NT: 118: The Chikamatsu Collection

Chiyo's eyes hardened at Tengen's words. This wouldn't end easily.

Against a taijutsu master, escape was a faint hope.

"Let's see if you can pull it off." Chiyo said, her gaze icy. Her hands danced, sending two puppets wielding longswords charging at Tengen.

"Too slow." Tengen's foot shifted, and in a flash, he vanished.

Reappearing above a puppet, his foot, cloaked in Armament Haki, slammed down.

"Boom!" The force crushed the puppet, its wreckage scattering, echoing Tsunade's monstrous strength, every move devastating.

The second puppet's longsword slashed, gleaming with chakra-infused light, cutting the air with a tearing howl.

The strike caught Tengen mid-attack, leaving no time for follow-up.

No room for ninjutsu defense in that split second.

"Pointless." Tengen's hand pulsed with strange energy.

"Armament Haki, Release!" His fist smashed toward the blade, an invisible force halting it.

"Crack!" The sword splintered, then shattered. Armament Haki surged, striking the puppet.

"Boom!" The puppet exploded under the force, debris flying.

Ninjas, Sand and Konoha alike, scattered to avoid the fallout.

Tengen and Chiyo's clash was lethal; a stray hit could kill, a mark of their elite Jonin prowess.

Among Jonin, their power stood out.

"Chiyo, your puppets are gone." Tengen said, retracting his fist.

"I despise taijutsu ninjas." Chiyo's face darkened, gripping a scroll. "This technique… it's been a while."

Unfurling the scroll, she formed seals. Ten puppets materialized beside her.

"This is my White Secret Technique: The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets." Chiyo declared, chakra threads controlling them. "Last used in the Second Ninja World War against Tsunade. Now, against you, kid."

"I couldn't ask for more." Tengen grinned. Chiyo's puppetry was formidable.

Most puppeteers managed one puppet; Chiyo mastered ten, the optimal number for her skill.

Tengen recalled another: the Scorpion of the Red Sand. Scorpion's puppetry surpassed Chiyo's, but their encounter wasn't a deathmatch, so Scorpion held back.

Tengen only destroyed Scorpion's outer puppet then.

Chiyo's ten puppets, masked and clad in loose robes, dwarfed her earlier ones in attack and defense.

These were her masterworks.

"Go." Chiyo commanded, orchestrating a coordinated assault.

Protected by Armament Haki, Tengen clashed fearlessly.

But his Haki struggled to break these puppets; their numbers dispersed his force.

They didn't face his attacks alone.

To the untrained eye, Chiyo held the edge, but she knew better.

Tengen adapted to her puppets, and while his Haki didn't shatter them outright, it inflicted heavy damage.

Prolonged, her puppets would falter.

"This can't go on." Chiyo grimaced.

Tengen felt no strain. Facing Chiyo, he relied solely on taijutsu.

No Flying Thunder God Technique, no Mangekyo Sharingan, just this, yet he matched her puppets, showcasing his terrifying strength.

"White Secret Technique: Phantom Array." Chiyo unleashed her deadliest puppet art.

Her innovation, it made the ten puppets attack and defend seamlessly, overwhelming foes.

"Impressive puppetry." Tengen felt the mounting pressure, grinning. His fists pounded the puppets relentlessly.

But the Phantom Array deftly redirected his strikes.

"I'm tired of this." Tengen's eyes locked on Chiyo, chilling her. She braced for a direct attack.

Puppeteers excelled through puppets; their bodies were frail compared to other ninjas.

Some, like Scorpion, even became puppets.

"Open! Rest! Life! Pain! View! Gate!" Five Gates burst open, Tengen's body surging with chakra.

"Five Gates are enough for these puppets." Tengen said coldly, ignoring rear attacks, his Haki blocked them.

"Taijutsu: Inferno Strike!" Tengen's fists compressed air, Armament Haki coating them. Flames ignited across his fists, blazing fiercely.

He stood like a god of fire.

"Thud! Thud!" Rear puppets struck.

Tengen faced the front five.

His punch unleashed a deafening roar, a massive flame dragon, meters wide, swallowing the five puppets.

A fusion of taijutsu, ninjutsu, and Armament Haki, a unique technique.

Tengen's signature taijutsu.

***

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