At the same time, Chiyo led a squad of Sunagakure elites alongside a contingent of Konoha shinobi on the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Rain.
Fortunately, Chiyo was a cautious commander. As soon as they reached the border, she ordered her sensory-nin to conduct a wide-range chakra scan.
The sensory-nin, one of the finest from Sunagakure's Anbu, extended his chakra perception—and his face instantly went pale.
There were dozens of chakra sources trailing them from behind, powerful yet completely hidden from sight.
He subtly gave Chiyo a signal.
Chiyo's eyes narrowed as she leaned in to listen. When she heard his whisper, her expression froze.
"Transparent Style… It's the Moonlight Clan!"
There was no time to think. Chiyo unfurled a summoning scroll and shouted:
"Prepare for battle! Enemy attack!"
The hidden Konoha team realized they'd been exposed. They were already close enough—no point in hiding anymore.
They dropped their camouflage and charged forward.
"Secret White Move: Chikamatsu's 10 Puppets!"
Ten puppet constructs burst from Chiyo's scroll, forming up in precise formation. Her hands flashed through seals—three puppets moved in a triangular pattern, each opening its mouth to reveal mechanisms marked "Buddha," "Dharma," and "Monk."
"Ninja Art: Three Treasure Suction Crush!"
A howling wind exploded from the puppets' mouths, pulling the Konoha shinobi off balance and dragging them midair toward the vortex.
The Konoha commander reacted instantly.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
A massive earth barrier rose from the ground, blocking the violent wind and allowing the Leaf shinobi to land safely before circling around Chiyo's jutsu range.
But that brief delay was enough for the Suna ninja to react.
Weapons were drawn, chakra surged to their feet, and puppet summoning scrolls snapped open.
"Leaf Style: Crescent Moon Dance!"
Several Konoha swordsmen drew their blades in unison—their movements splitting into afterimages as each struck threefold, their targets being the vulnerable puppet masters in the back.
Sunagakure's formation responded instantly. The puppet masters retreated while their frontline fighters—sand and wind specialists—stepped forward to defend.
"Wind Style: Dust Storm Jutsu!"
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
The two techniques merged into a single roaring sandstorm, blinding the battlefield and creating a perfect environment for Sunagakure's style of combat.
As the storm raged, the puppet masters withdrew further, forming ranks. Dozens of puppets assembled shoulder to shoulder.
"Puppet Secret Technique: Sawblade Thousand Blades!"
From within the mechanical array came a barrage of kunai, shuriken, and poison bombs, raining down indiscriminately across the field.
Then, another command:
"Puppet Secret Technique: Dustlight Shield Formation!"
A new set of puppets emerged, crossing their arms to form glowing chakra shields that absorbed the remnants of their own bombardment.
The Konoha ninja, caught in the swirling sand, lost visual contact. They switched to chakra sensing and fired multiple ninjutsu toward the Sand's positions—but the chakra shields held firm.
Moments later, a second volley of kunai and shuriken came slicing through the haze. Dozens of Leaf shinobi were struck down in an instant, and the rest barely managed to hold their formation.
One of Chiyo's sub-commanders shouted with elation:
"Keep pressing! Don't stop! Bury these foolish Leaf shinobi here once and for all!"
To turn an ambush into a counterattack—it was beyond their expectations. Victory felt close at hand.
But then a cold voice whispered right behind that very commander:
"Who exactly did you call foolish?"
Before he could react, pain blossomed in his neck. His vision spun, and the last thing he saw was his own headless body.
"When… did he get behind me?!"
Screams erupted through the Suna ranks. Puppets froze mid-movement.
The pressure on the Konoha side lifted as the Moonlight Clan assassins began their deadly dance.
"Moon Shadow Jutsu."
"Haven't you heard of Konoha's Moonlight Clan?"
The plan had worked.
The Konoha force had been split into two groups—one to draw attention, the other to circle around undetected. The decoy unit had been discovered early, but the assassins had already flanked the Sand line, suppressing their chakra signatures until the perfect moment.
Meanwhile, Chiyo herself noticed something wrong while dueling the Konoha commander. She tried to fall back and support her troops—but her opponent kept her pinned down.
"Why are Konoha's forces here…? No, this was a setup. A premeditated ambush! There's a traitor in the Suna's upper ranks!"
Her thoughts distracted her just long enough for several of her puppets to be slashed apart, their chakra strings severed.
As several Konoha shinobi rushed her position, Chiyo's expression hardened. She flung several new scrolls into the air.
