Chiyo at the periphery easily noticed the purple mist decreasing. Unwilling to give up, she continued controlling the remaining puppets to self-destruct. Instantly, more mists floated into the sky again—they resembled swarms of frenzied wild beasts, determined to destroy everything before them. In an instant, they surged forward alongside Wind Release techniques unleashed by the Suna ninja, devouring Konoha.
Howling winds roared as dust filled the air. A thick, filthy haze covered the entire sky, its might nearly overwhelming everything. Even the original black mist gradually diminished, falling to the ground and transforming into tiny insects.
"Not good," frowned Hiashi Hyuga as he first sensed something was wrong.
"Anya, can you see what's happening ahead?" Tsunade also felt uneasy and turned to ask her companion.
Anya activated her Sharingan and looked upward. She watched as swarms of black insects fell from the sky. The once-dark clouds had started fading in color—it was obvious their side was losing ground. It seemed even these bugs would die after inhaling the potent poison crafted by Sasori. Once their numbers thinned, the advance of the toxic mist couldn't be stopped. Konoha was heading toward defeat.
"These black insects alone probably aren't enough to clear away all the poison mist," Anya frowned slightly, unable to think of a good solution immediately.
Clenching her fists, Tsunade snapped, "I'm going in—hit the leader directly! That old puppet hag dies today!"
Right after speaking, Tsunade prepared herself to leave.
Anya lunged and grabbed her arm. "You'd be throwing yourself away—it's a death wish."
"Let go!" she snapped. "Don't forget, I'm one of the Sannin—"
"That title wasn't given after you defeated Hanzo, was it?" Anya rolled her eyes. Seeing signs of fury brewing on Tsunade's face, she hurriedly added with a grin, "Relax. If the Hokage still hasn't shown himself, it means these bugs aren't the full potential of the Aburame Clan. They'll hold the line."
At that moment, Tsunade had no idea that Hanzo—the one who gave them the Sannin title—had already been defeated by Anya. And worse, he had since joined the Organization Anya founded. As for the civilians in Konoha, Anya couldn't care less how many bit the dust—so there was no rush. He was just coasting through this battle without real effort. Besides, Konoha definitely had hidden backup plans somewhere.
Tsunade opened her mouth to say more when Anya's eyes sharpened.
"Indeed, things are changing," she murmured.
Ten figures emerged—each clad head-to-toe in dark cloaks and sunglasses. Fully concealed beneath heavy clothing, they boldly moved forward to intercept the massive toxic mist.
From within their bodies poured countless insects. Upon contact with the poison fog, the bugs held the line firmly. Most shockingly, these newly appearing insects were completely unaffected by the mist.
This shouldn't be possible, frowned Anya as she watched the scene unfold. She knew Sasori's expertise in poisons well—one ranked only just below her own. His toxins were deadly enough to even fell Tsunade. How much more terrifying must such a huge cloud of poison be? Yet the Aburame Clan had sent forth merely ten individuals—and neutralized everything effortlessly. How exactly did they do it?
Equally incredulous was Chiyo. As a master of poison, she clearly understood that her grandson's mastery of poison-based puppetry had surpassed her own. Konoha couldn't possibly withstand such toxins this easily. Determined, she glanced with madness in her eyes—she'd come too far to stop now; vengeance was within reach. She decided to keep increasing the poison mist, without hesitation sacrificing more puppets.
"Explosion... explosion."
From that point on, Sasori's three thousand puppets had dwindled to nearly none, transforming the previously vast and dense formation into a barren expanse.
However, no matter how much poison mist was added, those antibody bugs formed an unbreakable wall, creating an impervious defensive line, not allowing even a trace of poison to enter the village.
"These are special antibody bugs cultivated by the Aburame Clan," the Third Hokage, who had somehow appeared atop Katsuyu, explained to the two. "The first wave of bugs analyzed the toxin's composition by absorbing the poison mist, so now these new generations are completely immune to it. I believe the poison mist from Sunagakure has lost its effect."
"Incredible," muttered Anya, his eyes flickering as he gazed at the Aburame Clan members. How mysterious, how powerful! He silently vowed to study them further given any future opportunity...
A similar thought crossed Danzo's mind watching this unfold. Hidden in the shadows, he glared upward toward the Aburame clan representatives above, his eyes burning with ambition. Secretly, he resolved firmly—he must obtain someone from their family to join Root at all costs.
"Old man, you finally showed up. What have you been busy with?" Tsunade sounded slightly displeased. The enemy had attacked right to their doorstep, yet he took a back seat like nothing was happening. Don't you know how stressful things have been for me?
The Third chuckled lightly. Naturally, he knew Tsunade was under immense pressure, and equally, he believed she could handle it well.
"I took a break to set up a barrier. The command within the village is entrusted to you," the Third said before vanishing again.
Anya caught on immediately—the barrier was undeniably meant for Shukaku. It seems the Third Hokage chose not to call in Kushina Uzumaki and decided to face the beast alone instead.
Could it be the Space-Time Barrier? Yes, that must be it. Too bad Minato isn't here. With his Flying Thunder God Technique combined with the Third's skills, sealing a One-Tailed would've been effortless.
Before the gates of Konoha, although the poison mist had been blocked, the battle below raged on without pause. The newly erected earthen wall solidly resisted the deadly storm unleashed by the Suna ninja, but anyone with sharp eyes could tell—the seemingly sturdy wall was already riddled with cracks, teetering on collapse.
Accompanied by one final charge from the remaining puppets, the wall collapsed with a thunderous crash. The Suna ninja behind surged forward, charging triumphantly into Konoha with high spirits.
Anya sighed inwardly upon witnessing the scene. Ultimately, close-quarters combat was unavoidable. Of these two thousand Suna ninja, hardly anyone would return alive to their village.
[Rotation!]
[Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!]
[Earth Release: Earth Spear!]
As hand-to-hand combat erupted, both sides clashed violently across the village, sending smoke billowing into the sky. Several elite ninja from the Yamanaka Clan had already cast secret techniques covering the entire village, transmitting detailed reports of each skirmish rapidly into Tsunade's mind.
Standing atop Katsuyu, she called out, "Katsuyu, use my chakra to heal all the injured ninja in the village."
Anya disagreed, saying, "You're crazy. At least over a thousand Suna ninja have stormed in. The battlefield is in complete chaos. Besides, Rasa and Chiyo haven't even moved yet. If you exhaust all your chakra now, how will you fight later?"
Tsunade stared firmly at Anya and said, "From the Second Battle to the Third Battle, it wasn't just you who made progress."
At that moment, a diamond-shaped mark appeared on Tsunade's forehead. She quickly formed hand seals and announced, [Yin Seal, Release.]
With his Sharingan, Anya saw Tsunade's chakra surge instantly. Through the [Strength of a Hundred Technique] connecting her and Katsuyu, she was capable of healing the entire village—though it would place a tremendous strain on her body.
Anya silently sighed. That was the difference between him and Tsunade—he'd never sacrifice himself for strangers.
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