This puppeteer is a bit... well...

Chapter 40: A and Sage Mode

"Bang!"

The girl shattered a rock spear that was larger than her own body with a single punch, and with the remaining force, struck the belly of the giant who was chasing after her.

"Bang!"

With a dull thud, the force of the punch exploded, causing the fat on the giant's belly to ripple like the surface of a lake before it flew out, smashing through several thick stone pillars and walls before exiting the tower.

The commotion attracted the attention of the two fighters on the other side.

Seeing his companion being knocked out of the tower, Minato exclaimed in surprise and spread his legs to rush to save him.

But then a dark shadow flashed before their eyes, and a boy with short, reddish-brown hair stepped forward to block their path.

"You started this fight, and now you want to run away?" After saying that, Ryuji turned to Gin, who was about to come to his aid, and said, "Don't worry about this place, go and deal with that fat guy."

Looking at the boy in front of him who always wore a confident smile, Minato's heart sank.

Although I am fast, I am not so fast that my opponent cannot keep up.

If you want to escape, you can leave at any time. But if you want to rescue people as quickly as possible, you have to go out through this hole, and the enemy can just block you here.

In other words, he can forget about saving the person unless he defeats the boy in front of him.

But through their brief encounter, Minato gained some understanding of the boy's personality.

Confident and bold, yet extremely cautious.

It sounds contradictory, but it's not.

To put it simply, it means having a clear mind and a well-defined thought process.

Be cautious about the unknown, but bold and confident in the known. You will never be misled by the enemy and fall into a trap, nor will you waste opportunities due to the enemy's bluff.

Just like his own kunai wrapped with the Flying Thunder God rune, even if he pretended to throw a normal kunai, the opponent would always disrupt the throwing position, making his plan more difficult.

With such a personality and considerable strength, it's simply impossible for him to win in a short time.

Moreover, who knows what secrets that seemingly weak puppet might hold.

The other party became extremely confident after taking out the puppet. Anyone who actually considered it a weak puppet would be a fool.

"BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!"

The sounds of explosions continued to come from outside, indicating a fierce battle. The muffled groans of his comrades added to Minato's anxiety.

That's the only option we can use.

Minato's eyes suddenly sharpened.

He clasped his hands together, staring intently at the boy before him. "Sunagakure ninja, believe it or not, we had no intention of harming you. Can't we really talk this over?"

I believe you.

Looking at the boy's sincere expression, Minato was stunned for a moment, and even his hand movements became flawed.

Long Er seized the opportunity to enter and used Jia as a heavy hammer to smash him out.

Minato was startled and quickly jumped back.

"Bang!"

The puppet crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.

To Minato's surprise, the heavy blow not only failed to damage the floor, but also shattered the puppet, sending various parts and fragments flying everywhere.

Everyone was stunned by Minato's performance.

That's it?

That's it, that's it?

He was so confident just from taking it out, but something he considered his trump card just shattered like that?

Minato realized he had fallen for the enemy's bluff.

Recalling how cautiously he had avoided the puppet during the previous battle, even he, with his mild temper, couldn't help but feel annoyed.

"snort!"

A contemptuous snort, mixed with the sound of the puppet shattering, jolted Minato awake like an alarm bell signaling impending death.

He looked up and noticed a detail.

None of the debris and parts scattered around were broken.

Or rather, they are fragments as puppets, but perfectly complete as individual parts.

Could it be?

Minato had a bad feeling.

"I believe you didn't intend to hurt me, but I also believe we can't resolve this conflict through negotiation." After saying what he hadn't finished speaking, the soft tubes connecting his body to his armor broke off one by one, revealing countless tiny joints.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!"

As chakra was injected, countless thin chakra threads flew out from the interface, connecting with the scattered parts in the air, and then suddenly pulled back.

"Click click click..."

With the sounds of mechanical assembly, parts and plates were assembled on Ryuji's body... body armor, arm armor, leg armor, joints, helmet... in just a breath, he was wearing a layer of futuristic metal armor.

Finally, the severed hose expelled a burst of gas and then reconnected to the interface on the back of the armor, revealing crimson eyes shining from within the cold helmet visor.

He exudes a powerful aura that makes it difficult for people to breathe.

Just as I thought!

Minato took a deep breath.

The puppet's joints and fasteners were exposed, making it look like it would fall apart at the slightest touch, which is why it looked so weak.

At first, he thought it might have been deliberately designed for some special purpose.

But now that I think about it, it was definitely designed that way on purpose.

However, it wasn't designed for any special mechanism, but rather deliberately designed to make it easier to disassemble into parts.

This puppet—no, it should be called this armor.

This armor is only displayed as a puppet when it is not in use.

Although Minato didn't know why the other party would go to the trouble of creating a puppet, that was the reality at present.

"Your goal is to stop Centipede from creating a puppet army through the Dragon Vein to control the world, while my goal is to seize the Dragon Vein. We are destined to settle this with one of us."

Ryuji's voice became somewhat sharp and heavy after being filtered through the mask, and combined with the tall and imposing armor, it sounded like a robot speaking.

"I see."

Minato closed his eyes.

Ryuji felt an invisible pressure coming from the other party and couldn't help but become serious.

Suddenly, a ring of orange markings appeared around the corner of Minato's eyes. He abruptly opened his eyes, and his pupils, like those of a toad, gained a ridge.

The invisible sense of oppression suddenly intensified.

Sage Mode...

Ryuji became even more serious, focusing intently on Minato.

The wind blew in through the hole in the wall, and tiny pebbles rolled gently.

Suddenly, the air currents became violently strong.

The water gate suddenly disappeared from the spot.

Behind you!

Sensors on the armor detected abnormal air phenomena and quickly calculated the enemy's landing point.

Without hesitation, Long Er swung his hand, twisted his waist, turned around, and swept his arm horizontally, completing the entire sequence of movements in one smooth motion.

"Bang!"

Just as he appeared behind her, Minato, who was wielding a strange kunai and preparing to thrust, was struck by a horizontal sweep and sent flying backward.

Long Er, seizing the advantage, relentlessly pursued the enemy's fleeing figure.

With heavy steps, he activated the propulsion device on his back, unleashing flames to accelerate. He became a blur, overtaking the flying water gate despite being behind.

"Go to hell!"

Ryuji raised his right arm, flames erupting from his hand, knee, and back to accelerate, and then slammed a punch down on Minato's head.

boom!

(End of this chapter)