Sasori

"... Shortly after parting ways with Sakura, we encountered the Akatsuki duo..."

That was a few years ago...

On the other side of the vast ocean.

"I wonder if Sakura has found anything?" Naruto muttered dejectedly as he walked through the Hayate, having found nothing.

Sasuke followed behind him, his clothes soaked through and looking disheveled.

He gazed at the darkness and the rain curtain obscuring the sun, and sighed, "Even if Sakura has made a discovery, I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to sense it, would we? With this heavy rain, even if we were fighting the Three-Tails right now, the storm would completely obscure any movement."

He stopped, squinted his Sharingan, and surveyed his surroundings, his breath coming in slightly gasps.

Naruto vigorously wiped the cold rainwater from his face with his left hand, then stopped.

Looking around, there was nothing but roaring waves and heavy rain.

"Let's go," Naruto sighed, "We'll have to go sooner or later—"

The change occurred in the blink of an eye during the boy's speech!

Whoosh whoosh!

Several dark figures suddenly sprang up from underwater, their swords flashing with a chilling light, aimed directly at the boys' unsuspecting groins!

The noisy rain and waves, along with the dim light, created excellent conditions for the ambush. The attackers remained hidden deep in the sea, extremely difficult to spot, so much so that Naruto and Sasuke didn't realize the danger until the moment of the surprise attack.

--No, Sasuke, with his greater combat experience, had already sensed something was wrong beforehand, which is why he suddenly stopped.

In the nick of time, lightning flashed around Sasuke, while Naruto's Chakra surged, instantly increasing their speed and narrowly dodging the sharp blade.

Boom!

The two reacted immediately and launched a counterattack. A Chidori Short Sword and a Rasengan struck the shadowy figure simultaneously. The attacker made a cracking sound like breaking wood and turned into countless fragments that flew in all directions.

"A puppet?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"It's that man, 'Scorpion of Xinjiang'!"

Naruto reacted faster than Sasuke this time because he had fought this enemy before...

That was last year, when he and Sakura Haruno fought side by side against this powerful enemy! (Chapters 264-268)

"He's a very dangerous puppeteer!" Naruto leaned against Sasuke's back and said in a deep voice.

"Hmph... I've heard of Sakura." Sasuke's expression turned serious, his lips twitched, and his eyes were fixed on the unknown beyond the rain curtain. "How unfortunate, it seems we've run into the enemy first!"

Despite the torrential rain and the freezing air, the two felt a cold sweat trickling down their foreheads...

"The Nine-Tails- Tails, and the remaining members of the Uchiha Clan?"

A faint voice drifted over, and Scorpion led a group of shadowy figures out slowly from behind the rain curtain, a faint smile appearing on his handsome face.

"How lucky! Not only did we capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, but we also got a superb puppet material as a bonus."

He licked his lips, his lifeless pupils scrutinizing the two with murderous intent, his powerful Chakra aura astonishing!

"So strong! "Sasuke's pupils contracted sharply.

Among the Akatsuki members, Sasuke had met Itachi, Orochimaru, and Kisame —each an incredibly strong ninja! Even the proud Sasori had to admit he wasn't yet capable of matching them. But this Sasori was no less powerful than any of the other Akatsuki members he'd ever encountered!

"Don't you guys always capture Tailed Beast in pairs?" Sasuke, keeping a close eye on Sasori while also nervously watching for any movement elsewhere. "Where's the other person? Come out!"

"Are you Kakuzu? He's up ahead capturing the Three-Tails." Sasori casually betrayed Kakuzu's information. "It's alright, I can handle both of you on my own!"

He smiled easily, his confident gaze showing no regard for Sasuke and Naruto.

Naruto's face flushed slightly, a flash of resentment crossing his eyes. Having undergone rigorous training, he was confident that he had grown stronger and could be considered a formidable fighter. Even if he couldn't defeat Sasori yet, he was certainly not to be underestimated!

