Konoha: Tsunade, I am the Hokage

Chapter 77 Scorpion: Is this a speed a human can achieve?

On the mountain, explosions echoed continuously.

Xiao Nan's figure transformed into pieces of origami, fluttering and swirling around before finally converging in another place.

Whizzing!

The origami flew out like a sword from the hand.

The puppets were too scared to advance after being bombed.

"You guys go first."

Xiao Nan did not turn around.

Behind her, a dozen or so Amegakure ninjas were huddled together, and there were two corpses on the ground.

Upon hearing Xiao Nan's words, they snapped out of their daze and immediately turned and ran away.

Instead of giving chase, Sasori looked at the female ninja in front of him with excitement.

Origami.

Novel ninjutsu...

"You will become one of my best collections!"

"Oh."

Xiao Nan remained expressionless, not bothering to say a word to the person in front of her.

She manipulated the paper, which contained numerous explosive tags. The continuous explosions intertwined to create a dazzling sea of fire, but the next moment, a stream of water appeared around her.

Water Escape·Water Formation Wall!

In addition, some earthen walls have appeared...

The rising water and earthen walls instantly blocked the multiple explosions.

Simultaneously unleash ninjutsu?

Xiao Nan was surprised, and a suspicion began to arise in her heart—

Is it based on one's own abilities?

Do not!

Could it be that...?!

Her pupils contracted, and she instantly understood the meaning of the "collection" the other person had just mentioned.

"Are you conducting forbidden research?!"

"Taboos? Who defines taboos and conventions? It's just the ignorance of ordinary people."

The scorpion was lazy and authentic.

He emerged from behind the trees, manipulating two puppets with his fingers. Soon after, several other figures emerged from the forest.

Controlled by ten fingers, one person can command an army.

"Your art is very interesting; let it become my eternal art, and I will make you immortal!"

His tone was fervent.

With a flick of his fingers, ten figures shot out in an instant, unleashing a barrage of ninjutsu and ninja tools.

Surrounded by light and shadow.

The paper burned in the flames, but Xiao Nan herself was not afraid of the flames; her body quickly collapsed and turned into a piece of origami.

Paper clone!

The collapsed clones instantly reassembled, transforming into a long spear.

boom!

The spear flew out, aiming at one of the puppets, but was quickly blocked by ninjutsu.

however.

In an instant, the spear exploded violently.

The earthen wall collapsed, and the puppet was blasted away. In mid-air, its outer skin and flesh fell off, revealing the internal mechanisms.

really.

Xiao Nan's heart sank as she realized why the other party had come to this area.

This guy wants the materials!

She was manipulating origami, preparing to deal with Scorpion, when she suddenly sensed a squad arriving from her left, followed closely by...

Splash!

She instantly transformed into pieces of paper, flying into the air and looking down at the surroundings from above.

Then, Konan saw a squad rapidly approaching from behind Sasori, while on her side, another squad with a similarly Sunagakure style was getting closer.

Sunagakure Village...

The madman in front of me seems to be a ninja from Sunagakure. Are the two sides working together?

Amegakure and Sunagakure had a history of war and enmity, and she dared not gamble with the lives of her own people on the enemy's temperament, so she immediately decided to retreat.

Fortunately, her subordinates and compatriots had already escaped some distance.

Even if she leaves, the other side won't be able to catch up for a while, and with layers of interception along the way, it shouldn't be a problem.

With that thought in mind, she decided to leave.

but.

Upon closer inspection, the person in the distance seemed to be the child I had seen in Yugakure before...

Konoha ninja?

Xiao Nan hesitated for a moment, then flew higher to put herself in a safe position.

Looking down at the surroundings, the situation became even clearer.

That's right.

That's them!

Konan hesitated for a moment, then created a clone and headed towards Yahiko and the others.

……

"Flying?"

Scorpion's eyes held a hint of annoyance, but then a smile appeared on his face. "You can fly, so can I!"

In an instant, three puppets rose from the ground and headed towards Xiao Nan.

"Your technique is immune to damage, but it must consume a lot of chakra, right? Once you've depleted your chakra, you should be able to..."

Scorpion was trying to destroy the other person's mind with words.

At this moment, however, a sudden sense of impending doom filled me with fear.

His hair stood on end, and with a swift movement of his hand, he manipulated the four puppets around him to provide close protection.

next moment--

Earth Escape·Earth Flow Wall!

laugh!

As the blade slashed through, the earthen wall collapsed instantly under the onslaught of lightning.

Kakashi shattered the earthen wall.

