Suddenly, countless puppets filled the sky, causing Ephemeral to hesitate momentarily and reveal a trace of surprise.
Dense rows of crimson-robed puppets surrounded Sasori's figure, tightly shielding him at their core.
Is this your final move? Doesn't look all that impressive to me!
Ephemeral noticed these puppets weren't as special as the previous [Jinchuriki] puppet — they seemed more like ordinary ones.
Although numerous, they weren't truly deadly threats. Besides, controlling so many puppets at once might initially seem intimidating, but there must be issues with his control — coordination among them would definitely break down!
These puppets are perfect for taking you down in this state!
Sasori's voice came from inside the puppet formation. The puppets blanketed the sky, creaking under the chakra threads stretching from his chest, like countless precision machines ceaselessly at work.
Then let me try them out!
Ephemeral lifted his foot and instantly vanished from his original position.
His usual fighting style leaned more toward mid-to-long range attacks and hit-and-run tactics, but with Six-Tails' chakra, he had chosen close combat — [taijutsu]!
Whoosh whoosh!
The puppets moved too, each wielding different weapons with distinct fighting styles.
Soon, Ephemeral reached one puppet — this was a puppet holding a giant sickle. Its blade emitted a dull glow, smeared with deadly poison that could kill upon contact with blood.
Clutching his right hand into a fist wrapped in chakra, it became an offensive weapon.
Ephemeral knew these Puppet Master's creations were extremely dangerous — direct contact couldn't be careless.
He threw a punch. The moment the puppet moved, it was already smashed to pieces, scattering in all directions.
Shua! Without stopping after landing one strike, Ephemeral continued — there were still so many enemy puppets left for him to face!
Just as Ephemeral confronted that puppet head-on, surrounding puppets acted as if previously rehearsed, encircling him completely to trap him at the center.
Tada! With a push off the ground, Ephemeral dashed forth again.
This time he faced three puppets seemingly complementary to each other — one wielded a whip, another carried a shield, while the third used twin blades.
Swish! The whip sliced through air, leaving faint white trails.
Though just puppets under Sasori's control, they were anything but weak — their strength and speed were fully intact.
Ephemeral also noticed even while controlling so many puppets, this enemy showed no sign of distraction — he still had full control over them!
This wasn't quite consistent with his previous assumption.
Is it because of that?
While dodging puppet attacks, Ephemeral shot a glance toward Sasori hidden deep within — along with those densely packed chakra threads extending from his chest.
This enemy was eerie — he had turned himself into a puppet. Though unsure about his motives, merely knowing about this already unsettled Ephemeral slightly.
He also saw the mark of the Regenerating Core stained with ink on the enemy's chest. As soon as he came to his senses, he knew exactly who his opponent was.
It was indeed Sasori of the Red Sand—the genius of Sunagakure famed throughout the Shinobi World for his brilliance in puppetry.
This also explained why, even after so many years, he still looked so youthful—he had turned himself into a puppet!
What an extreme act! Even Foam, who was a Jinchuriki and came from Mist—a Hidden Village known to be the harshest environment among the ninja villages—felt a chill at the thought.
If all the Akatsuki ninjas were like this, they definitely had the power to cause chaos across the Shinobi World. They weren't just strong—they had some seriously off-kilter minds…
This was Foam's current assessment of Sasori.
"Boom!"
Another punch slammed into the puppet, instantly tearing open a massive hole that revealed the emptiness inside.
But in the next second, Foam felt a jolt of fear—he sensed danger.
Sure enough, the black hole torn open on the puppet emitted a strange sound and released a thin wisp of dark mist.
"Hmph!" The puppet exploded, spewing countless dark mists outward and instantly enveloping Foam before he could dodge away.
"Tsk!" In the next moment, Foam's figure burst out from the smoke, but before he could take any action, a row of puppets suddenly appeared directly in front of him, arranged in a formation, launching hidden weapons—as if sealing off every possible escape route.
"Shshshsh!"
Foam waved his hand, chakra radiating from his body, coalescing into a giant hand that immediately blocked his front, intercepting the incoming barrage.
The needles pierced into the chakra-formed hand and immediately lost momentum, beginning to emit white smoke under the corrosive effect of the Tailed Beast chakra.
Earlier, when he smashed one of the puppets with a single punch, he had thought it was over. But unexpectedly, that puppet seemed to have been a trap set by the enemy. As soon as he attacked it, the puppet exploded, spreading toxic mist everywhere.
