Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 247 Puppet Army Surrounds and Kills Ten Thousand

Hanzo the Salamander stood in the center of the ten thousand men, his long sword held horizontally in front of him: "You really think highly of me, setting up such a grand display, sending tens of thousands of people to besiege me. But if numbers were useful, I wouldn't deserve to be called a top-tier powerhouse."

Before he could finish speaking, he bit his finger and slammed it heavily on the ground.

"Spiritual communication!"

A huge plume of smoke exploded, and a salamander several tens of meters long appeared beside him.

The behemoth was covered in dark green scales and its back was covered with venom glands. As soon as it appeared, it opened its huge mouth and resonated with the venom glands in Hanzo's body.

Black poisonous mist was released simultaneously from Hanzo and the salamander, spreading outwards as if it were alive.

Wherever it passed, vegetation withered, and the ground hissed and corroded.

The ninjas from Sunagakure and Iwagakure hurriedly retreated. Several people in the front row were unable to dodge in time, inhaled a mouthful of poisonous mist, and their faces immediately turned purple before they collapsed to the ground.

Hanzo stopped releasing the poisonous mist and turned to look at Yahiko and the other two behind him.

The three men's faces had turned somewhat pale, clearly affected by the poisonous fog. Hanzo took out three antidote pills from his pocket and placed them in Yahiko's hand.

"have eaten."

Yahiko took the pills in a daze and gave them to Konan and Nagato. After the three of them swallowed them, the tightness in their chests quickly dissipated.

Just then, the crowd parted, and Granny Chiyo came out.

"Hanzo the Salamander, your poison is indeed potent. But I am not necessarily unable to counter it."

She raised her hand, and the Sand Village ninjas behind her took out black pills from their pockets and swallowed them, then took out a syringe and injected it into their arms.

Hanzo's eyes changed.

He recognized those things—adrenaline and secret medicines that could unleash human potential, all specialties of the Land of Waterfall.

Hanzo gave a bitter laugh. "I never imagined that the weapons made by my allies would become the very weapons that hurt me."

Luo Sha stood atop the boulder and waved his hand: "Puppet troops, attack!"

In an instant, a thousand puppets began to move simultaneously.

They were the vanguard because their true forms were outside, and their puppet bodies were not afraid of poison.

It is best suited for early-game attrition warfare, allowing Granny Chiyo to quickly break through the poison fog and distribute it to the Iwagakure troops who are preparing to launch an attack later.

The puppets moved in perfect unison, as if pulled by the same thread, sealing off all escape routes from all directions.

Some of them held blades, some spat poison needles, and some shot steel wires from their arms, surging towards Hanzo in an overwhelming manner.

Hanzo took a deep breath and gripped his long sword tightly in his right hand.

His figure vanished in a blur.

With a flash of the blade, all three puppets were cut in two at the same time.

With the second strike, the five puppets were reduced to fragments.

The third cut, the fourth cut...

His swordsmanship was so fast that it was difficult for the naked eye to follow. Each swing of his sword precisely cut into the joints of the puppets, severing them one by one without any hesitation.

At the same time, the scythe behind him flew as he kicked with his calves, shredding the puppet that was attacking from behind into pieces.

Chiyo frowned, but her hands remained unusually steady as she deciphered the poison.

"As expected, it lives up to its reputation." Luo Sha stood in the distance, his face now covered with a gas mask. As he watched hundreds of puppets turn to pieces, he waved his hand, signaling the other puppeteers to bring out more puppets to join the battle.

At this moment, Gariu looked at her husband and asked, "Why did you hide this from me? Didn't you say before that we would make peace once you got the position of Kazekage? Why did you deceive these children?"

"Garuro, there's no reason why." The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, said without turning his head, "There are some things I only learned after becoming Kazekage. Our village's problems can't be solved with money. We need a victory."

"The Three Kingdoms Alliance has too great a prospect for development. If we don't deliver the fatal blow when they need it most, the Wind Kingdom may no longer be one of the five great powers in the future."

"Karuta, I'm sorry! I did this for the sake of our Sunagakure."

Karyu looked at her husband, then at Chiyo, who was diligently preparing the medicine, and everything became clear.

"So you never intended to avenge your teacher; you just took the evidence and made a deal with Granny Chiyo. That's why the puppet army emptied their coffers to help you carry out this mission?"

"I'm not doing this for myself, Galio. We're from the same village after all. So we must unite against a common enemy."

At that moment, Galio felt that her husband had become a stranger.

Just then, Granny Chiyo finally finished preparing the medicine and notified the people behind her to bring out all the medicinal herbs they had brought.

He then used the Shadow Clone Technique to quickly prepare the necessary medicinal materials and mix them into pills according to the specified proportions.

"Distribute these pills!"

Having said that, she swallowed a pill and jumped directly into the middle of the battlefield, saying, "Hanzo the Salamander, let this old woman have a go at you!"

"The White Secret Technique: The Ten Ninja of Chikamatsu!"

Ten puppets flew out from behind her, each dressed in a different colored outfit and wielding a different weapon.

These are not ordinary puppets, but masterpieces left by the first puppeteer, Monzaemon, each possessing independent Jonin-level combat power.

The ten puppets worked in perfect harmony: three were responsible for frontal restraint, three flanked from the sides, two blocked the retreat, and two waited for an opportunity to launch a sneak attack from a high vantage point.

Unlike the previous puppets that crumbled at the first touch, these puppets moved with measured steps, combining offense and defense, and actually managed to entangle Hanzo.

Hanzo slashed three puppets in succession, but only caused varying degrees of damage to them, without completely destroying them. The remaining seven puppets immediately took their place, giving him no chance to catch his breath.

In the sky, the remaining dozen or so dragonfly users saw Hanzo trapped and immediately swooped down to offer their assistance.

However, a short figure blocked their way.

Onoki, with his hands behind his back, floated in mid-air, watching them with a smile.

"Your opponent is me. However, considering that you are not easily forced to quit your cultivation, you may be spared your lives. Of course, you can also choose to submit to me."

Dragonfly users are different from other ninjas because they are backed by the sacred land and, combined with dragonflies, can perform reverse summoning to return to the sacred land.

This is precisely the difference between summoned beasts with a sacred spiritual site and those without. In times of crisis, they can escape with their host.

The leading dragonfly envoy did not answer, but simply gripped the short knife in his hand.

Although they were a unit founded by Shisei Aburame, they had only been with him for a short time. The one who truly trained them and led them in battle was Hanzo the Salamander.

Having spent years together, they were completely captivated by Hanzo's personal charm and were willing to dedicate everything to him.

Onoki sighed and said, "Why bother?"