Chapter 108: Lord Danzo
The puppet army, composed of over a thousand pure puppets and human puppets, attacked with clear targets from the moment they appeared, focusing solely on the Cloud ninjas wearing flak jackets.
Some transformed their arms into sharp blades, while others raised their hands to condense golden light bullets, attacking with whistling sounds that cut through the air.
The execution of the ninjas was astonishing.
Even under the violent impact of the sound waves, the barrier team and the medical team endured the intense discomfort, directing and helping the villagers evacuate.
Coupled with the puppet army's lack of interest in them, the villagers' evacuation proceeded very smoothly.
The remaining ninjas, however, engaged the puppet army in battle.
"Cloud Style: Rising Dragon!"
A fair-haired woman with a turbulent aura that even Tsunade would find slightly inferior, held a short blade in her backhand, creating an electric light so dazzling in the night, shattering a puppet with a single strike.
Looking at the puppet corpses that only used weapons and light bullets to attack, Samui glanced at the human puppets fighting her companions, using Five Elements Ninjutsu casually, even simplifying it to just one or two hand seals. Her willow eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she warned loudly, "Be careful of those puppets that can use ninjutsu! They are made from corpses and are very likely to retain their abilities from before death, even bloodline limits!"
"Look, these people all have Konoha headbands on their heads."
"There's a Sunagakure headband over here too."
"And an Otogakure headband, all rogue ninja headbands."
"I remember now, Konoha was attacked by Orochimaru, Sunagakure, and Akatsuki in the Konoha Crush plan a few months ago. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the Konoha Elder, Danzo Shimura, as well as his Root organization, were all killed. The corpses of the three ninja villages were all taken away by Akasuna no Sasori of Akatsuki and have now been made into puppets."
"Damn Konoha and Sunagakure, even after their own people die, they still cause trouble for us?!"
"..."
The other Cloud ninjas quickly noticed the strangeness of the puppet army and shouted loudly, relaying the information.
Each Cloud ninja squad immediately captured the enemy's characteristics and used various tactics to counter them.
Little did they know that these headbands were just a smokescreen, the purpose of which was to mislead their judgment.
Before the chakra in their chakra cores was exhausted, each human puppet would only use Five Elements Ninjutsu, as well as other secret and forbidden techniques, like 'Izayoi'.
If they possessed bloodline limits and secret techniques themselves, they would even have abilities that Izayoi didn't.
When the enemy recognized their identities, bloodline limits, and secret techniques, and used ninjutsu or tactics to counter them, the human puppet would suddenly use abilities that the original person didn't have and weren't characteristic ninjutsu of their respective ninja villages, gaining an absolute intelligence advantage and even being able to kill with a single blow.
Facts proved that Izayoi's tactics were very successful.
Torune Aburame released a large number of poisonous insects, and just as they flew past two Cloud ninjas wearing flak jackets, the latter immediately fell to the ground, screaming in agony.
Other Cloud ninjas saw this and quickly shouted a warning, "It's the Aburame clan from Konoha, and a poisonous insect user! Be careful of his insects, don't touch them!"
After speaking, this Cloud ninja drew his ninja sword, his whole body enveloped in form-changing Lightning Release chakra, and then charged violently towards Torune Aburame.
But in the next second, he was dumbfounded.
He saw Torune Aburame suddenly form hand seals with both hands and spit out a huge wave of fire.
It was actually... Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!
The Cloud ninja was instantly engulfed by the fire wave, letting out a scream.
The other human puppets also used this method to gain an advantage, either seriously injuring or killing some Cloud ninjas.
The pure puppets, which were no match for the Cloud ninjas, cooperated in their tasks. Some were responsible for assisting the human puppets, releasing light bullets from a distance to harass the Cloud ninjas.
The other puppets took the opportunity to steal the corpses of the Cloud ninjas who had already fallen in battle, and also scavenged the ninja corpses buried in the ruins. Then, with the assistance of Ranmaru's Red Eye, they quickly retreated invisibly.
As the casualties of the Cloud ninjas increased, beams of light that only Izayoi could see also flew out from the corpses and headed into the distance.
However, the advantage of the human puppets was only temporary and was quickly seen through.
Under the command of experienced special jonin and jonin, the Cloud ninjas, who were only skilled in taijutsu and needed to get close to exert their full strength, all shifted their targets to the pure puppets.
The other Cloud ninjas who were skilled in long-range attacks used long-range ninjutsu to attack the human puppets, using firepower coverage to force the opponent to cast techniques to counter, taking the opportunity to gather intelligence and capture the weaknesses of the human puppets.
Soon, a sensory ninja gathered important information and shouted loudly, "These puppets have limited chakra! They can't extract chakra while fighting, and they can't restore stamina by taking soldier pills!"
