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Sakumo stood on the ground, gripping his sword as he surveyed the surrounding puppets.
In the next moment, countless projectiles were launched from the puppets.
Sakumo's figure swiftly vanished, leaving the shuriken to scatter across the ground, covering the entire area.
Instead of focusing on the puppets, Sakumo charged directly at the puppet masters.
As he rapidly closed the distance, the puppets moved ahead to block his path, forming a massive wall that stopped his advance.
If he continued to attack, he would be overwhelmed by the sheer number of puppets.
Sakumo halted, but the puppets rushed at him instead.
He quickly retreated.
Even for him, such a large number was overwhelming.
However, as he backed away, more puppets appeared behind him, forcing him to stop.
The puppets surrounded him on all sides, even above, forming a massive black dome that trapped him within, leaving no escape.
With this number of puppets, they possessed the power to destroy an entire nation.
Another wave of projectiles was launched from the puppets, engulfing Sakumo in the onslaught.
The impact kicked up a cloud of dust, obscuring everything from view.
In response, several puppets unleashed powerful gusts of wind, blowing away the dust and revealing Sakumo, who had moved closer to the puppets.
But before he could get any closer, the puppets charged at him.
Yet, as they clashed, the puppets were shattered by his blade.
In an instant, Sakumo cut through the puppets, his white crescent moon slicing the chakra strings connecting the puppets.
The puppets blocking his way were instantly destroyed.
But the shattered puppets quickly reassembled and continued their assault on Sakumo.
As he rampaged through the puppets, several wires entangled his legs.
His pupils contracted as his arms and legs were grabbed by the puppets before he could struggle. In an instant, he was swarmed by the puppets.
The red-haired man's expression changed when he saw this.
He knew that Sakumo wasn't someone who could be defeated so easily.
"Retreat!"
He ordered, and all the puppet masters began pulling their puppets back.
But when the puppets dispersed, Sakumo was nowhere to be seen, leaving only a lingering cloud of smoke.
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu
Meanwhile, Sakumo emerged from the ground, less than a hundred meters away from the puppet masters.
A hundred meters.
For Sakumo, it might as well have been nothing.
In an instant, he moved.
A white crescent moon streaked across the distance, and before the puppets could react, Sakumo was already among the puppet masters.
The white crescent moon swiftly cut through the puppet masters' lives.
"Don't underestimate us!"
The red-haired man roared as several puppet masters quickly launched a jutsu.
"Gōhanka no Jutsu!" (Combined Jutsu: Great Fire Explosion)
A massive fireball appeared in front of Sakumo, exploding in the next moment. The intense heat and wind swept everything in its path, engulfing the surroundings in flames.
Sakumo didn't have time to dodge and was consumed by the fire.
This gave the puppet masters time to distance themselves from Sakumo, and the puppets returned to their side.
But battles are never that simple.
One of the puppet masters suddenly lunged at a nearby comrade, and before the latter could react, their body was split in two.
As smoke rose, the attacking puppet master reverted to Sakumo's form.
No one noticed when Sakumo had transformed and infiltrated their ranks.
Before they could even think, danger was already upon them.
For someone renowned for his speed, these puppet-dependent ninjas were nothing more than targets to Sakumo.
He swiftly reaped the lives of the puppet masters. It was a complete slaughter.
"White Fang!!"
The red-haired man shouted in fury, rapidly forming hand seals.
"Kugutsu no Jutsu: Kyōrō!" (Puppet Technique: Giant Cage!)
Two grotesque, demonic faces emerged from the ground. The massive masks quickly closed in, trapping some of the puppet masters who didn't have time to escape inside the demonic cage.
The two masks merged, forming a giant demon cage on the ground.
The puppet masters were now trapped inside with Sakumo.
Sakumo flicked the blood off his sword.
His figure burst into action, transforming into a white flash as he charged at the puppet masters.
But the Sunagakure puppet masters wouldn't just sit and wait for death.
They all began controlling their puppets to fight back.
Yet under the blade of White Fang, their puppets were easily shattered, falling to pieces on the ground.
The red-haired man stood outside the demon cage, his face filled with hatred.
But this was the only way to kill him.
Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo!
He formed hand seals.
"White Fang! Die!"
"Katon: Jōrō Musha!" (Fire Release: Furnace Burn)
The inside of the demon cage rapidly heated up, the entire cage turning red as flames erupted within, filling it with intense heat.
Screams echoed from inside the cage.
Sakumo's sword sliced through the body of a puppet master in front of him.
His gaze met the red-haired man's through the bars.
The woman beside the red-haired man finished forming her own seals at that moment.
"Katon: Yama Honō!" (Fire Release: Mountain Flame)
A small mountain suddenly rose from the ground, spewing molten lava.
Sakumo's figure was gradually obscured by the intense heat and smoke, as the lava began to engulf everything inside the cage.
The red-haired man spread his arms, chakra threads appearing in his hands.
A demon-faced puppet emerged on the floor of the cage, entering the scorching fog to confirm Sakumo's death.
The red-haired man hadn't expected his opponent to be this difficult.
Puppet masters were supposed to be the perfect counter to ninjutsu and taijutsu users. That's why they had set this trap.
But they were the ones being countered.
Controlling a puppet capable of withstanding high temperatures, he searched for Sakumo within the cage. But after a thorough search, Sakumo was nowhere to be found.
The red-haired man had a bad feeling.
At that moment.
A hand grabbed his ankle.
"Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu!" (Earth Release: Head Hunter Jutsu!)
The red-haired man was swiftly dragged into the ground.
The woman saw this and rushed toward Sakumo, who had somehow escaped.
Sakumo raised his sword, his breathing becoming erratic, and the world seemed to slow down around him.
As the woman charged at him, her movements appeared sluggish, and he could even see the distortion on her face.
"Kaminari no Kokyū." (Thunder Breathing)
Lightning crackled through Sakumo's breaths.
In the next instant.
A white crescent moon streaked with lightning sliced through the red-haired man's neck and passed through the woman's body.
Sakumo's figure slowly reappeared behind the woman.
As he swung his sword, droplets of blood fell to the ground, evaporating in the intense heat.
Behind him, the woman's body collapsed, and the man's head soared into the air.
"White Fang!!"
Ten white figures appeared from the sky, and one figure was rapidly charging toward them.
Upon seeing the woman's fallen body and the man's severed head, their eyes burned with rage.
"I'll kill you!"
(End of Chapter)