Naruto: The Age of Ninja Swords Begins in Kumogakure

At the same time that the Third Raikage led his troops to support Iwagakure, Kumogakure also sent troops to support Sunagakure, but it was not the Raikage in Black Zetsu's form, but Sasori.

There was only one Scorpion, but one person was enough.

"Fourth Hokage, have the reinforcements from Kumogakure not arrived yet?"

Chiyo was very anxious as she watched the battle unfold in the village.

Although Danzo Shimura did not appear this time, he had a total of 100,000 Dark Ninja soldiers. Not only were there ten times more people than before, but their individual strength was also stronger, and some even possessed Kage-level combat power.

Furthermore, the Dark Wood Release technique is even more devouring and has a terrifying corrosive effect, which even the Four Red Sun Formation cannot completely resist.

If this continues, the entire Sunagakure village will be captured in less than ten minutes.

"The news has already spread."

On the top of the Kazekage Building, Rasa carried a jar that had sealed most of the One-Tailed Beast, his brow furrowed.

He had assumed that Danzo Shimura would kill him personally, and that he would use the One-Tailed Beast as a bargaining chip to send it away; otherwise, he would kill the One-Tailed Beast himself.

Although the tailed beasts can be revived, it will take a long time, and he doesn't believe that Danzo Shimura is willing to wait for several years.

He never expected it to be just a group of dark ninjas, giving him no chance to negotiate.

Now we can only pray that the support from Kumogakure will be sufficient, otherwise things will get complicated.

"Hopefully it will be soon."

Chiyo was worried, as Danzo Shimura had prepared far more thoroughly than they had imagined. Whether Sunagakure could survive this calamity was truly an unknown.

Just then, a bolt of lightning shot from the northeastern horizon, passing through the damaged barrier of Sunagakure and landing on the rooftop of the Kazekage Building.

"At such an advanced age, they don't even know to retire and make way for the younger generation."

A voice rang out, and then a two-meter-tall steel figure slowly flew out from the lightning.

"scorpion?"

Upon hearing those words, Chiyo trembled, turned around abruptly, and looked uncertainly at the approaching Iron Man.

The tone was very similar to that of his granddaughter, and the person who could say such things was obviously an acquaintance. After thinking about it, the only one who could be it was his grandson who ran off to Kumogakure and never came back.

Iron Man's helmet detached and hid behind his neck, revealing a handsome face and flowing red hair.

The one who came was Scorpion.

"Are you alone?"

Luo Sha frowned. He had thought a large force would come to his aid, but instead, there was only one person, Scorpion.

Although Scorpion was quite talented when he was young, it was only in puppetry. In this situation, what can a puppeteer do?

Even Chiyo was very vulnerable in front of those ninjas. As soon as they started fighting, nearly half of her Kage-level puppets were destroyed.

I managed to pull it back with sand in time, otherwise it would have died long ago.

Sasori of the Red Sand replied while sizing up the Dark Ninja Army.

"Shimura Danzo went to Iwagakure, and the Third Raikage led a group there to provide support."

"Attack both Sunagakure and Iwagakure simultaneously!"

Luo Sha's expression grew even more gloomy; he clearly didn't take them seriously at all.

"So they went to Iwagakure."

Chiyo suddenly realized that she had been wondering why there were only the Dark Ninja Army members and no one, including Shimura Danzo. It turned out that they had gone to Iwagakure.

"Go back to Kumogakure. I won't leave Sunagakure."

Chiyo glanced one last time at her grandson, who was all alone, and shook her head.

It was clear that Sun Tzu alone could not withstand so many dark legions; he had probably come here to take him away.

But this is her home, she's lived here her whole life, and she won't leave. She'd rather die here.

"So you're outdated and should make way for the younger generation. Today, I'll show you what real puppet art is."

Scorpion's expression remained indifferent. He raised his hand to the sky and unleashed a beam of light from his palm. The space above distorted, quickly forming a vortex-shaped spatial gate.

This is the Heavenly Stone Gate access granted to Scorpion by Tamura Hao, which allows him to open a spatial gate for quickly deploying a puppet army.

The moment the portal stabilized, countless black dots flew out from it. They were all steel men, their hands, feet, and backs spewing energy as they flew rapidly through the air and charged into the Sand Village, which had become a battlefield.

There were simply too many of them, tens of thousands, and then a colossal creature burst forth from them—a steel giant a hundred meters tall, carrying two long swords on its back.

