Towards the afternoon of the forest, the cold north wind was still howling, and the originally dense trees seemed to become much more empty and silent in this cold weather that could freeze people's heartbeats.

Even the trees were dyed with a pale, frosty hue from the winter chill.

During this season, most animals do not come out to forage for food, except for a few wild animals that are still outside.

A group led by Chiyo is speeding through the forest.

In the blink of an eye, he crossed several trees and sprinted forward at a rapid speed, judging by the extent of the previous attack, the enemy's lair must be nearby, and he will soon be able to save Iro.

Just as they rushed forward with their heads bored, a flash of white came into view.

It was an unknown creature that had never been seen in the bestiary—a fast-flying white falcon.

The whole body is dyed white, without any variegation, and it doesn't look like a normal creature at all.

The flying Hinoko knows this white falcon, a clay creation used by Iwakure Rebel Shinobu Deidara, which has a terrifying explosive power.

Knowing the explosive power of this clay creation, Honoko naturally didn't let this object get close to the team, picked up a chakra needle, attached orange lightning to it, and quickly threw it out.

The Chakra Needle flies fast, and it looks like it's about to pierce into the white falcon's body, blocking its ability to explode.

However, the initiative of the explosion was not in the hands of Hinoko from the beginning.

Before the chakra array could penetrate the white falcon's body, the white falcon let out a high-pitched roar and exploded with a bang.

Smoke from the fire spread across the road in front of the team, blocking their view of the road ahead.

Then there was a swishing and rapid sound.

A large number of thousands of needles, like a rainstorm falling from the sky, blocked the road ahead, and shot at extremely fast speed, and a suffocating sense of oppression swept in.

"Wood Escape, Wood Ingot Wall!"

Tenzo's eyes were quick, his hands clasped together, and the twisted trees burst through the ground, then bent further to form arched walls in front of him.

The sound of smacking was endless, and countless poisonous Chiben were nailed to the arched wooden wall, with a certain wonderful sense of rhythm.

"Retreat!"

As if sensing something, Tenzo had just finished speaking, and the rest of the group retreated sharply backwards, breaking away from under the arched wooden wall.

Peng!

Huge shadows of pitch black fell from the sky.

It was an incomparably large cube of iron.

Composed of black hard iron sand particles, and infused with chakra, the sand iron cubes weigh at least a thousand tons, plus the gravitational acceleration that falls from the sky, no matter how strong the defense is, it will collapse and disintegrate under this blow.

If they hadn't retreated in time, the crowd would have been crushed into meatloaf in an instant, along with the arched wooden wall.

The art of sand and iron was performed by a full-grown man in a brown coat with a dull face.

With inorganic eyes and a well-defined mouth, it is clear that this is not a living person, but a puppet puppet controlled by a human.

"Three generations of ......"

When Chiyo saw this puppet that looked like an adult male, her eyes flickered, as if recalling a period of time in the past, and then fell silent, her eyes falling on the red-haired boy who slowly walked out from behind the puppet.

He was wearing a coat with red clouds on a black background, raised the five fingers of his right hand, and skillfully controlled the three generations of Wind Shadow puppets in front of him with Chakras.

"Faded antiquities, hanging high on the walls, slowly decaying. Why did you go out of your way to send you to death, you dead old woman? ”

The corners of his mouth were slightly raised, and although he was smiling, he didn't feel like a human, but some kind of machine that ran according to a program.

Or maybe it's the same as the three generations of Kazekage he controls, but it's still a human 'puppet' on the outside.

"One last time I want to see my lovely grandson, of course. After all, I haven't loved you in years, my good grandson......"

Chiyo sighed.

The scorpion snorted lightly, emphasizing in a slightly unpleasant tone:

"The last side? It seems that you have already bought yourself a coffin in advance. But even if I kill you, it won't be a work of art in my hands. After all, you're already a dead old woman. ”

"Yes, I'm already an old woman, but your appearance seems to be frozen twenty years ago, and there is no change at all, Scorpion, you really ......"

Chiyo's gaze stared at the scorpion with deep meaning.