Hearing this, a large number of Cloud ninjas' eyes lit up, and some special jonin even raised their hands to signal with secret hand gestures—use delaying tactics.
The human puppet army instantly lost its intelligence advantage.
"Storm Release: Raging Waves, Crushing Elements!"
Different from the puppet army and the Cloud ninja force's sea of people tactics and firepower coverage, Darui individually confronted Torune Aburame, who possessed ace combat power, releasing multiple powerful lasers to obliterate Torune Aburame's insects and holding this dangerous individual back.
Hii, who was also one of Cloud Hidden Village's ace combatants, also confronted Fu Yamanaka, who could use ordinary puppets to cast the Mind Body Disturbance Puppet Technique, holding back the two major generals of the puppet army.
With the Two-Tails jinchuriki not at home, the Eight-Tails jinchuriki not having arrived yet, and even the Fourth Raikage not having made a move... the puppet army was completely plunged into a passive situation.
A Wood Clone responsible for protecting Ranmaru couldn't help but praise, "Impressive... as expected, wanting to defeat the current strongest ninja village with a few hundred human puppets is unrealistic."
Just as he finished speaking, the Wood Clone's expression suddenly changed, and then he manipulated Ranmaru to release Red Eye genjutsu, concealing himself and all the Wood Clones' figures.
Because the Wood Clone's Tenseigan saw a third party's figure.
It was a White Zetsu Clone who had already infiltrated Cloud Hidden Village, using the Impersonation Technique to replace some villagers, and was now using the Mayfly Technique to search for the mastermind behind the puppet army.
Several White Zetsu Clones emerged from the ruins, using the Mayfly Technique to cut off their presence, secretly watching the battle between the puppet army and the Cloud ninja force.
Unsurprisingly, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu already knew the situation here.
Perhaps Obito Uchiha also knew and was rushing over.
"We need to make this quick, come forth... my trump card!"
Izayoi transmitted instructions to the Wood Clone responsible for controlling the puppet army.
Whoosh—
Before long, a kunai that blended into the darkness appeared above the Cloud ninja force that was exchanging long-range fire with the puppet army.
Immediately afterward, afterimages suddenly appeared around this kunai, and in the blink of an eye, they materialized into a rain of real kunai, pouring down like a curtain.
It was... Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!
"Careful above, scatter quickly!"
The sensory ninja was the first to detect the chakra above and quickly shouted a warning.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A versatile jonin who had mastered several nature transformations immediately formed hand seals and exhaled a gust of wind towards the sky.
Bang bang bang...
A series of sounds like balloons bursting rang out, and a dense white mist appeared in the sky.
Even so, a small portion of the kunai still fell into the Cloud ninja force, but they were all dodged by the Cloud ninjas who were skilled in taijutsu and mastered high-speed movement.
But in the next second...
A black flash, almost blending into the night, flickered within the Cloud ninja force, and a cold, sharp glint sliced through the Cloud ninjas near the kunai.
Pshhh pshhh—
A series of sounds of cloth tearing and flesh blooming almost overlapped.
"So... so fast!"
A versatile jonin didn't even see what the enemy looked like. He only had time to utter this one sound before losing his life.
Swish—
After instantly killing the Cloud ninjas around the kunai, the black flash finally revealed its figure. It was Danzo-sama, wearing the Akatsuki uniform, holding a ninja sword, expressionless, and with a cold look on his face.
The three-tomoe Sharingan in his right eye suddenly turned into the shape of a shuriken, emitting a red light so dazzling in the night.
In the next second, a Cloud ninja who accidentally met his gaze instantly became dazed.
Danzo Shimura appeared in front of that Cloud ninja like a teleport, striking the opponent with a palm strike, sending him flying while also applying the Flying Thunder God seal.
The Cloud ninjas didn't know any of this.
Looking at their flying comrade, two Cloud ninjas subconsciously reached out to catch him.
Immediately afterward, a black flash entered their vision, followed by a cold, sharp glint emitting a chakra with either Lightning Release or Wind Release nature transformation, flashing across their necks and bodies.
Then, the flak jackets that could provide defense immediately made the sound of cloth tearing. Before blood could even spurt out, Danzo Shimura in front of them had already disappeared.
Moreover, they were even inferior to that versatile jonin, not even having time to utter a last word before becoming completely silent.
Pshhh pshhh...
The sound of cloth tearing continued to ring out.
Danzo-sama's right eye kept turning, simultaneously using Lightning Release and Wind Release nature transformations to push his speed to the extreme, traversing through the Cloud ninja force as if entering an uninhabited land.
In the face of extreme speed and the Mangekyo Sharingan's perceptive abilities, the Cloud ninjas who were skilled in taijutsu and mastered high-speed movement were like wooden dolls in Danzo Shimura's eyes, standing motionless in place.
