Upstream of the Shirano River, a special Konoha battalion was trying to break through the Sand ninja defenses to charge into the Shirano River.
This special battalion had gathered many Water Release ninja.
As long as they could charge into the gorge of the Shirano River and use Water Release to create a large flood, they could force the puppet masters hiding in the gorge out into the open.
The puppet masters' true bodies were relatively weak. Puppets didn't feel pain or bleed, so attacking the puppet masters themselves was the best choice.
The Sand ninja also knew that the puppet masters hiding in the river gorge were their weak point, so they had deployed substantial defensive forces here to protect the upstream section of the Shirano River.
The Konoha Water Release ninja battalion encountered strong resistance and couldn't break through the defensive line composed of over a hundred puppets in a short time.
There were too many puppets; they didn't dare engage in close-quarters taijutsu.
A row of Sand ninja stood on the riverbank, using Wind Release and Earth Release to block the Konoha ninja's ninjutsu, preventing too much damage to the puppets.
Earth-Style Walls rose one after another. These walls could both block the assault of the Konoha Water Release ninja and provide shelter for the puppets to hide from Water Release attacks.
The battle was deadlocked. On Battalion Leader Koyō's chin hung droplets of sweat formed from cold perspiration.
Damn it, I'm holding everyone back. It's been half an hour, and we still can't break into the Shirano River.
Try flanking further upstream?
The Sand ninja would just follow.
I really don't have a good plan.
Just then, Battalion Leader Koyō suddenly saw a line of water.
The Sand ninja stood in a row on the bank, originally using ninjutsu to block the Konoha Water Release battalion.
That water line actually shot out diagonally upwards from below the gorge.
Sweeping across, it cut most of the Sand ninja on the gorge bank in half!
That's Water Release... Water Cutting Wave?
Battalion Leader Koyō thought, Wasn't that one of the Second Mizukage's signature Water Release techniques?
Even I, a Jonin specialized in Water Release, haven't had the chance to learn that jutsu.
Koyō quickly shouted: "Now's our chance! Use Water Release to clear all obstacles!"
The Konoha ninja unleashed Water Release, washing away the unmanned Earth-Style Walls and flushing the puppets back into the Shirano River.
The Water Release battalion finally reached the bank of the Shirano River and saw the Sand ninja at the bottom of the gorge.
The Sand ninja didn't give up; the exposed puppet masters desperately manipulated their puppets to fly upwards.
Another water line swept across, cutting more than twenty puppets in mid-air in half.
Battalion Leader Koyō followed the trajectory of the water line and saw an Anbu member wearing a fox mask, standing on a rock below the gorge.
Surrounded by puppets attacking him, he remained motionless.
The puppets' poison needles, kunai, and various mechanisms could only tear the Fox Anbu's clothes.
So it's Copper Fox!
Koyō had heard of Copper Fox's name but didn't know his strength.
No wonder the Sand ninja command values him so highly. Copper Fox is practically the natural counter to puppet masters.
Puppets win by not fearing damage, but their strength ceiling and attack power are too low. They can't break his defense; Copper Fox doesn't even bother dodging.
The Konoha Water Release ninja jumped down into the gorge and performed a combined ninjutsu within it.
"Water Release: Water Shockwave!"
The Water Shockwaves released by over thirty Water Release ninja instantly created a flood peak over thirty meters high within the Shirano River.
Wave after wave rushed downstream.
The roar of the flood peak echoed, causing the Sand ninja downstream to freeze for a moment.
Afterwards, some Sand ninja jumped upwards, while others were directly swallowed by the flood.
All the puppet masters hiding in the gorge would lose their hiding places.
With the mission successful, Koyō turned to look for Copper Fox, but found the rock now empty.
After providing crucial assistance, Copper Fox had probably headed to a second battlefield.
Truly worthy of being the Hokage's elite.
Yōkō's flak jacket had turned into strips of cloth again, almost revealing too much. After returning to the Fox Squad, Yōkō changed into a new flak jacket.
The only downside of my Absolute Defense is that it can't protect my clothes.
The upstream section of the Shirano River was captured by Konoha. Wave after wave of flood peaks rushed downstream.
The Sand ninja were forced out of the gorge, exposing the puppet masters to the Konoha ninja.
