The chakra threads, under the control of that Sunagakure ninja, began to rapidly retract, and the puppet simultaneously started to retreat at extreme speed.
Given the puppet's return speed, the Sunagakure ninja was confident that the puppet would position itself in front of him before this Uchiha brat could reach him.
Just as the puppeteer ninja breathed an inward sigh of relief, he suddenly saw Sasuke's speed surge by more than double.
"This speed!"
"Damn it, this brat wasn't fighting at full power earlier!"
The puppeteer's face underwent a drastic change as he hurriedly retreated while manipulating the chakra threads, accelerating the puppet's withdrawal.
However, given the speed Sasuke was now displaying, the puppet couldn't return to the Sunagakure ninja's side before Sasuke appeared right in front of him.
SHLICK!
Accompanied by a flash of blue light streaking past.
Sasuke, wielding Chidori, pierced straight through this Sunagakure ninja's chest.
But upon feeling the sensation transmitted through his hand, Sasuke's expression changed drastically as he immediately yanked his hand out and prepared to retreat.
As a cloud of white smoke dissipated, the person he had struck transformed directly into a humanoid puppet.
At that moment, Sasuke noticed that behind this humanoid puppet, there were extremely well-hidden chakra threads still connected!
In other words!
The puppeteer ninja had been hiding in the shadows the entire time, using chakra threads to control one puppet while indirectly manipulating another, thereby trapping Sasuke in his current predicament.
And in that very instant, the chest of the humanoid puppet that Sasuke had pierced burst open, lunging forward and pulling Sasuke into the puppet's torso while simultaneously sealing shut the surrounding mechanisms.
Immediately after, the head of the humanoid puppet flew off, ejecting dozens of ropes that instantly bound the puppet tightly once more.
After all of this was done!
A patch of flat sand suddenly began to churn, and then a Sunagakure ninja leapt out from underground, looking at the tightly bound humanoid puppet with a hint of a smile on his face.
"Capturing this brat was much simpler than expected."
"The Uchiha brat has been successfully captured!"
This Sunagakure ninja spoke with a tone of smugness and ease, his voice dripping with satisfaction.
Meanwhile.
Kakuzu, who was firmly enveloped by five puppets, showed not the slightest hint of panic on his face. Instead, he calmly surveyed his surroundings.
"You're hiding quite deeply, aren't you."
Kakuzu spoke in an indifferent tone. As for the scene of Sasuke being captured, Kakuzu merely glanced at it before withdrawing his gaze, appearing completely unconcerned.
The moment Kakuzu's voice rang out!
The five puppets of various shapes surrounding him moved simultaneously. Accompanied by the clanking of mechanical sounds, these five puppets disassembled into individual components.
And from each component, a sharp blade sprang forth. In an instant, Kakuzu was surrounded by a dense array of blades.
And in that very moment!
A massive number of blades thrust toward Kakuzu simultaneously, densely packed and virtually inescapable, piercing through his entire body.
At that moment, the pierced Kakuzu crumbled into dirt and scattered across the ground.
An Earth Clone!
While the Sunagakure squad leader was searching for Kakuzu's figure, a low voice suddenly sounded from behind him:
"Were you looking for me?"
Since when!
The Sunagakure squad leader's face showed a mix of surprise and shock, but his hands didn't slow down at all as the chakra threads shooting from his fingers gave a slight tug.
A puppet shot up from underground behind the squad leader, blocking Kakuzu's advance. However, in the span of a single breath, this puppet was shattered by Kakuzu's attack.
Using that brief moment, the Sunagakure squad leader quickly vacated his position, leaping forward and appearing several meters away in the blink of an eye.
Unfortunately, before the squad leader could even recover from his narrow escape.
Beneath the feet of the newly stabilized squad leader, an arm connected to dense black threads shot up from underground and slammed directly into his chin.
The Sunagakure squad leader was sent flying by Kakuzu's bizarre strike.
