Seeing Hui evade his puppets so effortlessly, Shamon's pupils contracted as he tried to maneuver his puppets to block Hui's path.
But the puppets were far too slow to keep up with him.
Fortunately, this wasn't a battle Shamon had to fight alone.
From above, Mu struck at Hui's intended trajectory with a beam of Dust Release, creating a towering pillar of energy that descended from the sky to block his path.
If Hui wanted to move forward, he would have to take a detour, which would inevitably slow him down.
By then, the sound of whistling projectiles filled the air. It was the puppets launching their attacks from behind.
Hearing the approaching assault, Hui made a decision in an instant. He stopped in his tracks and turned to face the oncoming threat. His fist lashed out.
Boom!
One punch after another, the puppets exploded into fragments under Hui's devastating blows, their pieces scattering like broken scrap metal.
Rather than let them continue to trouble him, he resolved to deal with them all at once.
For ordinary ninjas, combating these puppets would be a formidable challenge.
Puppets had no vital points, felt no pain, and were impervious to conventional strikes. Hitting them accomplished little, but being hit by them could prove fatal.
That was the dilemma most ninjas faced against puppeteers.
Hui, however, was different. With extraordinary dynamic vision, he could easily predict the movements of these mechanical constructs, reading their attack trajectories with precision.
Coupled with his monstrous strength, a single punch was enough to reduce any puppet to rubble.
In many ways, Hui was a puppeteer's worst nightmare.
Boom!
As he sidestepped Mu's Dust Release, he shattered the last puppet with a punch. Turning his attention to Shamon, he asked:
"Out of puppets, are we?"
Shamon's lips twitched involuntarily. The words were all too familiar.
Before he could respond, the ground beneath Hui's feet suddenly turned into quicksand, and streams of sand shot up to grab his legs, a trap Shamon had prepared in advance.
But such tactics were meaningless against someone as fast as Hui.
In the instant the trap activated, Hui launched himself toward Shamon with explosive speed. The force of his acceleration shattered the ground beneath his feet, sending dirt and debris flying.
Startled, Shamon abandoned his technique, firing a barrage of shuriken while retreating swiftly.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The shuriken predictably failed to slow Hui, who deflected them effortlessly while closing the gap. His speed was so overwhelming that even Mu, watching from above, struggled to predict his movements with enough precision to intervene effectively.
Realizing his own movement speed was no match, Shamon skidded to a stop at a certain point.
He quickly pressed his hands to the ground, summoning a wave of sand that rose like a tsunami to crash down on Hui.
Fortunately for Shamon, he had started far enough away to complete the hand seals for his jutsu. Otherwise, Hui would have reached him before he could finish.
Facing the massive sand wave, Hui calmly raised his arm, gathering a tremendous amount of chakra into his fist.
Senjutsu: Super Strength—Star Shatter!
With a single punch, a terrifying shockwave erupted from Hui's fist, blasting a massive hole through the sand wave.
His body surged through the opening, bringing him even closer to Shamon.
Seeing this, Shamon gasped.
Realizing close combat was now unavoidable, he hastily encased his arms in a layer of protective sand, raising them to block Hui's next attack.
Boom!
But the sand armor was no match for the immense force of Hui's strike.
Shamon was sent flying, his feet carving deep grooves into the ground as he skidded backward.
His arm throbbed with pain, and he realized it was likely swollen from absorbing the blow.
Such speed… such power!
Shamon's heart pounded with terror.
At last, he understood why even the Second Raikage, known for his taijutsu prowess, had been overwhelmed by Hui's strength in a six-on-one battle.
Hui's taijutsu was simply in a league of its own.
But Hui didn't waste time marveling at Shamon's fear.
As soon as he landed his punch, he seized the opportunity to close in again. With a powerful uppercut, he sent Shamon hurtling into the sky.
The spectators—over 15,000 ninjas—were left dumbfounded.
Everyone knew Hui was strong, but seeing him treat the Kazekage like a rag doll left them utterly shocked.
"Too… too strong!"
Someone stammered, staring at Hui mercilessly pummeling Shamon. Their heart pounded wildly, their breath quickening.
"This… this is Hui-sama's strength? It's like watching Lord Hashirama!"
A veteran Konoha ninja, who had once fought alongside Senju Hashirama, muttered in awe.
The scene before him brought back vivid memories of Hashirama dominating the battlefield.
Thud!
With a spray of blood, Shamon's battered body crashed to the ground, creating a spiderweb of cracks in the earth.
Above, Mu shuddered. He had been waiting for an opening to assist Shamon, but Hui's speed made it impossible to act. Now, seeing Shamon's pitiful state, Mu felt a chill run down his spine.
Thank goodness I can fly, he thought. If I couldn't, the one coughing up blood would be me right now.
Zzzzz!
Another Dust Release beam shot from Mu's hands, aiming to stop Hui from finishing Shamon off. But Hui easily dodged, his movements fluid and effortless.
Hui was not one to show mercy to his enemies. He wasn't about to let Shamon slowly get back on his feet, recover, or pull off some desperate counterattack.
Dodging Mu's attack, Hui once again charged at Shamon, his chakra-laden fist raised high.
Boom!
The earth erupted as his strike hit home, creating fissures that spread across the battlefield.
The sheer force of the impact made it seem as though Shamon had been obliterated, his body nowhere to be seen.
The spectators held their breath, eyes wide with horror. Was Shamon truly dead, crushed beneath Hui's devastating blow?
But Hui merely tilted his head slightly and then turned toward a specific spot.
"That technique… it's interesting. But it looks like it takes a lot out of you," he said calmly.
The crowd froze, following his gaze in confusion.
At first, it seemed like there was nothing there. But then the ground shifted, transforming into a patch of quicksand. From it emerged Shamon, looking pale and visibly weakened.
It was a last-ditch survival technique, his trump card.
Shamon had used the Puppet Substitution Technique, which swapped his position with a puppet buried underground, allowing the puppet to take the fatal blow in his stead.
The principle behind it appeared to involve space-time ninjutsu.
However, unlike Flying Thunder God, it was not a technique that could be used freely.
The effort had clearly taken a heavy toll on Shamon.
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