Paying no attention to the distant battle, Saitama reigned supreme over this battlefield. The blade in his hand crackled with lightning, becoming the scythe of a shinigami, harvesting lives wherever it swung!
Perhaps Saitama was just too dazzling—shortly after, more Suna ninja poured into the battlefield, scattering his unit into isolated fighters.
"Clang!" Saitama eyed the enemy before him clutching a kunai. The half-covered face and facial markings gave the man an air of mystery.
"Shing!" He swept his blade downward, scraping across the sand and sending arcs of electricity striking below, leaving behind blackened marks.
"Thud!" With chakra surging through his body, Saitama charged forward. He had full confidence in his strength.
"Wind Release - Wind Blade!" The enemy, holding the kunai, formed seals and unleashed a common ninjutsu.
A gust burst from his mouth, carrying invisible and razor-sharp wind blades!
Saitama shifted his steps with ease, remaining completely unfazed. His body twisted and turned mid-motion, dodging the attack effortlessly.
"Agh!" "Hrk!" Behind him came the sound of flesh pierced and a comrade's cry of pain. Saitama's brow furrowed.
This was war—a battlefield where danger could strike from any direction at any time! That demanded absolute awareness of your surroundings, attention not only on the enemy directly facing you, but all nearby threats.
Unable to glance back at the Konoha ninja struck by that jutsu, Saitama activated his Sharingan, tracking the enemy's movements for preemptive judgment.
He shifted his grip, holding the sword reversed in his right hand. Lowering his stance, he began maneuvering toward one side of his opponent. His steps changed rapidly, his path unpredictable—at least undecipherable to the enemy standing before him.
Using his advantage in speed, Saitama circled halfway around the foe, instantly appearing at his flank.
"Shing!" The electrified blade arrived before the Suna ninja, reflecting his slightly startled expression.
"Boom!" The head flew off, landing upon the sandy ground.
Saitama, however, narrowed his eyes, revealing a cautious expression. He crossed the sword before his chest and surveyed his surroundings.
At this moment, the area around him had been cleared, with few Suna ninjas daring to step closer.
Looking at the severed head lying on the ground, Saitama felt slightly surprised—he hadn't realized earlier that he had just faced a Puppet!
The severed head on the sand continued to open and close its mouth like a puppet, as if mocking Saitama's oversight.
Without showing the slightest irritation, Saitama knew panic would play directly into his enemy's hands.
His eyes continuously scanned the area while his feet assumed a defensive posture, ready at any instant to leap away from incoming attacks.
"Crash!" The sand beneath his feet suddenly collapsed, pulling him downward.
His gaze betrayed no trace of surprise whatsoever. Saitama surged his leg with Lightning Flash, launching himself upward in an explosive burst as his body recoiled.
"Boom!" Where he once stood now bore a deep crater caused by immense force. From below it, a hand stretched upward!
"Hiss!" Lightning surged along the blade, crackling with electric energy. As Saitama ascended, he swung his sword in midair.
"Slash!" The underground arm was sliced clean through, disintegrating instantly.
Still a puppet! Saitama sheathed his blade and landed aside, his crimson eyes ceaselessly scanning the surroundings.
"Heh, not bad!" A figure emerged from the sandy ground where Saitama was watching. Half of his body popped out from the sand, both hands continuously gesturing as if controlling something.
"A puppet master from Sunagakure?" Saitama murmured, holding his Ninja Sword horizontally in front of his chest.
"You're quite knowledgeable, kid!" The Suna ninja's gloomy voice sounded again, like noises echoing through a sewer, carrying an annoyingly nauseating tone.
[Pom!] Without waiting for his enemy to finish speaking, Saitama pushed hard with his feet and rapidly approached.
His blade was clamped by one puppet, but Saitama poured more chakra into it. [Lightning] coursed through the weapon and exploded upon the puppet.
"Hiss!" The puppet, constructed from black material, acted like a conductor under the electricity. White smoke immediately began rising from it, and even the hemp cloth wrapped around its body became charred and brittle from the current.
[Hngh!] The puppet master hadn't expected such a situation. He originally thought trapping Saitama's Ninja Sword within the puppet's jaws would severely weaken Saitama's strength. Never did he anticipate that Saitama would turn the tables so quickly, instantly ruining one of his puppets!
[Pom!] Expressionless, Saitama kicked out with his right foot, sending the puppet flying backward with a huge hole torn through it, various components now falling down around his feet.
[Tsch!] Seizing the opportunity, Saitama yanked his sword free with extra force, easily pulling it out.
Then he swung viciously downward, cleaving the already heavily damaged puppet cleanly in half, rendering it completely useless.
[Klak-klak-klak!] Another puppet flew over—it had the shape of a bird.
Saitama narrowed his gaze, gathering energy in his right hand while lightning flickered across his body.
In a battle against a puppet master, one must go straight for the opponent's real form and land a decisive blow; otherwise, the puppets will never end!
As his body kept shifting positions, the puppet master manipulated his creations to constantly attack Saitama, yet they couldn't even touch the edge of Saitama's robes.
Puppets blocked Saitama's advancing path. Though having wings, they couldn't fly at high altitudes, only hovering just above the ground.
The weak air currents beneath the puppets stirred, kicking up endless clouds of yellow sand into the air.
Perhaps realizing he couldn't catch up with Saitama's speed, the puppet master gave up active attacks, instead positioning his puppets between himself and Saitama as barriers.
[Zing-zing-zing!] The moment the puppet's mouth slightly opened, Saitama predicted the trajectory, shifting sideways with a quick step and moving his whole body away from the spot.
