160- I'm Offended

Chiyo glared at him, her eyes narrowing. "I should have known it was you causing this chaos," she spat. "Why are you here, Osaka? What is your purpose?"

Osaka's face remained unreadable. "I have my orders, Chiyo. Just as you have yours."

Chiyo's fists clenched. "Orders to destroy innocent lives? How far have you fallen, Osaka?"

Ignoring her question, Osaka shifted his stance slightly, his foot tapping the ground almost imperceptibly. Chiyo, anticipating another explosion, quickly formed a series of hand seals, creating a barrier of earth to shield the nearby civilians from the impending blast.

"BOOM!!!"

Another explosion rocked the area, even Chiyo's barrier was not spared since it was connected to the ground.

Chiyo's eyes narrowed as she observed Osaka carefully, assessing his movements and calculating her next move. Reaching into her pouch, she retrieved seven kunai, infusing each with her chakra. With a swift motion, she launched them toward Osaka.

"Whoosh!" the blades sounded as they slicked through the air.

Osaka stared intently at the approaching kunai, considering his options. As the kunai neared him, he noticed something unusual.

Suddenly, the kunai multiplied, their numbers increasing exponentially. His eyes widened in shock, realizing that he had underestimated Chiyo's skill.

Osaka attempted to dodge the kunai by shifting his body and sidestepping. Normally, such manoeuvres would have been sufficient, but against Chiyo, it was a different story.

Her subtle hand movements, almost imperceptible, guided the projectiles out of their usual trajectories, making them home in on Osaka with relentless precision.

He tried to evade the relentless barrage, but the kunai followed him with uncanny accuracy. In a desperate bid to escape, Osaka created small explosions beneath his feet, propelling himself into the air.

"Boom!!"

The blasts sent shockwaves through the ground, but despite his efforts, the kunai remained steadfast in their pursuit.

Osaka's situation grew increasingly dire as the kunai continued their relentless assault. Desperation took hold, and in a last-ditch effort, he flickered toward a group of nearby civilians, using them as human shields.

"Coward!" Chiyo shouted, her voice echoing with fury and disgust.

She halted her assault, her eyes burning with rage at Osaka's callous disregard for innocent lives.

Osaka smirked, "I'm actually offended that you thought such an attack could stop me," he taunted, trying to rile her up further.

Chiyo's hands almost trembled with barely contained anger. "Then let me indulge you," she said.

She reached beneath the grey cloak she was wearing and retrieved a scroll. Unfurling it quickly, she performed a series of hand seals. A cloud of smoke enveloped her, and when it cleared, three imposing puppets floated by her side.

'Shit'

Osaka's expression shifted from smugness to wariness. It was well known that while Chiyo's healing skills were good, her puppeteering skills were not that far behind.

Without wasting a moment, Chiyo commanded her puppets to attack. The first puppet, equipped with razor-sharp blades, lunged at Osaka with lightning speed. Osaka barely had time to react, dodging to the side as the blades sliced through the air with a whistling sound.

The second puppet, adorned with a multitude of hidden compartments, unleashed a barrage of senbon needles. Osaka tried to evade them but the needles were fast, grazing his arm. He winced in pain but maintained his composure.

The third puppet, larger and more imposing than the others, charged at Osaka with incredible force. Its fists, reinforced with metal plating, came crashing down toward him. Osaka narrowly avoided the devastating blow, the ground shattering beneath the impact.

"Boom!"

An explosion of debris and dust filled the air, obscuring Chiyo's vision momentarily. She focused her chakra, enhancing her connection with the puppets, guiding them with precision and finesse.

Osaka retaliated by tapping his foot on the ground, creating a localized explosion to disorient the puppets. The shockwave disrupted their movements momentarily, giving Osaka a brief respite. He capitalized on the opening, launching a series of explosive projectiles toward Chiyo.

Chiyo's puppets moved in perfect synchronization, intercepting the projectiles with their reinforced bodies. The explosions reverberated through the air, but the puppets remained undamaged.

Chiyo watched him, her brow furrowed in confusion. 'Why is he just dodging?' she wondered.

A shinobi of his calibre could fight back if he wanted to, so the fact that he was only evading her puppets' attacks grated on her thoughts.

