Just as Gamabunta raised his arms, preparing to withstand the Tailed Beast Bomb, a flash of cold white light suddenly streaked across, striking the One-Tail squarely on the head.
With a loud "bang," the nearly formed Tailed Beast Bomb inside the One-Tail's mouth instantly dissipated. A deep, bottomless crack now marred the One-Tail's head.
White Fang appeared between the One-Tail and Gamabunta, speaking in a relaxed tone:
"Yo, am I too late?"
Jiraiya, standing atop Gamabunta's head, immediately replied excitedly:
"You're just in time! As expected of you."
Meanwhile, the wound on the One-Tail's head was healing at a visible rate, and its rage continued to swell.
"Human! How dare you scar my face? I'll kill you!"
The clear, cloudless sky was suddenly shrouded by a sandstorm, as if a dust storm had rolled in.
At that moment, Tsunade summoned a Katsuyu nearly the size of Gamabunta, ready to join the battle.
Then, a steady footstep echoed from within the sandstorm, followed by a hoarse, hate-filled voice:
"Tsunade, hand over that damned brat beside you. Otherwise, even if it costs me my old life, I won't let Leaf Village off easily."
Chiyo and Ebizo emerged from the swirling sands. Chiyo's venomous gaze fixed intently on Hayato Ren, as if she were ready to devour him alive the next second.
"Hmph, you old hag, have you lived so long your brain's rotted? Leaf Village doesn't abandon its comrades," Tsunade retorted.
Hearing this, Hayato Ren nearly lost his composure.
Because twenty years later, the "wise" Sarutobi Hiruzen would hand over Hyuga Hizashi to Cloud Village as an apology.
Yes, someone comes to your territory to kidnap others, gets killed when discovered, and then demands an apology from you.
Even more absurdly, you actually kneel and comply.
Might as well let that old fool Danzo become Hokage—at least he wouldn't cowardly grovel like that.
After mentally criticizing Sarutobi Hiruzen, Hayato Ren summoned his Charizard.
Since Tsunade would face Chiyo, he had to handle Ebizo himself.
If it were Tsunade years later at her peak, dealing with Chiyo wouldn't be an issue.
But the current Tsunade hadn't yet developed the Strength of a Hundred Sealings Technique, and the Yin Seal was nowhere in sight.
Facing Chiyo would still be quite challenging for her.
Similarly, if Jiraiya had mastered Sage Art, he could suppress the One-Tail alone, without needing White Fang's help.
Chiyo snorted coldly, unrolled a scroll, and unleashed her proud White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu Ten Puppets.
The Chikamatsu Ten Puppets were the masterpiece of the Puppet Master founder, Bunzaemon. Each of these ten puppets possessed the strength of an elite jonin, and their combined power was formidable.
It is said that in her youth, Chiyo single-handedly conquered an entire city in just one morning using the Ten White Secret Techniques.
Even Tsunade couldn't help but feel tense when she saw the Ten White Secret Techniques deployed.
Soon, Tsunade and Chiyo were locked in fierce combat.
Although the Ten White Secret Techniques were incredibly powerful, Katsuyu was no pushover either.
A single spit of acidic fluid would be enough to destroy any puppet, even if Bunzaemon were resurrected on the spot.
Thus, for a time, their battle reached a stalemate.
Ebizo, watching Hayato Ren riding Charizard in mid-air, revealed a cold smile.
"Heh, so you're the brat who harmed my poor nephew? Next year today will be your death anniversary."
After speaking, Ebizo swiftly formed hand seals and shouted: "Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"
Countless wind bullets instantly shot toward Charizard.
Although Ebizo didn't practice puppet techniques, as the Anbu commander of Sunagakure, his Wind Release had reached perfection.
A B-rank Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere, under his control, possessed power comparable to an S-rank ninjutsu.
However, Charizard showed no fear, immediately countering with a Flame Jet.
To Ebizo's astonishment, the flames pierced straight through the wind bullets and surged toward him.
Ebizo had thought he overestimated Hayato Ren's strength, but it turned out he'd still underestimated him.
With just Charizard alone, Hayato Ren could already claim a place in the Shinobi World.
Facing the scorching flames, Ebizo chose not to take them head-on. Instead, he used the Body Flicker Technique to instantly relocate ten meters away.
Shortly after Ebizo moved, the spot where he'd been standing turned into a pool of burning magma.
Witnessing this, Ebizo's brow furrowed deeply.
The power of Charizard's flames had completely exceeded his expectations—they could even burn through the ground.
There was no way he could take this head-on, or he might not even leave a corpse behind.
With this in mind, Ebizo continued forming hand seals.
With a "Poof!" sound, Ebizo's figure suddenly multiplied into ten copies.
To evade Charizard's flames, Ebizo opted to use the Shadow Clone Technique.
If Hayato Ren possessed the Power of Aura, he might have easily identified Ebizo's real body.
But Hayato Ren hadn't obtained the Power of Aura.
Seeing ten identical Ebizos, Charizard grew troubled. Which one was the real one?
Just as Hayato Ren and Charizard were pondering this dilemma, all ten Ebizos suddenly began forming hand seals in unison and shouted simultaneously:
"Wind Release: Wind Blade!"
Ten eight-meter-long wind blades swept toward Charizard in mid-air. Faced with such numbers, Charizard had no choice but to avoid the attack, flapping its wings to swiftly leave its position.
As the wind blades missed their target, a sly smile crept onto Ebizo's lips.
It turned out that all ten Ebizos on the field were shadow clones, while his real body had secretly hidden underground, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
This Ebizo truly lived up to his reputation as Sunagakure's Anbu—a crafty old fox through and through.
Suddenly, another Ebizo emerged from underground. With lightning speed, he leaped beneath Charizard and swiftly slapped its claw, shouting:
"Limb Heavy Sealing!"
Charizard instantly lost control of its body and plummeted from midair.
Ebizo turned to Hayato Ren with a triumphant smile.