Rasa, who had been observing the battle from the rear, noticed Chiyo's defeat but could offer no reinforcements — the Third Hokage's faint yet unmistakable killing intent had already locked onto him.
He was certain that any attempt to assist would result in an immediate, fatal strike from the Third Hokage.
At this moment, Rasa had finally snapped out of his delusional dream of destroying Konoha. The deaths of so many puppeteers brought him crashing back to reality. The two commanders of Sunagakure — himself and Chiyo — one overly eager for glory, the other consumed by vengeance, had both deviated from their original strategy, choosing instead to launch an all-out assault on Konoha. The battle had now reached a stalemate where both sides suffered equally, though Sunagakure had clearly lost more.
But there was no turning back now — they had come too far to stop.
With a furious shout, Rasa called out, "Shukaku of the Sand, appear!"
At his command, Shukaku emerged once again. Fully manifesting its colossal form, the beast roared with immense power, sending shockwaves rolling toward Konoha. Trees around the area were blown sideways and toppled over by the force. Its massive frame immediately drew the attention of the Konoha ninja.
"Is that… a Tailed Beast?"
"Damn it! Sunagakure has brought their ultimate weapon of war."
"No matter what, we cannot allow this monster into the village!"
Before the words had even faded, several transparent barriers suddenly rose around Shukaku. After remaining unseen for so long, the Third Hokage finally emerged. As he formed hand seals with both hands, a dazzling light flared within the barriers.
Gradually, the light dimmed. The mighty Shukaku, who had just been roaring fiercely, vanished into thin air — and at the same time, so did the Third Hokage.
Exactly as Anya had predicted, the Third Hokage had secretly prepared multiple space-time barriers at possible locations where Shukaku might appear, all to prevent the beast from devastating the village.
Seeing this, Rasa froze in shock. He finally understood why the Third Hokage had abandoned Mount Hakuto and chosen Konoha as the final battlefield. Despite the risk of total destruction, the old man had planned this ambush all along.
No good — if Shukaku were sealed away, Sunagakure would lose its ultimate weapon!
And judging from the outcome of the previous battle at Mount Hakuto, Shukaku alone stood no chance against the Third Hokage. The realization filled Rasa with panic. He issued his final order to Chiyo: "Retreat — we've already lost. I'll go find Shukaku first; I won't let it be lost here — not on my watch."
Without waiting for Chiyo's response, Rasa activated Magnet Release — Gold Dust beneath his feet and sped off toward the location where the barrier had last fluctuated.
"An opportunity has appeared."
Anya's eyes gleamed sharply. In an instant, his figure vanished.
Frenzied beyond reason, Chiyo ignored Rasa's command entirely. She unleashed her forbidden puppet arts — [Kinjutsu], unleashing devastation across the battlefield. On the field, she became an unstoppable force; Konoha ninjas couldn't even approach without being driven back step by step.
If not for Tsunade's powerful healing techniques, the casualties would have skyrocketed instantly. After all, a Kinjutsu capable of destroying an entire city was no mere boast.
In the end, Anya drew the Blade of Indifference and used the [Dance of the Blade] to halt Chiyo's advance.
As Chiyo's fingers quickened, ten puppets launched fierce attacks on Anya from all directions. The Supreme Blade split into six rotating blades, encircling her and seamlessly enhancing both offense and defense. In an instant, the gap between them closed dramatically.
"I recognize you. You were the Anbu who ambushed us that day," Chiyo spat angrily, feeling the pressure, as she released a wave of poison mist from her mouth.
Anya raised an eyebrow and shot straight into the poison mist without hesitation.
A flicker of delight flashed in Chiyo's eyes, but when she saw Anya retrieve an object under the cover of the mist, her furious expression suddenly shifted to one of shock and confusion, staring intently at him.
Anya immediately cast his Division Technique, entering Chiyo's spiritual space.
"Who are you?" Chiyo asked inside the spiritual space. She vaguely found Anya's soul somewhat familiar but couldn't recall his name. "Why do you possess items belonging to Sasori?"
Indeed, the puppet Anya had just retrieved was one gifted by Sasori himself. There was no way Chiyo wouldn't recognize it.
"Chiyo-sama, I had hoped you would still remember me. My name is Kurotsuchi," Anya smiled slightly, revealing the name he used while in Sunagakure Village.
"It's you? You didn't die after all." Distant memories surged through Chiyo's mind. Back then, she had found Kurotsuchi's sudden death suspicious, but with the tragedy surrounding Sasori's parents, such a minor incident naturally slipped her mind. Now, faced with Kurotsuchi's unexpected reappearance, she was completely baffled.
What exactly was this person's true identity?
Anya quickly offered an explanation: "It was merely faked death. Later, I infiltrated Konoha for many years and successfully joined the Konoha Anbu. Sasori knew everything."
"You think an old woman like me is easy to fool?" Anya muttered under his breath before smiling and saying, "The details—you'll have to ask Sasori yourself. What I showed earlier is a token between us. If you give this to him, he will explain everything to you."
"So you risked exposing your identity just to tell me this—so I'd retreat and abandon destroying Konoha, is that right?" Chiyo questioned sharply.
Anya remained calm. "Retreating is indeed the only option. As for destroying Konoha, respectfully speaking, with just you and Kazekage, it's simply impossible. With defeat already decided, why keep pushing forward? During the Third Battle, our Suna forces had already suffered heavy losses. If all these Sand ninja perish here in Konoha, what did it matter if she herself was punished at her age? She no longer cared about that. Even worse, if the Kazekage held Sasori responsible for this tragedy, it would be disastrous."
Those final words hit Chiyo hard, cutting straight to her heart.
Indeed, their original mission was simply a feint—to conserve their forces. But now, look what had happened. Not only had her beloved grandson's entire Puppet Army been destroyed, but almost all the village's puppet masters had been slaughtered. If these Sand ninja perished in Konoha due to her personal vengeance, what did it matter if she herself was punished at her age? Worse yet, if the Kazekage blamed Sasori for this mess, it would be disastrous.
Chiyo soon pieced everything together. After giving Anya a long, piercing look, she said, "I will order our retreat. As for your identity, I will conduct a thorough investigation. If I ever discover you've deceived Sasori, I will kill you without hesitation."
"Fine," said Anya, her objective met, as she exited Chiyo's mental realm.
Although their conversation seemed to last a long time, in the outside world barely a second had passed.
Then, Anya rushed into the poison mist.
[Single Blade Strike]
Chiyo was sent flying backward before issuing her final command: "All Suna ninja, retreat from Konoha."
With both commanders of Sunagakure giving the same order, the Suna ninja who had been locked in fierce battle no longer hesitated and chose to withdraw.
Suddenly without enemies to fight, the Konoha ninja stood momentarily stunned. After a long pause, one whispered in disbelief, "Did we win?"
Soon more ninja cheered, "The enemy has fled! We've won! Konoha is victorious!"
The hard-fought victory sparked a wave of celebration across Konoha, but after the fleeting joy came the heavy grief for those lost in battle…
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