The Art of Countering

Although he couldn't see clearly or understand what changes Itachi had undergone, Sasori knew that his opponent was no easy opponent.

"Hmph, a Sharingan and an Ice Release, looks like I've hit the jackpot today. You two will become some of my most prized collectibles!"

From afar, Sasori's smile always carried confidence as he controlled Hiruko to press towards the two from Konoha.

His flawless backstab attack had failed; that instant-cast Ice Release had truly taken him by surprise.

Although I didn't know that Haku was also Shuichi's disciple, this young man was not only highly skilled in Ninjutsu, but also a Medical Ninja Mystical Palm Technique.

In addition, Uchiha Itachi's perception and high-speed movement,

Hiruko, exposed by only one killing move, certainly cannot be dealt with. If she is hit by the combination of Ice Release and Wind Release, it would be unfortunate if her main body were to die unexpectedly.

Therefore, after the sneak attack, his true form jumped out, immediately took out a Scroll, and activated it. The character "three" on it burst out with blue smoke.

A dark-haired humanoid puppet floated beside him, its mouth mechanism activated.

Countless fine black sand particles hissed as they gently rubbed together, surrounding the area. "I'll finish you off with this ultimate masterpiece!"

The enemy voices coming from afar didn't sound like adults.

Itachi showed no surprise, turned around to observe carefully, and saw Chakra Threads connecting Hiruko's back.

Calmly assessing the situation, he thought, "A former S-rank rogue ninja from Sunagakure, Sasori of the Red Sands?"

Shuichi would naturally inform his disciple of detailed information about a hidden master who posed a threat to the Shinobi World. Based on information from the original work and their encounter many years ago, Itachi and Haku's understanding of Sasori far exceeded their own imagination.

"Human Puppet, Third Kazekage, Kekkei Genkai Iron Sand..."

Itachi's eyes darted back and forth between the two puppets. "They didn't use that technique that could control a hundred puppets at once. It seems the distance of the Chakra Threads is somewhat limited..."

The Hundred Puppet Performance looks spectacular, but in reality, the mobility of all the puppets is limited by Sasori's main body. Therefore, Sasori's main idea is to use Iron Sand to interfere with and destroy the Flying Thunder God Kunai.

Itachi had set up a mark outside the battlefield, so if he retreated with Haku now, the Puppeteer would definitely not be able to catch up with them. But at this moment, his heart was filled with the emotion of counterattack.

After treating his severed arm, Haku wiped the blood off the ground with one hand. Itachi, as if on cue, reached out to help, Summoning Jutsu!

BOOM!

A giant bird Kotaro, nearly half a person's height, makes a grand entrance. After repeated training, this guy has finally been able to adjust his combat stance in time.

Even though it was prepared, it was still startled to see the bloodied severed hand, and its hoarse voice immediately rang out. "Little White, how did you get so badly injured?"

"It was a premeditated sneak attack by the enemy." The pale-faced man regained his composure. "Never mind that. The enemy is Puppeteer; we need your help."

"No problem, watch how this great master Kamui, hehe..." Kotaro cried out.

Its wings trembled rapidly, and it soared into the air, hovering at a moderate height, like a referee watching a battle.

"A bird?" The scorpion was slightly doubtful, but immediately launched an attack while remaining vigilant.

Controlling two puppets with each hand, they charged towards Itachi and Haku, one in front and one behind.

Click click click--

Hiruko opened her mouth wide, and a large number of high-density poison needles came rushing towards her.

With a series of changes, Bai raised one hand and spat out a half-meter-thick Ice Wall, which clattered and blocked all the attacks.

The Hiruko puppet continued its momentum, growing even faster under Sasori's remote control; its steel scorpion tail suddenly lashed out.

Instead of directly confronting the Ice Wall's defense, they twisted and circled around from the side, aiming to eliminate the injured Bai first.

Swish!

Unexpectedly, at that moment, Kotaro descended from the sky like lightning.