"This is the 'eternity' I seek...... A remnant of an old era like you, a work of art that can never be understood. ”

Anything can fade, but only the artwork doesn't.

And it will become more valuable as the years go by.

The scorpion tugged on Chakras, and the three generations of Wind Shadow puppets also moved, retracting the sand and iron cube that had smashed the flat arched wooden wall from the front and floating above his head.

Perhaps because of the reason that appeared in the air, everyone had a clearer understanding of the sand iron square, and they were awe-inspiring.

If you get hit by this thing, you'll definitely die.

"After all, it's just a bunch of philistine, and they certainly can't understand the art of the new age. Well. ”

In the sky, Deidara rode the white bird to the other side of the scorpion, and the position of the left arm was empty, and only one right arm was still available.

"Stop talking nonsense there, hurry up and hand over my Airo!"

For the so-called topic of art, the situation is urgent at the moment, and Naruto doesn't want to hear it at all, he just wants to save people quickly.

"Nonsense? Seems to be a guy who doesn't understand art. ”

Deidara raised an eyebrow and looked at Naruto's gaze, which also became unkind.

"After all, your ephemeral art is too rough to stand up to scrutiny, and eternal art has aesthetic value."

Scorpion said.

"No, Brother Scorpion, although I respect you very much, but an instant explosion has aesthetic value. The magnificence of a moment is people's yearning for beauty. On the contrary, eternity will only slowly decay, and fixing beauty will only make beauty vulgar. Well. ”

Deidara immediately retorted unhappily.

"No, eternity is art."

"No, an instantaneous explosion is."

Looking at the two people who had already quarreled before the battle, Scorpion and Deidara, Tianzang and the others were even more puzzled.

These two guys, isn't the relationship actually very good?

If so, you might be able to take advantage of it.

"Shut up!"

Naruto's annoyed screams made the argument between Scorpion and Deidara pause.

In their sight, only a yellow figure flashed, and Naruto had already rushed forward, struggling forward.

So fast! Deidara was secretly startled.

Hurriedly manipulated the white bird under his feet, flapped his wings, and flew upward, opening up a distance from Naruto.

After that, he spit out two clay balls from the mouth of his right hand, and conjured two small birds and flew towards Naruto.

The scorpion's reaction was slightly faster than Deidara's, and with a slight flick of his finger, the sand iron cube controlled by the three generations of Kazekage fell from above like a meteor and smashed into Naruto, who was rushing over.

Snort!

Two chakra needles flew into the bodies of the two clay birds, preventing them from exploding.

Tenzo, located in the rear, is sealed again.

A large number of trees appeared around Naruto, rising from the ground to form stout wooden pillars that supported upwards.

Winter!

Card!

The thick wooden pillars cracked and the wood chips scattered, but due to the large number of wooden pillars that carried the iron and sand squares, they managed to resist even under the weight of thousands of tons.

Since Deidara was located in the sky, Naruto was the only target left to attack, and he was about to speed up to flash in front of the scorpion.

A figure rushed in front of the scorpion faster, it was the third generation of wind shadows.

He opened his mouth and spat out the sand iron, forming a long, sharp thorn that rushed towards Naruto.

Naruto bent back, long black thorns passing across his chest and face.

Naruto raised his hand again.

Card!

The long sand iron thorn that extended out was broken with one palm and broke into two.

Then several long black thorns erupted from the mouth of the three generations of Kazekage, and Naruto moved backwards, dodging left and right, dodging these long black thorns that rushed towards him one by one.

Puppeteers are adept at quenching poison on weapons.

These sand irons are also quenched with poison and must not be cut out of the wound.

"It seems that now is not the perfect time to argue about art, Brother Scorpion, and wait until these people are dealt with, and then talk about art. Well. ”

Deidara stood on the white bird's back and suggested to the scorpion.

The scorpion glanced at him, his gaze cold.

"Whatever you want, but don't die."

"That's what I should say."

Deidara smiled.

This opponent is not simple, even he has to prepare desperately.