Behind him, Minato Namikaze arrived first, even though he was behind.

The Rasengan instantly imprinted itself on the puppet that was forming hand seals.

At the same time.

bump!

The puppet exploded, and poisonous mist rushed in all directions, but Minato Namikaze also instantly turned into a fleeting shadow and disappeared without a trace.

This is a shadow clone.

Then, a gust of wind swept towards the scorpion.

The scorpion was completely fearless.

The poison hit his face, but he simply swallowed a pill and then shrank the surrounding puppets.

"Sasori, the Red Sand Scourge, a rogue ninja from Sunagakure."

Minato Namikaze emerged from behind Kakashi, saying, "I was prepared for this."

He couldn't help but glance at Kyohiko.

On the way before.

"Minato-senpai, Kakashi, Guy, the enemy is a genius puppeteer from Sunagakure. We'd better avoid close combat and use Shadow Clone Jutsu or other ninjutsu to defeat him."

The current situation is exactly as Jingyan predicted.

Otherwise, given Minato's fighting style, he wouldn't likely use shadow clones instead of assassinations.

"Konoha's..."

Scorpion glanced behind him, his eyes lighting up. "That guy, is he the one who slipped through the net before? I didn't expect you to bring him here. Great! I want to thank you!"

Immediately, he manipulated his ten fingers to shrink all the puppets.

however.

While he was speaking, Xiao Nan had already silently wrapped an explosive tag in a piece of paper and detonated one of the human puppets above.

She is not afraid of drugs or police.

She remained fearless even after detonating the poison, but after blowing up the puppet, she looked to the other side.

Below, Kyohiko nodded slightly.

He has already heard it, so—

We need to finish this quickly!

Whoosh!

Three figures materialized, instantly transforming into a streak of light and charging forward.

Scorpion's gaze swept across the area.

Immediately, another puppet quickly formed a hand seal, but just as it was about to complete the seal, one of the three figures that had run over suddenly sped up.

In the blink of an eye, it was already in front of it.

The sword was drawn, and both hands were severed.

"You think you can kill my puppets one by one? What a naive idea!"

Scorpion sneered, then manipulated his fingers, and countless senbon needles shot out from the puppet's severed hands, heading towards the figure and Minato Namikaze and the others behind him.

Each of these needles is highly poisonous.

If even a small spot is rubbed, the toxins will quickly erupt and spread.

But what stood in front of him wasn't even a shadow clone, just an afterimage created by an ordinary clone technique, while the four behind him vanished in an instant.

Suddenly, the other two of the three figures accelerated instantly.

By the time the scorpion realized what was happening...

The opponent is already in front of you!

The blade sliced across the neck, but in an instant, the scorpion's body turned into sand, finally collapsing and dissipating.

The next moment, a deafening explosion came from underground.

The detonation tag exploded, along with countless poison needles flying out of the blast.

At the same time, the surrounding puppets attacked the two of them.

Water and thunder intertwined, and dazzling lightning spread all around.

Traps, poison, puppets.

This is the most common technique used by puppeteers.

Facing Sasori of the Red Sand, such methods will only increase and become more unpredictable, with puppets, traps, poison, and ninjutsu combined in a bizarre and terrifying way.

however.

His opponent...

Whoosh!

Paper flew everywhere.

Xiao Nan swooped down from the sky, converging in one direction in an instant. Immediately afterwards, the papers flew in all directions, causing a series of explosions.

Boom boom boom!

Amidst the continuous explosions, a figure fled in a disheveled state.

As he fled, he manipulated his fingers, controlling numerous puppets, and his figure moved towards another location.

Another standoff has broken out over there, and...

Familiar chakra.

Chiyo.

His grandmother.

Sasori kept his eyes on his surroundings, dealing with Konan's origami and explosive tags while keeping an eye on Minato Namikaze and Kyohiko.

Those two are the real enemies!

Konan is a tough opponent, but she can only counter her with ninjutsu. Her opponent's ninjutsu consumption must be considerable, and the explosive tags are ultimately limited; they cannot explode indefinitely.

but.

If those two are fast enough, he will have no chance of winning once they get close.

Scorpion understands this very well.

and so.

He was constantly manipulating the puppets, making them do as much as possible...

What?

The scorpion looked ahead in horror.

Over there, a puppet fell silently. Although the poison was released, the puppet had already vanished without a trace by the time the poison appeared.

Do not!

exist……

"here!"

Scorpion suddenly detonated a puppet ahead of schedule.

With the burst of chakra, the thousand sticks and the mechanism exploded in all directions in an instant, but he was horrified to find that the opponent was still able to maneuver and change direction in advance even at such a terrifying speed.

