"Clang!"
A chakra-infused tanto wrapped in lightning energy smashed into the steel puppet. The electricity spread across the puppet's body like a spiderweb.
Sakumo's strike left only a shallow scratch on the puppet before its iron fist came crashing down with a howling gust of wind.
Swish!
With Sakumo's speed, he dodged effortlessly, leaving the ground shattered beneath a massive crater.
"It's really hard!"
Sakumo exhaled, shaken. Though huge, the puppet moved surprisingly fast. Worse yet, its entire body was made of chakra-conductive materials. The chakra-infused blade lost its punch—the energy simply scattered across the puppet instead of focusing on a single point.
To put it plainly, Liufei's steel creation surpassed Tsuchigawa's stone giant in both speed and strength, further enhanced by its special composition.
The only way to defeat it was through pure Taijutsu.
Yet even in today's Ninja World, few could match such raw physical power.
Even Sakumo found himself momentarily at a loss for a way to defeat Liufei.
Elsewhere, Hiashi Hyuga remained locked in a stalemate with Kouhi. The latter's puppet unleashed a wild array of attacks—nearly impossible to block.
Only someone with the Byakugan like Hiashi could hope to keep up with Kouhi's relentless assault.
This didn't mean they were completely outmatched—but they had also noticed the growing chaos on the battlefield, with Konoha ninjas falling one after another.
It wasn't because Konoha's forces were weaker than those of Suna.
Rather, the Sand Puppet Brigade's automatons moved in eerie, unnatural ways.
"Tsunade, we should retreat for now—the situation is turning against us…" Orochimaru and Tsunade had managed to hold off Chiyo together, but he'd clearly seen how the tide of battle was slipping away.
Bang!
Tsunade smashed another puppet into dust with her fist, still not deploying the Chikamatsu Collection.
Chiyo's aged face showed no fear—only growing calmness. Every lost puppet meant a major setback for Suna, but Konoha could not afford such heavy losses either.
"You young pup, let's see how long you can keep this up!"
Chiyo sneered coolly. Each member of her puppet corps had been handpicked from the village—an elite force whose skills rivaled Konoha's best, now reinforced by over a hundred puppets.
And to top it off, every dart fired by these puppets was coated with poison Chiyo herself had brewed.
Unlike the toxins used during their previous battle in the Land of Rain, these poisons took effect faster—paralyzing victims within seconds and leaving them defenseless prey.
Without such potent venom, even a hundred puppets wouldn't have been able to inflict such devastating losses on Konoha so quickly.
Tsunade's expression twisted with fury, but she couldn't keep watching the Konoha Ninjas suffer such heavy losses.
"Retreat!"
She clenched her teeth and bellowed fiercely.
The Konoha Ninjas around her wore expressions of unwillingness. Their comrades kept falling around them, one after another—they longed to wipe out every enemy in an instant. But if the battle continued like this...
They would undoubtedly be the ones defeated.
But the Sand Ninja weren't about to let Konoha escape so easily. They pressed their advantage relentlessly.
Whoosh!
A golden glow flickered within the crowd. Minato completely abandoned direct confrontation with the Sand Ninja, focusing instead on hunting down their Puppet masters.
Using the Shifting Body Technique, he weaved swiftly through clusters of enemies, rapidly draining his chakra reserves.
Yet Minato had no intention of stopping. At that moment, a Sand Ninja suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his path.
Facing this opponent, Minato abruptly shut his eyes tight.
"Lend me your power!"
His voice echoed inside his soul. Within his mind, an image seemed to respond to his call.
Dormant chakra surged within him instantly, surging through every cell of his body.
"It's extremely dangerous to do this during battle..." The voice sounded slightly grave while granting Minato its strength.
Though the connection with his inner self lasted only a moment, it still exposed a dangerous vulnerability to the enemy.
I know, but if I don't do this, our losses will become even more severe!
Minato suddenly opened his eyes wide. His once-normal pupils now burned blood-red, transformed into vertical slits.
The Sand Ninja who thought he'd caught Minato in a vulnerable moment was immediately overwhelmed by indescribable dread upon meeting his gaze.
Cold terror filled the Sand Ninja's entire being.
Thud!
In that fleeting hesitation, Minato's kunai pierced straight through his chest. Blood spurted out forcefully.
Boom!
After eliminating him, Minato slammed his arm onto the Sand Ninja's chest, sending the corpse flying.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
A hail of shuriken slammed into the flying corpse, spraying blood in every direction.
The corpse momentarily blocked the Puppet master's view. As he hesitated, Minato's figure already maneuvered past the body. With a brilliant blue chakra sphere in hand, he smashed viciously into the black-colored puppet.
The puppet shattered into pieces, yet Minato didn't stop moving for even a second before vanishing again.
Whoosh!
That speed was even more terrifying than before.
Pu!
Minato's kunai, infused with Wind Release Blades, directly severed a Puppet master's arm, interrupting his hand seal process. Then changing angles swiftly, Minato slashed horizontally.
Half of the Puppet master's head got sliced off—there wasn't even time for a scream before death claimed him.
Minato's ruthless, bloody killings sent involuntary shivers down the spines of nearby Suna ninjas, making them tighten their defenses around him.
But Minato ignored them completely, vanishing in a flash with the Shifting Body Technique again.
Now his sole target was the Puppet Masters from Sunagakure!
Within several minutes, despite their precautions, dozens of Konoha ninja still fell victim to the insidious tactics employed by the Suna Puppet Brigade, losing their lives.
Yet... within that brief span, eight Puppet masters had also fallen.
And among them, four were killed by Minato alone!
This wiped the smug looks off Chiyo's and the Sand leaders' faces—especially hers. Her eyes blazed with fury as she glared at the figure cutting down Puppet masters like targets.
"That damned Minato again!"
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