It looks like we have to have a showdown.
After receiving the report from Hyūga Kei regarding the surrounding situation, Fūmori Masaki said to Danzo.
Danzo Shimura nodded and said, "Fortunately, we didn't give them a chance to set up a Barrier, otherwise even if we could break through, we would suffer heavy losses."
The team consisted of elite Konoha Ninja from Konohagakure, whose strength and experience had been verified. They naturally understood the current situation; although they were surrounded by Sunagakure Ninja, they did not feel panicked. This was not only due to confidence in their own strength, but also confidence in the students of the Second Hokage.
Hyūga Kei and the others had personally witnessed how Fūmori Masaki had entangled with the Tailed Beast-transformed Ginkaku. Even if Sunagakure Ninja were known for being elite, unless the Second Kazekage himself arrived, who else could bring more pressure to them than the Tailed Beast-transformed Ginkaku?
"Exactly." Fūmori Masaki looked at the others. "We cannot get overly entangled with them. We must concentrate our strength to break through as quickly as possible. We are already very close to the Land of Rivers."
"Understood," the others said in unison.
"Move out." Fūmori Masaki waved his hand sharply, and everyone sprang into action.
The twenty-three people did not stay together but dispersed into groups of three, totaling seven groups. They arranged themselves in formation, keeping a certain distance from each other. Fūmori Masaki and Danzo Shimura independently led three groups for offensive tasks, while the other four groups were responsible for cover and support.
The reason they did not concentrate together was because the Wind Release Ninjutsu of the Sunagakure Ninja was good at area of effect attacks, and being grouped together made them easy targets. By adopting this formation, not only were they less likely to be affected by area Ninjutsu, but they were also more flexible in their movements. In Fūmori Masaki's view, this was the fighting style that Ninja should adopt; group warfare like that of the Samurai was not suitable for Ninja.
Everyone ran quickly in one direction. The Sunagakure Ninja, noticing the movement, began to tighten the encirclement. Chiyo and Ebizo sped up, preparing to decide the outcome.
By the time they arrived, the Konoha Ninja were already engaged with others. Although Fūmori Masaki and Danzo Shimura were present, the Sunagakure Ninja, being from the desert, managed to slow down the pace of the Konoha Ninja, allowing Chiyo and Ebizo to arrive in time.
Chiyo was shocked when she saw the casualties of the Sunagakure Ninja. From the moment they received the news to the time the siblings arrived, the time was very short, yet the losses were this severe. If they hadn't been doing their best, it was estimated that the Konoha Ninja would have broken through again, and it would be difficult to surround them again.
"Ebizo, let's go!" Chiyo saw at a glance that it was because the strength of Fūmori Masaki and Danzo Shimura was a cut above the others. Although the other Konoha Ninja were powerful, they clearly could not achieve such results. To keep the Konoha Ninja, she had to hold back or eliminate these two strongest people.
"Lord Chiyo and Lord Ebizo are here!" A Sunagakure Ninja who was struggling to defend himself couldn't help but exclaim when he saw the two people rushing over.
— — Chiyo? Ebizo?
Hearing these two somewhat familiar names, Fūmori Masaki was slightly stunned. While kicking away the Sunagakure Ninja in front of him, he shifted his gaze and saw the radiant Chiyo at this moment. Although he had expected it, he couldn't help but show a strange look.
"You must be Fūmori Masaki, right? Uh, what do you mean?" Chiyo had just landed, and after saying one sentence, she saw Fūmori Masaki's expression and couldn't help but be surprised, because the other party's eyes... how should she put it, there was some indescribable meaning there.
"Nothing." Fūmori Masaki quickly composed himself and smiled, "I just didn't expect you to be quite pretty."
"Heh, flattery won't do you any good, Fūmori Masaki." The corners of Chiyo's lips curled up slightly.
In the time it took to exchange two sentences, both sides had already conducted an offense and defense. The moment Fūmori Masaki's voice fell, he held the wind cutter and slashed towards Chiyo. Chiyo gently moved her fingers, and the ground suddenly exploded. In a mist of sand and dust, a figure blocked the wind cutter's attack, and then both sides quickly separated.
Blocking in front of Chiyo was a puppet. It held a sword in one hand, and it was this sword that blocked the wind cutter. However, upon closer inspection, there was a small notch in the blade, which made Chiyo's expression tighten slightly. She had also injected Wind Release Chakra, yet the result of the blades clashing was this.
