Konoha, Just Like Kizaru

In the mansion, Hui Matsushima, the daimyo of the Tea Country, leaned on the window sill with both hands, watching the battlefield.

"I didn't expect Konoha to send these kids to deal with us. It's too arrogant," 

Standing beside him was a young man named Haruta Hanzo. His background was not simple, he was the biological son of the daimyo of the Wind Country.

Growing up with a passion for the exciting, dangerous life of a ninja, Haruta had joined Sunagakure and quickly rose through the ranks. 

By the age of twenty, he had already reached the strength of a Jōnin.

In addition, there is a middle-aged man standing silently behind.

Not tall, wearing a hat, revealing this steady breath.

He spoke cautiously, "Master Haruta Hanzo, although these ninjas are young, they should not be underestimated."

Haruta Hanzo nodded and replied casually, "Ebizō is right. I hope they won't be easily dealt with by Droby."

Outside the mansion, Minato watched Droby with a serious expression. 

As a famous puppet master from Sunagakure, Droby was capable of controlling up to five puppets at once. This skill was one of the reasons he gained fame in the Second Ninja War.

If Minato faced Droby alone, he might still have a chance. But now, he's deep in enemy territory. If he's caught, he could be surrounded or even wiped out.

As for his teammates, Harukami Aso, Haruka, and Lindy were all caught in the explosion earlier. 

While the water prison helped cushion the blast, they were still injured. Fortunately, Lindy had Katsuyu's presence, left by Simu, which was healing her injuries.

At that moment, Hyuga Lindy, who had always been quiet, made a sudden decision.

She spoke calmly, "Minato, you focus on completing the mission. We'll hold him off."

Minato hesitated for a moment, then nodded. This was the best option. If they stayed and got caught, there would be no way out.

"Then leave it to you!" he said, waving his hand. Kunai from both sides flew toward Drobby.

Drobby sneered, and with a slight movement of the Chakra threads in his hand, a puppet quickly appeared. 

It raised its saw-like weapon to easily block the Kunai, which flew into the air after being deflected.

"If Konoha Shinobi are this weak, then just forget it," Drobby sneered. He pulled out a scroll, biting it with his lips. With a loud bang, a thick cloud of white smoke filled the air.

From the smoke, countless black figures emerged—puppets Drobby had crafted over the years.

"Puppetry is the most beautiful art!" Drobby exclaimed, looking like a madman lost in his own world.

With a flick of his finger, the Chakra strings in his hand moved, commanding the puppets to spring to life. If he changed his appearance, one might even call him an artist.

For a moment, all the puppets floated into the air, making a sharp, eerie crunching sound.

Minato glanced at Lindy, his expression serious. "I'll leave this to you."

Lindy nodded firmly. The training with Mr. Simu this year had been intense.

Lindy's face flushed slightly, though she kept her focus. Minato noticed but didn't ask—he assumed it was just a matter between the young couple.

Without further hesitation, Minato activated his Flying Thunder God Technique!

Drobby observed, as the five puppets slowly surrounded them, ready for the next move.

"Even if you're the reincarnation of the God of Ninjas, it's impossible to break through my defense and enter the mansion!"

"Eh?"

As soon as Drobby finished speaking, a question mark appeared above his head.

Minato was gone.

He had flown over the wall using the Kunai he had thrown earlier and rushed straight into the mansion.

Hui Matsushima, the daimyo of the Kingdom of Tea, was panic.

Fortunately, Ebizō's presence gave him a sense of security.

Ebizō, who had survived two ninja wars, was undoubtedly one of the strongest in Sunagakure.

Rather than protecting Matsushima, it was clear that his real role was to protect Haruta Hanzo.

Of course, it would have been better if one of the Konoha Sannin had taken on this task. With their strength, he could have crushed them all at once.

Unfortunately, Konoha only sent three young ninjas this time.

But Ebizō recognized them. Simu and Minato had both stood out during the joint Jōnin exam.