How is that possible?

Is this a reaction that a human could achieve?

Soon, he noticed that the one who killed the puppet was not the tall, blond one, but the short, black-haired man who was even smaller than him.

unreasonable!

The scorpion man was dumbfounded, and...

If the small ones are this scary, wouldn't the tall ones be even more ferocious?

At this moment, Scorpion, who had always been arrogant and considered himself invincible, finally realized that there are limits to being a puppeteer.

While manipulating the puppets to protect himself, he took out a scroll with one hand, hoping to unseal more puppets.

but.

Just as he was about to do so, a phantom suddenly flashed before his eyes.

Immediately—

Great Fireball Technique!

A massive fireball hurtled towards them, and Minato Namikaze formed hand seals, covering a large area with the fireball.

The scorpion dared not be careless.

He simultaneously controlled six puppets, unleashing ninjutsu to protect his surroundings.

however.

The next moment, boom!

Xiao Nan manipulated the final detonation tag, blasting a mud wall into collapse.

Then, a jet of water came from outside.

Sasori's pupils contracted, and he immediately shrank back to avoid it. But soon, the water column dispersed and turned into an ordinary stream of water, followed by a burst of lightning.

Over the past period of time, Kyohiko has been discussing Lightning Release ninjutsu with Kakashi.

Although he had not yet mastered specific Lightning Release ninjutsu, his Lightning Release attribute had been fully developed. At this moment, he used his chakra dagger to channel Lightning Release chakra into the transformed Water Chaos Wave.

The water rushed and thunder roared.

The scorpion froze, paralyzed by the lightning and unable to move.

Although Kyohiko himself had also suffered a considerable amount of electric current, temporarily hindering his movements, he still had his companions—

Minato Namikaze's figure intertwined with the others.

In an instant, the figure moved forward, and the Giant Rasengan exploded.

Although Sasori released two puppets to protect him, the power of the Rasengan was too terrifying. Under paralysis, he had no time to use any techniques to defend himself. The spinning chakra was devastating and unstoppable, and it was shattered in the blink of an eye.

Bang!

The scorpion flew backward, transforming into a streak of light as it rushed towards the rear.

Konan saw an opportunity and tried to manipulate the origami, but she felt dizzy as soon as she dispersed some of it. She had no choice but to reduce the scale of the ninjutsu and forcibly change the technique, turning the three pieces of origami into shuriken that flew out.

The scorpion has lost the ability to fight back.

He tried to avoid vital points, but was still struck in the body by the shuriken and finally crashed into a rock, unable to move.

The long marks on the ground showed how terrifying Minato Namikaze's Rasengan was, while Sasori's chest, with its deep, blurred flesh and blood, indicated that he was seriously injured and unable to move.

Minato Namikaze was panting heavily.

Just now, he and Jingyan used Shadow Clone Jutsu and Body Flicker Technique to kill the enemy in succession, which consumed a lot of their chakra.

To avoid the corrosive effects of the poisonous fog, Kyohiko even used the Open Gate and Rest Gate from the Eight Gates Formation.

Finally...

They hit the scorpion's true form!

Minato Namikaze moved forward step by step.

"Scorpion, you deserve to die!"

As he spoke, he created another shadow clone, which cautiously approached the scorpion.

A flicker of despair flashed in Scorpion's eyes.

Just then, a chaotic sound came from the other side, and flames roared as a forest was engulfed in flames. In the firelight, Chiyo rushed towards them, shouting, "Stop!"

but.

Minato only glanced at her.

Then, he said coldly, "Chiyo, you can bet on whether you're faster or I'm faster!"

"you!"

Chiyo, her face filled with anger, still stopped in her tracks.

She looked at the scorpion, and then...

Chiyo's eyes were filled with shock and horror as she saw the puppets lying limp on the ground.

She couldn't believe it.

"you?!!"

"It's you, Grandma! I didn't expect that. Wasn't it the Third Kazekage who came before? Why are you here instead!"

Scorpion leaned against a tree, blood gushing from the wound on his chest, but his expression was languid, as if he were not the one who was injured.

Even so, there was a hint of darkness in his eyes.

Chiyo was very disappointed and said, "You actually researched this forbidden puppetry technique!"

"Traditional puppetry is too weak; this is the art of eternity."

Scorpion gave a weak laugh.

Chiyo looked at Minato Namikaze: "A Konoha ninja, he's a rogue ninja from our Sunagakure. I want to take him back to face his punishment..."

