Kaze was enraged, his eyes nearly bulging out.
The three puppets controlled by Shigure suddenly split into upper and lower halves, becoming six independently moving sub - puppets that darted around.
Taichi and Sabo, two Konoha Jonin, clearly didn't see this coming. They were caught off - guard by Shigure's tricky move!
Splat! Blood spurted everywhere.
The hands and legs of the puppets transformed into steel blades. Twelve sharp blades quickly converged and pierced through the two Konoha Jonin.
Thud.
Just one mistake, in just a second or two, the two Jonin became corpses and were casually thrown to the ground.
"Sister Yukino, get back quick!" Kaze's face paled in alarm.
Now that the enemy's most powerful fighter was free, they would surely turn their attention to them!
Right now, Sakumo and the others were busy with the giant lizard. No one on Konoha's side could stop Shigure!
Not only Kaze, but many Konoha teams noticed Shigure was free. Their faces paled and they quickly backed off.
Now that the two sides were in close combat, it was no longer about distance but time!
If Shigure could slaughter more than half of the Konoha ninjas before Sakumo took care of the giant lizard, Sunagakure would win!
On the other hand, if Sakumo entangled Shigure again, the Konoha ninjas could beat the Sand ninjas present to a pulp.
So what Kaze and the others had to do was to protect themselves as best they could during this time!
"Orihime, come and help me!" Shigure shouted to his wife beside him. "Let's use that move together!"
Orihime quickly ran to Shigure's side. Hearing her husband's request, she hesitated.
"But there are still a lot of people on the field..."
"There's no time to worry about that!"
Shigure slapped talismans onto the puppets, his eyes red - bloodshot.
"Once that silver - haired Jonin gets rid of Herzog, everyone here is done for!"
"I understand!"
After hearing this, Orihime didn't hesitate anymore. She placed her hands on her husband's shoulders and began to channel a steady stream of chakra.
The chakra in Shigure's hands suddenly extended. The six puppet halves hovered in mid - air and started spinning wildly.
Shigure clasped his hands and shouted, "Three - Element, Six - Path, Hundred - Hand Manipulation of Puppets!"
As chakra rushed in madly, countless arms were summoned and shot out in six different directions.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The sky around Shigure grew dark. Nearly a hundred people, including both Konoha ninjas and Sand ninjas, were caught in the shadow.
"What... what is this..."
Looking at the rows of arms above, Kaze's face showed horror.
He had seen Hundred - Hand Manipulation of Puppets once before, but compared to what Shigure was doing now, it was a world of difference!
Under the shadow's cover, Kaze's proud speed was meaningless.
The arms in the sky were summoned faster than he could leap. He ran for ages but still couldn't escape the area!
Shigure changed his hand signs again, forming the Horse - Tiger - Dragon seals in sequence. Then, he interlaced his fingers and pulled the Chakra Threads forcefully.
"Secret Technique: Myriad Needles of Shigure!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The arms exploded one after another, unleashing terrifying kinetic energy and ejecting countless flying needles.
The flying needles rubbed against the air, making ear - piercing explosion sounds. They shot towards the ninjas on the ground at lightning speed, regardless of friend or foe!
Among every hundred flying needles, one was infused with special chakra, which was the hidden killing move in the secret technique!
"My young master!" (roaring)
Not far away, Yuto, who was fighting the giant lizard, spun around and saw this. His eyes almost popped out of his head.
He knew that Kaze and Yukino were within the range of this technique!
Sakumo's face also changed slightly. The power of Shigure's move completely exceeded his expectations.
If they didn't solve the giant lizard quickly, the enemy might slaughter all the other Konoha ninjas!
"Wind Release: Separate Wind"
Knowing he couldn't escape, Kaze frantically spent his chakra to create a thick wind field, protecting himself and Yukino inside.
"Earth Release: Earth Barrier Wall"
Yukino stomped heavily on the ground, and an arc - shaped wall rose to cover the two of them, forming a second semi - circular line of defense under the wind field.
"Kaze, come here!"
Without hesitation, Yukino hugged Kaze and pressed him down, protecting him under her body.
Before Kaze could react, the dense flying needles outside fell like a violent storm.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
Most of the flying needles were blocked by the wind field and bounced to one side.
But still, a small number pierced through the wind field and into the earth barrier wall, making a dull sound of being unable to penetrate the thick wall.
After only a few seconds, there was no more sound of flying needles outside. Kaze immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"This technique looks quite bluffing, but it's just so - so, Yu..."
Plop.
A drop of warm liquid hit his cheek, and Kaze was stunned.
"... Sister Yukino?"
Kaze's voice trembled. He slowly raised his head and saw that Yukino's face was deathly pale, and blood was constantly overflowing from her mouth.
"What's going on? How could this happen?!"
Kaze hugged Yukino tightly and shouted excitedly, "Weren't all the flying needles blocked by us?"
"No... not all..." Yukino lay in Kaze's arms, weakly saying.
Most of the flying needles were blocked by the earth barrier wall, but somehow, one flying needle had penetrated the wall and pierced into her body.
Yukino was a little glad that if she hadn't protected Kaze under her body just now, it would be Kaze who was hit.
"Not all?"
Hearing Yukino's words, Kaze frantically checked and found that a flying needle had pierced into Yukino's back.
Even worse, Yukino's wound was pitch - black, and the color of her blood was extremely abnormal... The needle was poisoned!
Kaze hurriedly rummaged for the antidote pill and fed it to Yukino, but Yukino's complexion still got worse and worse.
"Why isn't it working... Why isn't it working... Why isn't it working at all!"
Yukino placed her hand on Kaze, who was almost going crazy, and said softly, "You know about poison. You know there's no way to save me."
"No, I..."
"Shut up and listen to me!" Yukino suddenly spoke with full force, just like when she used to scold Kaze when they were kids.
"This move must have taken a huge toll on Shigure. Hurry up and escape to Sakumo Hatake right now! Don't worry about me!"
"No, Sister Yukino, you clearly..." Kaze stopped halfway through his words. Suddenly, he froze, and tears welled up in his eyes.
Before a person dies, the first thing they lose is their vision.
Yukino in front of him, her pupils had already dilated and lost focus. It was just a last burst of energy. She was instructing Kaze out of instinct.
Sigh...
Yukino's breathing gradually faded away. She slumped limply in Kaze's arms, and her mind went back through her life.
Memories flashed by one by one, and finally, it stopped at her favorite scene.
At that time, she was eight years old. It was the first time she saw Kaze, a mischievous kid.
"Then, I'm entrusting this child to you. You should understand what I mean, right?"
"Lord Tanzō, Yukino understands. Yukino will definitely protect him for a lifetime!"
I said I'd protect you...
It's a pity... We might have had a good future... But I won't be able to see it...
"Farewell, Sister Yukino."
As he felt Yukino's life ebbing away in his arms, Kaze actually calmed down, or so it seemed.
Before a person dies, the last thing they lose is their hearing. He didn't want Sister Yukino to worry about him before she died.
Suddenly, a red light flashed!
The Sharingan was unleashed uncontrollably. Kaze's eyes were scarlet, and his face was contorted. He looked like a ghost climbing out of hell.
A second tomoe instantly appeared next to the first one.
Then, a third tomoe appeared!
Three jet - black tomoe were spinning wildly in Kaze's eyes!
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