Chapter 75 – A Disturbance in Chakra
The Fourth Kazekage landed back on the battlefield, clashing once again with the Third Hokage. Without the advantage of aerial maneuvering, he quickly fell back into a disadvantageous position, cursing inwardly at his plight.
Yet he could not afford to retreat—if he faltered now, the casualties on his side would become unacceptable. All he could do was grit his teeth and hold on, praying that the Sand's two advisors and Pakura could achieve something decisive elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru and Jiraiya were locked in fierce combat with Sunagakure's elder advisors—Chiyo and Ebizō. Their battle had already escalated to a blazing climax.
Jiraiya found himself facing Ebizō. Though Ebizō was a renowned figure throughout the shinobi world, his fame lay not in direct combat, but in espionage and strategy. He was an information-type shinobi, and his raw fighting power was far from remarkable.
On paper, he should not have been a match for Jiraiya, who specialized in direct, overwhelming combat.
However, Ebizō's decades of intelligence work had honed his wit and adaptability to an exceptional degree. More importantly, he had detailed knowledge of Jiraiya's abilities and tendencies. With that familiarity, and his uncanny knack for exploiting opportunities in the heat of battle, Ebizō was able to narrowly withstand Jiraiya's onslaught.
Even so, he knew the truth: his resistance was only temporary. Once Jiraiya adapted to his tricks and strategies, defeat was inevitable. Like the Kazekage, his aim was simply to stall for time and hope his allies succeeded elsewhere.
At first, Jiraiya underestimated him. But after several exchanges, Jiraiya realized that while Ebizō's strength was unimpressive, the man's slipperiness was troublesome. Every time Jiraiya thought he had landed a decisive blow, Ebizō somehow slipped away at the last moment, eking out survival.
But now, Jiraiya was beginning to see through the pattern. Ebizō's repertoire was losing its novelty, and victory was close at hand.
The Third Hokage, even while dueling the Kazekage, still had the spare focus to observe the wider battlefield. When he noticed Jiraiya gradually gaining the upper hand, his spirits lifted.
Konoha held the advantage on his side, and Jiraiya's duel looked promising. As for Nan and Pakura's clash, it seemed evenly matched for now, neither side showing clear dominance. In truth, however, the outcome there was unlikely to tip the grand scale of battle.
Everything now hinged on Orochimaru's fight with Chiyo. If he could defeat her, Konoha's top combat power would completely overwhelm Sunagakure's, shattering their morale and securing victory.
But unlike Ebizō, Chiyo was no easy opponent. Beyond her terrifying mastery of poisons, she was also the foremost puppeteer of the Sand.
Her trump card: the legendary Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu, masterpieces crafted by the very first puppeteer, Monzaemon. Each puppet was extraordinary, and together, the ten were said to rival even Kage-level shinobi.
Chiyo knew well how dangerous Orochimaru was, and so she immediately brought out her deadliest arsenal. With each movement of her fingers, the Ten Puppets surged into motion, unleashing their diverse powers in a coordinated assault.
Orochimaru, as commander of the Wind Country front, had faced many skilled puppet masters before. He knew that the best among them could control several puppets at once. But Chiyo's feat—each of her ten fingers pulling the strings of a different puppet, all fighting in perfect unison—was on a different level entirely.
Even so, the sight did not daunt him. He specialized in battling multiple opponents simultaneously.
With a sly grin, he formed a hand seal.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
In a burst of smoke, dozens of massive serpents erupted behind him, each over ten meters long, hissing and coiling as they surged toward Chiyo's puppets.
These were no ordinary snakes—Orochimaru had spent years cultivating them as his personal summons. He was confident that dozens of such giant serpents would be more than enough to contend with Chiyo's Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu.
As expected, the battlefield between the serpents and puppets quickly devolved into a deadlock.
Individually, each snake was weaker than one of the Chikamatsu puppets. But when attacking in coordinated swarms—and with Orochimaru weaving his sinister jutsu in support—they managed to cause Chiyo considerable trouble.
Each of the Ten Puppets possessed unique weapons and techniques, designed specifically for fighting human shinobi. Against Orochimaru's massive serpents, however, they struggled. The snakes were enormous, agile, and resilient, their vital points difficult to strike. Unless a puppet struck true at a vulnerable spot, its weapons could do little real damage.
Watching his serpents hold back the puppets, Orochimaru felt victory within reach.
Puppeteers like Chiyo required constant focus to control their creations, while his snakes could fight autonomously. If he could close the distance and reach her, Chiyo—the elderly master puppeteer—would stand no chance in close combat.
Realizing his intent, Chiyo's eyes sharpened. She could not allow him to reach her.
But she was no amateur; any true puppeteer prepared contingencies for such scenarios.
Momentarily releasing her control over the Ten Puppets, Chiyo unfurled a sealing scroll from her back. In a burst of chakra, dozens of poisoned kunai and shuriken scattered across the ground around her, forming a deadly barrier to slow Orochimaru's advance.
Without pause, she reconnected her chakra threads and seized control of the Ten Puppets once more. Her movements were smooth, precise, and seamless—proof that Sunagakure's foremost puppeteer was no undeserved titleholder.
Orochimaru halted, his advance checked by the poisonous barrier. He chuckled coldly.
Child's play. Did she really think such tricks would stop me?
Though his feet had stopped, his body did not.
With a grotesque stretch, his neck elongated far beyond human limits, his mouth gaping open to spit forth a gleaming blade—the Kusanagi Sword—thrusting straight toward Chiyo.
By this point, Orochimaru had already performed surgical modifications on his body to enable such inhuman techniques. Once, he had even offered this forbidden procedure to Nan. But self-surgery was impossible, and Nan did not trust Orochimaru enough to accept it. The offer had been refused.
Even Chiyo—who had lived through countless wars—had never seen a ninjutsu so disturbingly inhuman. For a moment, even she froze. Puppeteers were ill-suited to handling direct assaults, and instinctively, she raised her right hand to block.
Orochimaru's smile widened.
A frail human arm against my Kusanagi? This old woman has lost her wits.
He could already envision his blade skewering her—
But Chiyo was not someone who had survived nearly sixty years of the shinobi world without hidden cards.
At the very last instant, her right hand snapped open, and a shimmering chakra barrier unfolded before her—deflecting the Kusanagi's strike.
Had Nan been there, he would have recognized it instantly: Chiyo's signature puppet technique, Shield of Light (Kikō Junbō).
The truth was chilling—Chiyo had already converted parts of her own body into puppet components. Her right hand was no longer fully human.
Even so, Orochimaru's sudden, inhuman attack had left her cold with sweat. She had narrowly escaped death. Without hesitation, she summoned the Ten Puppets back to her side, layering them defensively. She would not allow Orochimaru another chance to get close.
Orochimaru, intrigued by the modifications to her arm, arched a brow. But he had no interest in puppet techniques, nor in seizing her for research. His focus was elsewhere.
For now, their duel reached an impasse.
Yet across the battlefield, the overall momentum was shifting in Konoha's favor. Both the Third Hokage and the Fourth Kazekage noticed it.
Just as Sunagakure's forces were nearing collapse, an unexpected shift occurred.
From within the Sand's ranks, a shinobi's body suddenly erupted with a surge of strange chakra—a presence so powerful and distinct that it stood out even amidst the chaos of war.
Nan, with his keen sensory ability, felt it immediately.