Naruto: The White Spider of the Leaf

A creaking sound. Faint, rhythmic. Almost… mechanical.

My breath hitched. 

No. No way.

From the canopy above, dark shapes loomed, shifting unnaturally in the mist. Puppets.

Then, a voice, smooth and laced with malice.

"I was beginning to wonder when you'd notice."

I looked up sharply. A middle-aged woman with dark blue hair stood perched on a branch, the shadows of her ten puppets coiled around her like waiting beasts dressed in white garbs. 

Lady Chiyo!

Oh, FUCK!

"Well, time to die now."

Lady Chiyo's voice cut through the rain, cold and absolute. With a flick of her fingers, the ten puppets surrounding her shot forward, each one targeting a different member of our squadron. Blades gleamed in the pale moonlight, dripping with poison, their segmented limbs moving with terrifying precision.

"Scatter!" Minato shouted, reaching for a kunai, but before anyone could break formation, Yukino's voice rang out, urgent and commanding.

"No! Huddle up! Now!"

There was no hesitation. In an instant, we were pressed together in a tight circle, back to back, weapons drawn. The puppets descended from all directions, claws and scythes poised to carve through us as they fell towards us from above.

Yukino moved.

With a burst of chakra, she leaped into the air above our heads, twisting her body fluidly as her hands outstretched and she spun.

"Rotation—Revolving Heaven!"

A sphere of chakra erupted around her mid-air, spiraling with incredible force. The puppets met the rotation head-on, and the impact sent a shockwave rippling outward, shattering the incoming assault. Wooden limbs bounced off and metal blades flew off-course, crashing into the trees and ground around them. The force of the technique sent the puppets skidding back, severing their assault completely.

Yukino landed lightly on the drenched soil and exhaled, glaring at Chiyo in the treeline. 

"Nice one, Yukino!" I called out, giving her a thumbs up.

Our group immediately shifted back into a defensive stance, eyes locked with the puppeteer above. Chiyo's expression was unreadable as she flicked her fingers, recalling the puppets.

"Impressive," she mused, her voice laced with something between amusement and genuine intrigue. "A Hyuuga at such a young age having already mastered the Revolving Heaven—But tell me, how many times can you use that before your chakra runs dry?"

Silence fell over the group. The rain continued to pour, mingling with the tension in the air. I swallowed hard. That was the kind of question you didn't want to hear in the middle of a fight.

Yukino herself said nothing, her Byakugan locked onto Chiyo as she signalled us with her hand behind her back, "No. Other. Enemies. Nearby. Just. Her." 

If that was true, then it was a relief. Chiyo alone will already be more than we can handle. We do have win conditions, though it's just a matter of survival until we can either use them or escape. The problem with the latter option is that I don't know if Minato can teleport 10 people at once at this point or not.

"Hey, are you guys good?" I muttered, keeping my voice low.

"Define good," Inoichi murmured back, his stance tense. His usual easy confidence had a sharp edge to it now. I'm sure he knew exactly how dangerous a puppeteer of Chiyo's caliber was.

"We need to move," Shikaku said, his voice clipped. His sharp eyes flicked over the battlefield, calculating, analyzing. "The longer we stay bunched up, the easier it is for her to swarm us."

"Yeah, well, easier said than done," Shinichi muttered. "She's got enough numbers and the reach to confront each of us. Who the hell is she?"

"There's only one ten puppet master I've read about in the reports." Minato spoke. "The leader of Sunagakure's Puppet Brigade, Lady Chiyo."

"L–Lady Chiyo?!" Nawaki nearly shouted. "But that's the scary woman my sister is always annoyed about! The one making all of the Sand's strong poisons!" 

"Don't focus on who she is, focus on the battle." Fugaku stepped forward, his Sharingan glinting. "We have to take control of the pace and not just react, otherwise she'll slaughter us like she did these Rock Shinobi."

"And how do you propose we do that?" Choza rumbled, shifting his weight slightly. "She's got us on the defensive."

A soft creak. A flick of fingers. "What are you kids babbling on about amongst yourselves?"

The puppets moved.

I barely had time to register the attack before they shot forward again, faster, more precise. The puppets weren't coming in reckless waves this time—they moved like a coordinated pack, their bladed limbs gleaming as they slashed toward us from every direction.

"Nawaki!" Fugaku shouted as he started doing hand seals himself.

"Already on it!" Nawaki shouted too as he grabbed his hands together in a tight hold. "Wood Style: Great Forest Wall!"

From the ground beneath us, thick wooden branches erupted outward like serpents that reached above the canopy. They twisted and coiled, forming a protective barrier just in time to intercept the incoming puppets. Metal scraped against bark as the deadly constructs were forced back, some even getting temporarily entangled in the dense weave of wood.

"Don't just stand there—counterattack!" Fugaku ordered, his voice cutting through the rain. "Uchiha! Fire formation, now!"

Mikoto ran out. "On it!"

"A–Alright!" Shinichi said, rushing out from the other side.