"Chiyo, I can't let you take him away!"

Minato Namikaze's face was cold and filled with murderous intent.

"Does Konoha intend to steal the secrets of our Sunagakure?"

Chiyo immediately threatened her with "secrets".

Minato Namikaze narrowed his eyes, his gaze filled with killing intent, but he remained silent as his shadow clone drew a shuriken.

He's not good at verbal sparring, but he's better at...

kill!

At this moment, Kyohiko spoke.

"Elder Chiyo, we respect your village's secrets, but Sasori of the Red Sand is also the target of our client. He killed the entire village of my client and paid us to help capture him for revenge, so I'm sorry, we cannot hand him over to you."

As he spoke, he pointed to Kurokawa, who had emerged from his hiding place behind him.

Kurokawa, his face contorted with resentment and anger, glared at Chiyo: "He called you grandma? You Sunagakure people are all in cahoots! If you had taken him away, how could he possibly be dead?!"

Chiyo opened her mouth, but then fell silent.

She never expected that Scorpion would kill an entire village for the sake of a human puppet, and the victim was right there, leaving her no chance to argue.

Chiyo closed her eyes in anguish: "I will pay compensation!"

Jingyan was about to refuse, but on the other side, Kakashi and Guy were unable to stop the enemy and were knocked away one after another, then retreated in this direction.

He is currently unable to act and therefore cannot provide assistance.

"What compensation can bring my family member back to life?"

Kurokawa gritted his teeth.

Chiyo took a deep breath and said, "If you refuse to agree, then we, the Hidden Sand Village, will have no choice but to assume that you are trying to steal secrets and fight you to the death!"

Then she took out two rolls.

After the lockdown was lifted, ten white-clad puppets appeared.

The Ten Knights of Chikamatsu!

"Though I am old, I still possess some skills. In your current state, can you still defeat me?"

As she spoke, hatred flashed in Chiyo's eyes.

She was going to force her way in and kill the people of Konoha!

Just as he was about to make a move.

"What if we join in?"

On the other side, two people instantly appeared. One had long red hair that covered his eyes, and the other had orange-yellow hair with a furious expression on his face.

"The ninja who attacked us by Sasori of the Red Sand will surely die today!"

Chiyo was stunned for a moment.

Unexpectedly, ninjas from Amegakure also came to help.

A look of pain crossed her eyes as she said, "How about this?"

"All I ask for is a complete corpse. If my grandson can have a complete corpse, I will not take any action. Otherwise, I will risk my life, even defect... to protect my grandson's body!"

Chiyo shed tears, her face filled with sorrow and helplessness.

Whole body?

Chiyo wants to risk her life to revive Sasori?

Kyohiko immediately realized Chiyo's intentions, but at this moment, the opponent had the Chikamatsu Ten, and Kakashi and Guy in the back were no match for the Yekura Squad, and were already in imminent danger.

He sighed inwardly.

Chiyo for scorpion...

It's really hard to say which one is at a greater loss.

Although Chiyo was not as skilled as Sasori in puppetry and poisons, Sasori was a madman, and given his personality, how could he possibly tolerate the Third Kazekage?

Even if they return to the village, they can endure it for a while, but as long as they continue to research human puppets, they will eventually suffer the consequences.

of course.

The main reason is that, given the current situation, they have no better options.

Jingyan chose to remain silent.

Yahiko and Nagato looked at each other in bewilderment.

If the other party changes their story, they lose their reason, and it seems quite normal for them to be left with a complete corpse...

They looked at Minato Namikaze.

"good!"

Minato Namikaze had no more hesitation.

He gathered his chakra, threw a kunai, and precisely pierced Sasori's throat.

The young face closed its eyes completely.

Minato then allowed his shadow clone to get closer, picked up a kunai and stabbed it into the heart again, making Chiyo grit her teeth in anger, but she was helpless.

Then he turned around and said, "Your village can take him away now."

Thank you.

Chiyo, holding back her tears, manipulated the puppet to pick up Sasori, and then the Chikamatsu Ten, surrounded by others, left together.

Yecang put away the fireball and remained silent.

She felt no particular affection for Scorpion; in fact, she even felt a degree of disgust towards him.

but.

Chiyo held a very important position and played a significant role in Sunagakure; otherwise, she wouldn't have gone to such lengths to protect him.

Kurokawa collapsed to the ground, weeping bitterly.

"Sister, everyone, the ninja masters of Konoha have avenged us!"

"..."

Minato Namikaze's words were on the tip of his tongue, but they turned into a silent sigh.

What's the use of admonition when the person is dead?