With a deafening crack, a fissure split down the middle of the massive Earth Flow City Wall. The break spread rapidly in every direction, spidering across the stonework until the immense barricade—created through the combined efforts of countless Sand shinobi—began to crumble.
"This… this is impossible!" Chiyo's eyes widened; her expression was as if she'd just seen a ghost.
Before anyone could react, the wall collapsed completely into heaps of shattered earth. The shockwave rippled through the battlefield, kicking up clouds of dust that choked the air.
"Sister!" Ebizo called over the chaos. "He's stronger than Tsunade of the Sannin—and I think he can even deflect ninjutsu!"
"What?! Stronger than Princess Tsunade?! Could he be her disciple?!" Chiyo demanded.
"Doesn't matter! We cannot allow the Leaf shinobi to move forward! Brother—you hold off the others. I'll keep this boy occupied!" Chiyo's voice rang out; she was ready to fight to the death.
She raised her hand, fingers twitching through invisible threads. In an instant, the legendary puppets of Sunagakure burst onto the field—the White Secret Technique: Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu.
"Young man! No matter who you are—you're not getting past me!" Chiyo's steely gaze fixed on Shigure. With Kakuzu still occupied elsewhere, the Sand's elite troops outnumbered the Leaf side many times over; everyone knew that without Shigure, Konoha's odds here would drop to zero.
"The Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu…" Shigure murmured, studying them. "Interesting. But I've fought puppet masters before—I already know how to dismantle them."
"Hmph! Arrogant brat. Let's see if your mouth can back itself up!" Chiyo sent all ten puppets lunging forward in coordinated formation.
"Akane! Kusuo! Hizashi-sensei! Keep fighting the Sand troops. I'll handle Chiyo!" Shigure ordered, before charging headlong into the puppet assault.
"Damn it!" Shigure cursed under his breath, then wrapped his fists in perfectly controlled chakra. He drove forward at blinding speed—wind-infused movements turning him into a blur.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
With each punch, a puppet shattered; in seconds, three of the ten lay in pieces across the sand.
"What power…! This isn't human!" Chiyo gasped. "But you're underestimating me!"
One female puppet leapt forward with twin blades, while two more combined into a single weapon—the Four-Bladed Chakra Sword. They rushed Shigure from different angles. At the same time, another white-haired puppet encircled him, its arms elongating into sharp spikes that instantly locked him in place.
"Nowhere to run, boy!" Chiyo smirked. She thought she'd found her opening.
"Shigure!" Akane cried, but none of the Team Seven members could reach him in time.
Rumbl—BOOM! A detonative charge erupted where Shigure stood.
"What's this?!" Chiyo frowned. Wisps of white material floated in the blast zone.
"These… are my hair," Shigure's voice answered. "Ninja Art: Needle Jizō!"
In an instant, the protective barrier of hair around his body shifted, twisting into a deadly beast form—Wild Lion's Mane Jutsu! The writhing tendrils lashed outward like living blades, tearing apart two more of the Ten Puppets in moments.
Unyielding, Chiyo brought forth three puppets that fused together.
"Buddha! Dharma! Sangha! Three Treasures Suction Destruction!"
The combined puppets unleashed a vortex, pulling Shigure's hair into their mechanisms.
"You want it? Take it. No need to be impatient," Shigure smirked, casually snapping off a lock of hair and letting it get sucked in. He stepped past the vortex with ease, kicking the massive construct away.
The bull-headed Ox puppet charged in next, fists swinging with the skill of a seasoned brawler. Elite Sand shinobi moved to shield Chiyo from harm.
"Looks like your collection needs a serious overhaul," Shigure said coldly. His Observation Eye scanned every thread of chakra. With Body Flicker Technique and raw superhuman strength, he wove through the battlefield, avoiding every attack. Then, with a single light punch, he crumpled the close-combat puppet into twisted scrap.
"This is unreal…" Chiyo whispered. "Not just his strength—his speed is… at the pinnacle of the shinobi world! Is he… even faster than the Raikage…?!"
Both Chiyo and Ebizo now understood the terrifying implications—if they had known someone like Shigure existed, they never would have initiated the Land of Rivers invasion.
Determined to resist, Chiyo directed the three-treasure puppets alongside her scythe-wielding puppet into another combined assault.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Bang! Bang!
Shigure darted between them with the Body Flicker Technique, then smashed each construct flying backward. This time, their advanced materials prevented immediate destruction.
"In that case—Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Dozens of clones burst into existence—not just five like before, but fifty. His bloodline evolution had long since removed his prior limits.
"All clones—Five Elements: Great Bullet Technique!"
Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, and Lightning chakra fused together into an enormous composite sphere of devastating energy.
Above the Sand Village's main base, darkness loomed—the monstrous ninjutsu casting a shadow over the battlefield.
"This is… the Third Hokage's composite technique!?" Ebizo's jaw dropped.
"All Sand shinobi—defend!!" Chiyo screamed.
"Dust Light Shield Seal! Three Treasures Suction Destruction!"
Chiyo commanded four puppets to shield her position; three attempted to drain the massive ninjutsu's chakra, while another erected a radiant barrier.
BOOM!
Chiyo's eyes widened. Ebizo's froze.
"What…?"
The three suction puppets—Buddha, Dharma, Sangha—along with the barrier puppet of the Dust Light Shield Seal, were obliterated instantly, reduced to smoking wreckage.
"Even Suction Destruction and Dust Light Shield Seal couldn't withstand it?!" Ebizo exclaimed.
"The Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu… destroyed—for the first time ever!?" Chiyo's voice cracked. "Who is this boy?! Invincible strength… invincible speed… invincible ninjutsu… How are we supposed to fight him!?"
"Sister—don't lose heart!" Ebizo shouted. "We still haven't lost—yet!"
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