As Takara had deduced, the merchant company was being escorted by a group of ninjas, specifically from the village of Amegakure, and it seemed that there were only three genins without any leadership.
Too bad, a chunin would have been a good catch too...
Taking advantage of the existing fog, probably passively caused by Isobu to remain hidden, he summoned his Scarecrow puppet to release the fear toxin, filling the air above the camp in a matter of minutes.
Activating a simple double sound-suppressing barrier that also isolated the chakra it consumed, he released the accumulation all at once, and as people fell into the nightmares of their dreams, he sent a group of Tsunade puppets to capture them all.
A door opened in the ground of the camp, and the Tsunade puppets knocked out and threw everyone present inside, as if they were stacking dirty laundry.
Thanks to the sound suppression, the blows of the puppets went unnoticed, and even the genins took a moment to realize that they could no longer hear the crickets or even their own voices.
"It's true, they have the characteristic mouth masks of their village, no wonder they didn't inhale the fear toxin," Takara realized a small miscalculation he had overlooked. "I need to finish them off quickly before they think of escaping."
He redirected four Tsunade puppets towards them while also sending the agile 2B, ensuring doubly that his targets wouldn't try to run towards the lake.
The genins of Amegakure finally realized everything: the strange door in the ground that appeared out of nowhere, the wooden puppets, and how their customers, who seemed as scared as mute, were being taken away.
It was clear how they trembled under the moonlight.
To Takara's slight surprise, the genins hardly hesitated to flee, abandoning the merchants and their workers.
A skinny man lost both legs under 2B's sword, the other tall man with bandages ended up with his limbs twisted in the other direction after the attack of two Tsunades, while the only woman in the group, with short green hair and a frightened look, felt as several hands reached out behind her and dragged her towards another door while she stretched out her hand for help, but no miracle happened to save her from her nightmare until the door closed and disappeared.
Some men thought that by hiding in some of the crates, they might have a chance when the attackers let their guard down, but unfortunately, they didn't fool anyone.
After confirming that no one had escaped, there were no survivors or more hidden people, Takara ordered the Tsunade puppets to move the crates of goods to his hideout while 2B watched around and would destroy any trace of their presence after setting a large fire.
Confirming that there was nothing strange outside the camp's barrier, Takara prepared to take action against the biju at the bottom of the lake.
Nakime was on standby, ready to retrieve it if certain situations arose.
Like a point-blank Tailed Beast Ball.
Takara summoned the puppet that would handle Isobu: it had the appearance of a doll with light blue skin, medium-length hair, and light ice-colored clothing. A large witch hat, a fur cape, four arms, and a second spectral face next to its own. One of its eyes shone blue, while the other remained tightly closed. Much of the puppet's body beneath its clothing was constructed with tight strings.
"Ranni, it's time to see the moon."
Performing the Ram seal, Takara activated the fuinjutsu around the lake that was powered by six resurrected beings to keep it going long enough to act.
The lake water began to churn wildly, forming some whirlpools, while a large amount of water began to rise propelled by something enormous.
Isobu's appearance was spectacular, and from its expression and roar, it seemed not too happy to have been forcibly removed from its hiding place. Indeed, it was almost certain that Takara had just woken it up, and apparently, it was not a morning person.
"You definitely have a decent amount of chakra!" Activating the Byakugan, Takara could better appreciate the massive amount in front of him. "And soon it will be mine."
Isobu located the one who disturbed its sleep and without a word, launched its attack directly.
"Suiton: Great Water Mass Bullet!"
Takara immediately blinked away, knowing full well that this attack had enough destructive power to destroy Guren's crystal and produce immense tsunamis; he wasn't going to face that head-on.
The impact of the technique caused a loud explosion due to the force of the impact, and suddenly, it seemed like a storm was falling thanks to the water that dispersed into the sky and fell as rain.
"That was a heavy greeting," Takara found himself caught in the deluge of water and almost fell into the lake, where Isobu would only need to crush him with one of its three tails to shatter him.
But he could still hold on; Ranni was receiving chakra from multiple resurrected beings, and he needed to buy time until he could unleash his technique.
Fortunately for Takara's plan, Isobu didn't bother paying attention to a puppet, aware that its tough shell made it extremely resistant to physical attacks, and as a chakra mass with consciousness, the poison of Suna ninjas was useless against it.
"Suiton: Autumn Rain Piercer!"
Taking advantage of the aftermath of its first attack, Isobu used the raindrops as high-speed piercing bullets that plummeted towards the ground.
"Secret of the Clockmaker: Unmovable Earth Dome!"
A Toph Beifong puppet appeared next to Takara from a cloud of smoke, and by striking the ground with its feet, several rock rings overlapped on Takara as they formed a layered dome like an onion, resisting or deflecting the water bullets that fell.
Takara felt annoyed when several of the water bullets managed to hit Toph's puppet, incapacitating it for the rest of the confrontation, but at least it managed to hold on for another twenty seconds.
He just needed to hold on for another twenty.
"You asked for it, Isobu!" Takara shouted, knowing that the tailed beast could understand him, and he clapped loudly as he accumulated a massive amount of chakra in plain view. "Wood Style: Birth of a Sea of Trees!"
Isobu widened its eye when it noticed the trees around it shaking, and caught up in the commotion of the memory, it waited anxiously for several seconds before realizing that something was wrong. Turning its eye to the trees still shaking, it noticed that several puppets of a blonde woman were striking the base of the trunks to shake them and give the impression that it was Hashirama's technique.
The tailed beast realized it had been tricked, but it was already too late to retaliate. At some point, the puppet it had ignored was now standing in front of it and was burning chakra at an absurd speed, walking on the water's surface while the moon in the sky seemed to magnify with each step it took.
The puppet raised its head and extended its hands towards it, as if to embrace it.
"Secret of the Clockmaker: Stellar Era."
Isobu only felt cold as its eyes closed against its will and it fell into unconsciousness, its last memory being the hollow smile of the puppet.