"Tsunade."

Hatake Sakumo said in a deep voice. "Now that Sunagakure’s Puppet Brigade is leaderless, I think we can press our advantage."

Sunagakure’s Puppet Brigade naturally consisted of more than just four Jonin.

As a brigade, their numbers were not small—totaling thirty people.

Two leaders, Chiyo’s son and daughter-in-law, and twenty-eight members forming seven ninja squads.

Tsunade pondered for a moment and nodded.

Hatake Sakumo had brought five ninja squads with him to intercept Sunagakure’s Puppet Brigade.

Adding her and Team 1, that made six ninja squads—totaling twenty-four people.

But Sunagakure’s Puppet Brigade had already lost its core of four Jonin, including the two leaders.

Comparing the two sides, they actually held the advantage.

Especially Hatake Sakumo.

His kenjutsu was fast, accurate, and ruthless—meaning most ninjas facing him would only take one strike.

In terms of style, it was like Minato after learning the Flying Thunder God Technique.

"To lure you into a trap without us noticing, Sunagakure’s Puppet Brigade deliberately sent out many members to confuse us."

Hatake Sakumo took out a map. "They are all in this location now."

"Didn’t you alert them when you came to support us?"

Tsunade took a look.

"No. I specifically led my squad to avoid them."

Hatake Sakumo explained. "After all, if we alerted them, we would have been held up by them."

"Without further ado, let’s move out now!"

Tsunade said immediately upon hearing this.

"Tsunade, you lead them there first. I’ll go back and notify the others, and we’ll form a pincer attack."

After handing the map to Tsunade, Hatake Sakumo disappeared from his spot at extreme speed.

"Are there any among you who know Earth Release ninjutsu?"

Tsunade wasn’t in a hurry to leave. "Disrupt the terrain of this area so others can’t tell what happened."

"I do."

A middle-aged ninja stepped forward and immediately formed hand seals with both hands.

Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!

He slammed his palm onto the ground. The ground cracked, and the terrain instantly changed.

"Let’s go!"

Tsunade took a couple of glances, waved her hand.

Hatake Sakumo brought four Jonin with him for support this time.

Adding Tsunade, Natsuki, Nawaki, and Nonou, that made eight ninjas.

Following behind Tsunade, Natsuki suddenly let out a soft sound of surprise.

Unlocking Starburst Stream required defeating three Fire Release Jonin.

He had already defeated one in the Land of Rain previously, so the progress was one-third.

But he just noticed the progress had reached two-thirds.

What’s going on?

Was there a Fire Release Jonin among the four puppet masters he just defeated?

Natsuki suddenly remembered that one of the puppets used by Chiyo’s son could spew fire.

Could it be that he excelled in Fire Release?

Regardless, this was ultimately a good thing.

This meant Natsuki only needed to defeat one more Fire Release Jonin to unlock Starburst Stream.

And maybe he would encounter one in the upcoming battle.

The group traveled at lightning speed and soon arrived at their destination—the temporary camp of Sunagakure’s Puppet Brigade.

"It seems we haven’t been discovered yet."

Tsunade stopped in her tracks, not rushing to attack.

She was waiting for Hatake Sakumo and the others to arrive.

They weren’t far.

Piercing sounds of wind rang out.

Hatake Sakumo and the other Konoha ninjas arrived in time.

But they made too much noise and were instantly noticed by Sunagakure’s Puppet Brigade.

"Attack!"

Seeing this, Tsunade immediately charged forward.

"Enemy attack!"

As soon as her voice fell, a ninja from Sunagakure’s Puppet Brigade shouted loudly.

In an instant, many ninjutsu poured out.

There was Wind Release, Earth Release, and Fire Release. Overall, Earth Release was the most numerous.

Although Sunagakure’s Puppet Brigade excelled in controlling puppets, it didn’t mean they didn’t know ninjutsu.

Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!

Nawaki and the others also immediately released ninjutsu to counterattack.

Hatake Sakumo took out the White Light Chakra Sabre, moving as fast as lightning, and disappeared from his spot.

In the next second, miserable screams rang out.

Natsuki immediately locked onto the puppet master who cast Fire Release.

Shadow Space.

His body slipped into the shadows.

The shadow rapidly approached the Fire Release puppet master.

Upon getting close, he leaped up, holding the projected Kurosawa in his hand.

