Countless grains of Iron Sand formed dozens of spears, each over ten meters long, and rained down on the Red Sand Clan's ninja.
"Aah!!!"
Screams rang out again as the Red Sand Clan's ninja fell one after another under the assault of the Iron Sand, their blood staining the ground red.
That single attack killed two Jonin, nearly ten Special Jōnin, and more than ten Chunin.
Hoshino appeared in the center of the Red Sand Clan's compound.
Sand and dust filled the sky and gathered around the Red Sand Clan, separating Akasuna Retsu from the other clan members.
"Hizuki, one minute. It starts now."
Hizuki nodded slightly, then vanished from where she stood.
"Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!"
Akasuna Retsu's pupils contracted sharply. He sensed an icy killing intent rapidly closing in.
Several sharp blades of wind howled toward Hizuki.
But Hizuki slipped between the wind blades like a ghost, easily avoiding every attack.
"Akasuna Retsu... do you still remember me? Your life is mine."
"Puppet Technique: Red Sand Dance!"
Akasuna Retsu let out an angry roar and pulled out a sealing scroll. Five puppets flew out of it, heading straight for Hizuki.
"Blaze Release: Flame Dragon Dance!"
A cold glint flashed in Hizuki's eyes as several violet-red fire dragons surged from her palms toward the five puppets.
Seeing their clan leader, Akasuna Retsu, trapped, the Red Sand Clan members roared and charged forward.
"Save the clan leader! Kill that brat!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Puppet Technique: Red Sand Formation!"
Dozens of Red Sand Clan ninja formed Hand Seals at the same time. Wind Release Ninjutsu and Puppet Techniques intertwined, forming a violent storm of energy that surged straight toward Hoshino.
It had to be said that the Red Sand Clan was worthy of its place as the leading family among the ninja clans.
Seven or eight Jonin had appeared, along with more than ten Special Jōnin, and who knew how many Chunin.
The ninja here probably weren't even the Red Sand Clan's full strength.
At that moment, Hoshino stood in the center of the Red Sand Clan's compound.
Tailed Beast Chakra burned around him like flames, and an earthen-yellow Chakra Cloak enveloped his entire body, leaving him barely recognizable as human.
Faced with the incoming attacks, Hoshino smiled coldly, the corners of his mouth curling into a cruel arc beneath the Tailed Beast Cloak.
"You're courting death."
The next second, Hoshino vanished from where he stood.
His Tailed Beast Cloak trailed an earthen-yellow afterimage as he charged into the crowd of Red Sand Clan ninja like a bolt of lightning.
Boom-
Hoshino's fist slammed into the chest of a Red Sand Clan Jonin, and the violent power of Tailed Beast Chakra erupted in an instant.
The Jonin's chest was pierced clean through, blood gushing out as his body flew away like a rag.
"Aah!!!"
Before the scream had faded, Hoshino had already appeared behind another ninja.
His hand swept across like a sharp blade, slicing the ninja's head clean off.
"Puppet Technique: Red Sand Formation!"
Several Red Sand Clan ninja controlled their puppets, trying to trap Hoshino.
But the surrounding grains of Iron Sand instantly condensed into several spears and pierced straight through the puppets.
Boom-
The puppets shattered instantly under the impact of the Iron Sand spears, scattering into countless fragments.
In just ten seconds, three Jonin and ten Special Jōnin were killed, and countless puppets were destroyed.
The horrific sight terrified the Red Sand Clan's ninja.
"A monster... he's a monster!"
But Hoshino still did not stop killing. He darted through the crowd of ninja, every attack from beneath his Tailed Beast Cloak carrying devastating power.
"Aah!!!"
Screams rose and fell as the Red Sand Clan's ninja fell one after another under Hoshino's attacks.
Blood gradually stained the ground red.
Hoshino stood in a pool of blood, his eyes flashing with an icy light.
Meanwhile.
Inside the sandstorm, the battle between Hizuki and Akasuna Retsu had also reached a fever pitch.
The first five puppets had already been reduced to ashes by Hizuki's Blaze Release attacks.
But more puppets poured out of the sealing scroll.
Wind Release Ninjutsu and Puppet Techniques combined perfectly, forming deadly nets of attacks that forced Hizuki back again and again.
Hizuki's Blaze Release was tremendously powerful, but every time she used it, the backlash inflicted enormous harm on her body.
Half her face looked even more sinister in the light of the Blaze Release, and a trace of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Clearly, she had suffered serious internal injuries.
"What a naive child. You dare fight me one-on-one with so little strength!"
Akasuna Retsu had naturally become clan leader because he was exceptionally strong, an Elite Jonin at the very least.
He could also control a great many puppets at once.
In quality, they could not compare to Grandma Chiyo's Chikamatsu's Collection of Ten Puppets, and in number, they could not match Sasori's Performance of a Hundred Puppets.
But controlling seven or eight puppets at once was still no trouble for him. Combined with the secret techniques unique to the Red Sand Clan, his strength made him an unquestionable powerhouse in the village.
At first, Akasuna Retsu had indeed been caught off guard.
But once he recovered, Hizuki inevitably fell into a disadvantage.
At the same time, Akasuna Retsu recognized the girl whose eyes were filled with hatred.
"So it was you... Hotaru. I didn't expect you to still be alive. You really are hard to kill. And judging by your techniques, the experiment succeeded!"
"Shouldn't you be thanking me for gaining such a powerful ability?"
"It's not too late to come back. I can make you the young clan leader, and in the future, you'll inherit everything the Red Sand Clan has."
In his eyes, Hizuki was nothing more than a chess piece in his hand.
If not for Hoshino, whose strength was unknown, still being outside, he would never have made a promise he didn't believe himself. He would simply have captured her and brought her back.
"Come back? Inherit the Red Sand Clan?"
Hizuki's eyes were filled with hatred, and the blood trickling from the corner of her mouth looked especially glaring in the light of the Blaze Release.
"Akasuna Retsu, do you think I'd still believe your lies? What you owe me, you must pay back tonight!"
Her voice was as piercing as ice, and violet-red flames burned around her, as if they would reduce everything to ashes.
"Blaze Release: Flame Dragon Explosion!"
Several enormous fire dragons surged from Hizuki's palms. The flames were so hot that even the surrounding air warped from the heat.
"Wind Release: Wind Wall!"
Akasuna Retsu sneered and rapidly formed Hand Seals.
A massive wall of wind rose before him, attempting to block Hizuki's Blaze Release attack.
"Boom!"
The fire dragons collided with the wind wall in midair, erupting in a dazzling light.
The entire Red Sand Clan compound trembled, countless cracks split the ground, and sand and dust billowed up.
Just then, seven or eight puppets surrounded Hizuki from all sides. The sharp blades in their hands, made even sharper by Wind Release, struck straight for her vital points.
"Ying, in the end, you're still too weak. You still..."
Akasuna Retsu was about to continue mocking her.
But as the surroundings changed, the words he had been about to say caught in his throat.
The sandstorm gradually dissipated, and the view once obscured by yellow sand became clear.