Fortunately, the effect of the Tailed Beast chakra showed itself again immediately, sealing off his senses and preventing those poisonous gases from entering his body through openings.
At the same time, he used this opportunity to accelerate forward and escaped the toxic range.
"This is really tough!" Foam landed firmly, bent his knees slightly, and dodged attacks from surrounding puppets once more. He flipped backward, shifting sideways several meters.
He'd underestimated Sasori's control. Each puppet moved like it had a mission of its own—flawless timing, no lag.
As if each one were being manipulated separately by an extremely skilled Puppet Master.
Still, compared to that earlier Jinchuriki puppet, these ones were pretty average—nowhere near dangerous enough to really hurt him.
As time passed and the number of puppets decreased, his opponent would gradually fall into a disadvantageous position.
Though currently it remained difficult to inflict any real damage on Sasori because of their sheer numbers, this wasn't a significant problem.
"Boom!"
Rolling over, he fired off another punch that shattered a puppet into pieces. Without losing speed, Foam kept charging toward the center.
He needed to create as much distraction as possible against Sasori to find an opening for a decisive strike.
"Hehe... Struggle all you want!"
Sasori paid no attention to Foam's actions. Each chakra thread derived from his "Regenerating Core" was connected to his will—or rather, his spirit. That allowed him perfect control of every single puppet without any blind spots.
There was just one drawback—maintaining this connection required a significant amount of energy.
...
"The enemy is still alive?!"
Beside Ao, a Mist ninja held up binoculars, watching the battle unfold with disbelief in his voice.
After such an explosion, even they had suffered heavy effects—but the enemy at the epicenter survived?
"There's something strange about the enemy!"
Ao fixed his gaze on Sasori. Suddenly, Ao leapt into the air, raising both hands toward the Six-Tails.
"He doesn't seem human... What exactly is that thing on his chest..."
Through his Byakugan, he caught sight of something, though the distance made it hard to make out clearly.
The puppet master lacked the normal human anatomy found in ordinary people. Inside him were only interweaving channels unlike anything Ao recognized...
"What's wrong with the Six-Tails..."
Ao frowned again. The enemy had already arrived, yet Six-Tails made no move to attack.
Before his eyes, the enemy's palm unleashed flames that engulfed the Six-Tails...
Ao's stomach dropped. Before he could act, the situation shifted once more.
They had just reestablished contact with reinforcements from the village. If they could hold out for roughly an hour, support would arrive!
Looking at how things were developing, he couldn't be sure who would ultimately win.
"Ao-sama, it's Foam!"
The Mist ninja spoke again, having seen Six-Tails disappear and Foam reappear.
"I can see that."
Ao replied calmly, but the next second, his tone turned puzzled.
"What is this..."
A thick, white goo had appeared on his hand.
"Ahh!" "Ao..."
Ao spun around instantly, seeing several of his comrades already ensnared in the white slime. The person who had just cried out was the same Mist ninja who'd spoken to him moments ago.
"Damn it! What kind of thing is this!"
Ao immediately jumped away, creating some distance while his eyes remained alert on his teammates' condition.
"Heh-heh..."
White Zetsu's head emerged from one of the Mist ninjas, letting out an eerie laugh.
"You're one of Akatsuki's ninjas?"
Ao looked at the bizarre scene before him—his companions captured by this mysterious ninja, gradually swallowed within a white cocoon.
"I've been watching you observe the fight from the shadows for a while now, so I thought I'd drop in and greet you. Pretty surprising, huh?"
It was a White Zetsu clone, yet retained a high degree of autonomy, speaking and acting exactly like the original.
"So it is..."
Ao tensed his back muscles, preparing for combat at any moment.
"You..."
He was about to continue speaking when his Byakugan sensed another strange chakra reappearing on the rock behind him.
"Shua!" He shifted sideways again, keeping an eye on this white-clad enemy while glancing toward the side.
"Lord Saitama, you've arrived!"
The White Zetsu Clone tilted his head upward. He wasn't foolish—he wouldn't deliberately provoke enemies without combat strength. It was because he had sensed Saitama's chakra that he had appeared directly here, aiming to stall the enemy first.
"Hmm!" Saitama stood on top of a boulder, the sunlight blazing behind him, turning his silhouette into a dazzling outline, making it impossible for others to gaze directly at him.
Looking down arrogantly at Ao below, he slightly nodded, acknowledging White Zetsu's words.
