Chiyo watched helplessly as Shibi's head spun and fell to the ground. His eyes were filled with confusion, as if wondering how he had fallen so quickly.
Seeing a pool of dark red in the distance, Chiyo glared venomously at Sakumo, her anger and hatred almost bursting from her eyes.
At that moment, even though she was an elder known for her calmness and wisdom, she couldn't suppress her emotions.
Her grandson was still waiting for his father to come home!
With a roar, Chiyo moved her fingers, and the full power of the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu was unleashed for all to see.
"Puppet Technique: Assault Blade!"
"Puppet Technique: Sanbō Kyūkai!"
"Puppet Technique: Lion's Roar!"
In that moment, Chiyo went all out, chasing after Sakumo. She had to kill the murderer of her son!
The Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu displayed their full might, showcasing terrifying close combat, powerful ninjutsu, and intricate sealing techniques. Under Chiyo's command, they were like a well-coordinated army of elite ninja.
The Konoha ninja along her path couldn't stop her rage-fueled advance.
Chiyo's fingers danced, and the coordination between her puppets was flawless, demonstrating the top-tier combat prowess of a master puppeteer.
However, this was just futile rage.
Sakumo's speed allowed him to ignore Chiyo's pursuit.
Ninjutsu had many variations, but he only needed one blade to break through.
Sakumo didn't look back at Chiyo even once. The white light of his blade continued to flash across the battlefield, each strike accompanied by the desperate cries of Sand ninja.
He didn't know that the red-haired ninja he had just killed was Chiyo's son; Sakumo was simply there to kill.
This was his plan: to use his personal strength to destroy the root of Sunagakure's puppet techniques.
As long as these puppeteers disappeared, Sunagakure's only advantage over Konoha would be gone, and the balance of the war would naturally tilt back in Konoha's favor.
Sakumo moved like a ghost on the battlefield, with a light slash leaving several Sand ninja clutching their throats.
Or with a burst of blade light, a fierce slash wave shattered everything in its path.
For a moment, Sakumo's assault threw the Sand ninja into disarray, and the puppeteers were terrified.
The lifeblood of puppetry lay in the chakra threads that enabled them to attack.
In Sakumo's hands, the White Fang was the weapon that could sever these threads effortlessly.
With a calm mind and a clear head, Sakumo advanced relentlessly, moving at top speed, slashing again and again.
Ebizō frowned. He hadn't expected the White Fang to be so fierce.
The Sand ninja forces were gradually breaking apart, on the verge of collapse. Looking at the out-of-control Chiyo, Ebizō shouted:
"Don't fight alone! Chiyo, cover our ninjas!!"
Facing Sakumo's frantic charge, lone puppeteers were like sheep waiting to be slaughtered.
And these "sheep" needed to gather together to have any chance of countering this lone wolf.
Ebizō's shout brought Chiyo back to her senses. She stopped, and the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu, controlled remotely, protected one Sand ninja after another.
Under Chiyo's protection, the Sand ninja regrouped, forming an orderly defensive formation.
This was Ebizō's helpless response to Hatake Sakumo's desperate charge.
For puppeteers, a vast terrain and solitary combat space were what they preferred.
Nara Shikayama, observing Ebizō's command from a distance, quickly dispatched his enemy with the Shadow Binding Technique and rushed to Kato Dan's side.
The battle was leaning towards Konoha. As long as they could delay the Sand ninja's reorganization, Hatake Sakumo alone could win this war!
"Dan-kun, can you still use the Spirit Transformation Technique? Control Ebizō!"
The Spirit Transformation Technique, an S-rank forbidden jutsu, allowed the user to project their spirit, invading and controlling others' minds.
Kato Dan nodded heavily. The Spirit Transformation Technique was extremely dangerous for the user, as encountering a strong-willed ninja could result in severe backlash.
But at this moment, he had no choice but to step up.
A flash of white light darted out, and Kato Dan's spirit form entered Ebizō's mind, engaging in a mental battle.
Ebizō's hands unconsciously clutched his throat, his eyes reddening, and his chakra began to destabilize, showing signs of collapse.
The surrounding Sand ninja panicked again. On this battlefield, Ebizō was their anchor.
Chiyo, who had finally calmed down, was enraged again. Her son was dead, and now her brother was on the brink of death.
She would not allow herself to lose a son and a brother in one day!
Chiyo's eyes locked onto Kato Dan, whose unique spiritual form was too conspicuous on this battlefield.
Chiyo drove the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu, brandishing giant puppet blades, and charged towards Kato Dan.
Konoha ninja bravely intercepted her, fighting desperately to stop Chiyo.
Chiyo gritted her teeth and activated the final mechanism of her secret technique. One by one, the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu self-destructed, leaving only six in an instant!
She needed to kill Kato Dan to free her brother from this strange state.
Ebizō's face grew darker, black blood trickling from his ears. Chiyo got closer to Kato Dan, making this a life-and-death struggle.
Kato Dan, fighting in Ebizō's mind, smiled faintly. He knew he couldn't retreat in this situation, especially with his goal of becoming Hokage.
After a year of war, Kato Dan understood that Ebizō was Sunagakure's strategist, a figure akin to Danzō in Konoha.
Allowing such a person to live would be a significant threat to Konoha.
Chiyo, sacrificing her puppets, pushed through Konoha's defense and reached Kato Dan, slashing him with a giant puppet blade.
Kato Dan was bisected, and Chiyo sighed in relief, turning to check on her brother.
Unfortunately, Ebizō was already bleeding from all his orifices, lying helplessly on the ground, on the brink of death.
Against the young and determined Kato Dan, the elderly Ebizō couldn't withstand the fight.
Sakumo stopped, silently watching the scene. The remaining Sand ninja had regrouped, forming a defensive stance.
Ebizō had sacrificed his life to preserve the essence of Sunagakure's puppet techniques.
Chiyo rushed back to Ebizō, urgently treating him with the help of the remaining Sand ninja. She turned, glaring venomously at all the Konoha ninja.
Sakumo slowly walked back to the Konoha side. Now, even without any further action, the Sand ninja would automatically distance themselves from him.
He signaled for a retreat, struggling to maintain his stance after the intense battle.
Coming from the Hatake clan, he naturally didn't have abundant chakra. After a fierce fight, he was already on the verge of collapse.
Nara Shikayama silently collected Kato Dan's body, and the Konoha forces smoothly retreated from the battlefield.
The Sand ninjas also started to withdraw, retreating from the border, heading back to the Land of Wind.
It seemed that the Sand ninjas had been defeated.
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