In the mansion, Huiyuan Matsushima, the daimyo of the Land of Ash, leaned on the windowsill with both hands, gazing at the battlefield in front of him.
"I didn't expect Konoha to send a bunch of kids to deal with us. How arrogant."
Standing beside him was a young man named Tenmu Hazang. His identity was anything but simple—he was the biological son of the daimyo of the Land of Wind.
From a young age, Hazang had longed for the intense and exciting life of a ninja, so he joined Sunagakure and became a shinobi himself. More importantly, he wasn't lacking in talent either. By the age of twenty, he had already attained the strength of a Jōnin.
Behind them stood a silent, middle-aged man. He wasn't tall and wore a hat, radiating a steady aura.
He spoke cautiously, "Lord Tenmu, though these Konoha ninjas are young, they shouldn't be underestimated."
Tenmu Hazang nodded casually. "You're right, Elder Ebizō. Let's hope they don't get taken down too quickly by Droby."
Outside the mansion—
Minato stood facing Droby with a serious expression.
As a famed puppet master from Sunagakure, Droby was capable of controlling up to twenty puppets at once. That alone had earned him widespread fame in the ninja world after the Second Great Ninja War.
If it were just a one-on-one battle, Minato might've had a chance. But here, in the heart of enemy territory, even a slight delay could lead to being surrounded—or worse, wiped out.
His teammates—Harukami Aso, Torika, and Rei—had all taken the brunt of the earlier explosion. Though the water sphere they were inside helped buffer the impact, they were still seriously injured.
Fortunately, Rei had a Katsuyu clone left on her by Simu, providing her with ongoing healing.
Suddenly, Hyuga Rei, who had remained quiet the whole time, made a calm but firm decision.
"Minato, we'll hold him off. You go finish the mission."
Minato hesitated for a second, then nodded. It was the best call. If he got held up here, they'd all be doomed.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
With a flick of his wrist, two marked kunai flew toward Droby.
Droby smirked, and with a subtle twitch of his fingers, chakra threads sprang to life. One of his puppets darted forward and effortlessly raised its weaponized palm to block.
The kunai struck the saw-like palm, sparked briefly, and clattered to the ground.
"If this is all Konoha's shinobi can do, I'm going to be disappointed."
Droby pulled out a scroll and pressed it to his lips.
Bang!
A large cloud of smoke erupted, and countless dark silhouettes emerged.
They were puppets—an army that Droby had painstakingly created over the years.
"Puppet art… is the highest form of beauty!" he declared like a madman, intoxicated by his craft.
If he changed his clothes, he might really pass for an artist.
With a flick of his fingers, chakra strings danced, and the puppets began floating midair like ghosts, clicking and clacking in eerie unison.
Minato glanced toward Rei. "I'm counting on you."
Rei nodded firmly. A year of training under Simu wasn't for nothing.
Her cheeks flushed slightly at the thought.
Minato noticed, but this wasn't the time for questions—young couple stuff could wait.
Flying Thunder God Technique—activated!
Droby sneered as his twenty puppets began surrounding the trio. "Even if you're the second coming of the White Fang, you're not breaking through my defenses and getting into the mansion!"
"Eh?"
He blinked. A question mark almost popped over his head.
Minato was gone.
He had already teleported past the wall using one of his previously thrown kunai and slipped into the mansion.
Inside the mansion—
Huiyuan Matsushima, the daimyo of the Land of Ash, was visibly startled.
Luckily, Ebizō was by his side, providing a sense of calm. A veteran of two ninja wars, he was one of Sunagakure's strongest.
Truthfully, he wasn't just here to protect Matsushima—the real target of protection was Tenmu Hazang.
Had it been one of the Legendary Sannin performing the mission, Ebizō might've had to go all-out.
But Konoha had only sent three rookies.
Still, he wasn't careless.
He recognized Simu and Minato from the recent Jōnin exams—rising stars.
