"Sizzle!" A loud, thunderous sound burst from Sakumo and Chiyo as lightning violently flashed. The four puppets shattered in the lightning, scattering their parts and mechanisms on the ground. Rustle! A short figure retreated from the lightning—it was Chiyo.
"As expected of Hatake Sakumo, you've actually destroyed all my puppets." Despite this, she remained unscathed. "But it wasn't entirely my doing," Sakumo said calmly as the lightning receded, revealing his presence.
"I underestimated that child." Chiyo's eyes narrowed slightly as she glanced aside, her pupils shrinking at what she saw. Minato had split another Sand Ninja opponent from head to neck, red liquid flowing down the wound until the ninja fell.
While Chiyo wasn't frightened by the sight due to her experience, she didn't expect such cruelty from the Konoha boy. She was unaware that Minato, known as the Yellow Flash, had a reputation for inducing fear with his unimaginable killings, prompting ninja leaders to order retreats upon sighting him.
"Damn it!" Chiyo cursed angrily. Today's developments made her unhappy, and now all her ten puppets were destroyed by Hatake Sakumo and Minato, causing substantial loss despite not being her most valuable puppets. Feeling Chiyo's rage, Sakumo's body tensed completely, knowing the real battle was about to start.
Chiyo shifted her attention back from Minato and pulled out a scroll labeled "Seal" from her sleeves. As she touched it, smoke filled the air, obscuring her figure. Sakumo's eyes turned solemn; within the smoke, he saw ten shadows and sensed a chakra wave from Chiyo's fingers connecting to them.
When the smoke cleared, ten white-clothed puppets appeared around Chiyo. Sakumo, in a serious tone, muttered, "Chikamatsu. Ten Puppets."
"You are quite knowledgeable," Chiyo chuckled. Sakumo remained silent, aware of the legendary Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu—Monzaemon's strongest puppets, made even more formidable by Chiyo's top-level manipulation skills. These puppets could compete directly with a kage, which put Sakumo at a disadvantage.
"White Secret Technique, the Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets!" Chiyo's fingers twitched, sending the puppets into the air. Several swiftly rushed at Sakumo, encircling him before one aimed a chakra blade from behind.
Dodging mid-air, Sakumo barely avoided steel cables extended by another puppet, but quickly severed them with his chakra blade.
As he landed, the previous combination launched a bladed attack, pushing him back several meters and causing mild pain at his thumb base. Another puppet appeared, battling with two broad swords.
Lightning chakra condensed again on Sakumo's blade, allowing him to counterattack.
Despite managing the strikes through Body Flicker Jutsu, another puppet arm, with spikes growing wildly, tried to entrap him. He cut through the spikes and retreated several meters, breathing heavily.
"These puppets are terrifying!" he muttered. Their interconnected combat strategies left him barely able to keep up, making any cracks in defenses potentially fatal.
Chiyo praised Sakumo resilience but initiated another round, triggering a strong sense of crisis in Sakumo as three puppets' mouths revealed the words "Buddha," "Dharma," and "Monk."
"Three Jewels Suction Crush!"
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