The Uchiha trio sprang into action beyond the wall of trees right as they gave us breathing room. Fugaku, Mikoto, and Shinichi moved as one. A blur of dark uniforms and flashing red eyes. They formed a wide arc around Chiyo's puppets, hands moving in sync.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Three enormous spheres of blazing flame erupted from the depths of their lungs, illuminating the stormy evening with a fiery glow. The heat was instant as it turned the icy rain to vapor. The combined inferno surged forward as it slammed into the mass of puppets with a deafening roar. Explosions of fire and steam filled the air as several of Chiyo's creations were engulfed in the fire.

But Chiyo was unfazed.

With a rapid flick of her fingers, her puppets adjusted instantly. Some twisted mid-air, their segmented limbs folding in precise angles to evade the flames. Others deployed shields of reinforced metal, blocking the worst of the heat. They spread out in a defensive pattern rather than a clustered mass.

Fugaku clicked his tongue. "She adapted fast. Doesn't matter. Keep pushing," he commanded. "Minato, Shirokumo—now!"

Minato and I didn't wait. The moment the fireballs forced Chiyo's puppets to reposition, we shot forward, using the flame cover to close the distance. My heart pounded as my feet barely touched the ground, water splashing beneath my boots as electricity coursed through my legs. Minato was beside me, kunai in hand, but we weren't aiming for the puppets.

We were aiming for her.

Chiyo's eyes flicked toward us just as we closed in. For a split second, her fingers twitched—she was preparing to counter after the fire style, but we weren't about to let her.

Minato vanished in a flicker of motion, reappearing mid-air above her, his kunai flashing toward her neck. I went low, driving forward with a burst of chakra-enhanced speed, aiming straight for her stomach with my blade.

One strike from two angles.

Lady Chiyo, for the first time, frowned.

Her fingers moved like the gears of a well-oiled machine and forced three of the puppets to launch back and in between us in an instant. They intercepted both me and Minato with ease, pushing us back and forcing us to dodge a barrage of poisoned needles that riddled several trees full of poisonous liquids before we could properly get out of the way.

With the fire style having dissipated, the air reeked of damp earth and burning wood. Steam curled from the scorched ground where our team's fire jutsu had failed to land a decisive blow on her constructs. Chiyo's ten puppets stood unmarred, some having twisted and flipped impossibly mid-air to evade, others raising their bladed limbs to shield themselves from the flames. Not a single one had been destroyed.

I felt a chill crawl down my spine.

Fugaku's jaw clenched. "She's reading us."

Mikoto's Sharingan swirled. "More than that. She's controlling the pace."

"What the hell is this monster!?" Shinichi paced backwards.

A flick of Chiyo's fingers and the puppets lunged again.

They were faster. Smoother. It was like the last exchange had just been her warming up. Now, they moved like they had minds of their own—snapping, slicing, twisting between us like water flowing through cracks.

Yukino barely had time to leap backward as a puppet's clawed hand slammed into the ground where she'd stood, the impact leaving a jagged scar in the mud. Another lashed at her from the side. She spun, dodging in a hair's breadth, her Byakugan picking up movements the rest of us could barely register.

She struck out with her Gentle Fist arts, fingertips glowing with chakra as she hit the puppet's chest, aiming to disrupt its mechanisms.

Nothing.

It twisted unnaturally, its joints unhindered. The damn thing didn't have chakra points, so unless she struck it with enough force to break it apart from the inside out, then her taijutsu style wouldn't work. Truly a bad matchup.

A third puppet came for her from above. She barely had time to pivot.

"Choza!" Shikaku barked.

"On it!"

"Partial Expansion Jutsu!"

Choza's arm bulged as he swung out, intercepting the puppet with raw force. It skidded backward, digging furrows in the earth—but instead of collapsing, it reoriented itself instantly. The blade lashed again.

Choza's eyes widened at the speed of it. 

A shadow flicked under the puppet's feet.

"Shadow Imitation: Capture!"

Shikaku's jutsu took hold, a web of shadows locking the puppet in place as they wrapped around it—but before we could react and tear it apart—

SNAP

The chakra strings tightened, cracking the puppet's wooden joints as Chiyo forcefully broke it free.

Shikaku paled. "She overpowered my hold physically—?!"

The puppet turned on him in an instant.

Inoichi shoved him aside just before a blade came down and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio started pacing about to evade the consecutive attacks of the puppet.

A blur of motion cut through the chaos—Uchiha steel flashing as Fugaku, Mikoto, and Shinichi swept in. Their Sharingan eyes burned crimson, tracking the puppets' movements with an unnatural clarity.

Mikoto struck first. A kunai flashed in her hand, slicing through the air toward a puppet's shoulder joint. The steel clashed against lacquered wood with a sharp clang, but before the puppet could counter, she pivoted. Fire chakra surged through her lungs.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

Small but precise fireballs spat out from her mouth, weaving through the air like embers caught in a storm. They struck a cluster of puppets, setting their white cloaks alight. The flames licked at their wooden frames, but before they could spread, Chiyo's chakra strings twitched and the puppets rolled through the mud, snuffing the flames out as quickly as they'd started.