"Saitama Uchiha!"
Ao heard White Zetsu's words and immediately recognized who this was. His heart jolted, followed by a wave of powerlessness.
Although he'd been tracking Ephemeral, he had heard of the recent news circulating in the Shinobi World.
Saitama Uchiha had killed Konoha's Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi!
And it had been an outright battle—no tricks or deceit involved!
A bead of sweat formed on Ao's forehead, his lone visible eye fixed intently on Saitama.
"Hello there, Ao of the Mist!"
Saitama crossed his arms loosely, his tone quite relaxed.
On his way here, he'd already sensed something unusual, so he detoured directly to this location. Sure enough, shinobi from Kirigakure were indeed present.
He recognized Ao. Back during the old conflicts between Mist and Leaf, he had seen Ao by the Mizukage's side.
"Never thought even you would show up this time..."
Ao continued stalling for time, as he knew deep down that he had no chance of defeating these two Akatsuki members before him.
"Hmph!"
Saitama paid no mind to Ao's chatter but instead directed his gaze toward the other ongoing battle. His expression turned peculiar when he saw Ephemeral in human form.
Initially, he had assumed that since the Tailed Beast Ball had been used, it should be the Six-Tails currently fighting Sasori...
"Boom!"
Several Kirigakure ninja who had been following Ao were suddenly wrapped in cocoons by White Zetsu before collapsing to the ground.
Ao's eyelid twitched. Carefully, he took a cautious step backward.
His eyes never left Saitama above, closely observing every move the latter made.
"Wait?"
In the next instant, he froze mid-step, his retreat abruptly halting.
Because the figure of Saitama within his field of vision had seemingly vanished into thin air—with no ripple appearing in space itself!
"Da!"
A hand landed heavily upon his shoulder. Instant goosebumps rose on his skin. Through his Byakugan, Ao saw Saitama's chakra suddenly appear right behind him.
"Shua!"
Without hesitation or delay, though knowing full well he couldn't defeat Saitama, Ao refused to simply wait helplessly for death—the mark of a true Kiri-nin. Thus, he swiftly spun around, kunai clenched tightly in hand, slicing through the air behind him.
Yet the weapon struck nothing. Empty space greeted the kunai blade, and before the kunai could make contact, Saitama had already vacated that spot ahead of time.
[Water Release: Water Jet Blast!]
Unfazed in the slightest, Ao—who still had his Byakugan activated—saw Saitama materialize at his side, so he immediately raised one hand to chest level, opened his mouth, and instantly spewed forth a transparent jet of high-pressure water.
"Hiss!"
The water current was extremely powerful, shattering the rocks behind Saitama.
Ao's eyes widened. Even with his Byakugan, he couldn't track Saitama's movements at all. Such speed was simply too fast!
"Zzzzt!" Electricity crackled from behind him, and Ao quickly turned around.
At the same time, he unleashed another ninjutsu.
[Water Release: Azure Dragon Palm!]
This technique was passed down to him by Yagura. It originated from [Coral Palm], but had been modified to better suit Ao's use in conjunction with his Byakugan.
"Pssshhh!"
In his Byakugan vision, a blue-white figure flashed past. Ao immediately knew it was over. His palm had barely lifted even slightly from his waist area.
"Heh...heh..."
Ao lowered his gaze and stared at the arm piercing through his chest, sparking with electricity.
"So this is...your real power?"
Ao looked at Saitama and managed to utter those words. He had overestimated himself, while underestimating Saitama.
Could someone who had single-handedly defeated The Third really be that simple?
"Patta!" Ao's body collapsed onto the ground as blood spurted from his heart area, quickly soaking the earth beneath him.
"Saitama truly is amazing!"
The White Zetsu Clone emerged with perfect timing, gazing at Ao's fallen body as it gradually lost its vitality, voicing his admiration.
Ao was still an elite jonin possessing the Byakugan, yet he was killed instantly by Saitama with just one strike.
"Take his Byakugan for me. I'll go see how Sasori is doing."
Saitama briefly swept his gaze across Ao's face without paying attention to the frozen expression of shock there, only glancing at the concealed eye.
A single Byakugan wouldn't do anything miraculous, but it was better than nothing—it might come in handy someday.
"Alright." The White Zetsu Clone smiled, crouched down, and reached toward Ao's eye socket.
By the time he stood up again, Saitama had already vanished from his side.
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