Seeing their squad leader blasted away, the three Sunagakure ninja who had been hiding in the shadows and the one who had captured Sasuke all changed expressions simultaneously, rushing over and quickly positioning themselves in front of the squad leader.
"Captain, are you alright?"
One of the Sunagakure ninja asked with a tone of concern.
The squad leader shook his head, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and stood back up from the ground.
"Be careful, this guy's methods are rather bizarre."
Seeing Kakuzu in the distance retract the arm connected by dense black threads, the squad leader spoke with a heavy tone.
"So what if his methods are bizarre?"
"He's only one person. Let's take him out all at once!"
Another Sunagakure ninja was completely unconcerned, extending both hands and flipping them toward the sand as chakra threads shot out, connecting to the ground below.
The next moment!
Puppets emerged one after another from beneath the sand.
It wasn't just this one ninja either. The other Sunagakure ninja all moved simultaneously, clearly in full agreement with the suggestion.
The squad leader had just witnessed this scene when a bad premonition welled up in his heart, but for a moment he couldn't pinpoint where this feeling was coming from.
After all, the opponent was only one person!
With that thought, the squad leader also began manipulating the puppets he had hidden beneath the sand, bringing them up one by one.
In an instant, dozens of puppets emerged from beneath the sand, appearing in everyone's field of vision.
The numerous puppets combined with the five Sunagakure ninja before them gave the distinct impression that Kakuzu was about to be swarmed!
Suddenly!
"Hahahaha...!"
A maniacal laugh erupted from Kakuzu's mouth.
"How laughable! After waiting this long, is this all you've got?"
"Compared to Sasori, you puppeteers are truly worthless. Not worth expecting anything from at all!"
Kakuzu's laughter gradually turned cold, and by the time he spoke the last sentence, it was dripping with killing intent.
Almost instantly!
The chakra within Kakuzu's body began to boil.
Then, Kakuzu slightly hunched his body, and his back began to swell under the astonished gazes of the Sunagakure ninja, as if something was about to burst out.
POP! POP!
Accompanied by soft sounds and dense black threads, two eerie masks appeared on Kakuzu's shoulders!
"'Take him out all at once' — those words should be coming from me!"
Kakuzu's hands flew through hand seals as terrifying chakra gathered at the mask faces on his shoulders. Almost in an instant, both eerie mask creatures opened their mouths simultaneously.
Wind Release: Pressure Damage!
Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work!
A high-speed, high-pressure wind sphere spewed from the Wind Release mask's mouth, instantly forming a violent swirling tempest.
Fierce, searing flames sprayed from the Fire Release mask's mouth, rapidly expanding its range the moment it touched the ground, as if seeking to reduce everything before it to ashes.
And the moment these two elemental ninjutsu collided!
Combination Ninjutsu: Unmasking Flame!
The instant the scorching flames met the high-pressure wind sphere, rolling fire surged forward like a tidal wave, sweeping across everything in its path, making it feel as though one were submerged in a sea of fire!
"Jutsu of this magnitude..."
"How is this possible?"
"This monster!!"
The flame, like a surging sea, instantly swallowed all of the Sunagakure ninja's puppets, while simultaneously rushing toward them at breakneck speed.
Under the scope of such a large-scale combination ninjutsu, even if the Sunagakure ninja present wanted to dodge, there was simply no time!
In the blink of an eye, all five Sunagakure ninja were engulfed by the terrifying flames!
A few moments later.
As the flames gradually dissipated, the sand that had been covered by fire reappeared before Kakuzu's eyes.
Under such intense heat, the entire sandy expanse gave off a charred smell. On the surface of the sand, a layer of faint black crystalline particles had formed from the intense burning.
And at the position where the five Sunagakure ninja had been, only the squad leader remained, half-kneeling, surrounded by a layer of charred earth walls.
CRACK!
Accompanied by a faint sound, the earth walls around the squad leader began to crumble, revealing his figure within.
At this point, the squad leader's clothes were completely gone. Not only that, but his skin was charred black, barely clinging to life!
Even though the earth walls could withstand the violent flames, they ultimately couldn't block the searing heat!
[
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