Anya quickly dispelled one of her clones and learned the situation at the Ninja Academy. One hundred Suna ninja—swift action was needed, and the only viable option seemed to be the Spirit Transformation Technique. The separated soul had to be strong enough, but it should hold for a short time.
The consecutive dangers faced by Mikoto, Kurenai Yuhi, and Red made Anya decide she couldn't hold back any longer.
After fighting this long, Konoha must now begin its counterattack—and I will lead the way.
Standing atop Katsuyu, Anya formed hand seals. A pitch-black soul surged from her body and flew toward the Ninja Academy.
Meanwhile, the Lightning Release: Shadow Clone was locked in fierce combat, wielding two weapons. After slaying several Sand nin who had closed in, the enemy grew wiser and switched to ranged jutsu attacks, launching wave after wave of bombardments.
The clone, performing the Dance of the Blade, blocked all incoming attacks without haste. It chose not to press the attack, holding the line in a stalemate.
With the arrival of the dark soul, one Sand ninja fell silently without a sound. Before the others could understand what had happened, more of them were dying uncomprehending deaths. Panic gripped their ranks—some tried to flee while others screamed in terror. Yet…
Anya showed no mercy. Together with her shadow clone, she wiped out every last Sand ninja. The power of the Spirit Transformation Technique was truly terrifying.
[Boom…]
With a thunderous explosion, a glowing Eight Trigrams (Bagua)-shaped symbol lit up the sky, lingering like a mark of destiny.
"The Hyuga Clan's insignia," some ninja immediately recognized.
"Hmph, it seems everything is ready," Hiashi Hyuga said with a smile, his monstrous Byakugan fixed on the advancing puppeteers.
"Could it be… an ambush?" Watching the puppets steadily advance, Chiyo frowned slightly, unease stirring in her heart.
"The time has come. Begin."
At Hiashi's furious shout, chaos erupted among the puppeteers. Some ninja wearing Suna uniforms—who had originally been guarding the puppets—suddenly turned traitor, mercilessly attacking those controlling the war carts and puppets. Under successive waves of Eight Trigrams Palm Strikes and the rotational force of Rotation, within just a short moment, at least one-fifth of Chiyo's puppeteers had already fallen.
"How could this happen? When did they sneak in? Hurry, kill them!" Chiyo screamed loudly.
"Haha! Defeat was inevitable. Choosing to face us head-on in Konoha meant signing your death warrant. Not one of these puppeteers will leave here alive," Hiashi declared coldly, yet visibly thrilled.
Anya was slightly taken aback by the scene before finally realizing: Of course—with Byakugan users among them, their clansmen could easily spot weaknesses in Suna's defenses. All they needed to do was eliminate the guards on watch duty, dress in clothes that smelled of sand, and infiltrate the ranks. When the main force of Suna ninja launched their assault on Konoha would be the moment when the puppeteers were least protected—turning against them at that crucial moment. Thinking this way, those Hyuga who had seemingly died in the puppet explosion hadn't been as numerous as it seemed; many had instead used the smoke as cover, hiding behind Sunagakure's lines. With only the troublesome puppeteers left to deal with, half the strength of the Suna forces would vanish. A truly brilliant plan—but Anya wondered who had come up with it.
"Help... ah... ah..."
The screams of the puppeteers rose continuously, echoing one after another. The Hyuga moved like tigers among sheep, their Eight Trigrams Palm striking out in phantom-like succession, reaping lives without pause.
Puppeteers were naturally mid-range fighters—they had to keep distance from enemy ninja before deploying their puppets into battle. The Hyuga, however, were classic close-range specialists. Their Eight Trigrams Palm, combined with the all-seeing Byakugan, proved devastatingly sharp. Each strike was perfectly executed, ending lives in an instant.
"Quickly, order personnel to retreat back for defense!" Chiyo commanded her side's sensing-type ninja.
Seeing the situation unfold firsthand, the front-line Suna ninja didn't have time to wonder how there were already Konoha ninja behind their lines—they immediately turned back to reinforce.
Unfortunately, the major Konoha clans who had been lying in wait all sprang into action at once, unleashing their full power. The Ino–Shika–Cho trio, alongside the recently dazzling Aburame Clan, and the famed Inuzuka ninjas held critical positions along the retreat path—unleashing relentless attacks.
Realizing she had been deceived, Chiyo found herself momentarily at a loss for an effective countermeasure. Without hesitation, she gave the order: "All puppeteers, fall back immediately!"
The pursuing Hyuga, finally seizing their chance, pushed themselves to the limit. Using their Byakugan's 360-degree vision, they dodged wave after wave of attacks while ruthlessly hunting down the puppeteers—striking without mercy, killing them off in droves who now showed no will to fight.
"Tch! So you'd dare pull this trick—you must be asking for death!"
Chiyo glared murderously at the Hyuga members. After a brief hesitation, she decided it was time to reveal her trump card. Slowly pulling out a scroll from within her robes, she silently thought, Looks like I'll have to use this forbidden technique after all.
Unfurling the scroll, Chiyo spread it open and performed hand seals: [Secret Technique: Chikamatsu Collection].
Each strange mark on the scroll transformed into shadowy figures. Gradually, these shadows solidified—ten white-clad puppets surrounded Chiyo completely, encircling her protectively.
This Kinjutsu was a masterpiece created by the First Puppet Master, Monzaemon—an unparalleled formation of puppets. Each possessed unique abilities capable of launching long-range, close-combat, area-effect, single-target, physical or elemental attacks. Offensively powerful yet defensively sound, working together in perfect coordination, its might could destroy entire cities.
Chiyo's ten fingers swiftly maneuvered the puppets toward the puppeteers, sending the Chikamatsu Collection charging into battle.
"So fast," a Hyuga clansman who was chasing a puppeteer barely had time to register the puppet attack before losing consciousness, silently collapsing to the ground. The ten puppets surged downward like autumn wind scattering leaves, blades flying in a frenzy, quickly killing several members of the Hyuga Clan.
"Rotation."
The remaining Hyuga quickly recognized the unusual nature of these ten puppets and immediately activated the Rotation. It not only killed several puppeteers nearby, but also deflected Chiyo's puppet assault.
"Don't think this Ninjutsu alone can stop my puppets."
Chiyo bellowed angrily. Her fingers danced wildly as the puppets under her control unleashed astonishing power. Each puppet fully demonstrated its unique abilities, shattering the Hyuga Clan's vaunted ultimate defense—the Rotation.
"The situation's not right. The clan leader gave clear orders—not to linger in battle. We retreat immediately."
A composed Hyuga quickly issued the order.
"Yes."
The Hyuga Clan members collectively unleashed [Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm], firing a series of air blasts that sent all ten puppets flying aside. Then, while striking the ground and tossing smoke bombs, they created thick layers of dust. Using this cover, they began a frantic retreat.
"Tch, damn it," Chiyo hesitated, fearing she might hit Suna ninja by mistake and dared not continue her attack.
Once the dust settled, all that remained on the ground were dozens of Suna ninja uniforms and numerous corpses.
After this battle, Suna's puppeteers were nearly wiped out entirely.
"Ahh, I'll kill you all! I'll definitely destroy Konoha!" Chiyo shrieked violently, her lingering scream echoing around, adding an even greater sense of horror.
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