The woman wasn't stupid. She knew her current physical condition wouldn't allow her to keep up this bravado much longer. If she persisted, she would likely die at the hands of this younger shinobi today.
While Kyosuke was busy breaking free from the binding of the Eight Trigrams formation, she pulled a small wooden doll from her robes and infused it with her chakra.
The character for "Gate" (門) on the doll's forehead emitted a faint, ghostly glow. She knew her companion would arrive soon to rescue her; she just had to hold on a little longer.
It was ironic. Just moments ago, she had mocked Shisui and the others for needing help, and now she was the one signaling for reinforcements. A complex mix of emotions churned within her.
On the other side, Kyosuke, utilizing the power of the Susanoo, finally broke free from the restraint. With a flick of his sleeve, several kunai shot toward his enemy.
He was curious to see how this opponent, with her strange abilities, would counter the unpredictable Flying Thunder God Technique.
Flash.
Using the marker on one of the kunai, Kyosuke appeared instantly behind her. The Kusanagi Sword in his hand thrust forward without mercy, aiming directly for her heart.
Although the woman tried her best to dodge, the dual burden of mental and physical exhaustion made her movements a split-second too slow. The blade pierced her chest, missing her heart by a mere two inches.
A look of unwillingness flashed across her face. She didn't look back, but her voice was cold. "If I hadn't been exhausted from fighting your disciples earlier, an attack of this level would never have defeated me."
"Still stubborn even at death's door."
Lightning Release chakra suddenly surged through the blade of the Kusanagi Sword. As the woman trembled violently from the electrocution, Kyosuke's left hand quietly placed a Flying Thunder God formula on her body.
Her earlier subtle movements hadn't escaped his Sharingan. That wooden doll was clearly a distress signal. Since chakra transmission devices like that usually required the rescuer to be nearby, it meant she wasn't alone.
This woman from the Hyuga clan—or at least a relative of it—possessed impressive strength. Kyosuke was genuinely interested in meeting her companion to see if they would offer him any more surprises.
Otherwise, he could have taken her life instantly. Why waste time talking?
Not long after he subdued her, a figure cloaked in a heavy robe descended from the sky at incredible speed. He was flying.
"A ninja who can fly... things are getting interesting," Kyosuke thought, his expression unreadable.
"How could you be so careless?" the cloaked figure said to the woman, who hung her head in silence. He walked slowly toward them.
Facing the cloaked man's question, the woman looked ashamed. "I am sorry..."
However, before she could finish, another surge of electricity coursed through her body, abruptly cutting off their conversation.
Seeing the white foam forming at the corner of her mouth, the cloaked figure fell silent for a moment before speaking. "Release her, and I will allow you to leave safely."
His tone was calm, but the threat was unmistakable. If Kyosuke didn't comply, he was ready to attack.
From these few words, Kyosuke deduced that this cloaked man shared the woman's arrogance. They possessed a deep-seated sense of superiority, as if no one else was worth their time—not even Kyosuke.
While this discovery made Kyosuke sneer internally, he also wanted to test this newcomer's abilities.
"You want to save her?" Kyosuke drove the Kusanagi Sword a little deeper, sneering at the cloaked man's silence. "Why don't you come over here and try it yourself?"
As he spoke, Kyosuke's Sharingan flared to life. But when he looked at the cloaked figure's internal chakra system, his pupils contracted instinctively.
In a normal human, chakra is distributed evenly through the tenketsu points across the body. But this enemy was different. All the chakra in his body was concentrated in the heart, and the chakra flowing to his limbs and torso was entirely supplied by that single organ.
There was only one possibility: the cloaked man standing before him was actually a puppet. Specifically, a Human Puppet (Hitokugutsu).
A Human Puppet, as the name implied, was a puppet created from a human corpse. Because it was made from a once-living human and retained their chakra nature, such a puppet could use the ninjutsu the person possessed in life—even Kekkei Genkai.
Sasori of the Red Sand in the original story was the master of this art. He had turned the Third Kazekage into a Human Puppet and eventually converted his own body into one, achieving a form of immortality.
As for the man in front of him, Kyosuke couldn't see any chakra threads controlling him. However, he couldn't guarantee that this body was the puppet master's true form.
Judging by the woman's endless array of strange techniques, these people were far from ordinary. If this cloaked figure had developed a technique to control Human Puppets remotely without chakra threads—technology even Sasori hadn't mastered—Kyosuke wouldn't be surprised.
Therefore, while keeping his focus on the man, Kyosuke also kept a vigilant watch on his surroundings, guarding against the potential appearance of more puppets.
Meanwhile, at a hot spring resort a few streets away.
Two men were soaking comfortably in the flowing hot water.
One of them sat cross-legged in the water, hands formed in a specific seal, eyes closed in deep concentration. He was the controller behind the Human Puppet.
Watching his companion's intense focus, the other man thought for a moment and asked, "How is it? Is it troublesome? Do you need me to make a trip over there?"
"Sigh," the puppet master sighed lightly, eyes still closed. "If not for the long slumber causing many of my Human Puppets to rot away completely, dealing with this enemy wouldn't be so troublesome."
"No way. Even with the two of you, you can't handle him? Is the enemy the so-called 'God of Shinobi'?" the other man exclaimed, knowing his partner's background well.
"Probably not. Based on the intelligence we've gathered recently, that so-called God of Shinobi is already dead. I suspect this enemy might be a reincarnate of Asura's chakra. Otherwise, it would be very difficult for an ordinary person to use Wood Release ninjutsu of that magnitude."
The puppet master rambled on, his thoughts drifting far away until his companion cleared his throat to remind him.
"You're getting off track. I asked if you need me to go. If she dies, how am I supposed to explain it to the Great Lord when we return?" the man said, spreading his hands helplessly.
"Let's see how the situation develops. Although my original puppets are unusable, I am not someone who can be defeated by just anyone," the puppet master said with an arrogant smile, his expression filled with wild confidence.
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