As he spoke, the white bird at Deidara's feet turned to the other side and flew into the distance.

Tenzo glanced at Nara Suzaku, Hinoko, and Sakai behind him.

He knew that it would be impossible to rescue Ara, without defeating the two guys in front of him.

But if you fight in groups......

"You guys go over there, the battle here will be solved by my old wife."

Chiyo walked up and planned to deal with the scorpion alone.

"You're ...... alone"

Tianzo was slightly stunned.

It's not that he looks down on Chiyo's strength, as a retired elder of Sand Hidden Village, even if he retires and doesn't care about the world, his strength is not comparable to that of a ninja.

However, the scorpion in front of him is also not an ordinary ninja. In a short period of time, there is no way to tell the winner from the loser.

And after a long time, with Chiyo's physical strength, the result is probably ......

"I'll stay too, and it's still uneasy to let Chiyo's mother-in-law stay alone. Add my words and it's enough to deal with this guy. ”

Naruto, who had retreated, said suddenly.

He intends to stay and help Chiyo and fight the scorpion.

"But ......"

Tenzo seemed to hesitate.

"Now is not the time to drag the mud and water, I am close at hand, we must break through the blockade as soon as possible and defeat them all."

As if sensing Naruto's determination, Tenzo sighed.

He pulled out a charm from his ninja bag and carefully slipped it into Naruto's hand.

"It's ......"

"The spell that suppresses the Nine-Tails Chakra. You've learned the Immortal Arts now, but you can't control the Nine-Tails Chakra very well, which is a potential risk for you. ”

Tenzo explained.

Naruto nodded solemnly and put the charm away.

Although he doesn't think that he still has the situation of the Nine-Tails Chakra going berserk, the existence of his father Watergate is a secret that cannot be revealed to outsiders.

Accepting the spell can also reassure Tianzo and others.

"Let's go."

Greeting Hinoko, Sakai, and Nara Suzaku next to him, Tenzo took the lead and chased after Deidara.

If you want to deal with Deidara, you can't do without Huo Yezi's thunder escape, as well as Zuojing's secret technique.

"Don't always think of a hero who takes on all the pressure and goes for the so-called hero, stupid senior. Fighting is never a one-man thing. ”

Before leaving, Hinoko snorted coldly at Naruto, flicked her hair, and chased the group away.

Naruto was slightly depressed, unable to refute this. Huonoko is right, he was too big in the previous battle with Itachi.

If it weren't for Chiyo's intervention at that time and then a sneak attack, he would not have been so easy if he wanted to defeat Itachi alone.

Ninja battles are not simply a competition for their respective hardware data.

Mastering the awareness, experience, and timing of the battle is also crucial.

Just like the amount of chakra, it can't completely determine the strength of a ninja.

Naruto slapped his cheek with his hand to bring himself back to his senses, then took a deep breath and looked into the scorpion's gaze with a look of caution.

At that time, the weasel was just a 'stand-in' controlled by himself, but the scorpion was different, it was the main body.

In the hands of the scorpion, there are also three generations of Wind Shadow puppets that can use the ability of blood inheritance limit.

It is said that the puppeteer's multitasking is only a basic ability...... This means that you need to deal with both the Scorpion and the three generations of Kazekage.

"Speaking of which, Chiyo-ma-chan."

Naruto leaned over to Chiyo.

"What's the matter?"

"The puppeteer's weakness is the body."

Naruto asked.

"Generally speaking, yes."

Chiyo answered the question.

It's no secret that the puppeteer isn't good at combat.

Therefore, the puppeteer of the sand hide will use various methods to hide the location of his own body, or take various means to protect the body from interference.

"What I want to ask is, is there any other puppet besides the puppet in front of the scorpion?"

If you want to break through the blockade of the puppet and attack the scorpion itself, you need to know how many puppeteers there are.

"I don't know much about this, after all, he has been away from the village for almost twenty years, and I don't know much about the puppets he has mastered."

Except for the destroyed Scarlet Amber and the three generations of Kazekage in front of him, in the intelligence, Chiyo never found out that the scorpion used a third puppet.

