Chiyo, standing amidst the crowd, was frantically repairing her severed right arm while keeping a close eye on the battlefield.
When she saw Hoshiyomi shatter a barrage of ninjutsu with a single swing of his sword, even she—a shinobi of Kage-level strength—couldn't help but shudder in fear.
The power of that strike had already surpassed the vast majority of A-rank ninjutsu. What was even more terrifying was that this sword energy required no hand seals at all.
Judging by Hoshiyomi's composure, he could unleash such sword strikes with ease, showing no concern for chakra depletion or physical exhaustion.
What kind of monster is this…? Why does Konoha always give birth to such monsters? From the First Hokage, to the Second, to Sakumo—and now this Gekko Hoshiyomi.
When she thought of the Second Hokage, Chiyo narrowed her eyes slightly. She recalled that Tobirama Senju had a space-time ninjutsu that looked strikingly similar to the technique Hoshiyomi had just used.
Could it be… that Gekko Hoshiyomi has mastered that mysterious space-time ninjutsu?
If that were true, then even if she unleashed the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets, it would be nearly impossible to bring this boy down.
Her movements stalled for a brief moment as this thought crossed her mind.She looked up again, carefully observing Hoshiyomi's battle.
After watching for a while, Chiyo let out a long sigh of relief.
Hoshiyomi was indeed strong—like a tiger slaughtering sheep as he carved through the Suna shinobi—but throughout the entire fight, he hadn't used that technique again.
So he hasn't fully mastered it… or perhaps what he knows isn't the same as the Second Hokage's jutsu.
With this conclusion, Chiyo's heart eased a little, and her hands worked even faster to repair her arm.
———
Meanwhile, Hoshiyomi's massacre continued.
After stepping into Kage-level strength, his physical abilities had improved drastically—but most importantly, his neural reflexes had reached terrifying new heights.
With his heightened reaction speed, attacks from anyone below Jōnin-level were essentially meaningless.
The flood of enemies rushing from all sides looked intimidating, but in truth, there was nothing to fear.
Because they had never managed to form a true encirclement around him.
Hoshiyomi's sword energy was no joke—every swing cut down several shinobi. Under its constant threat, the enemy's formation had been broken again and again, never able to trap him fully.
Though surrounded by enemies, the space around him was never completely sealed. By the time their attacks reached him, their numbers were far less than one might imagine.
With his monstrous physical strength and devastating sword energy, Hoshiyomi quickly eliminated a few of the most threatening Jōnin, which eased the pressure on him considerably.
With the true threats gone, the battle became no different from chopping vegetables.
In the blink of an eye, more than thirty shinobi had fallen. The Suna's encirclement had visibly thinned.
As fear crept into the hearts of the Suna shinobi, Chiyo finally finished repairing her right arm.
She hurled the scroll tied to her waist and shouted urgently:
"Everyone, fall back!"
She had no choice—out of the hundred-strong force, nearly a third had already been slaughtered by Hoshiyomi. If she didn't intervene now, her entire unit would be annihilated.
Her order was like a blessing to the Suna shinobi.
The moment they heard her command, they fled without hesitation, scrambling to escape Hoshiyomi's reach—none dared remain within his deadly range a second longer.
As the Suna shinobi scattered, a loud puff of smoke burst in front of Chiyo.
When the smoke cleared, ten puppets—each with distinct appearances and unique features—stood in formation, encircling her protectively.
The moment the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets were released, ten chakra threads shot out from Chiyo's fingers. Each thread split into several strands in midair, attaching themselves to the joints of the ten puppets.
And then, as if they had been brought to life, the puppets began to creak and clatter, their wooden bodies stirring with eerie motion.
Hearing that familiar sound, the Suna shinobi's faces lit up with joy.
An elderly Suna shinobi gazed at the puppets with a nostalgic expression and muttered:
"This is the supreme secret art of puppetry passed down by Monzaemon-sama himself—White Secret Technique: The Chikamatsu Ten Puppets. Back then, Monzaemon-sama used these very puppets to utterly annihilate an entire kekkei genkai clan. Now that Lady Chiyo has unleashed them, Gekko Hoshiyomi is as good as dead."
With the ten puppets summoned, Chiyo's confidence returned. She stared coldly at Hoshiyomi and declared:
"Boy, today I'll show you the might of Sunagakure's ultimate puppet technique."
But Hoshiyomi only looked at the ten eerie puppets with a strange smile and spoke:
"The Chikamatsu Ten Puppets, huh? The life's work of Monzaemon, the forefather of Suna's puppet masters. It's been a while since I've seen these puppets."
Chiyo's expression shifted sharply at his words. She looked at Hoshiyomi in shock and demanded:
"What do you mean by that?"
Hoshiyomi shrugged with an innocent look.
"Don't you know how the title Konoha's Silver Moon first spread?"
Chiyo felt as if thunder exploded in her mind. The title "Konoha's Silver Moon" became widely known because of the events in the Land of Whirlpools years ago. And Monzaemon had died during that very incident!
Could it have been this guy before me who killed Monzaemon-sama? How is that possible? How old could he have been when Monzaemon-sama died?
Chiyo dared not think further. She stopped questioning whether Hoshiyomi's words were true or false, and instead launched her attack immediately.
Her fingers moved in unison, and in the blink of an eye, three puppets shot forward.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
The puppets moved with extreme speed. The two fastest ones—a Blue-Faced Puppet and a White-Haired Puppet—reached Hoshiyomi almost instantly.
With a bizarre twist of its body, the Blue-Faced Puppet's head unleashed five bladed chains, while from the chest of the White-Haired Puppet, countless jade-green senbon needles shot forth like a rainstorm.
The assault of poisoned needles and chains was overwhelming.
Watching from afar, Minato's scalp went numb. Those green-tinted senbon were obviously coated in deadly poison—just one scratch would be fatal, and a direct hit would leave someone skewered like a hedgehog.
But Hoshiyomi, seeing this familiar attack, showed not a shred of panic.
Over the years, his strength had climbed several levels. Things that couldn't threaten him back then stood no chance of harming him now.
He dragged the blade of Mikazuki Munechika across the ground, and in the blink of an eye, a towering wall of wind surged up before him.
Inside the wall, chaotic, swirling air currents deflected the poisoned senbon, sending them clattering harmlessly to the ground.
As for the five flying chain blades, they posed no threat either. Hoshiyomi raised his sword and sent out two slashes of sword energy, instantly severing two of them. Then, with a swift backflip, he evaded—the remaining three chains stabbing precisely into the spot where he had just stood.
Before Chiyo could retract and re-aim those chains, Hoshiyomi's Crescent Moon Slash technique had already activated. The blade of Mikazuki Munechika flashed, slicing cleanly through all three remaining chains in a single motion.
Chiyo swallowed hard as she witnessed Hoshiyomi's effortless, precise movements.
For the first time, she began to believe his words—Monzaemon's death… perhaps really had something to do with this man before her.