Chapter 39: 3D Tactical Expansion
With a rumble, Hiiro Rinko was thrown into the courtyard.
Amidst a light cloud of dust, the red-haired young man's figure rolled twice on the ground to bleed off the force, then flipped to his feet and patted the dust from his clothes.
"Not using your 'Flowing Cloud,' brat?"
Chiyo, who had followed her adopted son out at a leisurely pace, narrowed her eyes as she studied the 'gauntlet' on his hand.
Over the past three years, she had personally watched Rinko modify and upgrade that three-section staff of his. The concept of using Sealing Jutsu (Fūinjutsu) to permanently seal other ninjutsu into a ninja tool was brilliant, and to actually achieve it was pure genius. It was this ability that had convinced the rest of Sunagakure's leadership to fully trust in Rinko's talent.
To this day, Chiyo wasn't sure just how many new jutsu he had added to his weapon. But without a doubt, if he pulled that thing out and combined it with his taijutsu, even she could get hurt if she wasn't careful.
"This is a matter between Puppet Masters. Naturally, it should be solved with puppet mechanisms."
The iron-black 'gauntlet' hissed as its outer shell opened, splitting into a four-clawed structure that flexed a few times before closing again.
"Besides, I have something new I wanted you to take a look at, Sensei."
"Tch. You're a Puppet Master—"
Clearly snorting at his claim, Chiyo flicked her wrists, and four humanoid puppets—two on her left, two on her right—appeared beside her. They were not the Chikamatsu Collection inherited from Monzaemon, but they were exquisite works she had crafted herself.
Operating one puppet with two fingers, the figures cut smooth arcs through the air. At their master's command, they deployed various mechanisms and charged at Hiiro Rinko.
"It's more accurate to call you a Gadget Craftsman!"
Chiyo's taunt finally arrived, carried on the sound of her puppets' blades slicing through the air.
And it was true. No one could deny Rinko's talent with puppets, but compared to conventional puppets, he seemed to prefer making personal armaments that he used himself.
Like the clawed gauntlet on his right hand.
"Hah! I can make puppets anytime! They just aren't a high research priority for me!"
Replying with pure conviction, Rinko slammed his gauntleted right hand into the ground. A cylindrical barrier instantly erupted from beneath his feet, blocking all the puppets' blades.
"A barrier of this level is nothing!"
Chiyo's fingers twitched. The four puppets pulled back, and the one holding a giant blade spun around, using the massive hunk of iron—more of a club than a sword—to 'smash' the hastily-erected barrier into pieces.
Almost simultaneously, the puppet whose hands had transformed into sharp spikes shot through the shattered barrier, thrusting at Rinko's back. The puppets with dual blades and claws also slashed down, tearing Rinko's figure to shreds.
But neither the 'killer' nor the spectator, Yūsa, showed any change in expression. Sure enough, the poof of the Body Replacement Jutsu (Kawarimi no Jutsu) sounded out. The 'impaled' Rinko turned into a wooden log, riddled with blade marks and covered in Exploding Tags (Kibaku Fuda).
Seeing the tags light up, Chiyo cursed inwardly—since when did this brat start using Exploding Tags?!—but her hand movements didn't slow in the slightest.
She manipulated a puppet to fling the log away, but the explosion she was waiting for never came. Clearly, they were just fakes, paper tags enchanted just to glow.
"Gah!"
Knowing she'd been tricked into an opening, Chiyo let out an involuntary 'duck' sound and rapidly manipulated her puppets into a defensive formation.
Compared to a normal shinobi, Rinko's taijutsu logic was exceptionally difficult to predict. This guy had even pulled a "use Kawarimi in place to trick the enemy into turning around" stunt before.
The Uzumaki Clan's "Mind's Eye of Kagura" (Kagura Shingan), besides its sensory abilities, also allowed the user to suppress their own Chakra to hide their presence.
Using that as a base, and combining it with Kawarimi, Shunshin (Body Flicker), and Shadow Clones (Kage Bunshin), it was even harder to tell what was real.
This set of tactics was especially effective against powerful Sensor-type shinobi. If the environment were a forest, a rocky field, or a cave, it was a guaranteed 'first-look kill.'
Even in an open area, it could effectively disrupt an enemy's judgment. It was perfect for either escaping or using a Transformation Jutsu (Henge) to get close and find an opening.
And if you added in the "briefly-go-airborne" Wind Release tricks from Matasaburō... Rinko had even more room to maneuver.
Even though Chiyo was a Sensor-type herself, she couldn't be 100% certain that the Chakra she was feeling was the real Rinko. She'd been tricked by this brat's tactics once before and had already paid the price. She wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
Forget where his real body is or what his attack plan is. As long as I shrink my defensive line, I'll be fine!
It was humiliating to fight so defensively against her adopted son, who was twenty-plus years younger, but this was the woman who'd made a six-year-old cook for her until he was nine. Did she look like she cared about her pride?
This is the brutal reality of the Chiyo family!
But, by the same token, Rinko, who had fought Chiyo hundreds of times, had a counter-strategy prepared.
Dozens of uniquely-shaped shuriken whistled down from the sky, clanging and embedding themselves in the puppets.
This scattered attack couldn't possibly damage Chiyo's masterfully-crafted puppets. His goal wasn't to pierce their joints as he did at their first meeting. It was to attack their 'soul.'
No matter how strong they were, no matter how many mechanisms they had, puppets were ultimately things controlled by a Puppet Master using Chakra threads.
Cut the threads, and a puppet is just a pile of scrap wood!
"Tch!"
The moment she saw the four-pronged pinwheel shuriken (Manji-gata shuriken), Chiyo knew Rinko's objective. She immediately increased her Chakra output. The threads didn't snap, but the unique shape of the shuriken tangled and disrupted them.
In an instant, the four puppets' movements became comically stiff and jerky.
The still-lingering fragments of Rinko's barrier began to spin rapidly, transforming into hundreds of shuriken that repeatedly pierced the joints of the uncontrolled puppets, pinning them in place.
"Barrier Jutsu: Chaotic Shuriken Wedge."
Hiiro Rinko's figure materialized silently behind Chiyo. He introduced his ninjutsu in a cold, chilling tone, his gray eyes flashing with a sharp light. A short staff appeared in his hand as he lunged, thrusting it at Chiyo's waist.
"This ends now—"