Water Breathing: Tenth Form — Constant Flux!

Kurosawa slashed down at the Fire Release puppet master.

The surrounding rainwater was drawn in, transforming into a water dragon descending from the sky.

The Fire Release puppet master’s expression changed drastically—completely not expecting Natsuki to suddenly appear.

At this critical moment of life and death, he flicked his hands. His puppet met the water dragon.

BOOM!

Kurosawa, carrying the water dragon, directly smashed his puppet to pieces. Without losing momentum, it crashed into the Fire Release puppet master.

The Fire Release puppet master was immediately sent flying backward.

His face was deathly pale—feeling as if his body had been hit by a truck, aching all over.

But fortunately, his puppet had blocked most of the damage for him.

The Fire Release puppet master steadied his body and formed hand seals with both hands without hesitation.

He spat out a giant fireball.

As rainwater fell on the fireball, steam instantly rose.

Water Breathing: Seventh Form — Drop Ripple Thrust!

Natsuki charged forward holding Kurosawa.

Giant ripples appeared. Kurosawa hit the fireball.

Water and fire collided, creating even more steam.

Natsuki’s body disappeared into the steam.

The Fire Release puppet master stared intently at the sound of the explosion. His hands moved, and he took out a new puppet.

But as the sound of the explosion faded, besides some steam, he didn’t see Natsuki.

The Fire Release puppet master couldn’t help but be stunned.

In the next second, a spiral column of smoke suddenly appeared from the steam, binding him.

The Fire Release puppet master struggled—but to no avail.

This was precisely the ability of the Logia-Type Plume-Plume Fruit: White Vine.

Natsuki’s right arm re-solidified. He knocked him unconscious.

He then released White Vine and restored his body.

[Congratulations, Host. You have unlocked Kirigaya Kazuto Template Ability 4: Starburst Stream.]

Excellent!

It came at the perfect time.

Natsuki nodded in satisfaction.

With this, only Ability 5 of his Kirigaya Kazuto template remained locked.

Ability 5 was The Eclipse—equivalent to an enhanced version of Starburst Stream. Its unlock condition was to defeat a battlefield commander.

Natsuki was thoughtful.

Theoretically, Chiyo’s son and daughter-in-law could also be considered battlefield commanders—but they didn’t unlock The Eclipse.

It seemed that because the number of people was too small, it could only be considered a battle, not a battlefield.

Natsuki didn’t think much further. Holding Kurosawa, he threw himself back into the battle.

Although Sunagakure’s Puppet Brigade had strong combat power, they were still insufficient in front of Hatake Sakumo, Tsunade, and the others.

Most importantly, they had lost their two leaders. Without anyone to command them, they ultimately lost the battle.

"Sakumo, you clear the battlefield."

Tsunade let out a breath. "I’ll take the medical ninjas to treat the wounded."

Hatake Sakumo nodded.

He immediately arranged for the other ninjas to start cleaning up the battlefield.

Natsuki, Nawaki, and Nonou were probably not assigned tasks due to their young age.

The three gathered together, each appearing somewhat dazed.

This was Nawaki and Nonou’s first time experiencing such a large-scale slaughter, so they couldn’t process it for a moment.

Natsuki, on the other hand, was dazed for another reason: he awakened a new character template.

[You have awakened the Bickslow Template.]

Although Natsuki had read many works, he couldn’t remember who this was for a moment.

But he could be certain it was definitely related to puppet masters.

After all, he had defeated quite a few puppet masters tonight.

Including Chiyo’s son and daughter-in-law.

[Name: Bickslow]

[Period: 100 Years Quest]

[World: Fairy Tail]

[Rank: A-Rank]

[Ability 1: Seith Magic — Human Possession — UNLOCKED] Effect: Summon five dolls, injecting a portion of one’s soul into the dolls for remote control. With sufficient chakra, they can be summoned infinitely.

[Ability 2: Doll — Line Formation — LOCKED] Effect: The five dolls line up in a straight line, releasing a piercing slash beam. Unlock Condition: Defeat five Genin.

[Ability 3: Doll — X Formation — LOCKED] Effect: The five dolls form an X shape, creating a high-strength defensive barrier. Unlock Condition: Defeat five Chunin.

[Ability 4: Doll — Victory Formation — LOCKED] Effect: The five dolls form a V shape, launching an area-of-effect impact and slash. Unlock Condition: Defeat five Tokubetsu Jonin.

