Chapter 218 : Almighty Superwoman Chiyo
That dazzling ball of light circled the Village twice, found no one, then turned back and moved quickly towards the main force's location, likely rejoining the team in just a moment.
When the enemy's main force was still about one or two kilometers away, Naraku pretended to hear the sound of a large group of people running through the forest.
He frowned, pulled a red flare from his ninja tool pouch, and fired it into the sky, alerting his teammates of an enemy attack. Then, he continued to retreat in the original direction, even slowing down slightly.
To eliminate as many of the enemy's effective forces as possible, he needed to lure the Sand Ninja back to the place where he had just separated from the team.
The two reconnaissance teams must have already set up various traps and mechanisms around that key area, which could clear out many of the enemies in the first wave of attack.
And with this as cover, their side would have ample time to retreat and call for reinforcements. Then, by retreating to the most defensible terrain for mobile combat, they could delay for quite a while longer.
However, after that, it would be hard to say.
If the Konoha main force could arrive in time, there would still be a fight. If they couldn't, with the current manpower, it would only be a matter of time before Mount Kikyo and this mountain range were captured by Sunagakure...
Just a little more, and he would be back at the stream. Naraku noticed several enemies appearing on the treetops not far to his side.
The leading Sand Ninja threw a half-human-tall puppet without a word and shouted, "It's that Uchiha! Catch him!"
The small puppet had a bizarre appearance, waving seven or eight forelimbs tipped with poisonous barbs, and darted in front of Naraku.
Naraku quickly drew his ninja sword to block the sharp barbs and used the force to retreat. As soon as his feet landed, several spider-like puppets leaped into the air, spraying poison gas and needles everywhere.
-- Good heavens, what kind of grudge is this?
Naraku grumbled inwardly, his hands forming hand seals so fast they left afterimages.
Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!
As the fire wave surged like a tsunami towards the enemy, he used the cover of the Ninjutsu to quickly escape, covering a significant distance in the blink of an eye, almost disappearing from the Sand Ninja's sight.
"Damn Uchiha!"
A furious curse vaguely came from behind him, and the alien puppet that had first attacked him was the first to catch up.
Its forelimb barbs trembled a few times, then shot out at a speed almost imperceptible to the naked eye, cutting through the air straight for Naraku's back.
The moment Naraku turned to look back, his eyes suddenly turned blood-red. While retreating, he formed hand seals, and dozens of crossbow-arrow-shaped lightning bolts surged around him.
Lightning Release: Swift Lightning Arrow!
The lightning arrows, emitting a blue-white glow, instantly shot out, precisely deflecting all the poisonous barbs.
Then, the remaining power of the lightning arrows did not diminish, continuing to pierce through the puppet's main body, and its slender forelimbs were shattered at the root, falling to the ground with a swish.
More and more puppets appeared. Naraku could only fight and retreat, appropriately conserving his stamina and Chakra to avoid exhaustion later.
When his gaze reached the deserted rendezvous point, he didn't even know how many puppets he had shattered or how many trees he had burned.
Along the path he had taken, even now, many tree branches and leaves were still burning with the Uchiha Clan's Fire Release.
The taste of blood surged in his throat again, and at the same time, the brightest Chakra cluster in his Sensing Ninjutsu was already closing in.
Having just stepped through the cool stream, Naraku caught sight of two white-robed puppets pouncing from his diagonal rear, their Chakra threads connected to that most dazzling Chakra cluster.
The red-masked puppet's head actually split open while running, and four long blades extended from thegap, rotating at high speed like a windmill, emitting a high-frequency vibrating hum.
The other white-masked puppet interlocked its fingers with it, its wrist breaking to extend an iron chain, and it threw the red-masked puppet like a meteor hammer.
The distinctive attack pattern instantly made Naraku recall a name—Chiyo.
-- So that bright Chakra was her?
-- No wonder this unit's attack methods are primarily puppets.
-- This is going to be difficult now.
Compared to other puppet masters in Hidden Sand Village, Chiyo was terrifyingly strong.
As a top-tier puppet master who could perfectly control one puppet with each finger, her Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu could attack from long or close range, each possessing unique skills.
Furthermore, she herself possessed powerful taijutsu, Medical Ninjutsu, and Sealing Jutsu, making her an all-around superwoman, a true Kage-level combatant.
With her here, it would be difficult to escape without paying a price.
In a flash, Naraku clarified the situation. He chose not to directly clash with the red-masked puppet but instead used Substitution Jutsu in time to dodge the attack.
At that moment, a female puppet, about Naraku's height, with orange twin pigtails, darted out from a corner, holding twin ninja swords and spinning as it jumped in front of him, its blades drawing two bright arcs in the air.
Clang—!
A few sparks and electrical arcs flashed and disappeared, and the sharp scraping sound of metal on metal pierced his eardrums.
Using his blade to parry the opponent's powerful slash, Naraku changed his stance and pressed down with even greater speed, following up with a hidden sword thrust.
The sharp Chakra blade combined with the destructive power of Lightning Release immediately severed the opponent's control center.
A moment later, he flipped and jumped in place, once again narrowly dodging the "big windmill" that had been thrown and was flying back.
When his body was completely inverted in the air, Naraku took the opportunity to stick the front of his foot to an ancient tree branch above, hanging upside down from the tree.
Then, he slightly bent his legs and pushed off with his feet. The thick, rough tree bark was blasted open by the surging Chakra, leaving two deep craters.
Bang!
The branch was suddenly propelled upwards, and he, using the recoil and his own weight, plunged straight down, thrusting his ninja sword into the back of the red-masked puppet, which had not yet turned around, severing its core and Chakra threads simultaneously.
Not far away, amidst the green foliage, a middle-aged woman in a light gray robe stood on a tree, her hawk-like gaze fixed on every move Naraku made from beginning to end.
-- No mistake, this is the White Fang's Blade Style!
Chiyo's eyes narrowed slightly, the fire of vengeance pulsing uncontrollably in her chest, transforming into the fierce glint in her eyes.
-- He must not be allowed to escape!
The moment the red-masked puppet was destroyed, she gestured behind her.
A large contingent of troops streamed out, dividing into two groups to attack a pre-designated plateau halfway up the mountain, effectively encircling this Uchiha.
Two of the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu were destroyed, but it appeared they could all be repaired, so Chiyo wasn't too distressed. Instead, she took out three more puppets from a sealing scroll and controlled them along with the one that remained.
Naraku pulled his ninja sword from the shattered body of the puppet, seeing many Sand Ninja rushing past him on both sides, heading up the mountain.
But Chiyo was still lurking in the shadows, watching intently. Naraku had no time to clear out the minor enemies and could only hope that the traps set by his comrades were effective enough to eliminate as many enemies as possible.
The wind suddenly picked up in the forest, and four white figures closed in from different directions. Naraku knew this was Chiyo's doing again and immediately became fully alert, his hands forming hand seals so quickly they left only afterimages.
Fire Release: Multiple Streamline Slashes!
With Naraku at the center, dozens of pure white, slender flame lines shot out tens of meters in all directions from his clasped palms.
Like fireworks blooming and piercing the night, they irresistibly cut through all obstacles in their path.
He gently shifted his body, and the flame lines moved flexibly with him. Tree trunks, rocks, and puppets were as "soft" as butter cut by a hot knife, slowly melting and breaking under the terrifying high temperature.
Chiyo silently watched the shattered white-masked puppet, her expression grim, deeply feeling how terrifying the talent of this young Uchiha was.
Such frightening talent... So he must not be allowed to return to Konoha alive!
She twitched her wrist, controlling the remaining three puppets to surround him.