Tenku remained silent. He was, of course, very familiar with Chikamatsu's Ten Puppets, Chiyo's most powerful trump card.
As the masterpiece of Monzaemon, the first puppet master, these were the ten strongest puppets of the era. Coupled with Chiyo's pinnacle-level puppetry skills, using one finger per puppet for attack or defense, she was hailed as a one-woman army!
Once trapped in the puppets' encirclement, even he would be in for a difficult fight. Knowing this, Tenku raised his hand and launched an attack on Chiyo first.
"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!"
A shockwave formed by highly concentrated chakra was fired toward Chiyo.
Chiyo hooked her finger, and the corpse of a ninja was pulled over. The corpse was hit by the Vacuum Palm and instantly shattered into pieces.
Her fingers continued to tremble as if playing an instrument, and the ten white-robed puppets rose into the air as if imbued with life. Then, several of them rushed directly toward Tenku!
Their speed completely surpassed that of ordinary puppets, and in the blink of an eye, they circled behind him.
Among the puppets that came behind him, one held a chain linked to another. Then, the second puppet transformed into an eight-bladed chakra sword.
The Hyuga clan leader glanced over and jumped into the air as the puppet swung its weapon.
At that moment, another puppet beside Chiyo had already rushed out. Countless steel cables extended from all parts of its body, shooting toward Tenku, nearly sealing off his movements mid-air.
"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!"
He thrust his palm out in mid-air, and the chakra blast instantly struck, scattering all the steel cables that were entangling him.
At the same time, his body fell.
However, before he had completely landed, the previous puppet combination had already returned, and the eight-bladed chakra sword rotated at high speed, as if cutting through the very air.
"Clang!"
Tenku took out a kunai and held it horizontally in front of him, forcibly blocking the blow, but the kunai was directly broken.
At the same time, he was also blown away. A faint feeling of pain came from his chest.
Just then, another puppet reappeared in front of him, wielding two broadswords and slashing toward him.
"Eight Trigrams: Iron Shattering Palm!"
An arm wrapped in chakra thrust out, engaging in battle. Although the opponent was a puppet, its flexibility was remarkable.
Chiyo flicked her finger, and the puppet that was fighting him was retrieved. Tenku pursued, but the four-bladed chakra sword ambushed him from behind.
Because he had been in the air just now, he couldn't avoid it. But now, the Byakugan's 360-degree vision allowed him to detect it in advance, so he was still able to evade with the Body Flicker Technique.
He disappeared and reappeared on the side.
But the moment he landed, a puppet arm that had stretched out several meters shot toward him.
Just as Tenku was about to raise his hand to block, sharp thorns grew from the joints of the arm, expanding wildly, as if to trap him within.
"Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!"
Chakra surged from his chakra points, and a huge hemispherical chakra barrier blocked the thorns. After all the thorns were cut off, Tenku suddenly retreated several meters.
"Your puppet control ability has improved again..."
Tenku sighed softly. Each of these puppets had different abilities, but they were interconnected in tactics, alternating seamlessly, making it extremely difficult to cope with even two or three rounds.
Under their tidal wave of attacks, even the strongest shinobi would likely expose a flaw and fall into a completely passive position.
"Of course. I said long ago that I would dig out your Byakugan and install it on my puppet."
Chiyo snorted coldly. She hadn't expected that Tenku, now in his forties, was still so formidable. Generally speaking, ninjas of this age had already begun to decline in strength.
Tenku only chuckled at Chiyo's words.
Perhaps in a few more years, he really wouldn't be her opponent. After all, puppet masters were different from ordinary ninjas. Their strength was reflected in their puppets and their control abilities.
Chiyo flicked her fingers, and the previously dispersed Ten Puppets surrounded her again.
"Next, I'll show you a treasure. This technique was specially prepared for Konoha."
Hearing this, Tenku was stunned.
Chiyo lightly trembled her fingers, and three of the Ten Puppets stepped forward, their mouths wide open. But no mechanism was revealed.
Instead, within the mouths of the three puppets, there seemed to be three switches, each bearing a different kanji: "Buddha," "Dharma," and "Sangha."
A strong sense of crisis arose within Tenku. This was a feeling cultivated by countless battles.
Through his Byakugan, he could see powerful chakra hidden in the puppets' abdomens, about to be unleashed.
This is...?!
"...Ninja Art: Three Treasures Suction Destruction!"
Suddenly, two puppets stood side by side, while the third puppet stepped onto their shoulders. The three puppets opened their mouths at the same time.
A violent Wind Release attack burst forth, instantly forming three huge storms.
The storms stirred the falling rain and roared toward Tenku from the left, center, and right.
"Puppets can actually use ninjutsu of this level?"
Tenku was shocked. As far as he knew, Chiyo, as a puppet master, specialized in physical attacks.
Yet, here she was, using an S-rank Wind Release attack of devastating scale.
No wonder so few Sand shinobi were nearby. Chiyo had planned to wipe out Konoha, Iwa, and the Rain Village forces all at once.
What a ruthless woman!
Tenku turned and ran. The only sound behind him was the howling storm, eager to tear him apart.
But the Wind Release jutsu was relentless, catching up in an instant. A violent wind engulfed Tenku.
Trees were uprooted. Rocks were shredded. The battlefield was devastated.
Caught in the vortex, Tenku planted a kunai into the ground, forcing himself to stay in place.
Chakra erupted from his body, and the Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven manifested.
But the moment his chakra touched the storm, it was sliced apart by countless wind blades.
"What a terrifying Wind Release!"
Uchiha Tatsumi, fighting nearby, clicked his tongue in amazement. He had underestimated Chiyo.
And if she was this strong, what level of power did the Kage of other villages hold?
The storm raged. Tenku's chakra barrier weakened. Blood streamed from his Byakugan.
At that moment, his body glowed with radiant chakra. He soared into the sky, forcing through the storm, forming a massive chakra sphere.
"Gentle Fist Art: Pseudo Godly Empty Strike!"
A deafening explosion erupted.
The devastating Wind Release was obliterated. Rain stopped momentarily. The battlefield was silent.
When the dust settled, Chiyo's puppet formation was in ruins. The legendary Chikamatsu Ten Puppets lay broken, temporarily disabled.
Chiyo was stunned.
Tenku stood, battered, his body covered in cracks. His Byakugan bled profusely.
The Hyuga Clan had finally revealed its true foundation.
At that moment, a shadowy figure watched from afar.
"Damn it… the Hyuga are truly accursed..." The figure cursed before vanishing into the earth.
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