Orochimaru stared at his disciple in confusion. A snap? What was the meaning behind a snap?
That question filled his mind—until the next second, crisp cracking sounds suddenly rang out across every corner of the battlefield.
The allied ninja still locked in combat with puppets were stunned to discover that the puppets fighting them had suddenly stopped moving.
They even began to shatter—completely and cleanly.
"Crack!"
The entire battlefield echoed with the sound of breaking shards. Orochimaru's pupils shrank, and he immediately turned to Kazuyama.
Facing his teacher's gaze, Kazuyama said calmly, "Relax, sensei. It's just an application of Crystal Release."
"They're puppets anyway. Their fate is to be broken. Turning them into crystals and then powder at least leaves less trash behind."
No chakra fluctuations.
No grand displays of power.
Just a snap?
And tens of thousands of puppets were erased?
Even with Crystal Release, achieving something like this should be impossible… shouldn't it?
In that moment, Orochimaru became even more certain Kazuyama had gained some new kind of power or opportunity. His strength had grown to a level even his own teacher could only look up to.
"Hehehe… Kazuyama-kun, your power has become truly terrifying."
"Even when you acted, I didn't detect a single trace of chakra. That's not normal at all."
Orochimaru wasn't a sensor-type ninja, but he was deeply familiar with chakra signatures. No matter what ninjutsu a shinobi performed, chakra had to be gathered. Kazuyama's action had completely shattered that rule.
"Nothing special. Really."
While the two spoke, every puppet on the battlefield finished crystallizing, breaking apart bit by bit until all that remained was dust.
The sight stunned everyone present—including Kabuto.
"Impossible! All my puppets destroyed in an instant?!"
"Damn it! Who did this?!"
How could Kabuto not be shocked?
In the blink of an eye, every puppet thread of his had snapped. All his puppets were gone—tens of thousands of them.
Even the giant puppets in his line of sight were collapsing, their once-imposing bodies crumbling into fine powder.
"An opening!"
"Lightning Cutter—Slash!"
Seeing Kabuto frozen in shock, Kakashi immediately launched an attack. Lightning shifted into a thunder blade in his right hand, and he slashed at Kabuto without hesitation.
Thunder roared—Iron Sand and Earth Grudge Fear's tendrils couldn't stop this blow.
"Mechanical Light Shield Block!"
Boom!
Just as the blade was about to hit, Kabuto's defense activated again. With cracks from both shoulders, two gemstones emerged. As chakra flowed into them, a chakra shield formed before his body, blocking Kakashi's slash entirely.
"Tch. His defense is ridiculous."
Kakashi frowned. No one understood the power of that attack better than he did.
Yet Kabuto's defense far exceeded his expectations.
That chakra shield completely nullified his strike—Kabuto wasn't injured at all.
And Kabuto, despite having a puppet body, was visibly enraged.
"Don't think destroying my puppets means you win."
"Come forth—my final puppet army!"
He pulled out another scroll. Upon opening it, only a few dozen puppets emerged, yet the moment they appeared, countless faces across the battlefield froze.
Because many of those puppet faces were familiar.
"Oh? Where did he gather all of these people?"
"I know several of them—I've even fought some."
Kazuyama himself showed clear surprise. He recognized far too many faces.
For example, on the left—Toroi, the Kumo ninja he'd once sold to a bounty station. How pitiful.
"All of them were strong ninja."
"He must have spent quite some effort collecting them one by one."
Orochimaru also sighed. Nearly all of these individuals were elites, and many even possessed Kekkei Genkai.
Some were even members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
"Don't human puppets require intact corpses?"
"Many of these people died ages ago. How did he get complete bodies? Or does he only need certain tissues?"
Kazuyama realized he still didn't understand enough about puppet masters.
Human puppets were traditionally made by modifying a living person, preserving their chakra and Kekkei Genkai.
"If he used cell cultivation, then it's possible. This brat has real skill."
"A puppeteer stepping into scientific research… Tsk. If I'd found him first back then, taking him as a disciple might've been a good choice."
Orochimaru's eyes were full of appreciation as he looked at Kabuto, causing Kazuyama to purse his lips in amusement.
He thought: No, please don't. Taking this kid in would've been a disaster.
Though it made sense—Sasori of the Red Sand must have seen Kabuto's talent to accept him in the first place.
"Kazuyama, you brat! So you really were in contact with Orochimaru!"
"No wonder I couldn't find him all these years! Tell me—did you help him hide?!"
With all puppets destroyed, the Allied Forces' pressure vanished instantly. Jiraiya rushed toward Orochimaru, only to see Kazuyama standing beside him.
He charged up to confront them, but Tsunade arrived just in time to stop him.
"Oh, honestly. After so many years, let go of that obsession already."
"My teacher left the village to pursue the shinobi path more freely. It's not like he harmed anyone. Why is letting him go so hard for you?"
Facing Jiraiya, Kazuyama let out a helpless sigh. This man's obsession ran too deep.
Orochimaru understood that well, which was why he always tried to avoid Jiraiya whenever possible.
"Hmph! As a ninja of Konoha, he can't just leave whenever he wants!"
"Orochimaru, you're irresponsible! Even if you didn't become Hokage, you could've stayed and served the village!"
"And doing research in the village—how is that not possible?!"
Such naïve words. Such naïve thinking.
Kazuyama nearly laughed out loud. He immediately stepped in to defend his teacher.
"There's a lot you don't know."
"You think Shimura Danzō would've allowed my teacher to stay? Didn't he sabotage him back then until he had no choice but to leave?"
"We're just pretending none of that happened?"
"Hmph. But now that Danzō is dead, talking about it changes nothing."
"But Jiraiya—some things aren't what they look like. Let it go."