Despite its massive size, the puppet monster's movements were incredibly agile and swift. Without Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God Technique, they would have found themselves in a far more precarious situation.
The puppet monster's arms continuously swung down, its fists raining down like a storm, sending debris flying and dust scattering everywhere.
For a moment, Minato and his team were at a disadvantage and had to retreat while evading the puppet's attacks.
"Partial Multi-Size Technique!"
Finally, Choza Akimichi saw an opportunity. He channeled chakra into his arm, which began to glow blue. With a loud shout, his arm expanded tenfold, delivering a powerful punch that struck the monster puppet's chest like a massive hammer.
With a thunderous crash, the puppet monster was hit hard, its body shuddering as it was forced back several steps, crashing into a tall tower behind it, which crumbled under the impact.
"What?"
They had hoped to inflict some damage, but the puppet monster simply shook its head and stood up again, showing no signs of injury. At that moment, Choza suddenly felt his arm being gripped tightly, as if caught in a vice, and no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't break free.
A glint of cold light flashed in the puppet monster's eyes. It swung its arm, a tremendous force lifting Choza off the ground. Just as he was about to be slammed into the ground, a golden light appeared beside him.
"Flying Thunder God!"
In the nick of time, Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique to rescue Choza.
With another thunderous crash, the puppet monster's massive fist pounded the spot where they had just been standing. The impact sent broken rocks flying and a wave of dust rolling towards them.
"Insect Sphere!"
Shibi Aburame's eyes narrowed as he quickly formed hand signs, raising his arms toward the puppet monster. Swarms of black insects poured out, flying toward the monster. These weren't ordinary insects; they had been specially bred by the Aburame clan and had hardened shells that were impervious to ordinary weapons.
But this time, they had no effect. The puppet monster opened its mouth, chakra rapidly gathering within, and then it spat out a torrent of fire toward the black cloud of insects.
"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
A scorching stream of flame erupted from the puppet monster's mouth, rushing toward the insects like a red torrent.
The black cloud was instantly scattered by the fire, the insects burning up like snow under the sun, their charred bodies falling from the sky like black rain, filling the air with the stench of burning.
Shibi Aburame frowned. These insects had been painstakingly bred and were not easy to replace, unlike ordinary insects. Their loss was a significant setback.
"Heh, these tricks are useless against me," the puppet monster's voice was hoarse and grating.
"Is that so?"
A magnetic voice sounded from behind the puppet. The golden-haired, handsome face of Minato Namikaze appeared. He had used the Flying Thunder God Technique to position himself on the monster's broad back.
"Hmm?" The puppet monster was startled, its massive claw reaching behind it while its body shook violently, trying to throw Minato off. But Minato had channeled chakra to his feet, sticking firmly to its back.
"Rasengan!"
A blue orb of spinning chakra formed in Minato's hand. With a swift motion, he slammed the Rasengan into the back of the puppet monster.
"Bang"
Wood chips flew, and dust filled the air. When the smoke and dust cleared, a large spiral hole had appeared on the puppet's back, exposing its internal structure. The puppet collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Minato jumped off the puppet, using the momentum to land gracefully.
"Hu," Minato exhaled a long breath. Dealing with this giant was no easy task.
"Did you think you could defeat me so easily?"
A hoarse voice suddenly rang out. Minato's body tensed as he looked towards the puppet. The puppet extended a giant claw, grabbing hold of a nearby tower to pull itself up. The large hole on its back began to heal at a visible rate. In no time, the hole had vanished as if it had never been there.
Minato frowned deeply. This creature wasn't just big, strong, and agile—its incredible regenerative ability was the real problem. Even the power of the Rasengan couldn't inflict lasting damage.
As the puppet monster charged at them again, Minato threw a kunai, quickly forming hand seals.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
The kunai multiplied in the air, splitting into countless copies that rained down on the puppet monster like a storm.
"Clang, clang, clang!"
The puppet's body was riddled with holes from the shuriken attack, its armor falling off in large chunks to reveal the machinery underneath.
Just as Minato thought they might have defeated it, a lightning bolt infused with immense chakra energy struck down from the sky, hitting the damaged puppet directly. Instead of being destroyed, the puppet began to heal rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it was restored to its original state.
"I told you, it's useless," the puppet monster cackled.
"It's drawing energy from the Dragon Veins. As long as the Dragon Veins isn't cut off, it can't be defeated."
A clear voice called out. Minato turned to see Sara, the young girl who controlled the Dragon Veins, standing on a large rock, shouting anxiously.
"That's right. As long as I'm here, I am invincible," the puppet monster laughed maniacally. It then turned its massive body towards Sara. "I've been looking for you, and now you come to me. Excellent."
"Not good," Minato's face changed as he sensed danger.
"Die!"
The puppet monster roared, raising its giant claw to strike at Sara. The force of the wind alone from the attack blew her clothes and hair wildly.
Sara's eyes widened in fear. She seemed paralyzed, unable to move as the claw descended upon her.
"Damn it!"
Minato gritted his teeth and sprinted towards Sara, but there was no time. He hadn't placed a Flying Thunder God kunai in that location.
Just as the claw was about to crush Sara, a silver-haired, beautiful girl appeared in front of her.
With a focused gaze, she calmly raised her snow-white arm and aimed at the massive puppet monster.
"Boom."