"Bang!"

With a bang, it crashed to the ground, causing the entire Sand Village to tremble. Then, the steel giant drew his twin swords from his back, which instantly heated up to a dark red color. He then began to slash at the wood-style creations of the Dark Legion.

The tens of thousands of steel legions, plus that steel giant, even though their numbers were small, still managed to overwhelm the 100,000 dark ninja troops.

The Steel Legion possesses the ability to fly, and at a considerable speed, giving them absolute dominance. The Steel Giant is even more terrifying, not only formidable in combat but also equipped with numerous energy weapons, including a three-meter-diameter chakra cannon on its chest.

This scene stunned not only the Sand Village ninjas, but also Chiyo and Rasa, who were standing on the Kazekage Building.

"Is this the new puppet technique that Hao Jun invited you to develop back then?"

It took Rasa a while to come to her senses. She remembered what Sasori had said after returning from the Forest of Death in Konoha. He seemed to have mentioned that he would replace the wooden puppets with steel.

At the time, it wasn't taken seriously. The village had considered finding better materials to make the puppets, including steel. Unfortunately, steel was too heavy and would severely slow down the puppets, which was fatal.

So he didn't take Scorpion's words to heart back then, but who would have thought that the steel puppet he made would look like this.

If I had known earlier, I would definitely have kept Scorpion and given him my full support.

"I once said that I would usher in an era that belonged to us puppeteers, but unfortunately none of you believed me."

Scorpion glanced at the regretful Luo Sha, a hint of arrogance appearing on his face.

Although his puppet system has not yet been officially revealed for the sake of secrecy, it is already quite complete.

The aerial fortress was full of puppet systems. He even established an academy there for puppeteers, specifically to teach puppet system techniques to aid his own research and development.

If things continue to develop in this way, they will inevitably usher in an era that belongs to the puppeteers, at least ensuring that they will not be eliminated by the times.

"You're right, I really need to make way for the younger generation sooner rather than later."

Chiyo smiled wryly; she couldn't deny it, but she was secretly pleased.

After all, this was their grandson, and it was the puppetry of their puppeteers.

Leaving aside the Sand Village, which is embroiled in fierce fighting, the Stone Village on the other side has been almost completely wiped out by the Black Lotus of Annihilation, and the entire village is shrouded in Dark Wood Release.

Despite Onoki personally leading the team to fight against the expanding Dark Wood Release, they still couldn't stop it.

Even with the Third Raikage and others going all out, the results were minimal, leaving them in a sorry state and facing numerous dangers.

However, it was soon time to meet, and Onoki, the Third Raikage, and the others deliberately came to the west side of the Black Lotus of Annihilation.

The next moment, a beam of light shot from the eastern horizon and instantly blasted into the Iwagakure village.

The barrier formed by the dark chains and dark chakra held for a moment before being shattered, and then bombarded Iwagakure, with the World-Destroying Black Lotus also being bombarded.

In response, the Black Lotus of Annihilation immediately raised the tree roots on the ground to block the attack.

However, this chakra beam is not only powerful, but also continuous.

Despite persevering to the very end, they were still struck by the beam of light and landed on the Black Lotus of Annihilation.

Meanwhile, Onoki and the others used the Black Lotus of Annihilation to withstand the bombardment of the light pillar. This was part of their pre-arranged plan: to stay behind and hold off Shimura Danzo so that the Cloud Village's chakra cannon could reach them.

That wasn't all. They waited for their chance to strike, and once the beam of light from the chakra cannon subsided, they would charge towards the world-destroying black lotus, hoping to shatter it. If they could kill Shimura Danzo inside, that would be even better.

The pillar of chakra light lasted for a full ten seconds before stopping, erasing the entire Hidden Stone Village and leaving behind a canyon hundreds of meters deep and thousands of meters wide, with no end in sight.

All that remained of the original site of Iwagakure was a broken lotus flower floating in mid-air, which was the Black Lotus of Annihilation.

The Black Lotus of Annihilation was severely damaged by that attack, even revealing a corner of the Box of Bliss buried deep within.

"superior!"

With a low shout, the Third Raikage charged forward, preparing to shatter the broken Black Lotus of Annihilation.

Everyone unleashed their full power in the attack, naturally not wanting to miss such a good opportunity to beat a drowning dog.

