HGBW: Ch. 136

Chiyo was sent flying by Tsunade's powerful strike. As she suffered severe injuries and coughed up blood, several Suna jonin instantly flashed to her side. By the time she landed, she was already surrounded by a tight formation of Suna ninjas.

"Chiyo-sama, are you alright?"

This made Tsunade, who had originally planned to go in for the finishing blow, hesitate. Likewise, many Konoha ninjas who had wanted to take advantage of the situation and finish off Chiyo decided to abandon the idea.

"I'm not dead yet!"

Chiyo's face was pale, and both her lips and clothes were soaked with blood, but her gaze remained sharp.

Seeing Chiyo quickly get back on her feet despite her injuries, the surrounding Suna ninjas initially felt relieved, but their expressions soon darkened—especially the puppet masters among them.

When they noticed that one of the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets had been shattered by Tsunade's attack, they all looked heartbroken, as if their own puppets had been destroyed.

"It's not a big deal."

Chiyo glanced at the broken puppet. Though her eyes were filled with shadows, there was no trace of sorrow on her face.

For most puppet masters, their puppets were akin to a jinchūriki's tailed beast—losing one was not only painful but could greatly weaken them in battle. This was especially true for puppet users like Kankurō, who couldn't craft their own puppets and had to rely on inherited ones.

But Chiyo was no ordinary puppet master.

Even though the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets were exceptionally powerful, she could repair or even recreate them herself. It didn't matter if Tsunade had destroyed one. Even if all ten were obliterated, as long as she had the materials and time, she could build a new set from scratch.

Because of this, Chiyo's first reaction upon seeing the puppet break wasn't distress—it was immediate action. She leaped to her feet, eyes burning with killing intent, and roared:

"Kill them all!"

"No matter how much of a genius he is, how much chakra can he possibly have?"

"Didn't you see? He stopped moving. He's used spatial jumps over thirty times—his chakra must be nearly depleted, if not entirely drained."

"Now is the time to take him down."

Chiyo's furious command spurred the Suna ninjas into action. Despite her injuries, she herself charged forward, commanding the remaining nine puppets as she once again engaged in battle with Tsunade.

At this stage in the war, the outcome of the battle had become clear.

In terms of sheer numbers, Konoha and Suna's forces were evenly matched. However, when it came to battles at the Kage level, it was a different story.

Suna had Chiyo and Ebizō—two Kage-level combatants.

Meanwhile, Konoha was spread thin, struggling against the combined forces of Suna, Iwa, and Kumo attacking from three different fronts. Their elite Kage-level ninjas were stretched too far to reinforce every battlefield.

As for Tanaka, while his combat ability was undeniably at the Kage-level, his youth was a disadvantage—his body hadn't fully matured, and his chakra reserves were limited.

For a short period, he could surpass even the average Kage-level fighter in battle, but he lacked the endurance for prolonged combat. Looking at the bigger picture, Chiyo believed that even though she had been heavily wounded by Tsunade, she still had the upper hand.

After all, she knew medical ninjutsu, and as long as her chakra hadn't been fully exhausted, Suna's chances of victory were still higher than Konoha's.

Because Ebizō was still in peak fighting condition.

Meanwhile, Tanaka, after instantly slaying 38 Suna ninjas, was already panting heavily. Sure enough, after hearing Chiyo's words, every Suna ninja instinctively turned their attention to Tanaka. They soon realized that she was right.

Not only was he gasping for breath, but most importantly—his Byakugan had been deactivated. The Byakugan, like all dōjutsu, consumed chakra when active. If his chakra wasn't nearly depleted, why would he deactivate his Byakugan in the middle of battle?

"Protect Tanaka-sama!"

More than a dozen Hyūga ninjas charged forward, disregarding their own lives as they rushed toward Tanaka. The reactions of the Konoha ninjas further confirmed Chiyo's analysis.

After going on an unstoppable rampage in the war, Tanaka truly had exhausted his chakra.

"Kill him!"

Many Suna ninjas launched a fierce assault from all directions, aiming to take down Tanaka. But Konoha's ninjas weren't ones to back down easily.

The Uchiha, Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans all joined forces. Especially the Inuzuka ninjas—who were counting on Tanaka to end the war and save their ninja dogs—stood their ground and formed a human wall, doing everything they could to block the Suna ninjas from getting close to Tanaka.

For the moment, though the Suna forces attacked relentlessly, only a handful managed to break through Konoha's defenses. And even those who did never got close to Tanaka—before they could reach him, they were swiftly cut down by the Hyūga clan members guarding him.

The only exception was Ebizō.

Even the Uchiha needed at least ten elite jonin, each possessing the three-tomoe Sharingan, just to hold their ground against him. And even then, they could only manage to keep him at bay.

Ebizō could fight whenever he wanted, retreat whenever he pleased, advancing and withdrawing freely. No number of Uchiha ninjas could truly stop him.

This was the weight of a Kage-level powerhouse.

Gathering enough bloodline jonin could indeed allow them to contend with him. If they had the time to set up a proper strategy—outnumbering him and laying an ambush—they might even be able to seriously wound him.

But this was a battlefield. This was a ninja war.

In such chaotic conditions, not to mention injuring Ebizō, even trying to pin him down was a challenge.

"Block him!"

Mikoto took the lead, her Sharingan spinning wildly as her fingers danced through hand seals. Sometimes, she unleashed the Uchiha clan's signature Fire Release techniques.

Other times, she used the clan's shuriken manipulation jutsu. She wielded various Uchiha battle techniques with ease.

With Mikoto leading the charge and other Uchiha ninjas backing her up, along with the Hyūga reinforcements arriving quickly, Ebizō, who had been steadily advancing toward Tanaka, finally slowed down.

This allowed Mikoto to breathe a small sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Tanaka remained calm and unhurried as he reached into his ninja pouch, took out a soldier pill, and placed it in his mouth. After chewing for a moment, he swallowed it.

"Damn it!"

"If we give him even a little time, his chakra will recover significantly!"

The Suna ninjas who were attempting to surround and kill him immediately noticed this, and their anxiety skyrocketed.

Only Ebizō remained unfazed. Even though he was being held back by the combined efforts of the Hyūga and Uchiha ninjas, his demeanor remained composed, as if he wasn't worried about Tanaka recovering his chakra at all.

"Give up, Chiyo. No matter how many times you try, Suna will never defeat Konoha."

"If the boy regains his chakra, in an instant, he could take down at least thirty more Suna ninjas. How many more of these attacks can you withstand?"

Tsunade, after confirming through her peripheral vision that Tanaka was safe, felt reassured. She immediately intensified her assault on Chiyo, applying overwhelming psychological pressure to force her into making a mistake while controlling her puppets.

In a Kage-level battle, every second mattered.

At such a high level, even the slightest moment of hesitation or pressure could determine the outcome of the fight.