If he could kill them now, it would be a huge victory.
Tenmu Hazang's eyes lit up the moment he saw Minato.
"So this is my opponent, huh?"
"Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere!"
Air condensed in Hazang's mouth and blasted out in a spinning orb toward Minato. The air in the courtyard warped from the force.
But just as it was about to hit, Minato vanished.
Boom!
The sphere ripped through the courtyard wall, spraying debris everywhere.
But Minato was nowhere to be seen.
"...That technique..." Ebizō's pupils contracted.
He had seen this before. Only one person had used it with such mastery.
"The Second Hokage's… Flying Thunder God Technique!"
So after all these years, someone else had finally inherited it.
Minato reappeared on the other side of the courtyard.
A specially marked kunai tore through the smoke, aimed straight at the daimyo.
Hazang quickly drew his blade and intercepted it.
"Watch out!" Ebizō warned.
Sure enough, in the next instant, Minato appeared beside the kunai.
Chakra surged between his palms, forming a spinning sphere—
"Rasengan!"
Ebizō's heart sank. If the daimyo's son was injured or killed here, the consequences would be catastrophic.
He hastily countered.
Chakra threads erupted from his fingers with insane precision, latching onto Minato's Rasengan just before it landed.
Minato had aimed to end the fight swiftly.
But a mysterious force yanked his Rasengan off target—straight into the floor beside Hazang.
BOOM!
The chakra exploded violently, sweeping through the entire mansion.
The building—constructed with the highest-quality materials, at great expense by Huiyuan Matsushima—stood no chance.
Under the devastating chakra shockwave, it collapsed like paper in the wind.
Minato's sharp gaze fell on the flustered daimyo.
A kunai flicked out from his hand, cutting through the smoke and debris, flying straight toward Huiyuan Matsushima's neck!
Unfortunately, the daimyo still had Ebizō by his side.
The veteran had already sensed the danger.
With chakra threads, he connected both Tenmu Hazang and Huiyuan Matsushima, yanking them out of the battlefield just in time.
The once-exquisite and majestic mansion instantly collapsed into ruins.
This… was the power of ninjas.
Outside the mansion—
Rei, Harukami Aso, and Torika were struggling to hold off Droby's relentless assault.
"You want to stop me? Then die here!"
As for the kid who slipped past him—Minato—Droby didn't care at all.
Besides Tenmu Hazang, there was also the old man Ebizō protecting the daimyo.
Droby didn't believe that blond brat had any real strength.
He was a renowned puppet master of Sunagakure. And for someone of his caliber, controlling twenty human-sized puppets simultaneously was effortless.
The puppets moved like a well-trained army, coordinated and deadly.
Harukami Aso and the others were overwhelmed, barely able to resist.
Rei struck back, her palm blasting away an incoming puppet.
With her Byakugan, she could clearly see the chakra threads running through the air.
"Cover me! I need a clear shot!"
Although Harukami Aso didn't understand what Hyuga Rei was planning, he complied without hesitation.
Forming hand seals, he spat out a stream of cutting water:
"Water Style: Water Flow Cut!"
A razor-thin jet of water shot toward Droby like a blade.
Everyone knew a puppet master's greatest weakness was the puppeteer himself—but getting close enough to exploit that weakness was a major problem.
Just like now—
As soon as Harukami Aso launched his attack, a puppet stepped in front of Droby.
Its arm split open, revealing a steel shield that blocked the water blade!
But Harukami Aso wasn't that easy to deal with.
The concentrated water flow cut through the shield like a hot knife through butter, severing the puppet's arms in the process.
Still, that brief block was enough.
Four more puppets instantly surrounded Harukami Aso.
Their mouths opened simultaneously, revealing hidden weapons inside, locking down every possible escape route.
There was no way out!
Rei focused intently, her Byakugan tracking the chakra threads.
Just in time, she swung her leg in a graceful arc.
