"I said… only that one can be used," Ebizo prompted grimly.
"That one…!?" Chiyo's heart clenched with sorrow, but still she pulled out a scroll, unrolling it to summon the puppet within.
Two puppets materialized — a man and woman, unmistakably a couple. The man had fiery red hair.
"So that's it… These are Sasori's parents — his first creation," Shigure observed, his eyes cool but steady.
"It seems you know much, Leaf shinobi," Chiyo replied sharply.
"It was your battle with the Leaf Village that led to their deaths," she continued bitterly, her gaze sweeping the field… until it landed abruptly on Hatake Kusuo.
"That one… looks just like the White Fang!? Could he be related?" Chiyo asked suddenly.
"Sister… likely the White Fang's next generation," Ebizo agreed.
"Fire Style: Searing Migraine!" Kakuzu's relentless barrage forced Ebizo further into defense, keeping him pinned.
"Sister! The kid is yours!" Ebizo shouted. He was shackled by Kakuzu's pressure, unable to get free; all he could do was fend off the attacks for dear life.
Chiyo pressed forward at Shigure.
"One Mind, One Body!"
The Father and Mother puppets crossed palms. From them extended five razor-thin steel wires; wherever the puppets moved, those wires sliced anything they touched into ribbons.
Shigure's Mangekyō eyes narrowed.
"…It seems I can't meet them head-on," he noted, rolling backward to evade their deadly arcs.
In less than three seconds, he had already gathered Senjutsu chakra.
"Sage Mode: Snake!"
His pupils slit into golden reptilian eyes.
"Sage Art: Black Luster!"
The senjutsu wave struck — severing all five of Chiyo's senses in an instant.
"What?… I… can't sense anything??" Chiyo's voice quivered. Although the chakra threads still commanded her puppets, Shigure's technique had robbed her of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell entirely.
"In that case… ending this should be easy."
"Sorry — I don't have time to waste here!"
"Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation!"
Harnessing the senjutsu of the White Snake Sage, Shigure transformed the surrounding earth itself into sharp stone spikes. They surged toward the Father and Mother puppets.
With their controller effectively disabled, the puppets could neither dodge nor defend. In moments, they were impaled and shattered — both destroyed utterly.
"Sister!!" Ebizo's voice broke. He tried desperately to rush over, but Kakuzu blocked him again.
"You old fool — my task is to keep you busy," Kakuzu said darkly, unleashing another hail of elemental attacks that penned Ebizo in.
"Damn it! Sister, what's wrong?!" Ebizo shouted — but Chiyo wasn't under genjutsu. The reality was worse: she was locked in an advanced restrictive senjutsu.
"Don't worry… I've got time," Shigure said calmly.
"Sage Art: Six-Path Divine Flame!"
Black-gold flames erupted around him — the senjutsu fire of the Black Snake Sage. Legends said the Six Paths Sage's weapons had been forged in this blaze; its destructive potency was unmatched.
The Sand elites rushed to rescue Chiyo — but Shigure's flames cut them off, forging an impassable barrier.
"I wouldn't touch this fire… or it'll burn you into ash," Shigure warned flatly.
"What a joke! Lady Chiyo!!" A Sand puppet master ignored the warning, flinging chakra threads toward her — only to have both the threads and his body ignite instantly, as if soaked in oil. In seconds he was reduced to nothing but ash on the wind.
"I did warn you," Shigure said, his tone devoid of sympathy.
"This guy's Fire Style… it's monstrous!" Ebizo gritted his teeth.
"In truth, the Six-Path Divine Flame is even more dangerous than Amaterasu," Shigure remarked evenly. "Amaterasu burns endlessly, but fast reactions can save you. This… touches you once, and you're ash within seconds."
"A terrifying monster…"
"Are we even fighting a human…?"
"Even Lady Chiyo… can't match him…"
The morale of Sunagakure's forces plummeted further. Numerical superiority meant nothing — Shigure's suppression was absolute.
Without pause, Shigure used the terrain again, manipulating nature itself to strike the Sand elites with constant hazards.
Meanwhile, Hizashi, Akane, and Kusuo continued their relentless killing. Slugs hidden beneath their clothing poured in chakra endlessly, enabling near-limitless combat and healing.
Kakuzu kept Ebizo pinned with sheer force, preventing him from organizing his troops or aiding Chiyo.
"Sand Village…" Shigure's voice cut through the chaos. "Do you surrender?"
"Absolutely no surrender!!" Ebizo bellowed. His defiance rekindled some fire in the hearts of the others; weapons tightened in their hands as they prepared to fight to the death.
"I thought not… I gave you your chance," Shigure said coldly. "Now I'll make sure you remember this moment forever."
"Rescue Lady Chiyo!!" Sand troops surged in from all sides — but Shigure's face showed no concern whatsoever. If anything, his eyes gleamed with anticipation.
He drew the Dragon Fang Blade.
"…Then witness this… Dance of Blood Rain!"
His light-blue Mangekyō spun to life, and in the same breath, he vanished forward like a phantom.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
His Body Flicker Technique hit full throttle, fused with wind chakra to turn him into a hurricane of death.
Wherever the Dragon Fang passed, blood burst into the air without leaving a stain on the blade itself. In seconds, it was raining crimson across the battlefield.
As Shigure's slaughter-dance unfolded, the Sand's numbers fell sharply; within moments, they couldn't even maintain a proper encirclement.
"This swordsmanship… terrifying!"
"If this continues… our numbers won't matter!"
"…Only five of them!!" Ebizo's mind raced. "They bypassed the vanguard — meaning they've arranged a signal to bring them back. Then… we can hit from both inside and out, and drive Konoha out!"
Spotting an opening in Kakuzu's defense, he slipped free.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Ebizo slammed his hand to the ground, calling forth a weasel — the contracted partner of a vanguard shinobi.
"How's the situation there?!" Ebizo demanded… but the weasel collapsed at his feet, grievously wounded.
"We… lost…" the creature rasped.
"…Lost!?" Ebizo's face drained of color.
--
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