The Sunagakure shinobi on the battlefield were still held at bay by Sakumo, their movements cautious and restrained. None of them dared to provoke Kakuzu, whose aura radiated a clear warning: stay away or face annihilation.
Kakuzu, dodging the latest barrage of puppets, cast a sidelong glance. Not far from where Shukaku lay defeated, sunlight reflected off a gleaming bald head. Perched atop that head was a dragon tattoo, as bold as it was absurd.
It was a distinct, almost ostentatious symbol. In all his years, Kakuzu had never encountered someone quite this brazen. Not in this life, nor in the world he left behind. Yet here stood someone who tattooed a dragon on their actual head. A blatant disregard for rules, an arrogance that bordered on madness.
This man, unmistakably, was the Second Kazekage, Shamon.
As Shamon arrived on the battlefield, his sharp gaze locked onto Kakuzu. The air between them thickened with tension.
With so many Sunagakure casualties, the grudge between Shamon and Kakuzu was destined to end in blood. Words were unnecessary.
Under different circumstances, Shamon would have attacked without hesitation. However, on his way here, he had received troubling intel. Kakuzu had single-handedly obliterated an entire puppet squad with a single Fire Release.
Despite the unease gnawing at him, Shamon's resolve did not waver. As the Kazekage, his duty was clear. This confrontation was inevitable.
Turning his gaze from Kakuzu, Shamon glanced at Shukaku, still sprawled on the ground and groaning in pain.
"Hey, murderous tanuki," Shamon sneered. "Seems like this guy's planning to experiment on you. If you don't want to end up as someone's test subject, you know what to do, don't you?"
"Damn it!" Shukaku growled through gritted teeth, glaring venomously at Shamon.
Shukaku's hatred for the Second Kazekage ran deep. It was Shamon who had advocated for Shukaku to be sealed within Bunpuku, treating the tailed beast as nothing more than a weapon for Sunagakure. Shukaku had long resented being used as a tool, unleashed only when the village deemed it necessary.
If circumstances were different, Shukaku would have crushed Shamon without hesitation. But now, with Kakuzu's overwhelming strength, Shukaku had no choice but to weigh his options carefully.
Breathing heavily, the massive tanuki rose unsteadily to its feet, its large body still radiating defiance.
"Damn it all... I never thought I'd sink so low as to team up with someone like you." Shukaku spat the words like venom. "But fine. This bastard will pay. Let's work together—for now."
The commanding tone didn't bother Shamon. He smirked faintly. Shukaku's cooperation was all he needed.
Shamon shifted his full attention to Kakuzu. His voice was cold, cutting through the tense air.
"You've massacred our forces while we were focused on the frontlines. Today, you'll pay for your crimes with your life."
Kakuzu chuckled, his legs bending slightly, hands resting near his waist.
"Confident, are we? Show me, Kazekage, if your bark matches your bite."
Shamon responded with action. His right hand swept downward, commanding 20 puppets to descend and form a protective formation around him. With his other hand, he unfurled a summoning scroll. Biting his thumb, he performed a swift series of hand seals before slamming his bloodied palm onto the scroll.
Poof!
A series of small explosions burst forth, revealing dozens of puppets surrounding him. Each puppet was immediately linked to Shamon's fingers via chakra threads.
This was standard for puppet masters, but Shamon's technique was anything but ordinary.
Kakuzu's eyes narrowed as he observed the Kazekage's precision. Shamon's control was exceptional, each of his ten fingers manipulating at least ten puppets simultaneously. The battlefield was swarming with puppets, their sheer number overwhelming.
"Behold!" Shamon declared, his voice echoing. "This is the Performance of a Hundred Puppets, a masterpiece I prepared just for you."
"How thoughtful," Kakuzu replied dryly, his expression unfazed.
The art of puppetry had existed since the Warring States period, but it had been rudimentary back then. Puppet masters had operated in isolation, their techniques unrefined. It wasn't until Shamon came along that the craft was revolutionized. He compiled, refined, and systematized nearly every known puppetry technique, cementing himself as the true pioneer of the art.
And now, the ultimate puppetry technique—the Performance of a Hundred Puppets—was his creation.
For Kakuzu, facing it was an unexpected, albeit intriguing, honor.
The more opponents, the better, Kakuzu thought, a smirk forming on his lips. It only made the fight more entertaining.
With a rapid blur of hand seals, the jutsu was complete in an instant.
"Fire Release!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A torrent of flames surged forward like the gaping maw of a raging beast, sweeping across the battlefield with terrifying speed. The firestorm engulfed the hundred puppets in its path, reducing them to little more than charred remains—or so Kakuzu intended.
The sheer intensity of the fire release was overwhelming, its reach massive and all-encompassing. In the reflection of Shamon's eyes, the inferno blazed, painting the sky in hues of fiery destruction. His gaze dropped slightly, the weight of realization settling in.
Now he understood.
It was no mystery why the puppet brigade he'd dispatched had been obliterated by Kakuzu. Against such an overwhelming surge of fire, the greater the number of puppets, the more vulnerable they became—a fatal flaw.
But Shamon wasn't about to concede so easily.
His hands trembled ever so slightly as he moved his fingers, and with a thunderous shout, he barked two words:
"Sand!"
"Rise!"
Whoooosh!
The roaring flames first collided with the puppets, blazing ferociously, only to flow over them like a rushing torrent. When the firestorm finally dissipated, Kakuzu's sharp eyes narrowed instinctively.
Of the hundred puppets, the vast majority remained unscathed. Only a small number bore minor scorch marks, but the damage was negligible.
Kakuzu's gaze lingered, scrutinizing the scene until he noticed what had changed. Unseen amidst the chaos, the dormant sand scattered across the ground had risen, forming a protective shield around the puppets. It was the sand that had absorbed the brunt of the flames. As the fire's power waned, the sand fell back to the earth as if nothing had happened.
"Heh, so you can manipulate sand too. Looks like I underestimated you."
Kakuzu allowed a fleeting smirk to play across his face, genuinely impressed. Today, it seemed, he'd encountered a rare talent.
Not only was Shamon the founding master of puppeteering, but he was also proficient in controlling sand—wielding it as both shield and weapon. These two techniques, pioneered by Shamon, would go on to define the identity of Sunagakure for generations to come.
The Second Kazekage's impact on Sunagakure, Kakuzu mused, was beginning to mirror that of Tobirama Senju's legacy in shaping Konohagakure.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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