Chapter 97: Overwhelming Hoshi

"What's going on?! How can your Wind Release possibly damage my Puppet?!" Hoshi exclaimed.

Surprised at first, Hoshi carefully observed and then breathed a sigh of relief. His Puppet wasn't damaged by Tatsuma's Wind Release attack; it was just that some senbons had lodged into the exposed joints.

"Is it when he waved his hand?" Hoshi wondered.

Recalling Tatsuma's hand movements before casting his Ninjutsu, Hoshi realized that Tatsuma's seemingly additional waving motion was not a habit but a concealed way of throwing senbons.

After understanding this, Hoshi felt a mix of embarrassment and anger. Once again, he had been played by this cunning opponent!

Realizing that a few senbons couldn't disable his Puppet, Hoshi forcefully manipulated Chakra Threads, forcibly moving the joints of Nozori, and breaking the senbons.

Nozori, now in motion again, burst into full speed, charging towards Tatsuma.

Tatsuma noticed the sound of wind behind him, pursed his lips, and made a quick turn, momentarily shaking off Nozori. Immediately after, he started moving again, rushing towards Hoshi once more.

"It's useless! Your speed is too slow!" Hoshi shouted as he saw Tatsuma resisting.

Ignoring Hoshi's words, Tatsuma began forming hand seals. Seeing Tatsuma's final seal being the Tiger Seal, Hoshi frowned.

"Shinki! Defend!"

Hoshi controlled Nozori with one hand, while the other connected to Shinki. 

Shinki quickly wrapped around Hoshi, showcasing its defensive posture.

Tatsuma abruptly applied the brakes, turning around. With his right hand extended, an organized yet chaotic gathering of chakra manifested in his palm, forming into a blue chakra sphere in the blink of an eye.

"Rasengan!"

"Boom!"

Tatsuma forcefully thrust the Rasengan into Nozori's mouth. Immediately, the volatile chakra of the Rasengan became uncontrollable, and amidst the chaotic clash of chakra, Nozori's head was torn apart and shattered.

"Who said you have to release a Ninjutsu when forming hand seals?"

A fleeting expression of mockery crossed Tatsuma's face. Hoshi, now controlling Nozori with one hand and simultaneously managing Shinki, had his field of vision partially restricted by Shinki. This exchange created an opportunity that only Tatsuma could seize.

This opportunity arose because Ninjutsus that did not use hand seals were quite rare, and few people considered whether their opponents might employ such techniques in battle. Even Hoshi, who had witnessed Tatsuma using Rasengan before, fell into the same assumption. In the previous encounter when Tatsuma used Rasengan, Hoshi wasn't prepared and couldn't even confirm if Tatsuma used a Ninjutsu with no hand seals.

Hoshi preferred to believe that Tatsuma employed some special sealing techniques, such as single-handed seals. In their previous clash, Hoshi had only partially discerned the movements of Tatsuma's right hand, and the actions of the left hand remained unclear.

Now, as Hoshi snapped back to reality, he realized that his Nozori had transformed into a Puppet that was now only capable of hugging people.

Muscles on Hoshi's face twitched continuously, clearly showing extreme anger. He couldn't tolerate this feeling of being played over and over again.

This is the drawback of being the heir to a prestigious family. From childhood to the present, Hoshi, who never had to worry about resource competition, never needed to strategize for victory. He simply followed the routine of studying and training, passing assessments from elders and sensei. While he had completed numerous missions, he always relied on raw strength, never encountering an opponent as tricky and elusive as Tatsuma.

It was for this reason that Hoshi sacrificed the lives of many subordinates to gather intelligence on Tatsuma. The enigmatic Tatsuma shrouded in a fog of mystery, presented a challenge for which Hoshi couldn't find a straightforward solution.

Perhaps if, from the beginning, he hadn't approached it with a mindset of manipulation, but instead had ordered his subordinates to overwhelm Tatsuma with sheer force, he wouldn't be facing so much trouble now.

However, in this world, there is no remedy for regrets. Hoshi could only swallow the bitter pill of yet another Puppet being destroyed by Tatsuma.

Hoshi showed no intention of continuing to use Nozori because, to Tatsuma, this puppet was no different than a punching bag now.

While the material of Nozori limited the effectiveness of Tatsuma's Taijutsu, Tatsuma's skill in Taijutsu allowed him various ways to evade Nozori. Additionally, simultaneously controlling two Puppets required too much mental focus and was too challenging. Tatsuma proved that Hoshi lacked this ability, at least in his presence.

If Hoshi insisted on controlling two Puppets in front of Tatsuma, it would only lead to a no-win situation. Therefore, Hoshi decisively cut off control over Nozori.

Seeing Hoshi promptly abandon Nozori, Tatsuma couldn't help but shake his head. Hoshi's craftsmanship and control over Nozori were both failures in Tatsuma's eyes.

Even though Tatsuma didn't use Puppet Jutsu, he could easily imagine another use for Nozori – incorporating an explosive function. For instance, stuffing Explosive Tags inside the Puppet; even if the head was destroyed, detonating the Explosive Tags at the moment of embracing the opponent would cause damage that not many could withstand.

Returning his thoughts, Tatsuma looked at the menacing Shinki. The mockery on his face was almost impossible to conceal. Compared to Nozori, Tatsuma had discovered the weaknesses of Shinki much earlier.

That's because Shinki is more intricate, and this kind of precise machinery is often more fragile, with small tolerances leaving no room for error. While it certainly showcases the craftsman's skill, it is not suitable for combat.

The previous bombardment of Explosive Tags caused Shinki to experience control delays, a weakness that could be exploited with the same tactic.

Without any hesitation, Tatsuma formed hand seals, a smokescreen appeared beside him, and then a Shadow Clone materialized. Tatsuma and the Shadow Clone simultaneously formed seals, although not the same ones.

Seeing this scene, Hoshi couldn't help but feel irritated once again. He didn't know if Tatsuma would, like before, form seemingly unrelated seals and then unleash a completely different Ninjutsu. However, as Tatsuma and the Shadow Clone finished their seals, Hoshi chose to put Shinki in a defensive stance.

At this moment, Tatsuma and the Shadow Clone opened their mouths simultaneously. However, Tatsuma spat out a large mass of burning oil, while the Shadow Clone released a fierce gust of wind.

"Fire Release! Big Flame Bullet!"

"Wind Release! Great Breakthrough!"

Wind assisted the fire, and fire took advantage of the wind, creating a flame ball several times larger than the previous Flame Bullet. It spewed onto Shinki.

"Boom!"

In an instant, the combination of oil, flames, and intense wind resulted in a roaring combustion. The fire completely enveloped Shinki, and the dazzling, scorching flames even made Tatsuma, the caster, involuntarily step back.

The Shadow Clone, depleted of Chakra, turned into a cloud of smoke and was immediately dispersed by the air set ablaze.

However, the exploding flames did not ignite a widespread fire in the surrounding trees, preventing a forest blaze. Tatsuma breathed a sigh of relief, as extinguishing a forest fire would be extremely challenging. In the current Land of Rivers' forests, there were many Konoha Ninjas, and if they were affected, it would pose a serious problem.

The explosion came swiftly and dissipated just as quickly. Soon, Hoshi and Shinki reappeared before Tatsuma. At this point, Shinki had landed on its back, its eight limbs sprawled in the air.

Hoshi's clothes were now tattered and torn, with large patches of bloodstains all over his body. However, Tatsuma wasn't concerned about that. What caught Tatsuma's attention was the continuous flow of sand from Hoshi's body.

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