The battlefield of Sunagakure.
As Chiyo gazed at the delicate features of the Red Sand Scorpion, memories from the past flooded her mind.
However, this was not the time for reminiscing.
Chiyo knew that if she did not defeat her grandson, the village's only tailed beast would fall into the hands of others, and Sunagakure's status among the great nations would be utterly destroyed.
She pulled out a scroll and slowly unfurled it.
Ebizo, too, was not idle. He also produced a bundle of scrolls.
Chiyo turned her head and said, "Brother, this time... please don't intervene, alright?"
"You've been headstrong your whole life, but this time, I can't obey you," Ebizo responded, his lips barely moving.
"Today, we must finish this quickly. You understand as well, don't you? This is within the village, and Gaara's current situation is dire. We must act swiftly..."
"Sigh..." Seeing Ebizo's firm stance, Chiyo didn't say anything further.
"Have you two old folks finished discussing your tactics? If there's no problem, let's get started. I don't have much time and don't want to keep others waiting!"
The Red Sand Scorpion waved his hands and was about to make a move when Chiyo smiled gently and said, "Child, what's the rush? Don't you want to spend more time with your grandmother?"
"Bang!"
Two puffs of smoke emerged from Chiyo's scroll.
From within the smoke appeared two puppets.
As the puppets revealed themselves, the pupils of the Red Sand Scorpion dilated slightly.
Chiyo said, "Child, do you remember them?"
Scorpion replied, "Oh, it's them. You still kept those old relics..."
Chiyo chuckled, "Yes, it seems you remember. These are the first puppets you ever made, 'Father' and 'Mother'..."
"Tch!" The Red Sand Scorpion sneered, "At this point, what do you intend to do with those? They are my puppets; I know them inside out. How boring..."
"Hmph, is that so?" Chiyo smiled faintly, "I've made quite a few modifications to them over the years!"
As she spoke, Chiyo's hands moved nimbly. 'Father' and 'Mother' took positions, extended their arms, joined their left and right arms together, and pulled out razor-sharp wires.
"Child, this is my creation, the Puppet Technique Fusion - 'One Heart, One Body'. Let's see how much you've grown over the years..."
"You're too kind, sister..." Ebizo stepped forward and called out, "Release!"
Ten puppets clad in black robes emerged from his scroll.
"Scorpion, these are my replicas of sister's 'Pinewood Ten Guardians', slightly less powerful but more than enough to deal with you..."
"My sister won't use lethal moves on you, but I will. I can't stand to see you like this any longer, and I don't want to see the village suffer more destruction!"
After saying this, Ebizo turned to Chiyo and apologized, "Sorry, sister. I'll end this quickly."
"Hohoho, uncle, the aged you has grown boastful..."
Perhaps infuriated by Ebizo's words, the Red Sand Scorpion stopped stalling and directly commanded the Third Kazekage to charge at the two elders.
"In the face of the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release: Iron Sand, all puppets are futile!"
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand World Method!"
A massive amount of iron sand gathered in the air, forming countless sharp spikes.
The attack range was impenetrable!
"Die, old relics!"
...