Third Kazekage Human Puppet

"Sasori of the Red Sands!?"

Staring at the red-haired man before them, Mitsui Chuichi and Hyuga Kagami cried out in unison.

Neither of them, having just come through a war, was unfamiliar with his identity.

Sasori of the Red Sands, a genius puppeteer and one of Sunagakure's strongest ninja, had vanished alongside the Third Kazekage's disappearance and was ultimately classified as an S-rank rogue ninja.

He had appeared on battlefields many times to collect ninja corpses and had a record of killing elite jonin on several occasions. His strength was so formidable that Sunagakure had once abandoned its pursuit of him. He was a troublemaker none of the Five Great Shinobi Villages wished to provoke.

With one hand on his hip, Sasori chuckled. "So I've been recognized. Fine then, Konoha ninja—since we've met, help me test out this newly completed work of art!"

With that, Sasori took out a Scroll marked with the character "Three."

Poof...

After a burst of white smoke, a human puppet appeared before Mitsui Chuichi and Hyuga Kagami.

Staring at the black Iron Sand floating around the human puppet, the stunned Mitsui Chuichi trembled as he said, "Magnet Release? Th-the Third Kazekage!?"

Hyuga Kagami was also surprised, but not because of the Third Kazekage's human puppet. What surprised him was running into someone of Sasori's caliber in a godforsaken place like this.

Hyuga Kagami could not accurately judge Sasori's current strength, but Sasori was at least above elite jonin—a foe he had no way of dealing with at present. The instant he saw Sasori, only one thought remained in his mind: how to stay alive!

As he controlled the Third Kazekage's human puppet to slowly float upward, Sasori smiled. "This is my most satisfying work to date. Konoha's finest, enjoy my art!"

The moment Sasori finished speaking, the Iron Sand floating around the Third Kazekage Human Puppet transformed into a skyful of fine needles and rained down upon Mitsui Chuichi and Hyuga Kagami.

As Mitsui Chuichi rapidly retreated, he flung six kunai—three held in each hand—each bearing an Explosive Tag, toward the Iron Sand needles filling the sky.

Hyuga Kagami, who had fallen slightly behind, took the opportunity to duck behind Mitsui Chuichi and retreat at high speed as well.

Boom! Boom! Boom...

The explosions of the six Explosive Tags kicked up a thick cloud of smoke across the barren wasteland.

Seeing that the thrown Explosive Tags had barely blocked the needles, Mitsui Chuichi cast Hyuga Kagami a cold glance before fleeing silently toward the outpost.

He ran away alone without even saying a word!

Clearly, Mitsui Chuichi had dropped all pretenses and no longer bothered concealing his hostility toward Hyuga Kagami.

Naturally, Hyuga Kagami no longer held back either and fled in another direction.

Watching the two flee in disarray after putting up only the slightest resistance, Sasori chuckled and leaped onto the Third Kazekage Human Puppet's back. The puppet then used Magnet Release to form the Iron Sand filling the sky into two enormous wings and flew after Mitsui Chuichi. Clearly, Mitsui Chuichi, as the team captain, was Sasori's priority target.

"He can fly!?"

Catching sight of Sasori flying atop the Third Kazekage Human Puppet from the corner of his eye, Hyuga Kagami's heart sank.

In the Ninja World, the ability to fly was an enormous advantage. On the battlefield, encountering a ninja capable of flight often put one in an extremely passive position.

Given the current situation, Hyuga Kagami, running on the ground, was certainly slower than Sasori flying through the air.

Forcing down his chaotic thoughts, Hyuga Kagami calmly watched Sasori's movements while secretly analyzing his own situation.

I saw the Third Kazekage's human puppet. Sasori definitely won't let me go!

The fact that Sasori had turned the Third Kazekage into a human puppet should still have been a secret. To avoid trouble, Sasori would never spare anyone who knew it.

In other words, the instant Sasori revealed the Third Kazekage Human Puppet, Mitsui Chuichi and Hyuga Kagami had both been placed on his kill list.