Countless Senbon and hidden weapons followed Saitama's movements, leaving countless craters on the sandy ground.
While running across the desert floor, Saitama knew now was the time to wait—for an opening after the puppets fired their projectiles!
His blade occasionally slashed before him, deflecting those Senbon he couldn't fully evade. Saitama was well aware that Sunagakure's puppet masters were particularly fond of using poison—getting hit by any projectile could spell danger.
Two Tomoe spun wildly inside, his Sharingan operating at maximum capacity, missing no detail.
After one round of attacks ended, the puppet shut its mouth, and its wings began flapping even faster!
"This is it!"
Saitama's chakra surged, spreading thinly across most of his body as a Lightning Release.
In just two lightning-fast strides, Saitama rapidly closed the distance on the puppet. Electric arcs zapped along his blade!
No puppet master alive could hope to match such speed. The Puppet Master barely had time to twitch his fingers before Saitama stomped onto the puppet's head.
"Deng!" A blackened footprint remained as Saitama, sword in hand, instantly appeared just two meters from the Suna Puppeteer!
His eyes narrowed slightly as the tomoe swirled and his gaze locked onto the enemy. Saitama felt he'd already wasted too much time on this opponent.
Watching Saitama charging toward him, the puppeteer revealed a triumphant smile, the corner of his mouth peeking from beneath the mask curling upward into a smirk.
The puppet was behind Saitama, the puppet master right ahead—yet suddenly, he felt a chill crawl up his spine, sensing something wrong.
Sometimes a ninja's sixth sense proves accurate—and this time, Saitama chose to trust his instincts completely.
As he approached the puppet master, his stride hesitated for a moment, then he darted sideways at an even faster speed. The moment he moved sideways, the puppet behind him sprang to life.
"Ka-cha!" "Hu-hu-hu!"
A large split opened at the puppet's tail, spewing out massive amounts of purple mist that spread under sunlight, exuding eerie and sinister beauty.
"Tssk-tssk!" Anything the mist touched started to corrode, transforming the yellow sand into hardened clumps!
Saitama narrowed his eyes again, not missing a beat as he swiftly pulled away from the mist.
"Hmm?" The Puppeteer emitted a sound of surprise, not expecting that Saitama would abandon his attack at such close range.
The mist quickly reached the puppeteer, who immediately leapt in the opposite direction—seeming equally cautious about the fog released by his own puppet!
[Poison Mist!] Pzi-pzi-pzi!
"Shua!" At the most unexpected moment, Saitama's sword suddenly appeared beside the Puppeteer, lightning flashing, heralding imminent death!
"How is this possible?" The Puppeteer panicked. He'd clearly seen Saitama jump off in another direction; how could he appear right next to him now?
He turned his puzzled gaze toward Saitama and spotted another one standing there.
"A Shadow Clone? When did you do it? Was it during the instant when the poison mist was released?" Confusion filled the Puppeteer's eyes. But just as he seemingly figured everything out, the blade sliced across his neck.
"Ss-laa!" The terrifying thunder power struck mercilessly once more, cleaving off the enemy's head, letting it roll lifelessly beside him.
"Pzi-pzi-pzi!" Before Saitama could get a clear look, another attack came at him. He turned in shock to see the bird-shaped puppet reactivated!
"Pfu!" Saitama turned into white smoke, vanishing from the puppet's sight, leaving behind several senbon needles dripping black liquid on the ground.
"Ps-laa!" On the other side, the real Saitama instantly realized upon seeing the puppet activate again that the Puppeteer hadn't actually died. He raised his blade and charged straight toward the puppet approaching his clone.
As expected, with the rising smoke from the clone's dissipation, the puppet hesitated for a moment, seemingly surprised that it was actually a clone!
The puppet quickly recovered, flapping its wings and spraying countless Hidden Weapons toward Saitama's real body approaching rapidly.
But it was already too late. Saitama had closed the distance to within a few meters of the puppet — just a single burst of speed for him!
"Crack!" The blade came down hard on both wings of the puppet, slicing it straight into two halves like a caterpillar, falling onto the ground.
"Shing!"
The puppet counterattacked — small apertures opened across its body, unleashing a barrage of Hidden Weapons ready to fire in an instant!
"As if I'll let you! Die!" Gritting his teeth, Saitama increased his chakra output. Explosions of electricity burst from his body, making his physical armor even more pronounced.
"Slash!" The sword slammed heavily into the puppet's body, tearing open a huge wound. The Hidden Weapons that were about to launch instantly lost their momentum.
Blood oozed from the puppet's remains as Saitama crouched low on one knee, yanking his Ninja Sword free. A streak of blood still clung to the blade, wrapped in lightning before slowly vanishing into the edge.
"Crack!" Jumping off the puppet, Saitama revealed a half-lying ninja inside its remains — a lifeless corpse. From the forehead all the way to the abdomen, a massive gash split the entire body open, leaving the person cleaved clean in two like a butcher's slab of meat.
"[Phew!]" He exhaled sharply. Saitama found this battle somewhat exciting. It was only at the very last moment he discovered the Puppet Master's true form had hidden inside this puppet.
Someone who could spew such Poison Mist without flinching right at his face — Saitama couldn't imagine many people daring to do that. And from how slow those two seconds of dodging looked, he suspected it wasn't the real body.
When the Poison Mist spread, Saitama created a clone to probe the situation. He never expected his assumption would be proven so accurately.
Thinking about where else the Puppet Master might have hidden, one phrase suddenly popped into Saitama's mind: [The best place to hide is in plain sight.]
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