Dark clouds covered the moon. Sunagakure ninja moved silently through the night.
"Wind Style, Great Breakthrough!"
"Fire Style, Flame Bullet!"
"..."
Wild wind wrapped in flames swept across the Konoha front line watchtowers in an instant.
"Enemy attack!"
The Konoha lookout ninja had barely sent out the alarm before several poison-laced senbon pierced through their throats.
The Sunagakure puppet corps surged forward like a tide. Wooden joints clicked and rattled. Poison-coated blades gave off a faint blue cold gleam in the firelight.
At the center of the battlefield.
Chiyo charged at the front, her gaze locked onto the Konoha commander Hatake Sakumo. She controlled three puppets and drove them toward him like a gale.
"White Fang, today is the day you die!"
Sakumo's gaze was cold and sharp. His short blade, "White Fang," was instantly wrapped in blinding Lightning Style chakra.
The blade edge cut through the air and let out a sharp screech.
"Lightning Style, Flash!"
"Crack!"
One puppet was severed in an instant.
But Chiyo gave a cold laugh and crooked her fingers.
The broken puppet reassembled on its own and lunged forward again.
"Useless. My puppets are not so easily destroyed!"
Sakumo did not answer. His body moved like lightning, weaving through the puppet siege. Every slash landed precisely on the joint connection points of the mechanisms.
Seeing this, a trace of gravity flashed through Chiyo's eyes.
She immediately began forming hand seals.
But Sakumo's movements were faster than hers.
With a loud clatter, the three puppets collapsed into scattered parts on the ground.
Sakumo raised his head and looked at Chiyo with eyes full of killing intent.
In just an instant.
Sakumo raised his short blade and came at her like a bolt of lightning.
Chiyo's expression changed in shock.
By instinct she twisted her body to the side.
But it was still one step too late.
One of her arms flew into the air. Blood poured without stop from her shoulder.
Chiyo bit down hard and retreated rapidly.
At the same time her other hand pressed against the wounded shoulder.
Pale green chakra flickered as she performed a medical ninjutsu.
Her eyes stayed locked hard on Sakumo. She stopped the bleeding quickly and simply.
Then she pulled out a scroll and summoned an extremely intricate puppet.
The puppet's build was much like Chiyo herself.
Chiyo quickly snapped one of the puppet's arms off. She attached it simply to her own body and then used chakra to connect it.
Sakumo watched Chiyo's movements with some surprise. He had seen many puppet users before.
But not one of them had ever done something like this, directly replacing their own arm with a puppet arm.
Looking at that finely made puppet, Sakumo did not dare to be careless.
He tightened his grip on the short blade again. The Lightning Style chakra on it surged even more wildly.
His figure vanished from the spot in an instant and cut toward Chiyo.
Chiyo met Sakumo's gaze with cold eyes. A look that was almost savage had appeared on her face.
She pulled out the few most important scrolls she kept close to her.
"Puppet Technique, Chiyo's Ten Puppets!"
"Boom!"
Ten puppets of varying shapes appeared. Each one radiated a terrifying chakra pulse.
Her fingers curled. The puppets immediately moved to meet the charging Sakumo.
Weapons clashed. Dull heavy impacts rang out.
Sakumo felt the enormous force transmitted back through his short blade.
His pupils contracted slightly, but quickly his eyes returned to calm.
"Truly not simple. In that case..."
He drew a deep breath. Lightning Style chakra exploded across his entire body. The short blade "White Fang" blazed with blinding lightning!
"Lightning Style, White Fang Slash!"
The blade light carried thunder and pierced straight through the three nearest puppets in an instant.
Chiyo's expression shifted. Her fingers moved at furious speed. The remaining puppets closed in from unnatural angles.
These puppets, beyond their own great physical strength, also carried seals, Wind Style mechanisms, and explosive traps that came one after another without end.
Sakumo had never fought against puppets of this level before. For a moment he was forced to retreat again and again.
Even so, he was a battle-hardened veteran after all.
Once he worked out the combat patterns of the puppets, he adapted to the rhythm of the fight in no time.
The two of them clashed for dozens of rounds. Puppet fragments scattered across the ground, yet the edge of Sakumo's blade never stopped.
Chiyo had lost one arm. She could not yet fully adjust to the mechanical puppet arm.
On top of that, she had not yet fully mastered Chiyo's Ten Puppets.
Sakumo's own strength was considerable. Before long, Chiyo fell to the disadvantage.
In the end.
"Bang!"
The last puppet was cut in two at the waist. Chiyo stumbled backward.
"Retreat!"
She stared at Sakumo with eyes that seemed to burn.
But looking at the Suna-nin falling back again and again across the battlefield, she knew the situation was beyond saving.
She gave the order through gritted teeth. The remaining Sunagakure puppet users immediately covered her withdrawal from the battlefield.
Sakumo did not give chase. He only watched in cold silence the direction of the Sunagakure retreat. The lightning on his blade faded slowly.
At the same time, outside the Konoha medical camp.
The Sunagakure assault unit had barely broken through the first line of defense before being stopped by Konoha ninja who were already ready and waiting.
"Wind Style, Vacuum Wave!"
"Earth Style, Earth Flow Wall!"
"..."
Jutsu clashed. The battlefield fell into chaos.
"The Medical Corps must not fall!"
Tsunade stood at the center of the camp. Her bright brown eyes swept across the battlefield. She was ready to act at any moment.
Suddenly, several Suna-nin broke through the defensive line and charged toward the medical tents!
"Looking to die!"
Chiya's figure flashed into view.
"Fire Style, Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive, scorching fireball erupted from Chiya's mouth.
The Suna-nin who had just broken through the line were incinerated on the spot.
"That area is the medical ninja camp, attack!!"
A Sunagakure ninja in the distance spotted the medical ninja moving in and out of the camp and shouted at once.
The words had barely left his mouth before Chiya was already standing in front of him.
Before he could react, he met a pair of crimson eyes directly.
Three tomoe turned slowly within them. His expression went blank at once.
He dropped the kunai in his hand.
Chiya had already advanced to the Mangekyo. Even a basic Sharingan genjutsu carried far more power in his hands than it would normally.
Looking at the ninja now under his genjutsu, Chiya raised his blade and brought it down.
He finished him off cleanly.
A sound of rushing footsteps came.
Drawn by the shout from just now, dozens of Suna-nin were now converging on this position.
The remaining Sunagakure ninja had not yet reacted when Tsunade already drove her fist forward.
With a tremendous crash, the ground split apart. The shockwave sent every enemy flying!
"Medical Corps, continue treating the wounded! Combat units, hold the perimeter!"
Tsunade's voice was steady and powerful. The Konoha ninja felt their fighting spirit surge. The Sunagakure assault was completely broken apart.
It continued until dawn. Sunagakure's last gamble was declared a failure.
"Retreat! Full retreat!"
The Sunagakure commander gave the order, unable to hide his bitterness. The surviving forces retreated from the battlefield in disarray.
The Konoha ninja did not pursue. They moved quickly to treat the wounded and reinforce the defensive line.
Sakumo stood at a high point and watched the distant figures of the Sunagakure forces fleeing in rout. He murmured quietly.
"It looks like the Sunagakure front is almost over."
Sakumo shifted his gaze to the bodies that covered the battlefield. Without thinking, he let out a sigh.
"War is truly too cruel."