However, at that moment, a figure suddenly appeared behind Onoki, and with a flash of light, beheaded Onoki.

Immediately afterwards, a hand pierced into Onoki's back, went straight into his abdomen, and pulled out half of the Five-Tails from the sealed space.

"We've fallen for their trap!"

The Third Raikage, who was charging forward, suddenly stopped and turned his head to see Onoki, who had been beheaded and had his Five-Tails extracted. He was immediately filled with rage.

"Your Hidden Cloud Village is next. Our grudges will be settled then."

Danzo Shimura stared at the enraged Third Raikage, then his figure vanished in a puff of mist. The tattered Black Lotus of Annihilation also disappeared, having been summoned away using a summoning jutsu.

"Lord Tsuchikage!"

The remaining Iwagakure ninja cried out in despair and rushed toward the Tsuchikage's head that had fallen to the ground; now only the head remained.

The Third Raikage and the others could only suppress their rage and descend, their expressions filled with sorrow as they looked at Onoki's head.

This sadness is real for most people, but only the Third Raikage, Aya Yotsuki, and Fukai know the true plot.

These secrets need to be kept strictly confidential, and they will do the same. They won't even tell their closest relatives, and they might even use illusion magic to alter the memory afterward, making the current events a complete fact.

The Hidden Cloud Village has always acted with integrity and never schemed against its allies. The fact that they sent people to take over the territory was only out of desperation, a way to clean up the mess.

Otherwise, if they don't come to occupy it, those people from Konoha will come over. Rather than letting Konoha benefit from it, it's better to let them occupy it.

Moreover, they have a completely legitimate legal system; Onoki's granddaughter and disciples are studying in their Hidden Cloud Village.

The remaining Iwagakure ninjas had no doubts, after all, Kumogakure was really fighting desperately this time. The only one to blame was that Danzo Shimura was too strong and too cunning, and in the end he actually ambushed their Tsuchikage.

That despicable Shimura Danzo!

Damn Konoha!

At the same time, Sasori in Sunagakure suddenly looked in a certain direction as if he sensed something.

There appeared one person, or rather, two people.

It was the headless corpse of Shimura Danzo and Ōnoki.

"It's Danzo Shimura!"

"That was the Tsuchikage! He killed the Tsuchikage!"

Chiyo and Rasa also looked over, and when they saw the headless corpse that Shimura Danzo was carrying, its size and tattered clothes proved that it was the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure.

The Tsuchikage was actually killed by Shimura Danzo!

Danzo Shimura, who had been summoned by spirit, glanced at the surrounding battle situation, especially the flying iron men and the iron giant, and was slightly surprised.

His son-in-law had mentioned this steel puppet army before, but he hadn't taken it seriously. He never expected it to have developed to this extent.

But that's all there is to it!

Without delay, immense ocular power and dark chakra surged forth, creating a 500-meter-tall Dark Susanoo, its body burning with dark flames. These dark flames condensed into two long swords, overlooking everything in Sunagakure. With a casual swing, it cleaved the charging steel giant in two.

Seeing this, Scorpion took out a small suit of steel armor from the scroll, wrapped it around his grandmother, and flew away with her, clearly not wanting to fight against Shimura Danzo.

Rasa also maneuvered the sand mat to fly away quickly, barely escaping Shimura Danzo's attack range.

"Shimura Danzo, I am willing to exchange the One-Tailed Beast for you. If you leave our Sunagakure, the One-Tailed Beast will be yours. Otherwise, I will kill the One-Tailed Beast."

Even if the One-Tailed Beast could revive, it would take a very long time. You don't want to wait that long, do you?

Holding the jar containing the sealed tail, Rasa negotiated with Shimura Danzo.

This jar not only seals the One-Tailed Beast, but also contains 100 million explosive tags, enough to shatter and kill the sealed One-Tailed Beast.

Shimura Danzo remained silent, then his figure appeared in a certain place in the next moment. His palm turned into a wooden spike and pierced through the body of a Sand Ninja who was fighting. The wooden spike quickly split and pierced out of his body, turning him into a hedgehog and completely destroying his internal organs.

As his body was pierced, the Sand Ninja's skin disintegrated, turning into sand that fell away, revealing another face—that of the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.

As Rasa's main body suffered severe damage, the shadow clone that was controlling the sand mat to fly up and negotiate also collapsed on its own. The explosive tags in the sealing jar were then triggered and exploded into a scorching ball of light, shattering the One-Tailed Beast that was sealed inside.