Being able to killed these rising stars early would be a great reward.

Haruta Hanzo's eyes gleamed the moment he saw Minato.

"This will be my opponent."

"Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere!"

Haruta Hanzo compressed a large amount of air into a spinning ball in his mouth, then blasted it at Minato. 

The air in the courtyard twisted as the sphere sped toward him.

Just as the Vacuum Sphere was about to hit, Minato suddenly vanished from his position.

There was a loud bang as the high-speed air ball tore through the yard wall. A thick cloud of smoke filled the area, but Minato was nowhere to be seen.

"This is...?"

Ebizō's eyes narrowed as he watched. Having lived through two Ninja World Wars, he immediately recognized the technique.

"Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique!"

To his surprise, after all these years, another ninja had mastered it.

Minato's figure reappeared on the other side of the yard. His specially made kunai sliced through the smoke, heading straight for the daimyo.

Haruta Hanzo drew his ninja sword and swung it to cut down Minato's kunai.

"Careful!" Ebizō suddenly warned.

As expected, in the next moment, Minato instantly grabbed the cut kunai.

A large amount of chakra gathered between his open palms, forming a spinning Rasengan.

Ebizō's mood darkened. He acted quickly, knowing that if the daimyo's son from the Land of Wind faced trouble here, it would be a huge problem.

Several strands of chakra shot from Ebizō's aged fingers with incredible speed. They struck Minato's Rasengan with unmatched precision.

Minato was ready to strike with lightning speed.

But suddenly, an inexplicable force pulled his hand holding the Rasengan away!

"Boom!"

The Rasengan, along with Haruta Hanzo, slammed into the floor.

The immense energy inside it exploded, instantly sweeping through the entire mansion!

The house, built with expensive materials by Hui Matsushima, was no match for the raging chakra. It shattered like paper!

In an instant, the entire mansion collapsed.

Minato's gaze quickly landed on the flustered daimyo.

A kunai flew from his hand, cutting through the smoke and debris, heading straight for Hui Matsushima's neck!

But Ebizō had already noticed the move.

Using his chakra threads, he quickly connected Haruta Hanzo and Matsushima, pulling them out of the battlefield and away from danger.

The once-exquisite mansion was now reduced to rubble.

This was the power of ninjas.

Meanwhile, outside the mansion, Lindy and the others were still fighting to defend against Drobby's relentless attacks.

"Since you want to stop me, then die here!" Drobby shouted.

He didn't even notice the kid who had just passed him.

With Haruta Hanzo and the old man Ebizō protecting the daimyo, he didn't believe that the blond-haired brat posed much of a threat.

Drobby, a master puppeteer from Sunagakure, was skilled at controlling five humanoid puppets at once.

These puppets moved like a well-coordinated squad, working seamlessly together.

Harukami Aso and the others were struggling to resist the relentless onslaught.

Lindy blocked the puppet's attack with a swift palm. Using her Byakugan, she could see the Chakra lines in the air.

"Cover me, I need to heal!" she called out.

Though Harukami Aso wasn't sure what Lindy planned to do, he obeyed.

He quickly formed hand seals and spit out a stream of water.

"Water Style: Water Flow Cut!"

The water shot toward Drobby like a sharp knife. Everyone knew that the biggest weakness of a puppet master was the puppeteer.

Getting close to the puppeteer was a huge problem.

As Harukami Aso launched an attack on Drobby, one of the puppets moved quickly to intercept him.

The puppet's arm opened, revealing a steel shield that blocked the water flow.

However, Aso was not easy to stop. The powerful water flow cut through the shield like a knife, severing the puppet's arm.

But that brief delay was enough.

The four remaining puppets quickly surrounded Aso Harukami.

The four puppets opened their mouths at once, each ready to strike.

Every possible escape route for Aso Harukami was already blocked by the puppets. There was no way out!

Hyuga Lindy observed the Chakra lines in the air with her Byakugan.

