The Kazekage watched the thick smoke ahead, his eyes narrowed. Just as he was about to continue forming hand seals to confirm the kill, he suddenly felt the ground vibrate violently beneath his feet. He immediately leaped high into mid-air.
Puppets erupted from beneath the desert sand one after another, launching vicious surprise attacks on the relaxed Hidden Sand ninjas.
With hidden swords, extending spears, flying poison needles, and noxious poison mist, the puppets' methods of attack were myriad and lethal. Some ninjas with slow reactions were killed instantly, while others turned pale and collapsed after sustaining only minor scratches.
"Oh no! The weapons on these puppets are poisoned!"
"Quick! Take the antidote!"
Fortunately, knowing who they were hunting, the Kazekage's squad had prepared universal antidotes. Although they might not necessarily neutralize Sasori's custom, complex poisons entirely, they could at least suppress the lethal effects temporarily.
The Medical Ninjas in the squad immediately fell back and began frantically treating the wounded.
Chisuke knew Sasori was not easy to deal with, so he had remained completely focused. When the underground attack came, he reacted immediately, remaining entirely uninjured as he cleanly engaged a centipede-like puppet in combat.
Of course, Chisuke was actually holding back his true strength. After all, the Kazekage was there. The Kazekage was the main force in this battle, and Chisuke only needed to provide the illusion of dedicated support.
Moreover, Chisuke didn't actually care whether Sasori lived or died, so he naturally wouldn't risk his life fighting with his full strength.
Iron Sand rapidly formed a pair of massive black wings, carrying the Kazekage as he hovered menacingly in mid-air.
The Kazekage saw that several of his loyal shinobi had been killed or wounded in the ambush. He let out a furious snort and formed hand seals. Countless grains of Iron Sand coalesced, sweeping across the entire battlefield like a storm. The sand quickly penetrated the joints and gears of the puppets' bodies, brutally destroying their internal structures.
As if a pause button had been pressed on the battlefield, the puppets all ceased their movements, locking up completely before being swiftly smashed to pieces by the enraged Hidden Sand ninjas.
However, during this chaotic delay, Sasori had already disappeared from the battlefield entirely.
Fortunately, the delay hadn't been long, and Sasori hadn't fled too far. A sensory ninja slammed their hands on the sand, used a tracking Ninjutsu, and pointed urgently toward a canyon. "He's escaping that way!"
The Kazekage immediately led his men in high-speed pursuit. But after chasing for only a short while, he was forced to stop. Up ahead, he saw Chiyo leading a large group of people directly toward them.
Behind Chiyo were Ebizo, Rasa, and a dozen other elite Jonin. The Kazekage stopped his advance and stared at Chiyo, his expression incredibly grim and dangerous.
"Chiyo! Are you here to shield Sasori?!" The Kazekage's voice boomed with authority. "Don't tell me your faction is planning to rebel against the village?!"
Sasori's treacherous actions had filled the Kazekage with burning hatred, and he was already deeply dissatisfied with Chiyo for indulging her grandson's eccentricities for years. Thus, his accusation was blunt and merciless.
For any hidden village, treason and rebellion were the absolute most unforgivable crimes.
The bleeding, furious ninjas behind the Kazekage had just fought Sasori and lost dear comrades. They wished they could tear Sasori into a thousand pieces. Hearing the Kazekage's words, they all drew their weapons with a unified clash of steel.
If Chiyo and her group dared to show even a hint of disrespect or resistance, they would definitely strike without a second thought.
Seeing the incredibly tense situation, Chisuke immediately decided to fan the flames for his own benefit.
"Hmph! Sasori has murdered loyal ninjas from his own village!" Chisuke shouted, stepping forward. "As Sasori's grandmother and a powerful Elder Advisor, did you really know absolutely nothing about his treason, Chiyo?!"
Pakura glared at Chisuke upon hearing his aggressive words, signaling him not to add fuel to the fire. But Chisuke acted as if he hadn't seen her warning and continued talking loudly.
"Maybe your entire faction is involved! Otherwise, why show up right now to delay us?! After such a long delay, who knows how far Sasori has managed to run! Hmph, when we were fighting for our lives just now, and our comrades were shedding blood for the village, we didn't see you anywhere. Yet you appear just as we are pursuing him—is this a coincidence?!"
Chisuke placed a hand over his heart, looking righteous. "Although I'm just a Genin, Teacher Pakura teaches me every single day through word and deed that without a strong, united village, we wouldn't have our current peaceful lives! We must always put the Hidden Sand's collective interests first. But looking at your highly suspicious actions, Chiyo, I really feel it's not worth it for my teacher to bleed for you!"
Chiyo looked at Chisuke in sheer surprise, not expecting this random kid to be so eloquent and venomous.
Chisuke simply stuck out his neck with an air of total fearlessness.
"What are you glaring at me for? I'm talking about you! With the Kazekage himself standing right here, do you want to kill me to vent your anger? I am a proud Hidden Sand shinobi, and I will only be loyal to the strongest Kazekage! I will do my best for the village's future, and fight for my reliable comrades! I will never bow to evil, treacherous forces, not even in death!"
