Konoha's Mission Master

"How could it be...you!?"

Chiyo stared at Yakumo, who was bathed in golden arcs of electricity, and cried out in a trembling voice.

That mysterious powerhouse who wielded the Golden Lightning Bloodline Limit has now become her nightmare.

But she never imagined... that person would be Jing Yayun.

At that moment, everything became clear.

Chiyo was quick-witted now... and instantly recalled those details she had overlooked in the past.

When the mysterious figure fought against the bounty hunter Kakuzu, Yakumo did indeed disappear for over ten minutes. The reason that mysterious powerful figure attacked Sasori was because he was Kakashi Hatake's close friend.

But he... shouldn't be this powerful!

The golden blade energy, like a storm, roared and destroyed the surrounding red-robed puppets. They were cut in half at the waist, revealing withered skin and stark white bones. There was no blood in their bodies, as if they had been drained dry.

Fragments of puppets and clothing littered the ground around Yakumo, and Sasori's expression shifted from initial confidence to shock.

Scorpion and Chiyo exchanged a glance and reached an agreement.

"kill!"

Chiyo revealed her trump card.

"White Secret Technique: The Ten Masters of Chikamatsu".

This requires manipulating ten puppets simultaneously with all ten fingers, which can be considered the pinnacle of puppetry. Furthermore, these ten puppets were left behind by the first puppeteer, Monzaemon, and can launch combined attacks on enemies from different angles, representing the current limit of puppetry technology.

"Crimson Secret Technique: Manipulation of a Hundred Machines!"

The blood-robed puppets around him trembled as if they had suddenly come to life. Some of the puppets even spat out high-temperature fireballs at Yakumo, which were the ninjutsu they had mastered in life.

The distance between the three people was only six meters.

The fireball, accompanied by a hurricane, ignited the surrounding wild grass, and orange-red flames swept across the area, while the Chikamatsu Ten Ninja stood like a guard in front of Chiyo and Sasori.

The plan was for Sasori to attack first, while Chiyo would defend.

The scorching heat descended, and he gripped the long sword in reverse.

"Fleeting Light".

The surrounding electric arcs were instantly stretched to their limits, and Yakumo's figure flashed by. When he reappeared, Yakumo had already created distance again, and the puppet holding twin swords that had been blocking Chiyo's way had been destroyed.

The two puppets, number one and number two, stood in front of Chiyo, their long swords held horizontally like two heavy and loyal guards. In fact, each of the ten puppets of the Chikamatsu Ten Puppet Masters had its own unique attack methods and left and right sides. For example, number one and number two were larger in size and were responsible for protecting the puppeteer's main body.

The three puppets, number three, four, and five, can be assembled together to use the combo skill "Three Treasures Cleanse".

What Yakumo needs to do now is to break through the defenses.

The next second, a dense rain of thousands of needles shot out from the belly-shaped puppet's body, forming a dense rain of needles above Yakumo's head, while faint blue smoke blended into the surrounding environment.

The scorpion began to administer poison.

"Fleeting Light".

Yakumo transformed into light once more, increasing his speed to its maximum.

At the same time, Yakumo began to hold his breath.

The attack that Sasori is launching now is simply not fast enough to keep up with Yakumo's speed when he uses Flash, so how can it possibly hit?

A straight golden light flashed by, and Yakumo used the power of the instantaneous light to cut down the number one puppet that was blocking Chiyo's way. This time, Yakumo did not create distance to look for another opportunity, but instead quickly swung his twin swords with both hands.

"Waltz".

A golden disc descended upon the surroundings, and golden arcs of electricity detached from the blades and merged into the environment to replenish the golden disc's energy. Tiny cyan wind blades gradually sliced ​​through all the surrounding puppets.

Sasori and Chiyo retreated, while the remaining Chikamatsu Ten appeared orderly, like a gradually moving white wall.