However, in order not to disappoint Naruto, and to remind Naruto, Chiyo continued:

"But one thing is certain, he himself is a 'puppet'."

"What?"

Naruto's eyes widened.

Looking at the scorpion's delicate young face like a teenager, there was obviously a wavering look in his eyes.

Noumenon...... Also a puppet?

"This is the so-called 'human puppet', a puppet made of living people, which can inherit all the techniques of the deceased during his lifetime. The three generations of Wind Shadow were made into human puppets by scorpions. ”

Chiyo stared closely at the three generations of Kazekage beside the scorpion, revealing a sentimental expression.

"Using living people as materials, does this guy also ...... himself?"

Naruto swallowed his saliva, and to be honest, the information made Naruto feel a little creepy.

It's terrifying to make a puppet out of someone else's corpse, and even use yourself as an experiment......

It's crazy.

"Well, so after he left Shayin, his appearance has not changed, and he is still the same as before. I was only suspicious before, but now I can officially confirm that he has used the 'human puppet' technique on himself. ”

Chiyo sighed.

Far away, the scorpion still heard Chiyo's sigh, and only sneered at Chiyo's sigh.

"This is the 'eternity' that can make oneself exist forever, how can a dead old woman with braids understand?"

Chiyo was silent, and Naruto was dissatisfied.

"Hey, no matter how Granny Chiyo is also your grandmother, don't you feel a little ashamed?"

For the scorpion's mouthful of 'dead old woman', I don't hear any respect for my grandmother.

"Human emotions can only make people laugh. Whether it's fear, sadness, or pain, as long as I become a 'puppet', I can't feel it in my heart. In this way, I can enjoy the real 'eternity'. ”

The scorpion raised its fingers, and allowed himself and the three generations of Kazekage to bend slightly at the same time, assuming a posture of imminent attack.

"Bastard, what do you think of human life, and feelings!"

"The numbers used for the calculations, and the materials for the director's puppet play!"

The corners of the scorpion's mouth were slightly upturned, revealing a handsome smile, but in his eyes, there was only indifference and cruelty, as if he was stared at, and the crest bone would be frozen by this gaze.

A 'puppet' without feelings.

"Damn!"

Naruto gritted his teeth, feeling an unusually angry response to the scorpion's unkind answer.

"Listen, only ignorant imps will fall in love with life and feelings!"

These are the enemies on his path of chasing 'eternity'!

With a sarcastic smile, the scorpion leaped forward, closing the distance between himself and Naruto and Chiyo, and then continued to run as fast as he could.

The three generations of Kazekage, which is under control, have been following the scorpion to the left side.

The sand iron cube that was originally pressed against the almost shattered wooden pillar also quickly floated upward, dripping and spinning in the air, and then adjusting the angle of its flight, rushing towards the land where Naruto and Chiyo were.

Not to be outdone, Naruto jumped upward, folded his hands, and the child holes in his eyes suddenly turned into a deliberately bold 'one', and around the corners of his eyes, orange eyeshadow was also dyed, as if the eyes possessed by a toad, and Naruto suddenly carried out the immortal mode.

Then, Naruto bent his right elbow, curled his five fingers, and quickly threw a punch at the sand iron cube that had fallen from above.

Winter –

The contact surface between the fist and the sand iron square rippled in the air, like Huang Zhong Da Lu resounding.

"I'm going to teach you a lesson for Granny Chiyo and wake you up completely!"

Naruto's eyes were fiercely turned to the scorpion, and he made a declaration in a curse-like tone.

"Dolls don't feel anything."

Whether it is physical pain or psychological pain, this kind of thing has been abandoned by scorpions since 20 years ago.

Therefore, he responded to Naruto without being salty.

The scorpion provoked Chakras, causing the speeding Midai Kazekage to open his mouth and spit out sand iron, preparing to create another object to attack Naruto.

On the other side, Chiyo unfolded a scroll with the same dissatisfaction, and two pitch-black figures launched an offensive one step faster than the scorpion under the control of her fingers, striking both sides of the scorpion one left and one right.

