Chapter 264: A New Star, a Puppet King
Ebizō stared, speechless. Never in his life had he seen such a monstrous puppet. It was entirely metallic, with a bulky body and thick armor, reminiscent of a large fortress. He felt a deep sense of despair. With Konoha's military might, they didn't even need to use such puppets. He truly did not want to believe this was the case.
Sasuke smiled, his hand slowly rising as if conducting a symphony. "Activate!"
The ten giant puppets roared to life. Rumble, rumble! The earth trembled. "Puppets… puppets can move?"
Each of the giant puppets had a cockpit. Pilots from Konoha's Special Forces—all with high chakra reserves and skilled in puppetry—climbed in.
"This is not a puppet, it's a new type of ninja tool," Sasuke calmly explained. The pilot in the mecha puppet formed a series of seals with their hands. "You see, it can perform ninjutsu."
The mecha puppet took a step, its body heavy, but its speed was astonishing. It was as fast as a wind-style shinobi. Its joints were connected by a strange material, not metal, not wood, but something that resembled a white silk-like substance.
"This is..." Ebizō's eyes widened. "It's chakra silk! A new type of chakra silk!"
One of the puppets, shaped like a snake, unleashed a torrent of senbon, each one wrapped in explosive tags. Boom, boom, boom! The desert ground was instantly riddled with holes.
"This is the Puppet Secret Technique: Fire Bullet Barrage!", Ebizō roared, enraged. "The Puppet Secret Technique: Water Whip!"
He manipulated the Ten Chikamatsu, a legendary collection. Ten humanoid puppets worked together seamlessly. One of the puppets' mouths, made of a strange material, spat out a concentrated blast of water.
However, the mecha puppet that had just fired the senbon did not move, as if it didn't feel the attack at all. Its armor was so thick, the water whip simply bounced off.
"This thing... it's like a fortress! A mobile fortress! A fortress that can perform ninjutsu!"
Ebizō's heart sank. He had always been proud of his ability to control ten puppets with his single hand, but this... "The Puppet Secret Technique: Four-Sided Destruction!"
His puppets began to attack from all sides, but the mecha puppet responded with a single punch, turning the ground to powder.
Ebizō, a master puppeteer, was at a loss for words. His puppets, so agile and nimble, were completely useless against this monster. It was like a bug trying to bite a rock.
"This puppet... it's a new star. A puppet king!", he muttered to himself. He realized that this was not a fair fight. He was outmatched. This was a battle between generations. The new generation was so powerful, they could create something like this. The old ways were obsolete.
He felt a deep sense of despair. He had seen the future, and the future was not for him. He was a relic, a remnant of a bygone era. He turned and fled, not caring about the honor of his village anymore, but simply wanting to escape this nightmare.
"Ebizō, you can't escape," Sasuke's voice, calm and detached, echoed in his ears.
Ebizō's heart sank. He knew it was the end. He was going to die here. A new star had risen, and an old one was about to fall.