Dozens of puppets erupted forth and charged headlong into the oncoming Konoha ninja—ignoring all counterattacks.
"Wait—those are self-detonating puppets! Fall back!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The explosions engulfed everything in fire and smoke.
Several Konoha shinobi who failed to react in time were vaporized instantly, while the rest scrambled to retreat.
The Konoha captain leapt through the flames toward Chiyo, cutting through her last puppets and severing her chakra strings.
But Chiyo only smiled faintly.
"It's ready."
Her hands flew through seals.
"Secret White Move: Lion's Roar Seal!"
The battlefield glowed as black lines spread across every broken puppet and scattered fragment, linking them together in an intricate web.
A blinding white barrier erupted, enveloping the field in the shape of a lion clamping its jaws upon the earth.
"What—!? I destroyed those puppets! How can there still be a formation!?"
The Konoha captain's chakra felt like it was being swallowed. His strength dropped sharply—he could barely move.
"Destroy the remnants! Quickly!"
"Foolish."
Chiyo's ten fingers flicked. The shattered puppets—and even those whose chakra strings had been cut—suddenly began to move again.
"For a master puppeteer, reattaching chakra threads is child's play. Every piece of a puppet can be independently controlled. Destroying the main body doesn't mean you've won. Now… pay for your ignorance."
"Secret White Move: Dream Assembly!"
The Konoha captain's body jerked. His sword flashed—cutting down his own comrade beside him.
"Wha—!? She… she laced chakra threads onto me during the fight!"
He gritted his teeth, struggling to resist.
"Cut the threads! Quickly!"
He flared his chakra, but the barrier suppressed it. His body refused to obey.
Several Konoha shinobi tried to sever the threads—but Chiyo forced their captain to intercept them, cutting them down instead.
Chiyo could hear her subordinates shouting for aid.
If she kept this up, she could annihilate the entire Konoha force—but at the cost of all her own troops.
She clenched her jaw.
These were elite Sunagakure shinobi—too valuable to sacrifice.
Her fingers flicked again.
The possessed Konoha captain was yanked into the air and slammed into the ground.
Chiyo formed one last seal.
"A pity… I could've ended you all here."
Her eyes glinted coldly.
"But if you think this is the extent of Sunagakure's power—you're gravely mistaken."
"Secret White Move: Chikamatsu's 10 Puppets—Detonation Mode!"
The destroyed white puppets surged forward, colliding with those still intact. A chain reaction of massive explosions tore through the barrier, shattering it completely.
Chiyo retreated swiftly, regrouping with her surviving forces.
"Puppet Technique: Blade String Assault!"
Dozens of kunai attached to chakra threads aligned and fired like a curtain of blades, forcing the remaining Konoha shinobi to give chase at a distance.
Then—her final card.
"Ninja Art: Human Body Puppet Control .
Chiyo flung new chakra threads toward the fallen bodies littering the battlefield. A surge of chakra pulsed through them—and moments later, the corpses rose to their feet, turning their weapons against the living.
This ancient and forbidden technique allowed the user to control the dead—and even make them use their own fighting styles in life. In legend, it was said to have originated from puppet masters manipulating corpses on ancient battlefields.
(Even living humans could be controlled, which was why it was banned.)
Once again, the tide turned.
Entangled by their own fallen comrades, the Konoha shinobi could no longer advance.
Chiyo's forces, now reduced to half their number, began retreating under her command.
"Fall back! Head for the Land of Rain!"
The mission had changed.
Originally, their goal was to assassinate Konoha's command officers in the Land of Rain.
Now, their only hope was escape—and to warn the Third Kazekage, who was currently negotiating in Amegakure.
"Once we cross the border, we can rendezvous with the decapitation strike unit. It was meant as a cover team for our original mission—but fate's turned it into our lifeline.
"Still," she thought bitterly, "that damned traitor… once I find out who it is, I'll tear them apart myself."
Glancing back at the pursuing Konoha shinobi, Chiyo gritted her teeth and pulled out one final scroll.
Her last line of defense.
"These were meant to bombard Konoha's main camp…" she muttered. "Guess they'll have to do."
The scroll unfurled—and hundreds of self-detonating puppets materialized.
Under her control, they charged the pursuing Konoha forces and detonated, forming a blazing wall of explosions that halted pursuit entirely.
"Consider this your reprieve. We'll settle this debt soon enough."
Without looking back, Chiyo led the survivors onward toward the Land of Rain.
She had to reach the Third Kazekage before nightfall—and deliver the message that would change the course of the war.
Only half a day's journey remained.
If all went well, she'd reach him before the sun set.