The situation was greatly advantageous for Konoha.
Yōkō looked towards the most critical battle: Hatake Sakumo versus Toci and his wife.
Hatake Sakumo moved extremely fast, his chakra short sword swinging,一streaks of white blade aura hovering around him like ribbons.
The white blade auras were continuous; the aura from five slashes ago hadn't yet dissipated when new blade auras were already being unleashed.
Hatake Sakumo seemed to be in the midst of a whirlwind composed of numerous curved blade auras.
Before the blade aura of the chakra short sword, the puppets cracked upon grazing and broke upon impact.
Toci's initial ten puppets had long been destroyed; he was now using puppets Yōkō hadn't seen before.
The ground around Hatake Sakumo and Toci was littered with puppet fragments, discarded poison needles, and mechanisms.
Toci's own taijutsu level was unexpectedly high; Hatake Sakumo still hadn't managed to land a hit on him yet.
Konoha's advantage grew larger and larger.
Konoha assault teams continuously broke through the defenses, reaching the puppet masters and cutting them down.
Purple Cat kept recording; how many assault teams from each battalion succeeded were noted on the scroll.
After surveying the overall battlefield, Yōkō said, "You stay here and record. I'm going again, to completely crush the Sand ninja's last-ditch struggle."
He disappeared with the Body Flicker Technique, heading straight for the most important battlefield: the fight between Hatake Sakumo and Toci and his wife.
Hatake Sakumo's aide, seeing a Konoha ninja approaching, shouted:
"Don't act recklessly! Your strength isn't enough! You'll only hinder Lord Sakumo's fight!"
In a battle between Elite Jonin, ordinary ninja would only become a burden, forcing Hatake Sakumo to split his focus to protect them.
The aide was about to intervene to stop the person, but upon seeing the fox mask, he immediately stopped his hand seals.
The Anbu's Copper Fox?
If it's Copper Fox, better not stop him.
The aide was aware of all frontline intelligence. The Anbu's Copper Fox, who had recently appeared repeatedly in battle summaries, was powerful. The high command believed Copper Fox could be treated as a special Jonin.
Although not at the Elite Jonin level, when facing certain enemies specializing in sword techniques, taijutsu, or puppet techniques, his deterrent power was comparable to an Elite Jonin.
Puppet masters' abilities were exactly countered by Copper Fox.
Yōkō entered the battlefield, heading straight for Toci's wife.
Toci's wife was panting heavily. Originally controlling six puppets with both hands, she now only had the strength to control four.
She manipulated one puppet to fly behind Hatake Sakumo.
However, the sharp blade in the puppet's hand was caught by a single hand.
The puppet immediately struggled, the sharp blade twisting in the person's palm, but it produced a teeth-grating sound of metal grinding.
Seeing a fox mask, Toci's wife suddenly remembered a command once issued by headquarters: be extremely careful if you encounter Copper Fox.
"Copper Fox?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Toci's wife saw Copper Fox charging towards her.
She quickly manipulated a scorpion-shaped puppet to open the mechanism on its back; densely packed kunai aimed at Copper Fox.
The kunai shot out. Copper Fox didn't dodge or avoid, letting the kunai strike his body.
Seeing that ninja tools were indeed useless against Copper Fox, Toci's wife performed a one-handed seal.
"Explode!"
Some of the kunai were mixed with Explosive Tag kunai.
After four or five consecutive explosions, Toci's wife saw a figure rush out from the thick smoke.
Not even Explosive Tags work?
Everything has its nemesis. Yōkō's Absolute Defense was too much of a counter for puppet masters.
His internal organs felt somewhat sore from the concussive force, but it wasn't a hindrance.
Toci's wife immediately retreated while pulling out a new scroll.
Releasing the seal, three snake-shaped puppets burst out from the sealing white smoke.
Yōkō was momentarily stunned. Toci's wife is clever.
Physical attacks are useless. My Absolute Defense is relatively weaker against grappling/binding.
***
Dive deeper into the story with 50+ advance chapters, available now on Patreon!patreon.com/CNBLUE
If you're enjoying the novel, please consider leaving a review. Your support is crucial and helps the story grow immensely. Thank you!
(Chapter End)