"Nagi, are you sure you haven't mistaken someone else? It's too much of a genius that a kid like that can use such a secret technique!"
Saki was somewhat skeptical of Nagi's words. Mainly, she couldn't understand how there could be such a monstrous ninja who could use such powerful secret techniques at such a young age.
When Chiyo first told them about it, she was very confident that she had mastered the technique and that they didn't need to worry too much. How come they've encountered an opponent who can counter them so soon?
"I don't think I made a mistake. Putting aside whether I used any special methods to defeat the puppet, just look at how that brat grabbed the puppet I was controlling and threw it away forcefully. Do you think a kid of about eight or nine years old could do something like that?" Nagi explained earnestly in the face of her companions' doubts.
He didn't want to dampen his teammates' morale, but he needed to explain the situation clearly to them to prevent them from giving the opponent an opportunity due to carelessness.
"Damn it, what are we going to do now? Our puppets aren't much of a threat to that brat anymore."
Hearing Nagi's explanation, Raizo clearly displeased. His important puppet had been destroyed by some Konoha brat, and he had been powerless to do anything about it. This feeling of frustration was extremely unpleasant to him.
"Who says our puppets are harmless? Don't forget, our Chikamatsu Ten Puppets. The mechanisms on the puppets aren't just for show. Besides, we have Lady Chiyo's secret poison. If that brat accidentally touches even a little bit, he'll be completely at our mercy."
Although the puppets' melee combat abilities were largely disabled, they could still attack from a distance. The puppets' mechanisms were coated with poison; even a small amount would cause death.
Therefore, as long as they control the distance, they can use a kite-flying tactic to deal with the Konoha brats. Coincidentally, their puppeteers are also very proficient in this kind of tactic.
After finalizing her tactics, Nagi immediately instructed her two teammates, " Raizo, I'll use the puppet to distract the Konoha brats. You use the traps at the right moment. Also, Saki, you use Ninjutsu to restrain the brats and prevent them from destroying our puppets."
This approach ensured their offensive advantage while also keeping the Konoha kids occupied, preventing their puppets from being destroyed. It was a very comprehensive tactic.
On the other side, after destroying one puppet, Kōki didn't stop and continued rushing towards the puppet trio. He was so fast that he almost managed to get close to the Kōki trio.
Fortunately, they were experienced ninjas. Upon seeing Kōki charging towards them, they immediately jumped back to create distance. Nagi, one of the three, even jumped while controlling the horse-faced puppet to block Kōki.
However, the method of obstruction is somewhat different from before.
The horse-faced puppet stretched out its puppet arm, attempting to grab Kōki. But the agile Kōki was not so easily caught. Facing the puppet arm that was attacking straight at him, he dodged to the side and then clenched his fist, preparing to smash the puppet arm to pieces.
But unexpectedly, the horse-faced puppet was waiting for this moment. It opened its wooden mouth and shot out several specially made round bombs that flew towards Kōki.
Upon seeing the bomb, Kōki instinctively tiptoed to the side to avoid it.
His dodge gave Nagi, who had been observing him, an opportunity. He immediately shouted to Raizo beside him, "Now!"
Upon receiving the order, Raizo did not hesitate and controlled the black-haired, white-faced puppet to jump out, from which two black iron pipes emerged from the puppet's palms.
The next second, many fine, hair-like Senbon shot out from the black iron pipe. These Senbon shimmered with a faint purple light under the sunlight, looking quite eerie.
One has to admit the puppet trio's remarkable ability to seize opportunities.
At this moment, Kōki was in mid-air, could not get any leverage. He wanted to coordinate with his Shadow Clone to dodge, but the surrounding space was covered by the enemy's Senbon. Even if he successfully borrowed leverage, he could not escape the Senbon's attack range.
Using defensive Ninjutsu was too time-consuming. This marked the first real crisis Kōki faced on the battlefield.
"Why"
Looking at the Senbon right in front of him, Kōki sighed. He really didn't want to use this Release Technique, but now he had no choice. Other methods were too late, and this was the only Ninjutsu that could be used instantly.
Thinking of this, Kōki stretched out his right hand, and the Chakra in his body instantly gathered in his palm, gradually forming a solid sphere in his palm. Then the sphere grew bigger and bigger.
" Super Big Ball Rasengan "
That's right, the method Kōki wanted to use to defeat the enemy was the Rasengan, which was created by Minato Namikaze and popularized by the Child of Destiny. The reason Kōki didn't want to use it was because he was afraid of being misunderstood by Minato Namikaze. Now he had no choice but to use it for the time being and find a reason to explain it later.
Soon, a gigantic Chakra sphere condensed in Kōki's right palm. The rapidly spinning Chakra sphere easily shattered the incoming Senbon and slammed towards the three leaping enemies with unparalleled momentum.
"Damn it, how can such a technique exist?"
The burly puppeteer Raizo, who had initially thought his plan had succeeded, instantly showed a look of despair.
Compared to Raizo, his teammate Nagi was clearly stronger. Although he was also somewhat desperate, he did not give up, but instead gave orders, creating a glimmer of hope for the three of them.
" Raizo, it's not time to give up yet. Saki, you use the Three Treasures Suction Crush to change the direction of the brat's attack. Raizo and I will use the Machine Light Shield Seal. Let's block the enemy's attack together."
"Good"
Upon hearing Nagi's command, the female puppeteer Saki quickly took control of the three puppets, positioning them to the far right front of them.
Under her control, the three puppets formed a formation with the word "pin". Then the hands of the three puppets closed together, and three different fonts of "Buddha", "Dharma" and "Monk" appeared in their mouths.
" Three Treasures Suction Crush "
A super-powerful hurricane formed between the three puppets, sucking the giant Chakra sphere in.
At first Chakra swarm had no effect whatsoever, continuing to hurtle towards the puppeteers, but the closer it got to the puppeteers, the stronger the suction became.
This last move actually worked.
Under the powerful hurricane, the Chakra group's attack direction finally shifted, and they, who should have been at the center of the Ninjutsu, were now at the edge of Ninjutsu.
Seeing that the plan had worked, Nagi didn't hesitate at all. She immediately manipulated the puppet in her hand to release a huge circular barrier together with Raizo, blocking the three of them.
" Machine Light Shield Seal "
Although they successfully deviated from the direction of the Ninjutsu attack, they were not completely out of the Ninjutsu range, so a powerful defensive Ninjutsu was necessary to protect them.
Having finally taken all necessary precautions, Nagi's face broke out in a cold sweat as the attack drew near.
In truth, Nagi had no confidence whatsoever in whether he could successfully resist this technique; he simply didn't want to give up even the slightest hope.