Tenkū remained silent, his sharp eyes fixed on Chiyo. He was well aware of the legend surrounding Chikamatsu's Ten Puppets — the ultimate masterpiece of Monzaemon, the first puppet master in history.
As the peak of puppetry, each of these ten creations represented the strongest mechanical constructs of their era. In Chiyo's hands, their power multiplied severalfold. Her mastery allowed her to control ten puppets simultaneously, using a single finger for each — offense, defense, and counterattack flowing together seamlessly. She truly deserved the title of a one-woman army.
Once trapped within their encirclement, even someone of Tenkū's caliber would find escape nearly impossible.
Knowing this, Tenkū didn't hesitate. He raised his palm and struck first.
"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!"
A compressed wave of chakra burst forth, tearing through the rain and heading straight for Chiyo.
Chiyo merely twitched her finger, pulling a fallen ninja's corpse in front of her as a shield. The body was instantly obliterated by the shockwave. Her hands moved again, smooth and deliberate, as if strumming invisible strings.
The ten white-robed puppets around her suddenly stirred to life. Their chakra cores flared, and with a soft mechanical hum, several lunged toward Tenkū in perfect unison.
Their speed was astonishing — far beyond that of ordinary puppets. In mere seconds, they had already encircled him.
Two of them worked in tandem: one threw out a heavy chain while the other transformed its arms into eight-bladed chakra swords.
Tenkū's eyes sharpened. He leapt upward just as the chain lashed out, narrowly avoiding it. But another puppet extended countless steel cables from its limbs, sealing his movement mid-air.
"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!"
Tenkū's chakra flared as he thrust his palm forward again. The wave of force shattered the incoming cables, scattering the fragments across the ground. He twisted his body and landed lightly — but the moment his feet touched the ground, the eight-bladed sword puppet was already behind him.
"Clang!"
His kunai met the spinning blade in a desperate block. Sparks flew, metal screamed — and the kunai shattered. The sheer impact hurled Tenkū backward, a dull ache blooming across his chest.
Before he could recover, another puppet charged at him, dual broadswords slashing downward.
"Eight Trigrams: Iron Shattering Palm!"
A chakra-coated arm struck forward, colliding with the puppet's blades in a shockwave that sent droplets of rain flying. Despite its lifeless form, the puppet's movements were disturbingly fluid, reacting like a living combatant.
Chiyo flicked her fingers again, and the damaged puppet withdrew, only for another to ambush from behind with a spinning four-bladed sword.
Thanks to the Byakugan's all-encompassing vision, Tenkū detected the attack in time. His body flickered and reappeared several meters away, narrowly dodging the strike.
But the moment he landed, another puppet's arm extended unnaturally, sprouting sharp thorns that grew rapidly, threatening to entangle him.
"Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!"
Tenkū spun, releasing chakra from every tenketsu in his body. A hemispherical barrier formed, slicing through the thorns with its fierce rotation. Once free, he retreated a few meters, breathing evenly.
"Your puppet control has improved again…" he said calmly.
He wasn't exaggerating. Each puppet possessed unique functions, and Chiyo combined their abilities flawlessly, rotating them in an unending assault that left no room for error. Even the strongest shinobi could crumble under such relentless pressure.
Chiyo smirked coldly. "Of course. I told you long ago, Tenkū, one day, I'll take your Byakugan and install it in one of my puppets."
Tenkū merely chuckled. "You've been saying that for twenty years."
Truthfully, he knew her words weren't empty. Despite her age, Chiyo's strength hadn't waned. Puppet masters aged differently — their bodies might weaken, but their control and precision only grew sharper with experience.
The Ten Puppets spread out again, forming a loose defensive perimeter around her. Chiyo's chakra threads glowed faintly blue in the storm.
"Now," she said, her voice almost gleeful, "let me show you something special — a treasure I've prepared just for Konoha."
Tenkū's eyes narrowed.
Three of the Ten Puppets stepped forward. Their mouths opened, but instead of launching hidden weapons, strange seals were visible within, each marked with the kanji for Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.
