I, a cultivator, ended up in the Naruto world.

Chapter 113 The True Puppetry

The wind howled, tearing a hole in the rain curtain.

Three puppets floated in mid-air in a triangular formation, with violent chakra vortexes surging from their bodies, weaving into a huge tornado that enveloped Yang Xiang.

That is one of the ultimate secrets of puppetry – the Three Treasures Absorption.

The wind pressure was so strong that it tore the surrounding carriages to pieces, and wood chips mixed with rainwater flew everywhere.

The ground began to crack, and the gravel was sucked into the vortex and instantly turned into dust.

"Yang Xiang!" Rope Tree lay on the edge of the cliff, his face deathly pale.

He had seen Yang Xiang fight, seen him take down enemies with a single punch, and seen him crush them with his Wood Release, but he had never seen him trapped.

The tearing force emanating from the tornado was terrifying just to watch.

Rope Tree has begun preparing to use the Flying Thunder God Technique to transfer Yang Xiang away.

If I'm quick enough, I should be able to do it!

Chiyo's hands trembled slightly.

Activating the Three Treasures Absorption technique places a huge burden on the body and chakra.

But she had a smile on her face, the smile of a hunter who has finally caught his prey.

"You brat from the Senju family, don't blame me," she said softly. "Blame yourself for being too arrogant. Do you know about the bounty of one hundred million, the siege by the four-nation alliance, and the reappearance of Wood Release? How many people want you dead?"

There was no response from inside the tornado.

Only the wind was howling.

Chiyo frowned.

wrong.

Logically, those trapped and exhausted by the Three Treasures should be constantly spun by the tearing force of the vortex, eventually losing consciousness and being completely sealed away.

But the feeling that her chakra threads were feeding back was too calm.

It's as if what's trapped isn't a person, but a stone.

Her pupils suddenly contracted.

In the center of the tornado, a green light appeared.

At first it was just a faint glimmer, like a firefly in a rainy night.

But the next second, the green light suddenly surged, so bright that Chiyo could barely open her eyes.

boom!!!

The tornado exploded.

A violent shockwave spread outwards, and the three puppets were flung away like rag dolls, crashing into the rock wall and turning into a pile of broken wood.

Chiyo stumbled backward, the sharp pain in her ten fingers almost making her cry out – three chakra threads had snapped, severed by force.

The smoke and dust cleared.

Yang Xiang stood still, his body enveloped in a light green light.

"You—" Chiyo's voice was a little hoarse, "What is that?"

Yang Xiang did not answer.

He raised his hand and spread his five fingers.

A sword aura shot out from his fingertips, so fast that its trajectory was almost invisible.

Chiyo instinctively manipulated two puppets to stand in front of her.

puff!puff!

The sword energy pierced through the puppets' bodies, leaving two charred holes in the core runes on their chests.

The two puppets were destroyed on the spot and fell to the ground.

Chiyo's face turned completely pale.

Those were the Chikamatsu Ten!

The greatest masterpiece of the first puppeteer, Monzaemon!

The core runes of each puppet are engraved using a special process, so they can't be damaged even by explosive tags!

One sword strike destroyed two bodies?

"You—" her voice trembled, "What exactly are you?"

Yang Xiang did not answer.

He simply took one step forward.

This step instantly soaked Chiyo's back in cold sweat.

She has lived for decades and has seen countless powerful people.

The Second Kazekage's puppetry techniques, the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release, and even a distant glimpse of the man known as the "God of Shinobi" in his youth—

Hashirama Senju.

But at this moment, the boy she was facing gave her a more eerie feeling than the others.

It wasn't oppression, it wasn't fear, but rather a kind of inexplicable sense of unease.

It was as if she was facing not a person, but a pure mass of energy.

"Chiyo," Yang Xiang spoke, his voice as calm as if he were chatting casually, "Your puppetry skills are very strong. Really. I've seen many puppeteers, but you're the strongest I've ever seen."

Chiyo clenched her fists.

Is this meant to humiliate her?

"But," Yang Xiang continued, "your problem is that you've treated the puppet as a tool."

"Puppets are just tools!" Chiyo gritted her teeth.

"No." Yang Xiang shook his head. "You treat them as weapons, as tools for killing. So you can only ever control them, never make them a part of you."

He raised his hand, and the defeated puppet in the distance was sucked into his hand.

The spiritual energy in the dantian violently destroyed the existing runes and inscribed new puppet runes.

"True puppetry," Yang Xiang said softly, "should be like this."

He let go.

The puppet did not fall; instead, it stood up shakily.

Chiyo's eyes widened.

No chakra threads!

That puppet moved on its own!

"You—how did you do that?!"

"That's not important." Yang Xiang waved his hand, and the puppet collapsed. "What's important is that you've already lost."

Although the Chikamatsu Ten Puppet Masters were made of good materials, Yosho's puppetry technique, which combined sealing techniques, could only control them temporarily.

If long-term use is required, it is necessary to penetrate the energy core and soul.

Chiyo fell silent.

She looked at the scattered puppet fragments on the ground, at her trembling fingers, and at the calm boy in front of her, who seemed to be having afternoon tea.

She lost.

We lost completely.

"What do you want?" her voice was hoarse. "Kill me?"

Yang Xiang tilted his head.

"Logically speaking, I should kill you," he said. "You are a general of Sunagakure, and no fewer than a hundred Konoha ninja have died at your hands. Killing you would save many lives."

Chiyo gave a cold laugh, awaiting the final verdict.

"But," Yang Xiang changed the subject, "you didn't use poison just now."

Chiyo was taken aback.

"Your puppets are all coated with deadly poison; they'll die the moment you touch them," Yang Xiang said. "But the puppets that attacked me just now didn't have poison on their blades."

He paused.

"You want to capture me alive."

Chiyo fell silent.

She did indeed want to capture Yang Xiang alive. Not out of mercy, but because a living Yang Xiang was far more valuable than a dead one.

A living Wood Release ninja can be exchanged for three years' worth of supplies from Sunagakure.

"I won't kill you," Yang Xiang said.

Chiyo suddenly looked up.

"It's not out of mercy, nor because of some bullshit ninja code." Yang Xiang looked at her, his eyes eerily calm. "It's because you're more useful to go back alive than dead."

"What do you mean?"

"Go back and tell the Third Kazekage," Yang Xiang turned and walked towards the canyon exit, "that Sunagakure can't take the Land of Rain. Withdraw as soon as possible to reduce casualties."

His figure disappeared into the rain, leaving only a sentence drifting over: "If he doesn't believe me, let him come to me himself."

Chiyo stood there, rain streaming down her face, indistinguishable between rain and sweat.

After a long time, she slowly squatted down and picked up a fragment of the puppet.

That was Monzaemon's masterpiece, the most precious treasure of Sunagakure.

It's broken now.

With her heart.

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