Being so disregarded by the enemy, if it were the old Naruto, he would have already charged forward in a fit of hot-blooded rage. But now, Naruto calmly controlled his emotions, suppressed the turmoil in his heart, and exchanged a glance with Sasuke.

Without words, the two knew what the other wanted.

If Kakuzu is also here, then we should not think about anything else in this battle, just defend honestly until Sakura arrives as reinforcements;

But since Kakuzu is still entangled with the Three-Tails, it's not impossible to take a gamble with two against one!

War!

The boys launched their attack simultaneously in perfect unison:

Lightning Release: Chidori Demon Body Mode!

"Shadow Clone Technique!" "Rasengan Barrage!"

In an instant, a vast array of Shadow Clone Rasengan, each wielding a Rasengan, filled the entire sea. Among these densely packed clones, a figure gleaming with a blinding blue light stood out prominently!

"Interesting..." Scorpion narrowed his eyes slightly, realizing he might be starting to take a liking to these two.

However, the stronger Sasuke's power, the more powerful the Human Puppet he creates will be, right? With this thought, Sasori became even more excited, Chakra surged morbidly.

"Superior!"

"Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets!"

He retreated rapidly, but the numerous dark figures behind him suddenly grew larger and charged towards the two of them in a sweeping attack!

Boom boom boom!

Naruto's Shadow Clone have high attack but low defense; if pierced by a puppet, they immediately turn into white smoke and dissipate. However, the power of the Rasengan wielded by the clones is not diminished. Sasori's puppetry skills are extremely high; even his mass-produced puppets have high attack and defense, but they cannot withstand a single Rasengan. Therefore, in a battle between clones and puppets, whoever hits first wins. Although under Sasori's control, the puppets are more agile and numerous, Naruto's Shadow Clone are even more numerous!

The two sides clashed, resulting in a stalemate that turned into a scene where the puppet and Naruto were mutually draining Chakra!

The continuous explosions suppressed even the sound of the storm. Countless Shadow Clone exploded and died in the rain, turning into wisps of white smoke. Rasengan, scattering into debris. Both sides charged forward one after another, unafraid of death, creating an extremely heroic scene!

"They actually stopped us?" Scorpion was slightly surprised.

The fox spirit he remembered didn't fight like this. Where's the Tailed Beast Cloak?

Moreover, the number of his Shadow Clone is astounding, and their combat power is incredibly high! Sasori suddenly realized that compared to the Naruto who fought him last year, the current Naruto has improved his combat awareness by a great deal. He is no longer the rookie who only knew how to rely on the Tailed Beast Cloak to act tough!

What surprised Sasori even more was the fighting power of Naruto and Sasuke's true forms.

Leaving Naruto aside, Sasuke, having activated Lightning Release Mode, experienced a surge in both strength and speed. Combined with his Sharingan, he wreaked havoc among the puppet horde. His lightning sword could injure anyone who grazed it and kill anyone who struck it, leaving no enemy able to withstand even a single round!

Scorpion is too arrogant.

Naruto and Sasuke are both showing signs of breaking through to the Kage Level; all they lack is a lot of combat experience.

Do you think you can subdue Sasuke and Naruto fight side by side, with just a few puppets? Naruto isn't afraid of numbers, Sasuke can fight in terms of quality. Sasori is just daydreaming!

Before long, the Performance of a Hundred Puppets were decimated. Scorpion hurriedly gathered his remaining troops, feeling a pang of heartache.

Ever since Sakura Haruno destroyed a large number of his puppets, replenishing them had been a major worry for him. He finally managed to gather a new batch, only to have most of them wiped out by those two greenhorn brats!

"Damn it..." Scorpion's face was so dark it seemed like it could drip water, "He actually forced me to use 'this'!"

He took out a scroll from behind him.

"Round Two..."

"Yes, the last round!"

[Although you already know the outcome of the battle, let's try to create some suspense. One more chapter to go.]