Sasori's Miserable Plight

After Nagato, Nagato decided that Orochimaru's conditions were not unreasonable, so he dispatched Sasori of the Red Sands to cooperate.

Sasori of the Red Sands himself was also very curious about the Byakugan and wanted to create a few Human Puppet with Byakugan to play with. In the original work, his Puppet Army also included puppets that retained the Sharingan bloodline limit, although those puppets only appeared in one scene and did nothing.

Sasori of the Red Sands was aware of the Caged Bird Seal, but he also wanted to try whether his Puppet Technique could preserve the Byakugan bloodline limit of the Hyuga Branch Family.

Thus, Orochimaru and Sasori of the Red Sands, who were at odds with each other, agreed to cooperate this time.

The plan was devised by Orochimaru, but the original plan was for Sasori of the Red Sands to launch an underground attack after the Cloud ninja obtained the Byakugan. Even the coat that Sasori wore, which was decorated with Sealing Jutsu that could block the Byakugan, was provided by Orochimaru.

Unfortunately, when the Cloud ninja returned to their residence with the Byakugan, Legendary Sannin, one of the Tsunade, also followed them in.

Sasori of the Red Sands had suffered a loss at Orochimaru's hands, and was still wary of the Legendary Tsunade. He didn't want to face Legendary Sannin, who was also a Legendary Sannin and had become Hokage. Therefore, Sasori of the Red Sands was very cautious and did not make a move at that time.

After Tsunade left, when Sasori of the Red Sands found another opportunity to attack, there were already too many Hyuga Branch Family members on the ground, making it impossible for him to defeat Hyuga Hiashi for the time being.

Thus, the planned assault turned into a stalemate and a war of attrition. This was the last thing Sasori of the Red Sands wanted to see.

At this point, Sasori had already begun to consider retreating. Although he had a large reserve of puppets, he had not yet replenished them after the First Shinobi War with Orochimaru, and he did not want to waste too much time in Konoha.

In any case, he has already captured quite a few Hyuga Branch Family ninjas, and several Hyuga Branch Family who were poisoned by his puppets have been captured alive by him.

As for the Byakugan of the Hyuga Main Family, it wasn't what he wanted. If the mission failed, so be it. Anyway, he didn't have any good feelings towards Orochimaru.

Moreover, thanks to the puppet's special senses, Sasori of the Red Sands knew that the Hyuga Branch Family led by Tsunade was about to reunite with Hyuga Hiashi.

With that in mind, Sasori of the Red Sands began to retrieve the puppets.

However, Sasori of the Red Sands made a mistake at this moment. Because the incident happened so suddenly, he suddenly unleashed the Hundred Puppets Technique, and before Hyuga Hiashi and the others could react, they were unable to pinpoint his exact location.

However, Scorpion's act of retrieving the puppet directly exposed his location.

Sasori's arrogance wouldn't have caused any problems; the Hyuga Clan couldn't do anything to him. As Hokage Tsunade, Tsunade's top priority was protecting the village. If Sasori of the Red Sands showed any intention to retreat, Tsunade might not have resorted to force to avoid causing too many casualties among the villagers.

But at this moment, there was a dutiful Root member, an unexpected troublemaker.

"Earth Release: Earth Style: Rising Earth Technique." While Sasori of the Red Sands was busy retrieving his puppets and Tsunade was still hesitating whether to kill Sasori of the Red Sands, Yichen made his move.

The "Earth Style: Rising Earth Technique" is similar to the "Earth Style: Earth Eruption Technique" technique used by both Kitsuchi and Kurotsuchi in the original work, but it is much less powerful and only has a B-level rating.

Yichen used the "Earth Style: Rising Earth Technique" to flip Scorpion, who was still collecting puppets, up from the ground.

When Yichen take it upon himself to flip Scorpion up from the ground, Tsunade conflicted expression froze. Yichen was forcing her into a life-or-death battle with a Kage Level right in the village.

Although Tsunade was annoyed by Yichen, she did not doubt his identity.

Yichen's actions align well with Danzo's principles. Yes, Yichen is a qualified Root member. This is probably Tsunade's assessment of Yichen at this moment.

Sasori of the Red Sands was also a little confused. Where did this Earth Release ninja come from? And he controlled his strength so well, able to lock onto his position and flip him out from underground so quickly and accurately.

After a quick glance around, Sasori of the Red Sands locked onto his target: the Fifth Hokage Tsunade, Anbu.

But to be able to unleash such a level of Earth Release from this distance, is he really just an ordinary Anbu Ninja?

Sasori of the Red Sands stated that he was not completely unprepared; he had been maintaining his Earth Release technique while underground.

Even a typical Jonin probably wouldn't be able to break through his Earth Style: Earth Submergence Technique.

Could a mere B-rank Earth Release really dispel my Earth Style: Earth Submergence Infiltration so easily and accurately? And with such speed that even a ninja with Kage-level Combatant like myself couldn't react?

Sasori of the Red Sands seriously doubted that, disregarding the incredibly strong defense of the Hiruko Puppet surrounding his body, if this Anbu had chosen to kill him directly, wouldn't he have been dead before he even had a chance to react?

Does Konoha have any Anbu Ninja so skilled in Earth Release? I've never heard of such a person. Could this Anbu be Hiruzen Sarutobi in disguise? But wasn't Hiruzen Sarutobi reminiscing about his happy master-disciple days with Orochimaru?

Tsunade didn't have as many inner monologues as Sasori of the Red Sands. Although she was annoyed by Yichen, she was mentally prepared for the Root member to cause trouble.

