The moment Yugito appeared, she charged straight at Sasuke's Complete-Body Susanoo. Sasuke had no choice but to abandon his longsword and clash with her head-on in a brutal contest of raw strength.
As the two locked in a deadlock, Tobirama Senju and Killer Bee, who had yet to make a move, struck at the same time.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Fang!"
"Tailed Beast Bomb!"
Tobirama formed hand seals rapidly, drawing on the puddles left by Mei Terumī and Mangetsu Hōzuki to unleash his technique.
Water from the battlefield surged upward into the sky, gathering into a massive dragon that twisted and coiled ominously overhead.
Meanwhile, Killer Bee had fully transformed into the Eight-Tails, leaping into the air with a long-charged Tailed Beast Bomb forming in his mouth.
Both the water dragon and the Tailed Beast Bomb shot toward Sasuke, who was still locked in a power struggle with Yugito.
The water dragon spiraled in, snapping its fangs at the glowing form of Susanoo.
A thunderous impact followed, causing Sasuke's Susanoo to tremble violently from the force of the dual assault.
But Sasuke didn't retreat. His eyes blazed with fury as he let out a roar, erupting with a fresh surge of chakra.
Susanoo's light intensified, withstanding the devastating strike through sheer force of will. Then, with a mighty stomp, Susanoo kicked Yugito back several paces.
Sasuke swung his blade at her, a vicious gust of sword wind howling forth. But Hashirama, controlling the Wooden Human, skillfully dodged to the side and responded with a massive wooden palm swinging down at Susanoo.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. With a flap of Susanoo's wings, he shot into the air, narrowly avoiding the crushing strike.
Then, gripping the hilt of his sword with both hands, he dove in a steep descent, aiming to cleave Yugito's head.
But Hashirama was faster—his hands blurred through seals, and countless thick wooden branches burst from the Wooden Human, weaving into a vast web to block Sasuke's attack.
Seeing this, Sasuke's Rinnegan flashed. A powerful repulsive force exploded from Susanoo, shattering the wooden barrier into fragments.
At that moment, Hashirama channeled fresh Sage Chakra into the Wooden Human. A green glow radiated from its body, signaling another surge in its strength.
With a booming gust of wind, the Wooden Human swung its massive fist down at Susanoo.
Sasuke didn't flinch, matching the strike with equal ferocity.
The two colossal titans collided fist-to-fist with a deafening crash, shaking the entire battlefield.
...
Off to the side, Hyuga Gakuya handed a scroll to Chiyo.
"This is the final scroll left behind by Sasori. It allows broken puppet parts to fuse into a brand-new giant puppet."
This was the scroll Gakuya had retrieved years ago from Sasori's corpse. He had studied its mechanisms and even enhanced its functionality.
Originally, it could only fuse up to a hundred puppets. Gakuya had refined it into a limitless system—so long as there was chakra to sustain it.
With Sasori dead, and no longer able to act as the puppet's core, Gakuya could substitute in his own Tenseigan-powered spiritual energy to bring it to life.
He looked up at the sky, his gaze distant, as if remembering an old friend.
"I said it back then—Sasori didn't lose to your puppetry, he lost to emotion."
He then pointed toward a massive crater in the distance, where over two thousand shattered puppets lay in ruins.
"Use those," he said to Chiyo, motioning for her to activate the scroll.
Chiyo took the scroll with trembling hands, her fingers brushing over its surface as if it were a priceless treasure.
She had defeated Sasori in her lifetime—but in truth, Sasori had only lost to his own feelings. He had tried to turn himself into a heartless puppet, and yet, he couldn't escape human emotion.
With a quiet breath, Chiyo unrolled the scroll. Written across it was a single, bold red character.
She infused her chakra into the scroll, which began to float before her.
In the next instant, countless chakra threads shot forth from it like a tide, sweeping across the crater toward the broken puppet parts.
As Chiyo stood there, her figure seemed to merge with Sasori's spirit.
At her command, the puppet remnants began to shake, as though infused with new life.
They fused rapidly, assembling piece by piece until an enormous puppet took form. It was nearly the size of the Wooden Human—although it wasn't yet operational.
Gakuya let out a low whistle of appreciation.
"Not bad. Sasori really was an artist—it looks great."
He raised his hand, forming a golden spiritual orb, and flicked it toward the puppet.
The orb sailed smoothly into the puppet's chest, fusing into it.
The moment the orb settled inside, the puppet's eyes lit up, and its massive arms began to rise. A wave of pressure rolled outward from its body.
The fierce battle between Sasuke and Hashirama paused as both turned toward this new behemoth.
Gakuya didn't take control of the puppet himself. Instead, he left it in Chiyo's hands—after all, he wasn't a proper puppeteer. Better to leave it to the professionals.
Chiyo stared at the reawakened puppet, her heart swelling with emotion. Her grandson's work had finally seen the light of day again.
Placing the scroll before her, she formed hand seals and guided the massive puppet toward Sasuke.
Sasuke snorted coldly. Susanoo raised its sword and charged forward to meet the incoming puppet.
Fragments swirled along the puppet's arm, coalescing into a gleaming golden shield.
That glow came from Gakuya's Tenseigan chakra infused into the spirit orb powering the puppet. With it, the puppet could access a fraction of Gakuya's ocular power.
The golden shield met Susanoo's blade with a burst of blinding sparks.
Sasuke staggered slightly from the powerful recoil, his heart skipping a beat.
But the giant puppet wasn't unscathed either. The shield's surface cracked, scattering puppet fragments in all directions.
Chiyo seized the moment to strike. The puppet's other hand balled into a fist and swung at Susanoo. Sasuke reacted swiftly, dodging to the side.
Just then, Hashirama rejoined the fray. The Wooden Human's enormous palm descended once again.
Sasuke roared and poured all his chakra into Susanoo, taking the hit head-on. With both the puppet and the Wooden Human closing in, he had no choice but to make Susanoo soar into the sky.
In response, the giant puppet's chest opened, launching several massive arrows toward the airborne Susanoo.
Not to be outdone, the Wooden Human split two wooden dragons from its body and hurled them upward.
Sasuke zigzagged through the sky, dodging most of the incoming strikes. But a few arrows and the wooden dragons still hit their mark, causing Susanoo to shudder violently midair.