Chisuke raised a fist to the sky. "I firmly believe that under Lord Kazekage's leadership, all internal filth will be swept away, and the Hidden Sand will stand at the absolute peak of the Ninja World!"
Chisuke's words were incredibly impassioned, filled with sorrow for his fallen comrades while simultaneously perfectly flattering the Kazekage. It resonated deeply with the bloody, angry men around him, and they nodded one after another in agreement.
They decided in their hearts that once this matter was over, they must suggest the Kazekage take heavy action to officially suppress Chiyo's political influence and purge anyone related to Sasori.
The Kazekage also glanced at Chisuke. He felt that this kid was strong, spoke honestly, and was fiercely loyal and reliable, making him highly worthy of focused cultivation in the future.
Chiyo and her group, however, looked at Chisuke speechlessly. They thought to themselves: Who exactly is wasting time here?! You're the one monologuing and wasting the most time!
However, now was absolutely not the time to argue with a fanatic Genin. Once they tried to aggressively refute him, no matter the outcome, it would lead to terrible political consequences.
With the Kazekage himself directly questioning if they were rebelling, Chiyo and the others felt immense, crushing pressure. The Hidden Sand ninjas standing behind Chiyo were so scared of a civil war that cold sweat broke out on their foreheads.
Seeing that Sasori had incited total public outrage this time, Chiyo had no time to deal with Chisuke's slander and could only admit fault and back down respectfully.
"Sasori is my grandson, and now that he has committed treason, I naturally bear a great responsibility for failing to guide him," Chiyo said, bowing her head. "Therefore, I've come to contribute my strength. Lord Kazekage, I will personally deal with Sasori to console the spirits of our tragically killed comrades."
Seeing Chiyo bow her head so completely, the Kazekage snorted coldly and didn't reply. He simply continued the pursuit of Sasori, and Chiyo's group immediately followed in tense silence.
Meanwhile, miles away inside the Hidden Sand Village, at a highly hidden underground Sealing Altar, two Anbu ninjas were on high alert, guarding the heavy stone entrance.
After the death of the previous One-Tails Jinchuriki, the monk Bunpuku, the Ichibi was temporarily sealed into a massive teakettle here and strictly guarded, as no suitable replacement Jinchuriki had been found yet.
This location was the Hidden Sand's absolute top secret; many Jonin didn't even know of this place, making its security perimeter extremely tight.
"Why are you here? It's not time for the shift change yet," one of the guards said, narrowing his eyes.
A figure emerged from the shadows. The two guards immediately drew their weapons, only to relax slightly when they realized it was a familiar Chunin—Yura.
Yura smiled, though his eyes were completely dead and glassy. "No, no. My lord simply says the time has come to send you on your way."
With that, Yura suddenly threw open his trench coat, revealing a massive, tightly packed ring of exploding tags strapped to his chest.
Even more terrifyingly, the tags had already been ignited.
Rumble! The massive, localized explosion instantly vaporized the two guards and directly destroyed the structural integrity of the heavy altar. A thick plume of black smoke rose high into the sky, and the strong, violent tremors spread far, violently startling the entire Hidden Sand Village.
"What's going on?!"
"Is it an earthquake?"
"Bullshit! Look at that pillar of smoke; we're under attack!"
"Immediately activate the emergency defense plan! Evacuate the civilians to the shelters! Defense units, move out to meet the enemy!"
After a brief moment of panic, the Hidden Sand shinobi quickly displayed their excellent military discipline. Several Jonin commanders regained their composure and rapidly gathered personnel to rush to the scene of the explosion.
"Ahahaha! This great one is finally free! You damned little bugs, accept my wrath!"
Just as the first wave of Hidden Sand ninjas arrived at the smoking crater, they saw a massive, terrifyingly bloated figure burst through the rubble. An arrogant, maddened howl echoed through the sky.
It was the Ichibi, Shukaku.
"Oh no! The Ichibi has broken free from the seal!"
"Quickly, stop it! Don't let it get near the civilian sectors! Everyone, charge with me! We have to buy time for the Sealing Squad to arrive!"
"Notify the Kazekage immediately; I'm afraid we won't be able to hold it back!"
Having finally broken free from the suffocating darkness of the seal, Shukaku immediately began a joyous slaughter, violently venting the rage from its long imprisonment. For a time, the Hidden Sand shinobi suffered heavy, gruesome casualties, yet they had to continue charging forward like ants trying to stop a rolling boulder.
"Our homes and families are right behind us! We have nowhere to retreat!"
"Kill it!"
Looking at the desperate ants swarming before him, Shukaku laughed disdainfully. "Just with you lot, you can't possibly hope to stop me! Tailed Beast Ball!"
Shukaku opened its maw and rapidly condensed a terrifying, ultra-dense sphere of black-and-purple Chakra. With a flick of its head, it launched the Tailed Beast Ball directly over the heads of the defending ninjas, aiming straight for the densely populated center of the village behind them.