Chapter 1022

"Mm, let me correct one thing—you're not just weak..." The blade in her hand rose and stabbed straight up through "Crow's" chin, destroying the hidden thousand-bolt launcher mechanism concealed in its mouth along the way, its momentum undiminished as it drove upward and pierced clean through the entire head.

"You're also extremely annoying!"

With a flick of her wrist, Scorpion sliced off "Crow's" pierced head, taking half a shoulder with it, but she wasn't done yet—immediately after, she raised her foot and kicked the puppet in the abdomen; a flash of purple light appeared, and with a clang, the already battered puppet exploded out of thin air, leaving a mess of fragments on the ground.

"It's not over yet—at this level alone..." Kankuro didn't give up; his chakra threads were still connected to "Crow," or rather to some part of it. The next moment, the fragments scattered through the air released a massive cloud of poison fog, surrounding Scorpion.

"Temari, now's your chance!" Not expecting these poisons to have any real effect on Scorpion, all Kankuro wanted was to temporarily obscure his opponent's line of sight—after all, Temari off to the side had actually been preparing for quite some time.

"Wind Release: Great Sickle Weasel, Summoning Slash Dance Technique!"

Temari swung her fan—bigger than she was—toward Scorpion's direction, and the once windless desert instantly whipped up a storm that surged toward Scorpion. Hidden within the billowing yellow sand were multiple summoned sickle weasels, the sickles in their hands sharp enough to cut through almost anything, flickering in and out of view within the raging wind.

In an instant, the poisonous smoke surrounding Scorpion was blown away, and the gale swept through everything at Scorpion's position. This was the first time Temari had used this technique in actual combat—a jutsu that required such a long charge-up time while simultaneously coordinating with summoning arts. After all, in terms of power, this move was enough to inflict serious damage on Gaara!

"With this... recovering 'Crow' is going to be quite difficult." The storm raged for a while before gradually subsiding. In the original battle plan, because Temari's technique required such a long preparation time, its execution had to rely on Kankuro using puppets and their expendable nature to buy time for it to be feasible. Originally meant as a technique for when Gaara lost control, it was now being used against a traitor who had left the village and vanished for many years.

"Something's wrong—Kankuro, dodge!" From within the settled wind came a discordant sensation. Temari suddenly realized the matter wasn't over yet, and without a thought for herself, she lunged straight at her brother, who hadn't reacted yet.

"Puchi—!"

A blade that appeared out of thin air stabbed straight through her from behind, but because of Temari's desperate lunge, the blade's forward trajectory shifted slightly, only grazing past Kankuro's side.

"B-Big Sis?" Holding the motionless Temari, fear rose in Kankuro's heart.