The scorpion's eyeballs rolled left and right, and even if he stopped, he kicked backwards, causing the three generations of Kazekage to retreat.

The two figures that attacked from the left and right sides each swung their ninja swords, slashing through the air.

It is a male and female puppet, each holding a ninja knife in his hand, the male puppet has the same red hair as the scorpion, although the appearance is mature, but there are some similarities with the face of the scorpion.

The female puppet has long tan hair that is not bound by a headband, and her eyes are kind and gentle, as warm as a mother.

The two of them wore high-necked and thickened trench coats, and their mouths were slightly curved to form a gentle smile.

Every stroke of a knife seems to be a natural work of art, not a human being.

"It's ......"

Naruto repelled the sand iron cube and jumped between the two golems and Chiyo.

The scorpion also stopped attacking, and the expression on his face seemed to be even more indifferent.

It was as if he had seen something unpleasant that made him feel irritated.

"It's these two things......

The scorpion's tone still didn't fluctuate much, as if there really wasn't emotion.

"That's right, this is your earliest work – 'Parents.'"

Chiyo single-handedly manipulated a puppet and answered the scorpion's question.

"Parents?" Naruto was stunned, glancing back and forth between the two golems and the scorpion, "Could it be that they are the ...... of the scorpion?"

"What's the use of taking out such a thing now? Do you expect me to show mercy? I don't need this kind of thing anymore. ”

The scorpion spoke to Chiyo with a smirk.

It was as if he had seen a joke that made him extremely funny.

"Really? This is the most cherished 'treasure' of your childhood. ”

Chiyo said to the scorpion in a childish tone.

"Dolls don't have feelings, they don't have feelings. I don't even remember the name of the dead guy. It's the same even for parents. ”

The scorpion emphasized this point again.

"In that case, then, grandma, I will personally help you recall the past, the feeling of being loved by your relatives again."

A smile appeared at the corner of Chiyo's mouth, like a smile on the faces of two puppets, kind and soft.

In this 'warm' atmosphere, the two puppets of 'father' and 'mother' raised the ninja knife in their hands, broke through the layers of air blockade, and flew off the ground with actions that violated the common sense of the human body, rushed towards the scorpion, and ruthlessly waved the ninja knife in their hands.

The scorpion ran, manipulating the three generations of Kazekage to rush towards the 'father' and 'mother'.

Two sharp blades came out of the cuffs of the third generation of Kazekage, and then he held them tightly.

The scorpion also seems to know Chiyo's control technology for the puppet, this time it is no longer controlled with one hand, but with both hands, and the three generations of Kazekage are controlled more accurately.

The three figures quickly clashed together, blade to blade slashed at each other, fighting, and the sound of iron tools colliding with iron tools was constantly released from between the three.

The movement of them flipping and swinging their knives has gone beyond the common sense understood by normal ninjas.

Fierce sparks splashed between the iron weapons, and the slashing of the blades also formed a series of afterimages that could not be seen by the naked eye, and only the blades could be heard colliding with each other, letting out an incomparably tragic wail.

Figures flew by, and rows of trees fell.

The earth is also covered with terrifying marks of blades.

The stones on the side of the road were also neatly cut by the blades and scattered all over the ground.

Murderous intent is wantonly vented, and everywhere you go, there will be a mess left there.

The ground, the sky, the trunks, all are battlefields, no exceptions.

Naruto looked at this exaggerated scene, recalling Kankuro's performance in the middle ninja exam a few years ago, and looking at this scene again, he always felt that the perception of the puppeteer needed to be reshaped.

These scenes in front of me seem to be fighting not puppets, but three ninja level ninjas who are proficient in physical skills and swordsmanship.

Such a smooth battle seems to be not a fight, but a masterpiece of art.

However, Naruto did not forget his purpose, and the three generations of Kazekage were dragged by the 'father' and 'mother', and the defense of the scorpion body was flawed.

Without hesitation, taking advantage of the other party's attention being attracted by Chiyo, Naruto's leg senjutsu chakra burst out, and the ground under his feet was torn apart by the soles of his feet, and Naruto had disappeared from the spot.