Meanwhile, Osaka was calculating his next move.

'How do I get myself out of this situation? I have already done the bare minimum, just like the Tsuchikage wanted, but knowing Chiyo, she wouldn't let me off that easily. I only have one card left to play, let's see if she can fall for it.'

Osaka continued to dodge and evade the puppets' attacks, skillfully creating some distance between himself and the puppets. Of course, Chiyo realized this and did not give him any space to breathe. This was precisely the bait Osaka had thrown, and Chiyo had fallen for it.

'I can't destroy these puppets as it will be a waste of energy since I do not know how many puppets she has in store,' Osaka thought.

Just as the third puppet was about to land a blow on Osaka, a young boy appeared in front of him. It wasn't that the boy appeared suddenly, it was Osaka who had purposefully led the puppets there.

'Is he trying to use human shields again?' Chiyo thought as she realized that Osaka had led her to a residential area in Nagoya.

Yes, the town was under attack, and most citizens had been evacuated, but there were still some who remained, looking for their lost loved ones.

As Chiyo manoeuvred her puppets to avoid harming the boy, she noticed something disturbing.

'What is happening?' she thought, her eyes widening.

More and more civilians, who were present, suddenly started launching themselves at her and her puppets like feral dogs.

"What did you do to them, Osaka?" Chiyo shouted.

Osaka smirked, "What? You're attacking me with puppets, can't I do the same?"

This was another of Osaka's abilities. By Transmitting his chakra into the ground he could entrap anyone standing on a particular radius around him into a genjutsu.

It was like a reversal of his ability where he could affect the environment by transmitting his chakra through the ground. Fortunately or unfortunately it could only work on civilians as the resistance they could put up was worn down by Osaka's chakra.

Its most notable downside was that it was chakra intensive, the reason why Osaka had chosen to dodge Chiyo's attacks and not retaliate.

The civilians continued to charge at Chiyo and her puppets, forcing her to split her attention between controlling her puppets and defending against the frenzied townsfolk.

She expertly maneuvered her puppets to subdue the civilians without causing them harm, but it was a delicate balance that took immense concentration.

Osaka took advantage of the chaos, 'If I can keep her distracted long enough, I can escape.'

He tapped his foot on the ground, creating a small explosion that sent a shockwave through the area.

"Boom!"

The explosion created more confusion among the civilians, and some of them were knocked off their feet. Chiyo struggled to maintain control of the situation, her frustration mounting.

"Osaka, you won't get away with this!" she shouted, her voice echoing through the street.

"Watch me," Osaka replied coldly. He tapped his foot again, creating another explosion. This time, he used the momentum to propel himself away from Chiyo and her puppets, flickering through the smoke and debris.

'Where is he?'

Chiyo's eyes scanned the area, trying to locate Osaka through the haze. She directed her puppets to contain the civilians and then dashed after Osaka.

Osaka moved swiftly through the streets of Nagoya, his bare feet making minimal sound against the ground. His focus was on escaping. He was sure that he had done more than he was required to do for his mission

Chiyo was close on his heels, her speed allowing her to close the distance. Osaka tapped his foot again, sending another shockwave through the ground.

"Boom!"

The explosion created a massive crater, and Osaka used the debris to obscure his movements, flickering through the smoke and rubble.

As Chiyo closed in on Osaka, Chiyo noticed a flicker of movement to her right. She turned just in time to see Osaka hurling an explosive tag at her.

"Boom!"

The tag detonated, sending a wave of heat and pressure toward her. Chiyo leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding the brunt of the blast.

Osaka used the momentary distraction to gain more ground. Chiyo pushed herself harder, her legs burning with exertion. She couldn't let Osaka escape. As she rounded a corner, she saw him at the end of the street, his form silhouetted against the setting sun.

"Goodbye, Chiyo," he said.

He tapped his foot one last time, creating an explosion so powerful that it shattered the ground beneath him. "Boom!" The shockwave was immense, sending debris flying in all directions.

Chiyo shielded her eyes, her body bracing against the force of the blast. When the dust settled, Osaka was gone, leaving behind only destruction and chaos.

=====

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