One Punch Man

A deathly silence fell over the battlefield after Ebizō's death. The ninjas of Sunagakure, paralyzed by shock, looked with disbelief at the scene of destruction.

The elderly Ebizō, master of the art of puppetry and a respected figure throughout Sunagakure, had been reduced to ashes in a matter of seconds.

The reality was undeniable and brutal: the impressive puppet techniques, the pride of Sunagakure, had been completely useless against Luo Lei's overwhelming power. His thermal vision had pierced through all defenses as if they were made of paper.

Among the ranks of Konoha, a wave of amazement and renewed confidence spread quickly.

Whispers of "Amazing!" mingled with expressions of relief and anticipation. If even the famous Ebizō had fallen to Luo Lei, Konoha's victory now seemed inevitable.

In the distance, Rasa, still engaged in his battle with Orochimaru, couldn't contain a curse upon seeing Ebizō fall. "Damn it!" he growled.

Orochimaru, sensing his opponent's distraction, smiled maliciously. "Oh, Rasa," his hands already forming seals quickly, "you should pay more attention to your own fight. Die!"

Suddenly, a heart-wrenching scream broke the air, drawing everyone's attention to Chiyo.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Her trembling hands clutched at her gray hair, pulling it in desperation. "I-Impossible! This can't be happening!"

For a moment, it seemed as if time had stopped. The old woman remained motionless, her mind struggling to process the brutal reality before her. Then, as if a dam had broken inside her, a surge of emotions flooded her.

Anger, pain, and burning hatred were reflected in her eyes, which did not stray from what remained of her brother's body.

First her son and daughter-in-law at the hands of Sakumo, and now this. It was too much to bear.

"Luo Lei..." Her voice, previously broken by pain, now trembled with rage. "DAMN YOU! I SWEAR I WON'T REST UNTIL I SEE YOU DEAD!"

She no longer cared about living or dying.

Luo Lei, unfazed by Chiyo's fury, looked at her coldly. "Do you think you're worthy of facing me?" he asked.

"I'll show you the true power of a puppet master!" Chiyo roared, her voice charged with fierce determination. "White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu's Ten Puppets!"

In an instant, the air around her filled with white smoke. Ten puppets, each a masterpiece of ninja engineering, materialized in a circle. Chiyo's chakra flowed through them, powering their mechanisms and endowing them with superhuman speed and strength.

SWISH! SWISH!

Without wasting a second, the two fastest puppets launched towards Luo Lei. The sound of their weapons cutting through the air was like an omen of death.

For a moment, Chiyo's face lit up with a spark of hope. Her puppets had reached Luo Lei at such a short distance that it seemed impossible for him to escape.

A fleeting thought crossed her mind: 'Just one needle, a single drop of poison on his skin, and not even Tsunade will be able to save him.'

But that hope vanished as quickly as it had arisen.

PING! PING! PING!

The metallic sound of bouncing needles filled the air. Chiyo's eyes widened, disbelief etched into every wrinkle on her face.

The needles, designed to pierce even the most resistant armors, fell to the ground as if they had hit an impenetrable steel wall.

"Impossible..." she muttered, not believing it. "What kind of defense is this? Is this monster still human?"

Luo Lei, unfazed by the failed attack, didn't even bother to respond.

With an almost casual movement, he clenched his fist and threw it forward.

CRACK!

The sound of the air itself breaking resonated across the battlefield. A visible shockwave, like Whitebeard's, emanated from his fist.

BOOM!

The two closest puppets exploded into a thousand pieces before the brute force of the attack.

Chiyo, fighting against the terror that threatened to paralyze her, moved her fingers with precision. Three more puppets rose, forming a perfect triangle around Luo Lei.

"Destruction of the Void of the Three Buddhist Treasures!" she shouted.

The mouths of the puppets opened, revealing the symbols for "Buddha," "Dharma," and "Sangha." A vortex of energy arose between them, creating a tornado of force that threatened to tear everything in its path.

The air around Luo Lei stirred violently, the ground beneath his feet trembling from the intensity of the attack.

Rocks and debris flew towards the center of the vortex, as if the universe itself wanted to crush him.

However, to everyone's amazement and horror, Luo Lei remained motionless at its center, seemingly unaffected by the fury unleashed around him.

With a movement that seemed almost casual, he repeated his previous punch. His fist struck the air.

BOOM!

A shockwave of pure power exploded from the point of impact. The tornado resisted for a few brief seconds before crumbling. The three puppets that maintained it shattered, their fragments mixing with the wind in a shower.

Chiyo, observing the scene with incredulous eyes, felt cold sweat soaking her forehead. A feeling of absolute powerlessness seized her heart.

"This... this can't be human,"

Luo Lei wasn't simply strong; he was a monster with no apparent flaws. The frustration she felt surpassed even what she had experienced when facing Sakumo in the past. How could Konoha have produced such an aberration?

Her eyes narrowed, a painful decision forming in her mind.

"Retreat," she told herself, the words leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. "I'm sorry, brother, my son... I'll have to avenge you another day."

The pride of a lifetime, her secret puppet techniques, had proven useless against this monster in human form. The difference in power was simply too great to ignore.

With a heavy heart but determination burning in her eyes, Chiyo made her decision. "Wait for me, Luo Lei!" she shouted. "I'll come back for revenge, I swear!"

In one movement, she manipulated the remaining puppets.

She launched them in a suicide attack against Luo Lei, a desperate distraction. And in that instant of chaos, she turned on her heels and tried to flee.

________

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