Sasori of the Red Sands and the Human Puppet
Sasori's residence was not far from here. The Third Kazekage did not notify anyone. After leaving the Sunagakure Central Tower, he walked around several streets and arrived at Sasori's Home's doorstep.
"Knock knock knock..." After knocking on the door, the door opened shortly afterward.
There was no one in front of the Third Kazekage. After he walked in, he glanced to the side and saw Infant-sized Puppet, which was connected to a doorknob by Steel Wire. It was obviously this simple puppet that had been controlled by someone to open the door for him.
After the Third Kazekage entered, the puppet glanced behind him and, finding no one else, activated the mechanism in its hand again. With a soft "clang," the door to Sasori's house closed.
"So it's Lord Kazekage. May I ask what brings you here?"
Ten meters from the door, near the window, a short, red-haired boy was busy at a table without turning around to look at him. Various puppet parts were visible on the table, and it was clear that the one who had spoken was this somewhat strange boy.
"Scorpion, at least show me some respect." The Third Kazekage frowned slightly. This grandson of Chiyo was indeed exceptionally talented, but he always gave off a cold feeling, as if he didn't care about anything around him and only had those lifeless puppets in his eyes.
Hearing this, Scorpion stopped what he was doing and even got up to pour a glass of water and place it on the guest table. "You are quite a rare guest. May I ask what important matter you wish to discuss?" His face was expressionless, and no one could sense any respect he had for the Village Chief.
The Third Kazekage was unaware that this was the boy's personality. Perhaps Puppeteer have their own quirks; after all, there are many similar individuals in the Puppet Squad. Sasori is just one of the more extreme examples. If it's due to the unique nature of a genius, it can be explained.
"The village's recent clashes with Konoha haven't gone smoothly, especially since Konoha has started developing targeted tactics against Puppeteer. This makes me a little uneasy, so I came to ask for your opinion."
"Oh?" Sasori became interested upon hearing this, and took the document from the Third Kazekage before carefully examining it.
A moment later, he tossed it onto the table. "This is normal. The ninjas of Konoha aren't fools. These actions might be troublesome for those mediocre people, but I don't care." After saying that, he ignored the Third Kazekage and returned to the table to adjust the puppet.
"Scorpion, you'd better not belittle your own village's elders like that." The Third Kazekage's expression turned serious. "If Sunagakure wants to become strong, the strength of each individual is crucial. Konoha's overall strength has already surpassed ours by a great deal. Only by uniting can we compete with them."
Sasori's hands didn't stop, and he replied with unusual calm, "Is that so? Another competition with Konoha? How boring. Life is wasted on these meaningless things. It's better to pursue the eternal beauty of a puppet."
The Third Kazekage's expression changed slightly upon hearing this. "How could you have such dangerous thoughts? I know your parents' sacrifice in the battle against Konoha made you very sad, and given that those were enemy corpses, it was only because you made an exception and created the Hiruko."
"You'd better stop this taboo behavior right away, otherwise if the rest of the village finds out, it will be a fatal blow to the unity of Sunagakure..."
What made the Third Kazekage change color instantly was, of course, the Human Puppet that this genius Puppeteer had been developing in recent years. Initially, when Sasori was researching, he maintained a wait-and-see attitude because Sasori's parents were both heroes who died in battle for Sunagakure, and his grandmother Chiyo was the leader of the Puppet Squad, holding a very high position in Sunagakure. Therefore, he did not interrupt this slightly outrageous behavior.
To his surprise, Sasori actually succeeded in developing Human Puppet. In terms of results, this was a huge improvement for Puppeteer. Human Puppet that could retain the chakra of a ninja in life had combat capabilities far exceeding those of ordinary puppets. Logically speaking, Sunagakure could have taken off from this point.
However, the Third Kazekage immediately realized the uncontrollable risks involved when he thought about the immense temptation this technology would bring to boost combat power.
Turning people into puppets is already a rather perverse act; if this were to become widespread, all Puppeteer might go mad.
The other ninjas in Sunagakure might develop a huge psychological rift with the Puppet Squad, fearing that these people would one day turn them into Human Puppet after they die. The thought of that was chilling, and there would be no unity left in Sunagakure, eventually turning it into a village that was neither human nor ghost.
Therefore, he immediately blocked the news, and the Human Puppet technique was also listed as Forbidden Jutsu under his orders; it was absolutely forbidden for the village to start using it.
"Scorpion, you'd better stop now, or I'll take you into custody immediately." The Third Kazekage's tone changed, but remembering that this person before him was the only top genius of Sunagakure's generation, his voice softened slightly. "I've already given orders to the other high-ranking officials that more resources will be invested in the Puppet Squad from now on, and the village will also increase its efforts in training you, you..."
Just then, numerous Fuinjutsu techniques appeared on the floor of the room, with the Third Kazekage himself at the center.
He immediately sensed something was wrong. As a top expert, he would naturally reserve chakra in case of emergency, but at this moment, the chakra in his body began to run out of control.
Before he could even move his Iron Sand, the puppet behind him controlling the gate fired a barrage of Hidden Weapons, which pierced him at lightning speed, rendering him immobile.
Most of the Hidden Weapons tore through his White Robe, making a clanging sound, but these attacks were blocked by the Iron Sand covering his entire body.
However, a few Hidden Weapons struck the back of his head; although the penetration was not deep, it was still fatal.
"You actually did this to me..." The Third Kazekage said with a ferocious expression. The strong Toxin directly invaded his brain, and his vision began to blur. The Iron Sand on his body uncontrollably slid down.
Sasori wore a cold smile. "I don't know whether I should thank the Konoha Ninja, otherwise you, the strongest Kazekage, wouldn't have come unprepared. But the Konoha Ninja are my enemies. This short life is truly boring."
"What powerful and wonderful chakra! You should thank me. I will make you exist as an eternal work of art, and you will be my most perfect collectible."
Two days later, the Sunagakure's Meeting Room was full of people. Some looked slightly flustered, while others had their brows furrowed. The atmosphere was no longer as calm as before.
"Report!" A ninja rushed into the Meeting Room, panting. Most of the elders ignored his rudeness and stared at him intently. "We've searched the entire village, but we haven't found Lord Kazekage."
"Damn it, how could this happen!" A middle-aged elder slammed his fist on the table, gritting his teeth as he spoke. "He was the strongest Kazekage in history! Why did this happen? Even if it was an emergency and he needed to leave, he would have notified us!"
The high-ranking officials of Sunagakure began to discuss it intensely. This was the first time in the Shinobi World that the Kage of a village had disappeared within its own village. If other countries found out, Sunagakure would probably become a laughing stock of the whole world.
"Immediately suppress this news, and mobilize the entire Anbu to search the Land of Land of Wind." After a long discussion, an elder made a decision on behalf of everyone, "Have Tosha impersonate the Lord Kazekage to stabilize the situation in the village. Do not enter a full state of alert for now, otherwise it will cause panic."
"Yes!"