Looking at the cluster of buildings with only scattered lights in the distance, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Hayato Ren's lips.
With a grand wave of his hand, a colossal creature resembling Godzilla materialized behind him.
This was none other than Tyranitar, renowned as the Desert Tyrant. Possessing the Sand Veil Trait, Tyranitar was undoubtedly in its element amidst the vast desert.
"Tyranitar, bury them in sand."
Hayato Ren raised his right hand and delivered this rather chuunibyou line.
Tyranitar nodded, then stirred up a violent sandstorm.
The raging sandstorm instantly engulfed the Sand Ninja camp, startling all the ninjas from their slumber.
"Dammit, how can there be such a powerful sandstorm here? We're practically at the edge of the desert," one Sand Ninja grumbled, shielding his face from the invading sand while spitting out a mouthful of grit.
"Has Shukaku broken free again?" another Sand Ninja shouted in panic.
"Have you lost your mind? It's just severe weather. That monster Shukaku is still back in the village."
...
Inside a sturdy building, the fierce sandstorm outside had no effect whatsoever.
Chiyo opened her somewhat cloudy eyes and murmured softly:
"Something's wrong. This sandstorm arrived far too suddenly."
Just then, a Sand Ninja who had gone out to reinforce the camp bumped into something.
After struggling to get up from the ground, the ninja groped around, trying to identify what had blocked his path.
His hands encountered a cold, solid surface, like hard granite.
"Strange, when did such a large rock get placed here?" the Sand Ninja muttered in confusion, then shone his flashlight forward.
Despite the sandstorm reducing visibility to extremely low levels, the flashlight's beam allowed him to clearly see what he had collided with.
Clatter - the flashlight fell from the ninja's hand onto the ground.
His body collapsed onto the sand as he let out a piercing, terrified scream:
"There's a monster!"
This shrill cry instantly pierced through the entire camp, plunging the already tense Sand Ninjas into deep unease.
At that moment, Tyranitar began moving its heavy footsteps again.
Its massive foot directly crushed the unfortunate ninja into pulp.
[Tyranitar: My apologies, it was in my blind spot. I thought it was a speed bump.]
Hearing the scream, Ebizo immediately sensed grave danger and performed a powerful Wind Release technique, blowing away the endless sand.
After completing this, Ebizo leaned against the wall, gasping for breath.
Ebizo's disheveled state was partly due to his advanced age - he wasn't as resilient as he had been in his youth.
On the other hand, the scale of the sandstorm stirred up by Tyranitar was simply too massive, requiring an equal force to counteract it.
The Wind Release technique just now had nearly drained half of the Chakra from Ebizo's body.
After the sandstorm subsided, Tyranitar's demonic form was fully exposed.
Its sheer massive size and intimidating appearance alone made most Sand Ninjas consider retreat.
"This is a monster of the desert, sent by nature to punish us," one Sand Ninja cried out in despair, dropping the Kunai in his hand.
Facing such an opponent, he had not an ounce of courage left to engage in battle.
Just as the Sand Ninjas' morale was on the verge of collapse due to Tyranitar's appearance,
Chiyo finally stepped forward, shouting sternly,
"What is there to fear? It's just a strange Summoning Beast. Even Shukaku was conquered by us—what does a mere Summoning Beast amount to?"
As a seasoned veteran, Chiyo truly lived up to her reputation as the stabilizing pillar of the Sand Hidden Village. With just a few words, she managed to restore the Sand Ninjas' morale.
Staring at Tyranitar in the distance, Chiyo frowned deeply.
Logically speaking, a Summoning Beast of this caliber shouldn't be unknown in the Shinobi World. Why did it feel like she had never heard of it before?
At that moment, as if remembering something, her expression twisted from anger into dread.
"Ha—ya—to—Ren! It's you again, you damned bastard!"
Chiyo would never forget that it was Hayato Ren who had killed her beloved son,
Leading to her grandson Sasori running away from home, leaving her, a woman past her prime, all alone in what should have been her golden years.
[Ebizo: ???]
[There's no mistake. The only one in the Shinobi World who would summon such a bizarre Summoning Beast is that damned Hayato Ren.]
Chiyo gritted her teeth, thinking to herself, while her eyes scanned the surroundings for any sign of Hayato Ren.
For years, she had dreamed of personally ending the life of the man who had destroyed her family.
Just then, a figure suddenly appeared on Tyranitar's shoulder.
It was none other than Hayato Ren.
Ren waved in Chiyo's direction, as if greeting an old acquaintance.
"Well, if it isn't old lady Chiyo. Still alive, huh? The Sand Hidden Village must really be out of people if they're sending someone as old as you to lead a team."
Chiyo suppressed the rage in her heart and let out a cold laugh.
"Hmph, dealing with you Leaf ninjas is something even an old woman like me can handle. How dare you come here alone? A year from today will be the anniversary of your death."
Even as she spat out these harsh words, Chiyo's hands were already moving.
The moment Ren appeared, she swiftly unrolled a scroll.
In the blink of an eye, ten humanoid puppets clad in white robes floated behind her.
This was Chiyo's proud White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu Ten Puppets.
With a few flicks of her ten fingers, the puppets simultaneously shot toward Hayato Ren.
Tyranitar was no pushover either—it stomped its right foot heavily on the ground.
The ground beneath their feet instantly shattered, and the surrounding ten-mile radius began to tremble as if struck by an earthquake.
At this moment, Tyranitar seemed like the very embodiment of natural disaster.
Immediately after, the rocks torn from the earth flew toward the ten Puppets under Tyranitar's command.
Faced with the onslaught of raging stones, the Puppets had no choice but to raise their weapons, struggling to defend themselves.