Chiyo was trapped in an endless loop—witnessing the Iron Sand Body Clones of "Sakumo Hatake" repeatedly decapitating her son and daughter, and "Sasori" piercing through the chest of the Third Kazekage again and again.
Even though Chiyo destroyed all these Iron Sand Body Clones, they immediately reassembled and resumed their gruesome cycle.
At the same time, Chiyo couldn't concentrate at all. Her hands trembled, making it difficult for her to control her puppets. Out of the ten Chikamatsu Collection puppets, only five remained functional now.
What Chiyo didn't realize was that Shindai was no longer floating in the air.
At this moment, Shindai had already blended into those Iron Sand Body Clones, disguising himself as one of them using the Transformation Jutsu.
Just when Chiyo, eyes bloodshot with grief, destroyed one of the "Sakumo Hatake" clones, the clone of her "son" tightly gripped an iron sand spear and suddenly lunged toward Chiyo's chest.
Chiyo's sorrow didn't dull her combat instincts. Possessing formidable Taijutsu skills, she swatted the iron sand spear from the "son's" hand with a single slap, then clenched her fist and smashed it straight into the "son's" body.
"Mother—"
Chiyo's movement froze instantly.
"Heh, you old hag! Caught you off guard, didn't I? Have a taste of this slap!"
Waiting patiently nearby for his opportunity, Shindai suddenly dashed forward, raised his right hand high, and slapped Chiyo hard across the face.
Shindai's full-force slap contorted Chiyo's face in pain. Blood spurted from her mouth as she spat out a mouthful, and her body went flying backward.
Seizing the moment Chiyo flew backward, Shindai activated Magnet Release: Iron Sand Wings again, rocketing into the sky and putting plenty of distance between them—no chance for retaliation.
At the same time, Shindai's chakra threads were attached to something within the blood Chiyo had spat out.
Soaring back up, Shindai stretched out his arms and took a deep breath with a triumphant grin. "That felt awesome!"
The mission was a total success—not only did Chiyo lose her composure, but he finally delivered that long-awaited slap.
Although there had been some risk involved, the thrill more than justified it.
Shindai fixed his gaze on the object his chakra threads had adhered to—it was a tooth Chiyo had just spit out.
"Hehe, you old hag, your teeth are seriously loose—one slap and you're already losing a tooth! I'll keep this one. Next time I see Sasori, I'll hand it over as spoils of war and gloat like crazy. Alright then, I'm out—feel like stopping me? I'll give you a shot, how about that?"
Chiyo, covering her swollen right cheek, glared at Shindai with pure hatred.
Shindai chuckled mockingly, "Don't look at me like that. I know I can't kill you. I didn't come here to kill you anyway—I just wanted to annoy you. I know your senile mind must be all cloudy and forgetful, so I specially helped you recall some memories. How about it? Do you like this big gift?
Alright then, I won't bother you anymore. You really look like a stray dog—no, you *are* one now. After all, even your own grandson despises you and abandoned the Sand Village. Now you're completely alone.
I'm such a kind youth, always respecting the elderly and caring for the young~ So next time when you start forgetting things again, I'll come visit once more and help you refresh your memory. No need to thank me~
Looks like you aren't planning to stop me, so I'll take my leave first. Bye-bye~"
Controlling Kannazuki, Shindai flew off in his intended direction, preparing to retrieve the puppet.
[Puppet Technique: String Saber Strike!]
Chiyo affixed Chakra threads from her right hand to Kannazuki. Following its flight into the sky, she suddenly swung her left hand hard, manipulating five puppets to attack Shindai.
"You think something like this will stop me? Not gonna happen."
Shindai ascended higher, then dispersed the entire body of Kannazuki into Iron Sand Body particles, which began raining downward.
Chiyo's expression was both furious and helpless.
She couldn't even strike Shindai, and his Magnet Release was naturally effective against her puppets.
Shindai had extremely proficient control over Magnet Release. In terms of mastery alone, he might already rival the Third Kazekage.
If they allowed Shindai to continue developing further, he would inevitably reach the level of strength possessed by the Third Kazekage.
And paired with these puppets ideally suited for a Magnet Release ninja… That makes him a critical threat indeed.
To prevent the remaining five Chikamatsu Collection puppets from being contaminated and disabled by the iron sand, Chiyo activated her scroll and sealed them inside.
Meanwhile, Chiyo herself was forced back down to the ground.
The Iron Sand that had once been Kannazuki began to reassemble itself. Shindai unrolled another scroll and sealed Kannazuki back inside.
"Well then, see you later~"
Flapping his Iron Sand wings, Shindai showily performed a 360-degree aerial spin before flying away.
Kakashi, Obito, and Rin Nohara, who had been peeping, quietly withdrew as well after seeing Shindai depart.
Chiyo stood frozen in place for a very long time. Despite trying to suppress it, images continued flooding her mind—Sakumo Hatake repeatedly beheading her own son and daughter, Sasori piercing through the Third Kazekage's chest again and again.
Now, she seemed utterly crushed under an invisible burden, stooping even lower than before.
At this moment, Chiyo felt no anger within her heart—only deep disappointment and self-blame.
She had failed to protect Sasori's parents, failed to protect Sasori himself, and failed to properly educate him.
If only she had noticed Sasori's warning signs earlier, if only she had reached out sooner, perhaps none of this would have come to pass.
Chiyo looked at the shattered remains of "Shin's father" and "mother" scattered on the ground, mixed with remnants of Iron Sand Body material.
Gently, Chiyo picked up each fragment one by one and sealed them into an empty scroll.
Next, she examined the five immobilized puppets from the Chikamatsu Collection.
Though paralyzed, they weren't severely damaged. As long as the infiltrating Iron Sand Body material was removed and broken parts repaired or replaced, they could be restored.
After sealing these five puppets into the scroll, Chiyo let out a deep sigh. Suddenly feeling drained, she rubbed her sore right cheek and walked toward the Land of Wind, her silhouette carrying a hint of loneliness.
...
Shindai lay on the ground gasping for breath.
Constant use of Magnet Release techniques, combined with sustaining several Iron Sand Body Clones, had completely drained him. Unlike a Jinchuriki, he had no access to a tailed beast's chakra reserves. Even though Iron Sand Body Clones consumed far less chakra than Shadow Clones, this excessive usage still exhausted his reserves.
His chakra stores were now completely depleted—he probably couldn't even perform a single basic technique anymore.
Yet thinking about Chiyo's disgusted expression and that slap across his face made Shindai burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha…"
However, before Shindai could laugh for long, three masked faces—no, rather, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin Nohara's heads—appeared above him in his field of vision.
Kakashi looked particularly annoyed, glaring at Shindai with piercing eyes.
"You still have the nerve to laugh? Aren't you going to explain everything that just happened?"
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