The scorpion's gaze flickered slightly, and the sand iron cube fell from the sky and smashed to the earth.

Boom.

Dust and smoke were spewed, and a huge crater was created.

This movement lasted less than a second, and a figure rushed out from his right, holding a blue chakra ball in his hand, and rushed towards him.

The scorpion frowned and kicked to the left, ready to dodge Naruto's attack.

Naruto's speed was so fast that he didn't have time to think about it at all, so he could only dodge with his past experience.

However, at the moment when he kicked out to the left, another figure rushed out, which was to his left side.

Holding a striking chakra ball in his hand, aim it at his chest and press it.

I didn't have time to dodge, and I was hit by a chakra ball in my chest.

There was no pain, but his body was indeed attacked, and the hands he was using to control Chakras began to be unstable, and the spiral air flow also stirred up the Chakras in his hands.

So much so that the three generations of Kazekage, who were fighting with 'father' and 'mother', had their bodies stagnant and began to dance indiscriminately and lose control.

Golden opportunity!

Chiyo aimed at this moment, her eyes flashed, and the faces of 'father' and 'mother' still showed gentle smiles, and she held the hilt of the sword with both hands, flashing to both sides of the three generations of Kazekage, and at the same time swung the ninja sword.

Whew!

There was no blood spatter, no screams.

The body of the three generations of Wind Shadow was instantly divided into three sections under the cutting of the sharp blade, and it fell to the ground like broken copper and iron, and the parts inside, as well as a large number of quenching secret weapons and scrolls that had not yet been used, were scattered all over the ground.

"It's over!"

Naruto had a triumphant smile on his face, and the chakra ball attack continued, ravaging the scorpion's chest.

However, he soon discovered that it didn't feel right.

The sound is also not right.

The red cloud coat with a black background that was torn open with a hole revealed a scorpion-white jade-like chest, revealing a reflective color.

The top was smooth and traceless, and under the attack of the spiral pill, there was no trace of cracking on it.

The scorpion lowered his head so that people could not see his expression.

But the awe-inspiring murderous aura made Naruto creepy for a while, and his neck was more like being pricked by a needle, stinging.

Card!

The sound of the mechanism activating.

With a wave of the scorpion's right hand, it sliced through the air with a terrifying cold light.

Naruto hurriedly stepped back and turned sideways.

A handful of yellow hair fell neatly.

Naruto rolled out in embarrassment, cold sweat streaming down his face, and he didn't care about the hairstyle that was missing a corner.

His head was almost split up just now.

The force of the spiral pill acting on the scorpion's body did not completely dissipate, and the scorpion rolled on the ground a few times, hitting a big tree, making a thumping sound, before it could be stopped.

The trees behind him also shook imperceptibly because of the impact of the scorpion's body.

The scorpion stood up, patting the dust off its body before looking up.

The eyes shrouded in the shadow of the hair are very cold.

"The Shadow Clone Technique...... I almost forgot that this is your best tactic. ”

"Even if you praise me, I won't have the slightest honor."

Naruto didn't laugh and got up from the ground and patted the dust off his clothes.

Immediately, he looked at the scorpion's chest, which had been attacked by the spiral pill but was unharmed.

It's so hard! Naruto only had one idea.

Although it was a puppet, it was able to withstand the attack of Spiralmaru without the slightest damage, which made Naruto's brow furrowed and full of solemnity.

Spiral Pill is basically his most powerful means of attack.

As a result, they can't break through the 'shell' of the opponent's body, and in the case of dolls, the opponent's body is too strong.

"It looks like your body has been strengthened."

Chiyo came to Naruto's side, manipulating 'father' and 'mother', and said with her eyes narrowed.

The scorpion reached out and unbuttoned his coat and replied in an emotionless tone:

"Because I have injected the power of Yin and Yang into this body, what will become of it after that, even I can't know where the upper limit of this body is. However, seeing this, you should also know that you cannot defeat me with your strength alone. My 'eternity', there is no weakness! ”