[Ability 5: Doll — Baryon Formation — LOCKED] Effect: The five dolls form a pentagonal formation, shooting a powerful laser that causes apocalyptic damage. Unlock Condition: Defeat five Jonin.

[Ability 6: Figure Eyes — LOCKED] Effect: By making eye contact with the target, one can control the target’s soul, turning them into a puppet. The duration of control depends on the strength of both parties. Unlock Condition: Learn five control-type ninjutsu.

So it was a character from Fairy Tail.

Natsuki remembered that the five dolls Bickslow summoned had names: Pippi, Poppo, Pappa, Peppe, and Puppu.

These five dolls essentially had no combat ability of their own and relied entirely on the user’s control and command.

From this perspective, Bickslow was no different from a Sunagakure puppet master.

Except one controlled puppets, and the other controlled dolls.

Ability 1: Seith Magic — Human Possession.

Its effect went without saying: summoning five dolls.

Compared to Sunagakure puppet masters, its biggest advantage was that the dolls could be summoned infinitely.

In other words, Natsuki didn’t need to worry about what to do if the dolls were destroyed.

Abilities 2 through 5 all involved the dolls forming formations to exert corresponding effects.

Judging from the effects, there was both offense and defense.

And judging from the unlock requirements, the power clearly increased from smallest to largest—with Ability 5 being the most powerful.

It had to be said, the unlock requirements for these four abilities were quite interesting.

They respectively required defeating five Genin, Chunin, Tokubetsu Jonin, and Jonin.

For the current Natsuki, defeating five Jonin was undoubtedly quite troublesome.

But on the other hand, defeating five Jonin overlapped with the unlock conditions of other character template abilities.

For example, The Eclipse from the Kirigaya Kazuto template, or Eye of the Mind (False) and Tsubame Gaeshi from the Sasaki Kojiro template.

Besides that, there was another problem.

With his current strength, challenging Genin and Chunin seemed a bit shameless.

Natsuki’s thoughts stirred—thinking of the upcoming Chunin Exams.

The participants in the Chunin Exams would definitely all be Genin.

Actually, there were many Genin whose strength had long rivaled Chunin—but he didn’t know if the system counted them.

But it didn’t matter if it didn’t. Currently in the period of the Second Shinobi World War, fulfilling the above unlock conditions wouldn’t be particularly difficult.

Ability 6: Figure Eyes.

This was an unexpected pleasant surprise for Natsuki.

His first reaction upon seeing it was that it was a low-quality version of the Sharingan.

The Sharingan could also cast genjutsu through eye contact to control a target.

Compared to the Sharingan, Figure Eyes lacked effects like copying and insight.

But it had one advantage.

The Sharingan’s characteristics were very obvious. When activated, tomoe would appear.

Figure Eyes didn’t have that.

Anyway, it was quite sneaky.

Its requirement was to learn five control-type ninjutsu.

Control-type ninjutsu usually referred to genjutsu.

But besides genjutsu, there were also many other control-type ninjutsu.

For example, the Nara clan’s shadow secret jutsu, Water Release: Water Prison Jutsu, and Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique.

Natsuki knew two genjutsu.

One was Fox Magic from the Shippo template, and the other was the self-taught D-Rank Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique.

How should he put it?

Learning a few control-type ninjutsu would be very helpful.

After all, his teammates Nawaki and Nonou didn’t know any control-type ninjutsu.

"How do you guys feel?"

Natsuki snapped back to reality.

"I’m fine."

Nawaki took a deep breath, having already adapted.

Nonou didn’t speak—just shook her head.

Her small face was still a bit pale, obviously still having some lingering fear.

"There’s no other way. We can only get used to it."

Natsuki reached out, rubbed her head.

"Mm."

Nonou responded.

"Let’s talk about something happy!"

Nawaki immediately changed the subject. "Our Team 1 made a huge contribution this time. The village will definitely reward us well!"

Being able to capture Chiyo’s son and daughter-in-law, their Team 1 indeed took the greatest merit.

But as for whose merit was the greatest, it was naturally self-evident.

Natsuki went all out, created a low-quality version of Unlimited Blade Works, and directly screwed over four puppet masters.

"Natsuki, what was that move you used earlier called?"

Nawaki asked curiously.