"Fire really won't work, will it?" Mikoto muttered, eyes narrowing.

"Then our flames must burn hotter!" Fugaku said, stepping forward. He inhaled deeply, hands forming seals.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

A roaring sphere of flames blasted forward again, and its searing heat warped the air. The puppet in its path twisted unnaturally, dodging at an angle no living opponent could. The fireball just missed, crashing into the mud and sending up a wave of steam.

Before Fugaku could adjust, another puppet lunged. A spinning blade shot toward him—only for Shinichi to intercept, his kunai flicking up in a precise arc. Metal clashed with metal, sparks flying as he knocked the attack aside.

"They're adapting too fast," Shinichi growled. "This is crazy!"

Before another could strike, Nawaki slammed his hands together.

"Wood Release: Binding Roots!"

Thick, gnarled roots erupted from the earth, surging toward the nearest puppet like grasping fingers. One tendril coiled around its limb, dragging it down, while another wrapped around its torso, straining to crush it. The puppet jerked and thrashed—but then, with a sharp pull of her fingers, Chiyo tightened the strings yet again.

CRACK!

The puppet ripped itself free, the sheer force of her chakra snapping through the wood like brittle twigs. Nawaki's eyes widened. "She—she just—"

Rain scattered as the group scrambled, each locked in a separate struggle.

Yukino twisted mid-air, dodging, countering, but unable to land a decisive hit. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio were trying to support each other, but Chiyo's absolute control over her puppets kept breaking their formation apart. 

The Uchiha weren't faring any better, and Nawaki's wood techniques only bought them slivers of breathing room before the puppets broke through, anyway.

And Chiyo herself?

She hadn't moved from her perch.

She was doing this all with a single hand. Me and Minato just couldn't reach her as any time we got close, she yanked several puppets to push us back and then sent them back toward the others. 

Truthfully, I had no time to process what the others were up to at this point, I kind of had my hands full with what was happening on my side! 

A flick of Chiyo's fingers, and a puppet lunged straight for me. I'd already prepared my steel wire and tried to entangle it mid-air. Restrain and Destroy felt like a proper step by step procedure, but the damn thing opened a compartment up and out it came an arm that sliced straight through my wire with its saw blade! 

How do you even have the time to process all these fights happening simultaneously that you can do even that?! 

Lightning surged through my kunai as I parried the next blow, barely avoiding the razor-edged fingers that snapped shut where my throat had been. With another flick of Chiyo's fingers, a total of three of her puppets lunged straight for me. One from the left, another from the right, and the third dropping down from above—each angle cut off, each attack perfectly synchronized. 

Going for an elimination finally, are we? 

I gritted my teeth and pressed my fingers together. 

Shadow Clone Jutsu! 

Three copies of myself burst into existence and moved. One intercepted the puppet from the left, its kunai clashing against steel; another met the rightmost puppet head-on, lightning crackling through its blade; the last leapt high, aiming to stop the one descending from above. For a fleeting moment, the clones held the assault at bay—then the puppets' mechanisms clicked. Hidden compartments snapped open, releasing poisoned needles and whirring saw blades that tore through my clones like paper. They popped out of existence in bursts of smoke, leaving me exposed once again—

I twisted, kunai crackling with lightning as I deflected the first strike, but the second and third were already closing in, claws gleaming with poison—

Too fast—!

Then a different type of kunai whistled through the air.

Not at the puppets.

At Chiyo.

Minato's kunai sped toward her, the blonde blur of his form already in motion. At the same time, another kunai shot out, embedding itself in a tree behind us.

Before I could react, his hand clamped onto my shoulder.

Hand seal—!

The world lurched.

One instant, I was staring death in the face. Next, my feet hit solid wood. The three puppets' claws sliced through the empty air where I'd just been.

We were at the tree. Minato had teleported us the moment his kunai struck.

But he wasn't done.

Chiyo leaned slightly to the side, dodging the first kunai—but in that same breath, Minato vanished again, reappearing mid-air, his fingers already closing around the very kunai she had just evaded.

Her eyes widened.

"Flying Thunder God - Second Step!"

With a swift twist of his wrist, Minato slashed.

Chiyo moved.

For the first time in this battle, she actually moved, twisting off her branch as Minato's kunai sliced past where her arm had been a heartbeat before. It wasn't a desperate dodge—it was controlled, measured—but it was the first time she'd been forced to react rather than dictate.

Minato landed smoothly on the same branch she had just vacated, eyes locked on her.

"I see," he murmured. "You're not untouchable after all."

Chiyo's sleeve got a clean cut across it. 

"To think there is a brat like you using that man's technique in this day and age." Chiyo said, staring strangely at Minato. Her expression was unreadable, but for the briefest moment I could have sworn I saw her lips press just a little thinner. "It seems I'll have to eliminate you here and now before you grow into a sore spot on our back." 

…