"Ninjutsu: Tempest Kick!"
Normally, a Tempest Kick would only create a vacuum slash—not enough to cut through chakra threads.
But this one was different.
Rei had infused her Tempest Kick with chakra nature transformation.
The resulting crescent-shaped chakra blade slashed through the air, seemingly missing the puppets.
Droby laughed at her.
"Little girl, are you swinging at air?"
He raised his hand, ready to finish off the trapped Aso—
But no matter how he manipulated his chakra, the puppets didn't move.
"What… what's going on?!"
Looking back at the battlefield, he finally noticed—
The chakra threads connecting his four puppets had been severed by Rei's "missed" Tempest Kick!
"Well done, Rei!" Harukami Aso grinned like a man brought back from the dead.
He quickly formed another set of hand signs.
"Water Style: Water Flow Cut!"
A powerful stream of water shot out from his mouth.
Spinning his body mid-air, he sliced through all four puppets in one swift motion—cutting them clean in half!
Four puppets, gone in an instant!
Harukami Aso gave Rei a big thumbs-up.
Even Torika nodded in gratitude—something rare for her.
If it weren't for Rei, her father might've died.
Rei smiled calmly.
"It's an honor to help everyone."
But that attack also made Droby take notice.
This seemingly harmless and cute girl… was actually dangerous.
"Fine, then let's start with you!"
The massive puppet guarding Droby suddenly charged.
It was twice the size of the others.
Flames blasted from its feet like a rocket, propelling it toward Rei.
Torika immediately stepped in front of her.
"Are you kidding? I hate owing people favors!"
A senbon in her hand struck the puppet's left shoulder joint with pinpoint accuracy.
It severed the internal chakra transmission, paralyzing half the puppet.
But only half.
With a heavy swing, the puppet's massive arm slammed into Torika's stomach.
Blood sprayed from her mouth.
"Torika!"
Harukami Aso's eyes went wide.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bomb!"
A torrent of water exploded from his mouth, forming a massive dragon.
The water dragon crashed into the giant puppet with teeth bared and claws lashing.
Rei used Shave to move at high speed and caught Torika mid-fall.
But two more puppets closed in from the sides.
Six Styles: Iron Body!
Two kunai stabbed into Rei's hardened skin—but they didn't pierce it. Sparks flew as if the blades struck metal.
Rei twisted in mid-air and slammed her palm down.
"Gentle Fist: Palm Rotation!"
Chakra surged from her palm into the puppet, destroying its internal circuits.
The puppet's head flew off from the impact!
Another puppet opened its mouth—spewing flames.
Rei was still mid-air. If she landed now, she'd fall directly into the fire.
But to Droby's shock, Rei didn't fall—she stepped on the air and launched herself upward!
Like she was flying.
On the ground, Harukami Aso was once again surrounded.
Rei, suspended mid-air, launched another Tempest Kick—
But Droby had learned his lesson. He sacrificed a puppet to intercept it.
The giant puppet suddenly tackled Harukami Aso, hugging him tightly.
Gasoline poured from its body, soaking the ground.
"Shit—!"
In the next instant, the puppet ignited in a fiery explosion!
"Water Style: Water Waves!"
A tidal surge burst forth from Aso's mouth.
Steam erupted as fire met water. Amid the haze, Aso managed to escape.
But the other puppets were already in position.
Dozens of kunai rained down.
Unable to dodge in time, Harukami Aso was slashed repeatedly.
He hit the ground hard, bloodied and worn.
But the real danger wasn't the wounds—it was the dizziness overtaking him.
Harukami Aso's vision blurred.
"…Poison…"
He'd been poisoned.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can visit my Patreon page:
Patreon.com/PhoeniXcel
I upload 2 chapters daily on Patreon!
There are 100+ advanced chapters available for you to read.
Your support would be greatly appreciated.
Check out my new Naruto fanfic!
[One piece: Starting as a Mythical Beast]