The ninja sword in his hand, either covered with Wind Release nature transformation to enhance its sharpness or wrapped with Lightning Release nature transformation to enhance its piercing ability, reaped lives like cutting grass. With each strike, it either took a life or seriously injured a Cloud ninja.
Against those Cloud ninjas who could react, he would release the Mangekyo Sharingan's genjutsu to immobilize them, then deliver a fatal blow, casually leaving behind a Flying Thunder God seal and sending them flying.
The black flash reaped hundreds of lives in less than thirty seconds.
And at this moment, the Cloud ninjas finally recognized this person.
"It's the Konoha Elder, Danzo Shimura!"
"Quick! Scatter quickly, that's the Flying Thunder God Technique!"
"Don't catch your comrades' bodies, and don't get close to those kunai, those are the Flying Thunder God Techniques of the Second and Fourth Hokage!"
"..."
A hoarse cry instantly dispersed the crowd.
Clearly, their side, not counting the ninjas escorting the villagers, nor the ninjas on missions or guarding the borders, and not even the genin who didn't have flak jackets yet, still had over two thousand ninjas, yet they were frightened into a messy retreat by a single enemy.
The advantage gained by gathering together and using firepower coverage was instantly gone.
This was the deterrent power of the Flying Thunder God Technique!
Before the arrival of Shippuden, and before the Impure World Reincarnation and the Eight Gates Formation became god-like techniques, the Flying Thunder God Technique was currently the number one god-like technique.
After all, this was the space-time ninjutsu that earned two Hokage the title of the fastest in the ninja world!
Seeing the Cloud ninja force scatter, the human puppet army immediately seized the opportunity, unleashing large-scale or single-target powerful Five Elements Ninjutsu, reaping the lives of those scattered Cloud ninjas whose attention was no longer on them.
In an instant, a large number of light beams shot into the sky again.
The pure puppets, and the human puppets whose chakra in their chakra cores was almost depleted, let go of the Cloud ninjas who had dropped a keyword but were only seriously injured and unable to fight. They only picked up the corpses of the Cloud ninjas who had lost their lives and quickly left the battlefield using the Red Eye's invisibility ability.
However, this advantage was very short-lived.
"Raiton: Gi Raitenraifu!" (Lightning Release: Righteous Lightning Angry Thunder Axe!)
Just as Danzo Shimura was cutting down Cloud ninjas like vegetables, the Fourth Raikage, who had been watching from the rear, finally couldn't sit still any longer.
His figure, covered in blue electricity, appeared out of nowhere above Danzo Shimura. His right foot raised above his head, like a battle-axe, and he chopped down with a shout.
Danzo Shimura didn't even raise his head; his figure turned into a black flash and disappeared.
Boom—
The moment he disappeared, an earth-shattering explosion erupted in his place.
The ground shattered, blasting out a huge crater, and the shockwave raged.
"It's Raikage-sama!"
Looking at the appearing Fourth Raikage, the Cloud ninja force, whose courage had been shattered by the Flying Thunder God Technique, immediately found their backbone.
"Everyone scatter, save your lives, ignore those puppets," the Fourth Raikage shouted his orders. "It doesn't matter if the village is destroyed, it can be rebuilt at any time. Your lives are the most important."
"Yes, Raikage-sama!" The Cloud ninja force shouted in unison, their cohesion instantly reaching its peak.
Under the command of the jonin wearing flak jackets, the scattered Cloud ninjas quickly formed tactical squads. They no longer focused on exterminating the puppets but observed their surroundings, protected their own safety, and then released long-range ninjutsu to stall those human puppets for the Raikage-sama.
"The outcome is decided."
"As expected of Cloud Hidden Village, which has few rogue ninjas, they are truly united."
Seeing this scene, a White Zetsu Clone, whose body had merged with the earth and vegetation using the Mayfly Technique, immediately announced the result.
One of the White Zetsu Clones said with expectant eyes, "Is that mysterious person finally going to appear?"
Seeing that their advantage was completely gone, and the chakra of the human puppet army was almost depleted, they didn't hold onto the idea of getting even one more keyword. They continued to attack the Cloud ninja force, which, despite being scattered, had a stronger cohesion than before.
The outer human puppets suddenly formed hand seals with both hands, consuming a large amount of chakra to unleash a surprisingly large wave of fire, roaring towards the Cloud ninja force.
After the fire wave dissipated, hundreds of human puppets had also disappeared.
Without a sensory barrier, even powerful sensory ninjas couldn't detect the location of the human puppets.
After all, the so-called invisibility was actually an image created by the Red Eye, which could not only hide themselves but also interfere with the enemy's senses, and even the Byakugan couldn't see through it.
With the disappearance of the puppet army, a large area of the battlefield instantly became empty.
The entire battlefield was left with only the ninja sword in his hand still dripping blood, and also the MVP of the entire field—Danzo-sama.
(End of this chapter)
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