— — This guy, his level of Wind Release is not simple.
Just as Chiyo was thinking this, she heard Fūmori Masaki opposite her say: "Hiding a puppet in the sand is too despicable, right?"
"You have the nerve to say that? Who was it that complimented my appearance and then slashed over with a sword? We're even," Chiyo smiled sweetly and responded.
In the time of another two sentences, both sides launched a duel again. Chiyo took the opportunity to let the puppet shoot out poison needles. Although the movement was secretive, it was nothing in Fūmori Masaki's eyes. He didn't even move; the Wind Release surrounding his body deflected all the poison needles, and then a blast of wind pressure rushed towards Chiyo like a cannonball.
Chiyo raised her other hand, and another puppet emerged. Together with the previous puppet, they set up a shield to block the attack. She herself flew backward under the immense pressure. Her eyes turned slightly, and the two puppets moved accordingly to meet the descending Fūmori Masaki.
The three figures crossed paths. When Fūmori Masaki's figure landed on the ground, a broken blade and a wooden arm fell onto the sand; it was the arm of the puppet that had blocked the attack earlier. In her haste, Chiyo didn't have time to inject more Wind Release Chakra, so she naturally couldn't block the wind cutter that had further increased its cutting power.
Chiyo pulled the two puppets in front of her, her eyes fixed tightly on Fūmori Masaki. Just from two exchanges, she felt that she had to be fully focused, otherwise she might lose her life in an instant!
Ebizo did not come to support, because the moment the battle between Chiyo and Fūmori Masaki began, he was held back by Danzo Shimura. The strength of both sides was close, and Ebizo was a strategic Ninja, so the battle would not be decided for a while.
Danzo Shimura had no intention of defeating Ebizo; their goal was still to leave this place. If it dragged on for too long and other Sunagakure Ninja arrived from elsewhere, their side would become increasingly weak. People like Ebizo were good at stalling, so the key still lay in the battle between Fūmori Masaki and Chiyo.
— — Finish that woman off quickly, Masaki!
Fūmori Masaki understood his meaning, so he did not intend to show mercy. After severing one of the puppet's arms, he rushed up again. His figure was so fast that only a blurred line remained, turning towards Chiyo at a mysterious angle.
A scroll fell from Chiyo's hand. As the scroll unfolded, two puppets also flew out at high speed, colliding with Fūmori Masaki. In the blink of an eye, both of them were thrown to the back, wooden fragments falling from their bodies, while Fūmori Masaki continued to rush forward without slowing down.
In the moment of delay from the collision, Chiyo summoned three puppets from the scroll. The more powerful a Puppet Master was, the more puppets they could control. Like Chiyo's teacher Monzaemon, who could control a puppet with just one finger; although Chiyo was young, she could already control five puppets, which showed her talent.
The three puppets swirled towards Fūmori Masaki in a whoosh, while the two that had been thrown away ignored normal movements and pounced on Fūmori Masaki's back. This was exactly one of the advantages of puppets; because they were not real humans, no matter how they were manipulated or what incredible movements they made, it would not affect them.
Five figures came from different directions, blocking his path completely, and then all pounced on Fūmori Masaki at once, instantly exploding into a cloud of mist-like sand and dust.
Chiyo's expression changed drastically, and she leaped backward. Fūmori Masaki suddenly rushed out from the sand in front of her and slashed a blade towards Chiyo's neck. A line of blood appeared, but it was just a hair's breadth, just that little bit, and Chiyo would have been throat-slitted to death.
While covering her throat, she threw out three Kunai, with an exploding tag tied to the back of the Kunai. The exploding tag exploded immediately, and the bursting fire swallowed Fūmori Masaki. Of course, she didn't think Fūmori Masaki would fall just like that. The three puppets shot hidden weapons towards the place where the fire burst, while the other two puppets quickly returned to defend.
When Chiyo landed, she had already formed the seals for Medical Ninjutsu, healing the wound on her throat with one hand while searching for Fūmori Masaki's figure. If it weren't for her excellent Taijutsu, an ordinary Puppet Master would never have been able to dodge that blade. Was this Fūmori Masaki's strength?
the new third hokage of konoha