Coastal area of Land of Wind
In the distance, a strangely shaped metal ship floated on the sea, while on the distant beach, dozens of oddly shaped armored soldiers appeared.
Judging by their size alone, these armored soldiers don't seem to be human; they're more like puppets because... their heads are too small for their robust bodies.
Most of the armored soldiers had various ninja tools stuck in their bodies, yet they didn't bleed a drop of blood and still possessed extremely strong combat power.
The Sand Ninja were conducting drills here when, during their nighttime rest, the Armored Army suddenly landed, catching them off guard. Even Gaara's arrival to provide support couldn't reverse the tide of the battle.
After a day and a night of fighting, the beach was littered with corpses, mostly Sand Ninja. Whenever an Armored Soldier died, a new one would be brought in from the ship to replenish the ranks, keeping the total number at a constant level. In contrast, the number of Sand Ninja was decreasing.
The Land of Wind is currently in chaos due to the deaths of the Fourth Kazekage and a large number of Jonin. Not only is the neighboring Land of Bears also beginning to probe its defenses on a small scale, leaving the Sunagakure struggling to cope and resulting in a significant reduction in support from the beach area.
"Knock knock..."
The ironclad ship's cannons spewed out a barrage of shells, heading straight for the rear of the Sand Ninja.
Gaara restrained several armored soldiers in front of him with sand. Seeing the incoming cannonballs, he was alarmed and immediately raised his hands. " Sandstorm Barrier!"
Gaara's only advantage was fighting on a sandy beach. A three-meter-high sand wall quickly rose and was placed in front of the Sand Ninja.
"Boom boom..."
The first volley of shells exploded upon hitting the sand barrier, shattering it completely. The residual shockwaves also caused several more Sand Ninja casualties.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh"
He held out for a full two minutes before the bombardment finally stopped. Gaara's Chakra had reached its limit, the Sandstorm Barrier crumbled, and he was kneeling on the ground, panting heavily.
"Click click"
The armored soldiers who had been bound broke free of the sand and charged forward, brandishing their spiked hammers. Gaara, weakened, was caught off guard and didn't react in time.
" Wind Release: Wind Blade Combo!"
"Hiss hiss hiss!"
Not far away, Baki swiftly waved his hand, unleashing several invisible Wind Blade that sliced the armored soldier in two, averting Gaara's peril.
Baki jumped to Gaara's side and helped him up. " Gaara, this fleet is too strange. Let's retreat and ask Konoha for help!"
Gaara promptly refused, saying, "We need to ask Konoha for help just for a beach landing? Our Sunagakure isn't that weak."
Baki was well aware of the current situation in Sunagakure: "But Gaara, our Sunagakure ninja forces are too scattered right now. It will take at least half a month to mobilize them... If all else fails, let's retreat first."
Gaara struggled to his feet, preparing to attack with sand again. "We can't retreat! Once this armored force takes control of the beach, the losses will be incalculable. My sand can't reach that warship."
Baki was at a loss, watching the new armored soldiers slowly emerge from the sea. "Then, what should we do? Although we've already sent Ninja Hawk Temari and Kankuro back, it's too late to help them in this situation..."
Gaara, Gaara making a firm decision, said, " Baki, have all the Sand Ninja retreat immediately. I'm going to go into a dozing state."
Baki exclaimed in surprise, "This... this is too dangerous!"
Gaara remained expressionless. "Once that warship is destroyed, no matter how many armored soldiers we have, they won't be of any use. The Feigning Sleep Technique will last for ten hours. Don't get in the way here, retreat quickly."
"Knock knock knock!"
The steel warships unleashed another salvo, twice as dense as the previous one, engulfing even their own armored soldiers.
Gaara no longer had enough Chakra to unleash his maximum-range Sandstorm Barrier, so he could only shout, "Run!"
Having said that, he began Hand Seals, preparing to forcibly use the Feigning Sleep Technique.
At that moment, Baki's ears twitched; amidst the cannon fire, he heard a peculiar vibration in the air. "Hmm? What's that?"
"Whoosh." A figure appeared before Gaara, dressed in a fishnet outfit and holding Three Star Fan, which was still burning with intense Three Star Fan -head-shaped flames.
Gaara was stunned; his Feigning Sleep Technique had failed.
Temari stared at the incoming cannonball, fully unfolding her Great Sickle Weasel Fan and raising it above her head. The dragon head flames on the fan erupted violently, condensing outward from the fan ribs to form a giant flame fan two meters high. Then, as if cleaving, she chopped the fan down.
" Wind Release: Dragon Great Sickle Weasel!"
"Boom.."
The fire fan slashed down, and flames exploded instantly, mingling with the Wind Release: Great Sickle Weasel, flying erratically in the wind. However, Temari's attack was aimed at the cannonballs in the sky.
The shell's flight speed slowed down or even stopped instantly, and then it exploded in mid-air after being scorched by flames.
The Sand Ninja ninja, who were already prepared to take cover, saw this scene and then saw Temari standing in front of Gaara: " Temari has come to save us!"
"If Temari has arrived, then it seems the reinforcements have arrived as well. Quick, prepare for another battle!"
Temari's appearance greatly boosted the morale of the Sand Ninja ninja. Compared to the cold and gloomy Gaara and the arrogant Kankuro, the Sand Ninja ninja preferred the forthright Temari, only because she did not receive the support of the higher-ups to become the Kazekage.
Kankuro landed beside Gaara: " Gaara, what happened? We brought reinforcements."
Gaara was quite surprised. "You guys got here so quickly?"
Kankuro pointed to the Blue Bird Type Four on his chest. "Ah, thanks to Kyōai from the Nuclear Ninja Village, we flew here."
The flames in the air dissipated, and Baki shouted, "Watch out, there are still cannonballs! Wind Release... Damn it, my Chakra is at its limit!"
Temari shattered most of the cannonballs with a single blow, but many more were still charging down behind her.
Kankuro pulled four scrolls from his robes, quickly opened them, and summoned his puppets: " Crow," " Black Ant," and " Zaku Type One."
"Secret Technique: Triple Shot."
Lord God: "Hahaha, this Zaku's appearance is so abrupt, and don't you really see anything wrong with the name 'Three Machine Guns'?"
The Zaku Type One stands two meters tall, with Kankuro under Kankuro control, holding his shield high while Crow and Black Ant stand on his shoulders.
"Peng."
The Zaku Type One's Chakra jets on its feet and back spewed flames as it flew into the air. With its massive katana slashing out and protected by its shield, it swiftly cleared away all the remaining shells.
The Sand Ninja ninja had never seen a puppet like this before. "What is this thing? It's huge! It's amazing!"
After Kankuro dealt with the aerial bombardment, he controlled the Zaku Type One to land behind him. "Isn't my puppet amazing! Hahaha!"
Baki asked in a deep voice, "Hey, Kankuro, where did you get this thing?"
Kankuro pointed to the sky, where Hongshi and the others were still circling, observing the battlefield. "A gift from the Nuclear Ninja Village to me as part of our alliance."
Gaara knew the inside story, so he remained silent.
"What!" Baki exclaimed in shock, " The Nuclear Ninja Village has such advanced technology! How did they do that?!"
"Hahaha, here I come!"
The Hongshi in the air unfurled into the Blue Bird Type Four and, like a cannonball, plummeted vertically towards the beach below.
" Hongshi, no!"
Thump!
Kyōai tried to stop Hongshi, but it was too late. With a muffled thud, Hongshi had already sunk several meters deep into the sand, leaving only a hole...