"What kind of power is this…" A hint of surprise flashed across Chiyo's face, and her expression grew serious.
"If the puppet's material were replaced with something more durable, would it enhance the puppeteer's ability? What about an exoskeleton?"
Orochimaru looked at the puppet parts on the ground, and this thought suddenly occurred to her.
"No, I don't have that much time and energy for such things right now. Tsunade… this Chakra… is it Shukaku?"
"Did Shukaku emerge after Bunbuku lost consciousness?"
"I should have reminded Tsunade to go for the head. Although the situation would have been a mess, it wouldn't have given Shukaku a chance to emerge."
"Wind Release: Night Wind!"
Orochimaru raised her hand, and a hurricane generated around her repelled all the poisoned shuriken attacks.
"Ibuki Eisei!"
Orochimaru waved her hands, and the hurricane flew towards Chiyo.
The ox-headed puppet shielded Chiyo, extending its arms, and the mechanisms on its arms sprang open, forming a Chakra shield that blocked the hurricane's attack.
"As expected of Sunagakure's strongest puppeteer!"
Orochimaru watched as more puppets surrounded her, her body faintly shimmering with lightning.
"The same jutsu…" Chiyo looked at the faint lightning shimmering on Orochimaru's body, recognizing it as the jutsu Tsunade had used earlier.
Boom, boom, boom—!
Loud roars continuously came from afar as Shukaku controlled Bunbuku's body, dozens of mouths opening all over its body, simultaneously inhaling.
"Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet!"
In an instant, dozens of wind spheres attacked Tsunade from different directions.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Facing the numerous wind spheres, Tsunade formed hand signs, and a wall of water spewed from her mouth, rotating in a circle around her.
"Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet!"
Shukaku opened its mouth and inhaled, then spat out a massive wind sphere that blasted through the Water Formation Wall's defense.
The water in the puddles on the ground gathered to form Water Clones, which attacked Ichibi from different directions.
Shukaku swung its tail, dispersing all the Water Clones.
Tsunade attacked Shukaku from the air, raising her leg high and bringing it down with a chop!
Shukaku crossed its arms to block Tsunade's attack, its palms becoming incredibly massive.
Boom—!
The immense force directly slammed Shukaku into the ground.
Tsunade twisted her body, using her waist to generate power, and kicked towards Shukaku's head.
Bang—!
A tail that burst from the ground sent Tsunade flying, and a hint of surprise flashed in Shukaku's eyes; with its power, it should have been able to pierce her body with its tail.
Tsunade's battle armor was twisted and deformed; she took it off and casually tossed it aside, tearing open her clothes to reveal a bloody, mangled abdomen. If she hadn't reinforced her body with Yang Release Chakra just now, Shukaku's tail would have pierced her body.
"Lady Tsunade, how are you?"
Katsuyu looked at the wound on Tsunade's abdomen, very worried that with its current size, it couldn't heal her.
"I'm fine, it just looks a bit gruesome… Katsuyu, don't tell Orochimaru!"
Tsunade quickly healed herself, giving Katsuyu a warning look. She couldn't imagine what would happen if Orochimaru saw the wound on her abdomen. She would rather fight a Tailed Beast to the death than be scolded by an angry Orochimaru.
"Are you that afraid of Orochimaru?"
Katsuyu muttered to itself; it thought Orochimaru was quite friendly and took good care of Tsunade. Rather than a lover, Orochimaru's way of caring for Tsunade felt more like caring for a child.
Of course, it only thought this to itself; if it were to say these words out loud, with Tsunade's temper, there was no telling what would happen.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield.
Chiyo had originally thought that she wouldn't need all ten puppets to deal with Orochimaru.
The facts proved her wrong, terribly wrong!
Even with all the puppets attacking Orochimaru, and all the shuriken used, she couldn't be harmed. With the poison she made, a single scratch would have rendered her unable to fight.
Chiyo's hand movements became faster. She noticed that the poisoned Konoha Ninja hadn't lost their fighting ability and looked at the syringes on the ground.
"Antidote?"
"Was my poison leaked?"
Chiyo immediately suspected there was a traitor within Sunagakure, otherwise, her poison wouldn't be so easily countered.
"Unfortunately, the antidote's effect isn't as potent as you imagine."
Orochimaru noticed the subtle change in Chiyo's expression, glanced at the Konoha Ninja who had injected the antidote, and saw through her thoughts.
"Is the battle over there?"
Chiyo heard the sounds from that direction subside.
"That little princess of Konoha is definitely no match for Shukaku. The more troublesome part is how to bring Shukaku back to Sunagakure."
"Tsunade!"
Orochimaru's pupils slightly contracted, and the Yin Seal on her abdomen released Sage Chakra, instantly entering Sage Mode.
"White Snake Scale Blade!"
A massive white snake tail swept across, sending debris flying, and five puppets attacking from different angles shattered into parts scattered across the ground.
"What is that? A giant snake tail?!"
Chiyo watched in shock as the giant white snake tail gradually shrank, shortened, and fell to the ground. Her first thought was a summoned snake's tail, but judging by its flexibility and the way it lay on the ground… that white snake tail looked more like it was growing from her body!
"I'll leave this to you. If too many people are poisoned, retreat first; they won't pursue you."
Orochimaru said to her companions. From the reactions of the injured, it was clear that the antidote she, Tsunade, and the medical support team had developed was not ideal, but it wasn't completely ineffective either.
"Did you realize we can't give up on Shukaku?"
Chiyo put away the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets, including the shattered ones on the ground—they could be repaired and reused. She took out another scroll, unsealed it, and used ordinary puppets to fight the Konoha Ninja.
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"