With its sharp, hooked mouth slightly open, carrying its own chakra, it swept past between Sasori and the puppet as if nothing had happened, but Hiruko rushed over, instantly lost her agility.

How could that be?

Chakra erupted beneath Itachi's feet, and he stomped forward, no longer needing to worry about the puppet's hidden Hidden Weapons.

With a swift and sharp strike, he cleaved Hiruko in two with a snap.

Sasori reacted with lightning speed, his fingers moving in unison to pull the Third Kazekage Puppet back from its mid-charge trajectory.

His expression was somewhat grim. "This bird can actually bite through Chakra Threads, it's really troublesome..."

Kotaro, having achieved his goal with a single strike, did not linger. He returned to mid-air and circled, moving up, down, left, and right.

Its unpredictable, rapid flight easily evaded various Hidden Weapons, making Scorpion feel extremely disgusted.

This means that in the upcoming battle, the puppet cannot stray too far from its owner, otherwise it could be completely destroyed by the opponent if it is not careful.

With a whoosh, Sasori's other hand regenerated Chakra Threads, connecting with the Third Kazekage to enhance control.

At the same time, the Regeneration Core rapidly accumulates chakra, intending to unleash a powerful technique directly.

He slowly moved forward, closing the distance between them, trying to maintain the best possible mid-to-long-range distance while ensuring the impact of the Iron Sand was powerful enough to cause injury.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

But Itachi wouldn't sit Hiruko, he immediately sheathed his sword.

From the hour of Si to Wei to Shen to Hai to Wu to Yin, a massive amount of chakra erupted, creating a giant fireball nearly 10 meters high that slightly distorted the surrounding air.

A wide, scorched crater appeared on the ground, and scorching flames descended upon the scorpion in the blink of an eye.

Kotaro waited for his opportunity, assuming a diving posture.

If Sasori's response falters, it will swoop down and sever the Chakra Threads, then seize the opportunity to snatch the out-of-control puppet, turning it into a clawless tiger.

"Whispering sound!"

Scorpion gritted his teeth in annoyance, and could only control a large amount of Iron Sand to gather into a wall, protecting the puppet and himself as a defense.

It's that annoying bird causing trouble again. As a Puppeteer, he's not skilled in hand-to-hand Taijutsu.

A fire of this magnitude requires the full power of a Body Flicker Technique to dodge; continuing to control the puppet would inevitably create an opening, so he was forced to stop defending...

Boom!

The fireball clashed violently with the high-density Iron Sand Wall.

In the next instant, the sphere deformed rapidly, and the flame energy compressed itself, bursting outwards from the center.

The intense Kakkō illuminated the entire space, making the battlefield appear as if it had been completely divided into two parts by an arched wall of fire.

Several seconds later, the flames finally went out due to the lack of further support.

Sasori chuckled as he looked at the intact Iron Sand Wall. As the most terrifying weapon of Sunagakure, Iron Sand could be formed into any shape at will, and its strength in both attack and defense was beyond compare.

Before he could even launch a counterattack, the situation suddenly changed!

The flames had barely died down when a large plume of transparent liquid flew in from ahead, splashing onto all the Iron Sand.

That wasn't all; a similar Ninjutsu appeared again.

The second wave of mucus was pale yellow and looked more solid than the previous one; the feeling... was the difference between saliva and thick phlegm!

Splat--

"What?"

Two waves of extremely viscous, unidentified liquid enveloped the Iron Sand, causing the scorpion, who was indirectly controlling it, to gradually lose control. His expression turned grim, and he inadvertently made a fatal mistake.

When he increased his chakra output to try and support the Iron Sand, the two dense liquids instead fused together and seeped into it through the gaps.

Before long, this indescribable strange thing began to move, resembling thick, poisonous phlegm, yellowish-black in color.

Sasori's powerful techniques, such as the Iron Sand World Method, which he had prepared to unleash by generating a large amount of chakra, have completely lost their possibility of being used...