The atmosphere on the battlefield grew heavy with tension. Upon seeing the Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse) puppet in Shikasa's hands, Yuri, the elite Jonin of the Hidden Mist, lost all semblance of composure.
She became like a berserk lioness, her bottled-up emotions exploding in a frantic surge of ice and steel.
With a rapid Body Flicker, she unleashed a barrage of senbon. The Shikotsumyaku puppet responded instantly, its hands sprouting specialized bone blades.
With a savage, sweeping motion, it transformed the bones into a whirlwind of sharp, flying shards that deflected the needles.
Yuri flickered again, vanishing from Shikasa's line of sight before reappearing at a different angle.
It had to be said that the sheer destructive power of the puppet in Shikasa's hands was unparalleled in the shinobi world.
Aside from Sasori of the Red Sand, who possessed the Magnet Style Human Puppet of the Third Kazekage, no other puppet could rival the lethality of this bone-woven creation.
"How dare you do this to him!" Yuri screamed, her voice cracking.
Another wave of senbon rained down. With a subtle twitch of Shikasa's fingers, the puppet shifted its stance, using its broad, skeletal wings to shield its master. As they clashed, Yuri's gaze remained fixed on the puppet's face, her sanity fraying at the edges.
The story was a tragic one. Yuri and the Kaguya clansman who had been used to create this puppet were once lovers, a bond that had lasted years.
When the Great War broke out, he fought as a representative of the Kaguya clan and was eventually slain by Shiraishi. His body became Shiraishi's trophy.
Grief-stricken, Yuri had pushed herself to the absolute limit, rising through the ranks to become a powerhouse in the Mist's Assassination Unit.
She had thought she could maintain her professional coldness as the Mizukage's bodyguard. But seeing her former lover's corpse hollowed out and strung up as a mechanical tool was a provocation she could not withstand.
The air temperature plummeted as her Ice Style chakra began to leak out in violent, jagged bursts.
"Ice Style Bloodline Limit?"
Shikasa realized the situation was spiraling. Thousands of ice needles surged forward at extreme velocity.
The puppet crossed its arms, its massive scapular wings fanning out like a grim reaper to soak up the impact.
With a sudden burst of power, the puppet condensed a massive, jagged bone-axe and swung, shattering the oncoming ice shards into crystalline dust.
"A Shikotsumyaku Human Puppet... I didn't realize the Kazekage was so proficient in puppet construction as well," the Raikage remarked.
On a battlefield, a Bloodline Limit body was simply a spoil of war. The Mist itself had recently acquired a Byakugan from the Leaf, so most Kage remained stoic.
Only Yuri was losing her mind. Unable to endure the sight, she unleashed her secret technique: Ice Style: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals.
An Ice-style Body Flicker?
Surrounded by a dome of crystalline mirrors, Shikasa's expression darkened. As a puppet master, he was naturally disadvantaged against high-speed teleporters.
While the puppet's defense was absolute, Yuri knew every habit and movement of the man the puppet used to be.
Suddenly, Yuri lunged from a mirror, her ice blade clashing with the puppet's bone-sword. Sparks flew as the two fought in a blur of motion.
Yuri's breath hitched; she spun her blade, releasing a pressurized blast of frigid air. The Human Puppet was momentarily encased in rime, but even the frost could not crack the density of its bones.
Then, unexpectedly, Shikasa retracted the puppet into its scroll.
What is that brat doing?
Watching from the sidelines, Arashi was nearly ready to pull his hair out. The puppet clearly had a psychological hold on Yuri; by using it, Shikasa could easily manipulate her emotions and claim an easy victory. Why give up his greatest advantage?
Shiraishi saw through it, too, but he merely sighed. "That's just Shikasa's style. Arashi, calm down."
While Arashi fumed at what he considered "womanly compassion," Shiraishi understood. Sometimes, being earnest wasn't a flaw.
Looking at the "foolish" Shikasa, Shiraishi felt a rare, refreshing spark of sincerity in the otherwise dark world of politics.
Though the puppet was gone, the tide had already turned. Yuri had exhausted too much chakra and emotional energy in her rage. Shikasa flicked his fingers, sending out six Scarlet Control Mirrors that circled him like a defensive satellite array.
With a puff of smoke, Shikasa split into six identical entities, each followed by a mirror.
"Clones?" Uchiha Shisui, standing as the Hokage's guard, had already activated his Sharingan. "No, those are puppets! But... their chakra connection to the original is incredibly subtle."
Five puppets and one master, yet their chakra signatures were perfectly synchronized. Shiraishi noted Minato's quick realization that the Scarlet Mirrors were the anchors.
By using the Regeneration Cores Shiraishi had gifted him, Shikasa had achieved visual synchronization with all his puppets, creating an unbreakable six-point defense.
Yuri tried to break through with her ice mirrors, but the six "Shikasas" moved as a single organism. Any gap she tried to exploit was instantly closed. Gradually, her range of movement was compressed.
In a final, overlapping blur, Shikasa's chakra threads lashed out, ensnaring Yuri amidst the shards of her own broken ice.
"You've lost," Shikasa said quietly, looking at the heavily wounded Yuri.
The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, snorted. A massive chakra arm manifested from his back, reaching onto the stage to grab Yuri and toss her back toward the Mist delegation.
"Useless trash..."
Several rounds of the King of the Hill challenge had passed, and Shikasa was the first to successfully defend his position. His victory marked a formal lead for the Hidden Sand.
Facing the pale but resolute Shikasa, Onoki coughed. "Kitsuchi, go!"
"Yes, Father!"
Kitsuchi, the son of the Tsuchikage, was a mountain of a man. His Earth Style was legendary for its power, and his close-combat skills were the best in the Hidden Stone. He stepped onto the stage and looked at the exhausted Shikasa.
"In your current state, you are no match for me. Surrender."
Shikasa maneuvered his six puppets into a circular defensive formation. "I'm sorry, but I won't back down."
He wouldn't yield. He wanted to secure as many victories as possible for the Sand—and for Shiraishi.
"Is this kid a complete moron...?" Arashi muttered, his fists clenched. Shikasa had already exceeded his mission. Why persist?
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