitu relaxed, but a barely audible cracking sound immediately sent a chill down her spine. She saw another puppet rise up behind her grandfather.
The puppet, wielding a knife, aimed straight for Ōnoki's lower back.
"Careful!!"
Pfft...
At the critical moment, Akatsuchi fulfilled his duty as the Tsuchikage's bodyguard, picking up Ōnoki in his arms, but was stabbed through the body himself.
"Damn it!" Kurotsuchi roared as he charged forward, smashing the puppet to pieces with his Rock Fist.
Thump thump thump...
He punched the scorpion dozens of times before he felt relieved, smashing its core into a pulp.
Ōnoki urged, " Kurotsuchi, calm down! The weapon is highly poisonous. Quickly inject Akatsuchi with the antidote!"
Kurotsuchi a panic, Heitu injected all the remaining antidote into Akatsuchi's body, whose face had already turned black.
No one knows what kind of venom a scorpion possesses; it's all up to fate.
"Hateful!"
Kurotsuchi could only curse angrily at Sasori's corpse before flying off to find a medical ninja.