On the other hand, the golden arc of electricity triggered a golden storm tens of meters high. The originally small arc of electricity gradually converged into lightning. The puppet was torn apart by the gale, and the flames were extinguished before they could even burn.

Chiyo's expression changed slightly. Without any hesitation, she used the second scroll at her waist. In previous years, out of hatred for Hatake Sakumo, she gradually perfected and developed a highly poisonous self-destructing puppet specifically designed to counter Hatake's swordsmanship.

Undeterred, the staggering, zombie-like figures walked into the golden storm. As they were gradually cut apart by the gale, the temperature of these puppets' bodies began to rise, and purple cracks appeared on their faces.

"Boom, boom, boom—"

The terrifying explosions continued incessantly, and the flesh and bones of the puppets were evaporated into nothingness in the explosions, leaving only foul-smelling, disgusting purple poisonous blood that merged into the golden storm.

At the same time, the scorpion sprinkled a second type of mixed poison.

Under the corrosive influence of the purple poisonous blood, the golden storm gradually dissipated in mid-air, but Yakumo's figure was nowhere to be seen where the storm had disappeared.

"Fleeting Light".

The straight beam of light crashed into Chiyo's defensive net, violently shattering the No. 2 dual-bladed puppet. At the same time, he swung his hands in a circular motion, drawing a crisscrossing blade aura that slashed towards Chiyo's chest.

These two slashes were incredibly dangerous, as if they were going to rip out Chiyo's internal organs. Faced with a fatal and sharp blow, the experienced Chiyo subconsciously took a few steps back.

"Puppet Royal·Three Treasures suck and collapse!"

Combination technique of puppets number three, four, and five.

Suddenly, an incredibly terrifying wind pressure appeared out of nowhere, followed by a suction force similar to the Universal Pull. Yakumo's body gradually approached the three white puppets arranged in a triangular shape. After the initial resistance, Yakumo simply used the suction force to rush towards the three puppets.

Two iron chains crossed in mid-air, heading towards Yakumo. The surface of the chains was not only covered with barbs about three centimeters long, but also coated with a foul-smelling venom.

The two puppets, number six and seven, attempted to stop Yakumo.

Unfortunately... it was useless.

Yakumo casually swung his sword, leaving circular blade shadows in the air as the iron chain was instantly severed, and the attack missed its mark.

"Shh."

With the twin swords crossed, the cross-shaped blade energy collided with the three puppets. The gravity that the Three Treasures had absorbed paused slightly. Taking this opportunity, Yakumo made another move, using the long-unused technique, the Sky Piercing Technique.

Only thin golden lines remained in mid-air.

This strike was compressed to the extreme, yet infinitely sharp.

Yakumo quickly added two more blows, dismembering the three puppets into parts, and the pressure that had been restricting him disappeared instantly.

Currently, of the ten white-robed puppets of the Chikamatsu Ten, No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, and No. 8 have been directly destroyed by Yakumo, No. 6 and No. 7 have broken main weapons, leaving only No. 9 and No. 10 still capable of fighting. Unfortunately, they are ranged attackers and cannot hit Yakumo at all.

Yakumo charged towards Chiyo and Sasori again. The red-robed puppets blocking their way were basically dealt with by Yakumo with a single slash. Although Sasori's Hundred Puppet Manipulation looked terrifying, the quality of the puppets was far inferior to that of the Chikamatsu Ten Puppet Masters in Chiyo's hands.

Yakumo pressed forward, while Chiyo and Sasori retreated. Countless blood-robed puppets blocked Yakumo's advance. Chiyo and Sasori waited for the poison to take effect, unaware that Yakumo had held his breath and had not inhaled any of the poisonous mist.

Chiyo also throws out self-destructing puppets to block Yakumo's attacks, but unfortunately the distance between the three is gradually decreasing.

Yakumo gazed at the enemy a dozen meters away, sheathed his sword, Fuma, and began to channel lightning chakra energy into the blade.

