"Fire Release: Dragon Vein Fire Dragon Technique!"
Accompanied by a piercing screech, the giant puppet head opened its mouth, spewing forth purple flames that engulfed the entire room.
The sudden intrusion of a powerful enemy startled Ryuji.
Though, with Armor's assistance, he managed to open a Chakra Shield above his head in time.
Whoosh!
The flames sprayed against the Chakra Shield, automatically parting to either side.
Before he could consider his next move, a sudden lightness in his hand… Minato had vanished.
Shinobi must use hand seals to mobilize Chakra, circulating it along specific pathways to perform Ninjutsu.
The higher the rank of the Ninjutsu, the more complex the pathway, and the more concentration is required.
If one cannot concentrate during the process, even if the Ninjutsu proficiency is instinctive, it's difficult to execute.
Ryuji had been choking Minato's neck, causing difficulty breathing and pain, preventing him from concentrating.
But this momentary distraction caused Ryuji's grip to relax.
Seizing the chance to breathe, Minato immediately gathered Chakra and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport away.
Ryuji looked around, trying to locate Minato.
But after a sweep, all he saw was a sea of fire.
"You who seek to hinder me, all of you, die!" The giant puppet screeched again, firing seven or eight kunai connected by chakra threads from hidden mechanisms.
"Then I'll start with you first!"
Having his prey escape annoyed Ryuji.
With a thought, the thrusters on his back erupted with intensified flames. His entire figure turned into a streak of light, flying through the gaps between the kunai towards the giant puppet on the roof.
"You're dead!"
The giant puppet opened its mouth, a spear-like whip lashing out from within.
Ryuji tilted his head slightly, dodging it, while simultaneously grabbing the bamboo-like whip, pulling it. His speed surged dramatically, arriving before the giant puppet in an instant.
"Die!"
He raised his right arm high, his right fist smashing forward. Flame jets erupted from the back of his hand and elbow, massively increasing the force.
Boom!
The steel fist struck the giant puppet's face, causing the entire tower to shake.
The giant puppet's visage disintegrated from the point of impact into tiny wood splinters and fragments, scattering outward with the shockwave.
The massive puppet body also seemed to lose power, slowly toppling backward.
But...
"Useless!"
Halfway through its fall, the giant puppet straightened again, its massive hand sweeping horizontally through the air.
Ryuji snorted coldly, raising his left hand.
Bang!
As the shockwave spread, the giant palm, large enough to easily hold a person, halted in mid-air. Its center shattered, parts and wood splinters flying.
Ryuji, the target, remained steadily suspended in the air, unmoving.
"Some skill, but still useless!"
Purple, lightning-shaped Chakra shot towards him from the top of a certain central tower. The giant puppet raised both hands, absorbing it all. Its massive body shimmered with purple light, excess Chakra occasionally leaking out.
"Ultra-Fast Regeneration Technique!"
The giant puppet formed hand seals. Its shattered body parts rapidly restored themselves.
Ryuji snorted coldly, his body transforming into a streak of light as he charged out, delivering sixteen punches in an instant.
Bang! Bang! Bang...
Shockwaves rolled, the earth shook.
The giant puppet endured incomparable force, its entire body sliding outward over a hundred meters, only stopping after crashing into another tower. The just-restored body now had sixteen evenly distributed dents.
"Useless, useless, useless!" The giant puppet laughed arrogantly, spreading its arms. "As long as I possess the Dragon Vein, I am invincible!"
Purple Chakra shot again from the central tower. The giant puppet's body visibly restored once more.
In the blink of an eye, it was restored to flawless condition.
"All who attempt to hinder my rule over the world shall only meet death!"
The giant puppet continued its arrogant proclamation, then... collapsed with a crash!
"Huh!?"
The giant puppet widened its eyes in a very human-like expression of confusion.
It struggled, trying to stand up, but couldn't. Gradually, panic set in.
"Wait, why can't I move? Move, damn it!"
It urged the puppet body to act while crying out in panic.
But the scorpion-shaped giant puppet could only flop like a dead fish; it couldn't even stand, let alone move freely.
"Having infinite Chakra, yet transforming yourself into a mechanical puppet… utterly foolish!" Ryuji flew to stop before the puppet, cold eyes filled with disdain. "No matter how precise a puppet is, its operation relies on gears turning. Just jam the gears, and the puppet can't move."
With the hint, the giant puppet seemed to realize something, widening its eyes again. "Your earlier attacks weren't to destroy the puppet, but to damage the armor, to jam the internal gear assemblies!"
"Your deduction isn't hopeless."
"Impossible!"
Upon receiving confirmation, the giant puppet cried out in disbelief. "This is clearly the first time I've revealed this puppet. How could you know its internal structure so well?"
"This puppet of yours is trash. Just by watching its body movements, one can guess its structure. What use is it besides wasting Chakra?"
"You, you..."
"Shut up, you trash puppeteer! Wasting so much of my Chakra. Let me replenish some first."
Saying this, Ryuji placed both hands on the giant puppet, absorbing the Dragon Vein Chakra within it.
Feeling the Chakra drain, the giant puppet felt both humiliation and fear for its life.
Its eyes darted around. It hurriedly said, "You're a puppeteer too, right? How about joining forces with me?"
Ryuji ignored it, silently absorbing Chakra.
"You saw it too, right? With the Dragon Vein, in just two years, I erected a thousand towers and countless puppet soldiers. If we join forces, even the Five Great Nations could be easily controlled."
Hearing this, Ryuji glanced back at it, snorting disdainfully.
Seeing this, the giant puppet grew anxious, about to continue persuading. Unexpectedly, Ryuji backhandedly punched a hole in its chest, pulling out the pilot inside, Anrokuzan, who is already transformed into a mantis-man puppet, and threw him to the ground.
"Join forces with you? Are you even worthy?"
With that, Ryuji crushed its head underfoot.
Instantly, the world fell silent.
The knight puppets patrolling the sky, the puppet citizens singing and dancing on the streets and squares all fell silently. Only the fairy-tale-like melody continued to drift through the sky among the towering spires.
Crash!
A figure descended from above.
Gin stood up from the cracked ground, apologetic. "My apologies, Master. I let the enemy escape."
"Was it Namikaze Minato who rescued him?"
"Yes."
"Then it's fine. Let's go to the inner courtyard. The Scarabs have found Sara there."