Lure away the enemy's defensive ninjutsu, then attack simultaneously from four directions—this is the Four Symbols Formation Kill.
The distance was too close, the swords arrived almost simultaneously. The Iron Sand simply couldn't handle attacks from all sides. Not to mention the puppeteer's body itself is fragile; his speed compared to Otonashi was almost like a snail's.
Sasori didn't move. Only the sword blades slashing from four directions had already changed angles before touching his body, one sword slashing onto empty ground.
'Magnet effect? Magnet Release!' Otonashi felt the swords in the shadow clones' hands deflect. Looking again at that humanoid puppet, his expression changed drastically.
A bad feeling flashed through his mind, but he was startled awake by pain. Looking down at his feet, fine, long needles had pierced through the soles of his feet.
"Who told you I can only control one puppet?" Sasori smiled somewhat smugly. Those long needles were coated with potent poison; this person was already finished.
But his smile quickly froze on his face.
Charge!
Tiptoeing lightly, Otonashi didn't retreat but advanced. Feeling his sword being pulled by the magnetic force, rampaging azure chakra instantly surged out.
Lightning Blade—
Like a thousand birds chirping in unison, the chakra insulated against the magnetic force. Facing the black curtain of countless long needles that had formed ahead, he thrust directly forward.
Rushing Stream!
Boom!!
The powerful chakra, fast as lightning, pierced through the long needles and surged towards the enemy. Sasori, not expecting his opponent to be so fierce, hastily dodged the rushing stream of lightning.
A numb pain emerged from his right arm. Before he could even look at the wound, he saw Otonashi raise a finger vertically before his nose again.
"Explode!"
What!?
Those shadow clones whose swords had slashed empty happened to surround him in the middle. At this moment, they instantly turned into fireballs rushing skyward!
Boom—
Shrapnel and fierce flames enveloped the entire space. A small mushroom cloud rose into the air. Various smoking parts fell to the ground.
Otonashi's footsteps wavered; only now did he realize the strength of the poison. He quickly stuffed an antidote pill into his mouth and looked to the side.
"You're called Nagato, right?"
"Yes." The pale-faced teenager only now rushed up. The duel between the two earlier was dazzling; he didn't even know how to intervene.
"Later, blast away that Iron Sand for me, restrict that puppet's movements." Otonashi ordered without hesitation.
The teenager didn't say much, just nodded slightly, a hint of killing intent appearing in his eyes as he looked towards the dust ahead.
As the saying goes, where there's smoke, there's no injury. Otonashi wasn't naive enough to think he could kill the opponent with explosive tags. Combining puppet abilities, that person was much stronger than a Jonin. No wonder an entire ANBU team had met their end.
'But, I've thought of a way too.'
The smoke dissipated, revealing a dark black semi-spherical body in the center. Then the Iron Sand also dispersed, revealing that handsome yet gloomy face.
"So it's you," Sasori suddenly said, causing Otonashi to narrow his eyes slightly.
Neither side asked nor answered. Only four puppets appeared sequentially. Sasori glanced at his still bleeding left arm, deeply feeling the weakness of flesh and blood.
At this moment, the crazy plan to transform himself into a puppet surged within him. But before that, kill these people first!
"Die!!"
With an explosive roar, black sand was overhead, four puppets in front. Even with one-handed control, his combat power far exceeded that of a Jonin.
"Here it comes!" Otonashi's eyes widened. He first released several shadow clones, then the sword in his hand seemed to surge with a water curtain.
That's the non-elemental chakra that only samurai cultivate!
Before he could give the command, Nagato had already thrust his hands forward.
Bang—
That seemingly unstoppable Iron Sand was instantly slapped away. And as Otonashi charged, the Iron Sand snaked downwards again like a wave in a spiral shape.
Surround then crush to death!
A cruel smile appeared on Sasori's lips. He had already adapted to this secret technique; the interval was enough for him to attack round after round.
Magnet Release somewhat countered Nagato. However, Otonashi started a racing competition with him—see if his sword pierced first, or if the Iron Sand crushed first.