"What do you mean what is it called? Don’t you know? It’s Projection Magecraft."

Natsuki smiled. "I used it once when I fought Minato before."

When Minato used the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu, he had a flash of inspiration and thought of this usage.

But he didn’t have Broken Phantasm at the time, so the power was very average.

"How could it explode?"

Nawaki continued to ask.

"The principle is similar to an explosive tag."

Natsuki said casually. "The projected swords and blades are essentially aggregates of chakra. They just need to be triggered to produce an explosion."

"If you can instantly release so many swords and blades, then this Projection Magecraft of yours could rival an S-Rank ninjutsu."

Nawaki sighed emotionally.

"Yeah."

Natsuki nodded. "I’m trying to improve it. Maybe one day in the future I can."

"..."

Nawaki was instantly speechless.

Do you know what you’re saying?

"Casually improving an S-Rank ninjutsu, only you would dare say that."

Tsunade’s voice rang out.

"Sister, are you done over there?"

Seeing her, Nawaki asked.

"I’ve done preliminary treatment on the wounded. The rest will have to wait until we get back to camp."

Tsunade paused. "Let’s go. The mission is complete."

Natsuki and the others nodded.

The group quickly returned to the camp.

"Send an ANBU back to the village first to notify Teacher."

Tsunade thought for a moment. "After treating the wounded, we will leave as soon as possible."

"I plan to do the same."

Hatake Sakumo agreed.

His mission was to intercept Sunagakure’s Puppet Brigade.

Now, with the help of Tsunade and the others, he had over-completed the mission—so there was no need to waste time staying here.

Early the next morning.

The group set off toward Konoha.

But the news of Sunagakure’s Puppet Brigade’s annihilation had already been sent back in advance.

Konoha, Hokage’s office.

The office, usually occupied only by Sarutobi Hiruzen, was rarely lively for once.

The two Hokage advisors, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, and the Hokage’s Assistant, Shimura Danzo, had all arrived.

These four people were the absolute higher-ups of Konoha—the absolute core.

"Did something happen on the battlefield in the Land of Rain?"

Danzo took the initiative to ask.

"It is indeed about the battlefield in the Land of Rain."

Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a face full of smiles. "Tsunade and Sakumo captured Chiyo’s son and daughter-in-law and completely annihilated Sunagakure’s Puppet Brigade."

Danzo and the other two instantly showed expressions of surprise.

"This is the greatest combat achievement Konoha has obtained since the war started."

Mitokado Homura praised. "Sunagakure must be in a terrible state right now."

"With Chiyo’s son and daughter-in-law captured, she will definitely take action."

Utatane Koharu reminded. "We must have Orochimaru and Jiraiya be extra careful."

"I have already sent ANBU ninjas to notify them."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded.

"With Amegakure holding them back, Sunagakure might choose to negotiate with us."

Mitokado Homura pondered for a moment.

"It’s more likely they will start a war with us!"

Danzo volunteered. "Why not let my Root go investigate the situation in Sunagakure!"

"With Jiraiya and Orochimaru there, it’s already enough."

Sarutobi Hiruzen refused.

"..."

Danzo subconsciously clenched his fists, then released them.

But he still hadn’t given up his plan to expand Root’s scale during the war.

"Sunagakure’s Puppet Brigade are all elites."

Utatane Koharu asked curiously. "How did Tsunade and Sakumo completely annihilate them?"

Danzo and Mitokado Homura also felt confused.

In terms of apparent strength, the two sides were actually about the same.

Otherwise, Hatake Sakumo wouldn’t have been in a stalemate with them for two months.

"This is related to Natsuki."

Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a smile.

Previously, when Natsuki fought Minato, he had evaluated Projection Magecraft as useless.

He didn’t expect to be slapped in the face this time.

Although Projection Magecraft had many flaws, when prepared properly and the enemy didn’t know the intel, it was indeed very lethal.

It was just that such opportunities would probably not be common.

If the intel was known in advance, then it would be useless.

After Sarutobi Hiruzen finished speaking, the three people had different expressions.

Danzo’s heart was filled with endless regret.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were mostly emotional.

After all, they had no grudge against Natsuki.

"It’s enough that you know about this. Do not spread it."

Sarutobi Hiruzen reminded them.

The fewer people who knew about Natsuki’s low-quality version of Unlimited Blade Works, the better.

_____________________________________________________

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