At the critical moment, she swiftly swept her long leg.

"Ninja‧Tempest Kick!"

While a regular Tempest Kick would only create a vacuum slash, Lindy's technique was different. 

She infused her Chakra into the kick, changing its form to cut through Drobby's Chakra lines.

A half-moon-shaped Chakra slash appeared, but it missed the puppet completely.

Drobby glanced at Hyuga Lindy, laughing mockingly. "Little girl, are you just punching the air?"

He then waved his hand, preparing to strike the surrounded Aso Harukami.

But no matter how much Chakra he used, the puppets didn't move.

"What happened...?" Drobby looked around, confused.

It turned out that Lindy's Tempest Kick, seemingly a miss, had actually cut the Chakra lines connecting the four puppets.

"Good job, Miss Lindy!" Harukami Aso exclaimed, his face filled with relief.

He quickly performed a jutsu: "Water Style·Water Flow Cut!"

A powerful stream of water shot from his mouth as he spun, slicing through all four surrounding puppets at the waist. He took down all four in one swift motion.

Aso gave Lindy a thumbs up, his gratitude clear. Even Harukami Haruka, usually reserved, nodded in appreciation. If it weren't for Lindy, her father might not have made it.

Lindy smiled slightly. "It's an honor to help everyone."

But this move caught Drobby's attention. He now recognized the threat posed by this seemingly harmless, cute girl.

"Then let's start with you!" 

The large puppet that had been surrounding Drobby suddenly lunged forward. 

It was nearly twice the size of the other puppets, with flames spewing from its feet as it charged toward Lindy like a rocket.

Harukami Aso quickly stepped in front of Lindy, ready to protect her.

"Are you kidding me? I don't like owing favors!" 

Harukami Aso muttered as he drove the kunai books in his hand into the puppet's left shoulder joint. The strike severed the Chakra flow, paralyzing half of the puppet.

But it wasn't enough. The puppet still had another half. With a powerful swing of its arm, it struck Harukami Aso directly in the abdomen.

Scarlet blood splattered from his mouth.

"Take this!" Harukami Aso shouted, panic in his voice.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bomb!" Harukami Aso shouted, releasing a torrent of water that quickly formed into a massive water dragon. The dragon charged at the giant puppet, crashing into it with fierce claws and teeth.

Lindy moved swiftly, grabbing the incense as two puppets charged at her. She activated the Six Styles Iron Body.

The kunai from the puppets struck her ninjutsu instantly, but her hardened skin blocked the attack, even sending out two bursts of flame.

In mid-air, Lindy twisted and slammed her palm onto the puppet's head.

"Gentle Fist: Vacuum Palm!"

Lindy shouted, channeling a massive amount of Chakra into the puppet's body. The force of the blow shattered its Chakra circuit, sending the puppet's head flying off.

Another puppet immediately opened its mouth, releasing a torrent of flames toward the ground.

Lindy was mid-air, about to be caught in the sea of flames. However, to Drobby's surprise, she stepped on the air itself, rising steadily and flying higher into the sky.

On the other side, Aso Harukami found himself surrounded by more puppets.

Lindy, still in mid-air, aimed to repeat her earlier move with a Tempest Kick. However, Drobby had anticipated this and sacrificed one of his puppets to block her.

The huge puppet tightly embraced Aso Harukami, and gasoline poured out from it.

"Oops!" Drobby muttered.

In the next moment, the entire puppet erupted in flames.

"Water Style: Water Waves!"

A powerful wave of water slammed into the puppet, causing a thick cloud of steam to rise.

Aso took the chance to escape.

However, other puppets quickly surrounded him.

Numerous kunai rained down, and Aso couldn't dodge in time, resulting in over a dozen wounds across his body.

Though the wounds were painful, the real issue was the dizziness he felt in his head.

Harukami Aso realized that he had been poisoned.

.

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TO BE CONTINUED

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