However, ten dark chains extended out, forming a barrier that enveloped the entire area, gathering the shattered One-Tailed Chakra and its original power.

"I don't need a living One-Tail, nor do I need a dead one-tail."

With a cold smile on his face, Shimura Danzo didn't care about the life or death of the One-Tailed Beast; all he cared about was obtaining its original power.

"Why...why?"

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Rasa was filled with resentment. Why was he discovered despite his excellent disguise, and why did Shimura Danzo possess such unpredictable spatial power?

Danzo Shimura had no habit of explaining himself to his enemies, so he prepared to use Wood Release to completely engulf them, but suddenly Rasa used a secret technique to turn himself into sand.

It wasn't a means of escape, but a means of suicide. He didn't want to die at the hands of Shimura Danzo, because that would mean his soul would be devoured.

Danzo Shimura paid little attention to this, glanced at Sasori and Chiyo flying high in the sky, and commanded the Dark Legion to continue to surround and devour those Sand Ninja.

Seeing this, Scorpion could only control his steel legions to specifically search for women and children and fly away. Continuing to fight to the death in this situation was pointless; he could save as many as he could.

"Is it still too late to pull through?"

Chiyo, carried high in the sky by the armor, was distraught. Although she had a premonition, she still couldn't accept it when the day actually came.

"Sorry, the main cannon of the air fortress was used in Iwagakure before, and it needs some time to cool down and recharge, so it cannot provide long-range support here."

Sasori looked at the Sand Village, which was now a living hell, and felt utterly helpless.

Although he had elevated puppetry to an unprecedented level, it was still not enough to contend with someone of Danzo Shimura's caliber, who far surpassed the First Hokage.

If the main gun is in good condition, it can still be used to fire, but unfortunately it was used before in Iwagakure, so it will be difficult to use it again in a short time.

"It's already a great achievement that we were able to save them. When we get back, we'll tell the Raikage to let them take over the Land of Wind."

It took Chiyo a while to come to her senses. Looking at the women and children who had been brought out by those steel golems, she felt a little comforted, at least some people were still alive.

But she knew that Sunagakure and the Land of Wind were finished, or rather, they had been eliminated by the times. Whether it was the overall strength of the ninja nation or the top strength of individuals, they had fallen behind, so it was not surprising that they were in this situation today.

Ultimately, it's because their Sand Village's foundation was too weak to support their rise to the Ninja Kingdom era, and now they've lost completely.

Scorpion didn't say much about it. He wasn't interested in politics and had only come to provide support under orders. He brought his elite puppet army, but unfortunately, it still couldn't withstand the strength of someone like Shimura Danzo.

Unless the air fortress is brought over, which has tens of thousands of secondary cannons in addition to the main cannon, it would be enough to blast Shimura Danzo's Dark Susanoo to pieces.

Danzo Shimura was somewhat wary of that chakra cannon; it was stronger than he had imagined. Although he could withstand it, his Dark Ninja Legion could not.

So after spending ten minutes annihilating and devouring the entire Sand Village, they withdrew.

Then Sasori led everyone back down to the Sand Village. Looking at the devastation and deathly silence of the village, the surviving women and children all wept.

Gone, everything is gone, not even bones remain.

Chiyo was also very saddened and stepped out of the armor to pick up the blood-stained headbands.

Although people are devoured, most of their possessions are left behind, and these can only be used for burial.

This is the only thing that can be done as a survivor.

The women and children also came over to collect the items with tears in their eyes. Scorpion did not move, but he controlled the Iron Legion to go and assist.

"Only unification can bring true peace to the ninja world."

Looking up at the blazing sun in the sky, Scorpion felt a greater longing for peace, and the only way to achieve peace was through unification.

Neither the era of the ninja village nor the era of the ninja country is enough; only complete unification can bring lasting peace.

The era of ninja villages was proven wrong by the Fourth Shinobi World War, and the current era of ninja nations is the same. As long as opposing forces exist, there will inevitably be conflicts, which will eventually evolve into war.

Coupled with the instigation of some ambitious individuals, this leads to so many tragedies.

Therefore, unification is the only option. If unification is to be achieved, he hopes that the Hidden Cloud Village will be the unifier. At least at this stage, the Hidden Cloud Village is doing the best in this regard, while the others are far behind.

(End of this chapter)