"But—you are fighting one against four!!"
The four puppets were all Jonin-level. No matter what, they could buy time. The rapidly spinning steel saw, the protruding oil gun, the charged flamethrower—they wouldn't let the enemy pass easily.
The sprayed oil was ignited by flames. Otonashi watched the gradually rising sea of fire and silently counted down to one.
"Nagato!!"
"Shinra Tensei!"
Another strange sound. An extremely powerful repulsive force came from behind. And Otonashi, in his Fourth Gate state, also pushed off with his legs!
Bang!!!
A bolt of lightning shot out from the sea of fire. His clothes were already ignited, his hands crossed to shield his face.
One hundred meters, fifty meters, twenty meters!
Otonashi shot forward like a rocket under boost. Sasori's expression changed, but he twitched the fingers of his lowered right hand.
To control puppets, one finger is enough for me!
White smoke appeared in front, unexpectedly revealing three more humanoid puppets blocking the way. This made Otonashi's pupils shrink sharply.
Behind were four puppets and the sky full of black sand, the enemy in front—he was surrounded in the middle. However, his body had already reacted, replacing his hesitant brain.
One sword through the chest! Turning his body, stepping on the puppet's shoulder, pulling out the long sword while simultaneously rolling and leaping towards the second puppet. He had lost his charging speed but gained agility.
Kill!
Ducking his head to avoid the cutting steel saw, slashing forward horizontally but being deflected by a large shield. It was a giant puppet over three meters tall blocking the front.
'Defensive-type puppet?'
Retracting his sword and turning, his eyes saw the surrounding puppets closing in. At the critical moment, he subconsciously gathered chakra into his arms.
Similar to the Lightning Body method, the chakra under the Eight Gates state was extremely turbulent, but somehow, under full concentration, he actually managed it.
Mind empty and clear, hands filled with bursting pain, then the sword fiercely struck the defensive puppet.
Screech—
A tearing pain felt in the tiger's mouth (web between thumb and forefinger). The defensive puppet, comparable to steel, was actually split in half from the middle. Without time to think, Otonashi leaned his body back, taking the opportunity to slide across the ground.
Zzzla!
His back scraped against the ground. He had slid past the puppet encirclement, sword light like a silver moon.
"What??" Seeing the opponent break through actually made Sasori's face change drastically, because he instantly lost control of those puppets.
The chakra threads controlling the puppets were severed. Samurai-specific chakra trained to the limit could even cut through ninjutsu. Only now did he realize something was wrong with the opponent's sword.
Ten meters left!
Otonashi had no habit of stopping to explain his ultimate techniques to people. His eyes under the mask were filled with coldness. The sword was already before his eyes. Sasori finally took a step back.
"You can't escape!"
Already feeling the sharp Iron Sand behind him, mobilizing chakra under his feet, his speed increased another notch. This ten-meter distance was just an instant for him.
Five meters left!
The Third Kazekage instantly blocked the front. Opening its mouth, it spat out dozens of poison needles. Having been modified, it wasn't limited to its abilities in life.
Otonashi crossed his arms to block vital points, preparing to tank this hit. But an instant later, he felt no pain, only seeing those poison needles seemingly being sucked away by something.
Bansho Ten'in!
Nagato learned quickly during the battle. The previous repulsion had changed to attraction. However, he currently lacked the ability to instantly switch between the two forces, and was immediately riddled with poison needles, collapsing dejectedly.
Well done!
The final obstacle had been cleared. Facing the Third Kazekage whose hands had turned into chainsaws slashing down, Otonashi didn't dodge or evade, because some white paper had already floated before him.
Paper Shield!
Overlapping white paper formed a white shield above his head. The chainsaws ground against it, creating sparks. Delayed for just a moment, Otonashi's legs twisted around to the side as if dancing a waltz.
Upward slash cutting the threads, the puppet collapsed dejectedly! Then, the small tachi drew a bright sword flower in the air, switched to his left hand, twisted his waist, and left his hand!
"Die!!"
A silver gleam flashed through the air, firmly nailing itself between the red-haired boy's eyebrows!