Without any hesitation, Sasori of the Red Sands Tsunade a Body Flicker Technique to close the distance to Sasori of the Red Sands, who had already revealed his location. Tsunade chose to utilize the close-combat advantage of Taijutsu Ninja.

Boom! Tsunade's Super Strength Punch slammed directly into Hiruko's shell.

In an instant, Sasori of the Red Sands's most prized defense was easily destroyed by Tsunade.

After Hiruko was destroyed, Sasori of the Red Sands's true form was revealed to everyone. His young face, short red hair, and indifferent eyes perfectly matched the image of S-rank Rogue Ninja in everyone's mind.

Sasori was also a ninja with rich combat experience, and he launched a counterattack the moment Teuchi Hiruko.

Sasori of the Red Sands raised his hands, and a large amount of high-pressure water shot out from his palms, directly attacking Tsunade was standing close by.

Yichen recognized the high-pressure water gun; Sasori of the Red Sands had used it in his battle against Sakura Haruno and Chiyo in the original story, and it was very powerful. It was similar in form to Yichen's Water Cutting Technique, but Yichen didn't know the specific principle behind it.

However, although this Ninjutsu, which is not considered a true Ninjutsu, is powerful, its effectiveness in battles at the Kage Level is very limited. In the original work, Sasori of the Red Sands used this technique primarily to create an opportunity for the subsequent Hundred Puppets Technique.

Take Yichen as an example. He only used the Water Cutting Technique in the early stages. Now, the enemies he faces are far beyond what this level of Ninjutsu can handle.

Yichen guessed that Sasori of the Red Sands was no longer hoping to hit Tsunade with the high-pressure water gun. He probably only hoped to use this method to create distance between himself and Tsunade, a close-combat ninja.

But the result was astonishing: Sasori of the Red Sands's high-pressure water gun hit Tsunade.

Tsunade's reaction was quick; if she wanted to dodge, she wouldn't have missed. However, Tsunade was now the Hokage, and she understood that she couldn't give Sasori too much time to react, otherwise, if he used the Hundred Puppets Technique again, Konoha would suffer huge losses.

"Creation Rebirth!" Faced with Sasori of the Red Sands's high-pressure water cannon that was within arm's reach, Tsunade chose to meet it head-on.

The high-pressure water gun pierced Tsunade's abdomen at extremely close range.

However, Tsunade did not retreat. Instead, she took a step forward, grabbed the surprised Sasori, and slammed him hard to the ground.

Boom~

Instantly, dust billowed up, a large crater was smashed into the ground, and Sasori of the Red Sands was smashed to pieces.

Yichen's eyelids twitched suddenly, because he saw it clearly: when Tsunade swung him to the ground, Sasori did not remain unresponsive; his puppet arm inexplicably tilted to one side.

In that instant, Tsunade's body was almost split in two.

For a fleeting moment, Yichen had an impulse to use a Light Release on the injured Tsunade. It wasn't just an impulse; in fact, Yichen's hands involuntarily moved towards his body.

He didn't make a move, because Tsunade, sensing the faint killing intent emanating from him, suddenly turned around and stared intently at him.

Meanwhile, the wounds inflicted by the high-pressure water gun on Tsunade's body were healing at a visible speed.

Yichen swallowed hard, quickly suppressing his killing intent, and said rapidly, "Lord Hokage, be careful, Sasori of the Red Sands is not dead yet."

Before Yichen could finish speaking, a scroll-like object suddenly left the tattered Sasori of the Red Sands and entered one of the puppets that had been released earlier but had not yet been retrieved.

Then, the puppet took out the puppet scroll of the Hundred Puppets Technique while retreating at lightning speed.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Fire Technique." Yichen knew he had left a bad impression on Tsunade earlier, so he quickly tried to make amends. He fully demonstrated the cleverness of a Root member whose little scheme had been discovered by Tsunade.

The Phoenix Flower Fire did, to some extent, hinder the spread of the Puppet Army. However, it was clear that Yichen were unnecessary.

This was just a smokescreen before Sasori of the Red Sands's retreat. This Hundred Puppets Technique was incomplete; Sasori of the Red Sands only released a dozen or so puppets.

Including those previously destroyed by Tsunade, Yichen, Hyuga ninjas, and the outer Anbu, Sasori of the Red Sands's scroll still contained about fifty puppets.

Sasori of the Red Sands's goal was simply to stop Tsunade. Faced with Tsunade, who shattered both his Hiruko and his true form in an instant, Sasori of the Red Sands had no intention of confronting her Tsunade.

Even if he wants to get revenge, he'll have to wait until his puppets are replenished.

Once the effects of the Phoenix Fire Technique wore off, Sasori of the Red Sands had successfully withdrawn from the battle.

Hearing the Sasori of the Red Sands had fled, Tsunade first gave Yichen a warning look before chasing after him in that direction.

Even if Sasori of the Red Sands wants to leave, Tsunade cannot be careless; she must see him completely disappear with her own eyes.

Yichen breathed a sigh of relief. This time, he didn't immediately give chase, because whether the Sasori of the Red Sands lived or died didn't affect him much. However, there should still be many treasures left behind by the Sasori of the Red Sands, and Yichen was quite interested in these things.

With Tsunade gone, the Hyuga Clan, large and powerful, naturally wouldn't care about such trivial matters. Moreover, having experienced a sudden change Hyuga Clan has no interest in fighting for spoils of war.

So, only Yichen excitedly ran off to rummage through the Human Puppet body of the scorpion.

Because there were so many people around, Yichen didn't have time to look closely. As he gathered up the scattered puppets, he couldn't help but sigh, "Sasori of the Red Sands is such a kind person."