Golden specks of light surrounded the Demon-Subduing Blade.

As Yakumo charged up his power, the distance between the three of them increased to about twenty meters. More blood-robed puppets stood in front of Yakumo like a city wall, forming a seemingly unbreakable defensive barrier.

"Warm-up is over..."

Under the astonished gazes of Sasori and Chiyo.

A snap.

The ground beneath Yakumo's feet spread outwards in a spiderweb pattern, and his body shot towards the enemy like a cannonball, leaving only a crater about half a meter deep, within which tiny golden arcs of electricity crackled.

Yakumo arrived through the air, his hands wielding the Demon-Subduing Sword, which carried a golden dragon tens of meters long. This move was a technique that Yakumo and Enel had simulated after obtaining the Heart of Thunder.

This move... contains lightning that is no less powerful than the Thunder Dragon created by Enel's 40 million volts. Any puppet that collides with the Thunder Dragon is instantly pierced by the electric current, falls to the ground, and turns into charcoal.

Before those explosive puppets could even explode, the powerful golden electric current destroyed all the spells within their bodies, turning them into duds, and they collapsed slumped to the ground.

This was overwhelming violence; before this golden dragon, all skill or wisdom seemed utterly useless.

They were experiencing a poisoning attack…

But they couldn't hold on until the toxins took effect.

The golden dragon created a diameter that instantly destroyed anything that stood in its way, unable to stop its advance. And the dragon's destination was... Chiyo!

boom…

Puppet No. 6, No. 7, No. 9, and No. 10 were smashed to pieces by the Thunder Dragon, and from then on, the masterpiece left by the great puppet master Monzaemon completely disappeared from the ninja world.

At this moment, there were no more obstacles between Yakumo and Chiyo. A slash from below, carrying golden light, was as bright and flawless as the full moon.

Chiyo stepped back, but a line of blood appeared on her chest, and blood seeped from the huge wound. Chiyo's face turned pale instantly.

This time, Yakumo directly attacked Sasori with his sword. The previous strike had already severely injured Chiyo... and she was nearing death. All that remained was to finish off Sasori... and that would be enough.

Swish, swish, swish.

When a puppeteer and a master swordsman get close, the outcome is obvious: Scorpion is almost instantly suppressed.

It was a perilous situation; in the blink of an eye, the ill-fitting blood-red robe was ripped to shreds, revealing a beautiful face and long, slender, fair, and straight legs.

Looking at the familiar face before him, Yakumo couldn't help but recall his time in Amegakure. Back then... she would chase after him, calling him... "Brother Yakumo."

"I... still hope you are Xiao Lan."

Yakumo spoke softly, but the blade became increasingly deadly.

"What I pursue is eternity and perfection."

"Perfection... Everything in this world has cracks, that's where the light comes from. Even if you try to suppress human emotions as much as possible... there are cracks in your heart."

With a loud bang.

Sasori's last protective puppet was kicked into pieces by Yakumo, and from then on Sasori completely lost his means of defense, becoming a lamb to the slaughter.

Yakumo's twin swords became increasingly cunning, leaving Sasori with no choice but to rely on ninjutsu, poison, and hidden weapons in his possession for a final stand.

Five seconds later, the scorpion lost its balance and fell.

The demon immediately slashed at the head.

But at that moment, a semi-transparent thread of chakra landed on Yakumo's right arm, which was holding the sword, and abruptly changed the trajectory of the sword. The ground next to Sasori was cleaved open by the sword's energy, leaving a cut about ten centimeters deep and two meters long.

Scorpion got up somewhat awkwardly.

Yakumo used his right arm to break the semi-transparent chakra threads on his wrist. Not far away... Chiyo, pale-faced and with blood at the corner of her mouth, stared intently at Yakumo.

It was Chiyo, who was already severely injured, who intervened at the critical moment and saved Sasori from being beheaded by Yakumo's sword.

"Scorpion, run!!"

Chiyo shouted.