A deep sense of foreboding gripped Tenkū's chest. Through his Byakugan, he could see massive chakra surging inside each puppet's core.
"This chakra…!"
Chiyo's hands moved again. "Ninja Art: Three Treasures Suction Destruction!"
The three puppets formed a triangular stance — two on the ground, one atop their shoulders — and opened their mouths wide. A violent burst of wind exploded outward, merging into three roaring cyclones.
The storm shredded the falling rain, twisting the entire battlefield into chaos.
"Puppets that can use Wind Style ninjutsu of this level?!" Tenkū exclaimed, disbelief flashing across his face.
He'd known Chiyo as a master of poisons and mechanisms, not large-scale elemental jutsu. But this… this was S-rank devastation.
He finally understood why there were so few Sand shinobi near their location — Chiyo didn't want allies caught in the blast. She was prepared to annihilate everyone — Konoha, Iwa, even her own Rain allies — if it meant victory.
"What a terrifying woman," Tenkū muttered, leaping away as the windstorm devoured everything in its path.
Trees were uprooted, rocks pulverized, and entire sections of the battlefield torn apart by invisible blades.
But the storm was faster.
The howling gales caught up, engulfing Tenkū entirely. He drove a kunai into the earth to stabilize himself, chakra flaring around his feet as he resisted the pull.
"Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!"
The protective dome of chakra spun to life, deflecting countless wind blades. But Wind Release was the sharpest of all chakra natures — it sliced through even his rotation, splintering the defense with each passing second.
"What monstrous power!"
Across the battlefield, Hayashi — locked in combat with Iwa shinobi — looked toward the storm with awe. "So that's Chiyo of the Sand… no wonder she's feared even by the Kage."
He clenched his fists, sensing the raw power radiating from her attacks. "If she's this strong, then what kind of monsters are the Kage themselves?"
Meanwhile, inside the storm, Tenkū's chakra faltered. His entire body trembled under the unending barrage. The wind was so sharp it could carve through steel.
He could neither flee nor defend for long. There was only one option left — to break through it entirely.
Raising his head, Tenkū's Byakugan flared brighter than ever. Chakra erupted from every pore, enveloping him in a blinding aura.
He soared upward, breaking through the heart of the storm.
The air trembled.
"Gentle Fist Art: Pseudo Empty Strike!"
In that instant, hundreds of palm strikes exploded outward simultaneously, each infused with compressed chakra. The surrounding air crackled and turned red from friction as shockwaves ripped through the battlefield.
The colossal wind vortex shattered like glass. For a moment, even the rain stopped falling.
"What destructive power…" whispered a nearby Konoha ninja in awe.
When the dust settled, both armies stood frozen, gazing at the devastated landscape.
At the center stood two figures — Tenkū and Chiyo.
Chiyo was protected by her puppets, though half of them lay in ruins, their once-perfect forms mangled and broken. The remaining few flickered weakly, their chakra cores fading.
Tenkū stood opposite her, his robes torn, his hands bloodied, fine cracks spiderwebbing across his skin. Twin streaks of blood streamed from his pale eyes.
Even so, he stood tall.
The Hyuga Clan — one of the oldest clans in history — had once again proven its might. Though their bloodline lacked flashy ninjutsu like the Sharingan or Wood Release, their secret techniques were no less terrifying.
The Gentle Fist had its own forbidden arts, ancient and divine in origin. But the price was immense.
Tenkū's breath came heavy. He could already feel his vision fading — he wasn't sure he'd ever use the Byakugan again.
But he had won.
---
Far away, a shadowy figure watched from the edge of the battlefield.
"This… that technique…" the figure muttered. "It's similar to Mother's Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack."
He scowled, hatred flashing in his pale eyes.
"Damn it. Even Hamura's descendants dare use her power… The Hyuga, the Uchiha — all of them should be erased."
The black figure sank into the ground, vanishing without a trace.
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Happy new month, Ladies and Gents 🍁
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