The nearest outpost is nearly two and a half hours away. And even if I reach it, the ninja stationed there won't be able to stand against an enemy of Sasori's level.

I can't just focus on running. I need to find a way to drive Sasori back!

Just as Hyuga Kagami was secretly pondering a countermeasure, he suddenly noticed that Mitsui Chuichi, who had been fleeing at full speed just like him, abruptly collapsed face-first onto the ground.

"What happened!?" After a brief start, Hyuga Kagami immediately realized. "The needles were poisoned!"

The Explosive Tags Mitsui Chuichi had thrown earlier had indeed blocked most of the Iron Sand needles, but one or two had still passed through the explosions and scratched his arm.

Since the wounds had not struck any vital areas, neither Mitsui Chuichi nor Hyuga Kagami had paid them much attention.

But when Mitsui Chuichi suddenly collapsed, Hyuga Kagami understood at once. And according to memories from his previous life, Sasori truly was a master of poison.

With no Mitsui Chuichi left to distract Sasori, continuing to run would only waste stamina and make him look more pathetic. Hyuga Kagami decisively stopped.

After finishing off the poisoned and immobilized Mitsui Chuichi, Sasori leisurely came before Hyuga Kagami and asked with a teasing smile, "What, given up on escaping?"

Hyuga Kagami stared at Sasori. "I've always been curious. Why did you defect? With your strength and status, even becoming Kazekage wasn't entirely out of reach, was it?"

Surprised by Hyuga Kagami's calmness, Sasori looked him over and smiled. "Don't bother stalling for time. No one can save you."

As Hyuga Kagami walked toward Sasori, he continued speaking as though to himself. "True enough. You even dared to assassinate the Third Kazekage, hailed as the 'strongest Kazekage.' Why would a mere Sunagakure matter to you?"

Sasori did not reply. He merely narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze brimming with amusement. He was rather curious what Hyuga Kagami, who was slowly approaching him, intended to do.

"Nineteen meters..."

"Seventeen meters..."

"Fourteen meters..."

Though he appeared calm, Hyuga Kagami was panicking inside as he silently calculated the distance between himself and Sasori.

His only chance of victory was to catch Sasori off guard with Rotation, pull Sasori's true body toward him, then use the Gentle Fist to seal Sasori's chakra points and restrain him.

Rotation's effective range was only about fifteen meters, so he had to get as close to Sasori as possible.

When Hyuga Kagami came within roughly eleven meters, Sasori slowly raised his hands.

The Third Kazekage Human Puppet, connected by chakra threads glowing pale blue, swiftly floated upward. The Iron Sand surrounding it transformed into one iron spear after another.

Knowing he had reached the limit of his range, Hyuga Kagami hesitated no longer. He immediately thrust out both hands and activated Rotation with all his strength!

The instant Hyuga Kagami raised his hands, Sasori, already battle-hardened, curled his lips into a mocking smile. He controlled the Third Kazekage Human Puppet to shield his front while stepping backward.

In Sasori's eyes, Hyuga Kagami was doing nothing more than preparing some ninjutsu meant to take them both down. He had encountered such situations many times before, and there was nothing worth worrying about.

As its creator, Sasori knew the Third Kazekage Human Puppet's defensive capabilities better than anyone. Even A-rank ninjutsu found it difficult to break through Magnet Release's Iron Sand Defense. Thus, those ninja who tried to die alongside him had ultimately become nothing more than another mark on his record.

"This...!?"

In an instant, the corner of Sasori's mouth, not yet fully lifted, froze.

With a tremendous howl, the Third Kazekage Human Puppet standing before Sasori was yanked away by a powerful suction force. The pull was so immense that it instantly tore apart the chakra threads connecting Sasori to the puppet!

And when Hyuga Kagami saw that what Rotation had pulled toward him was not Sasori, but the Third Kazekage Human Puppet, he was dumbfounded too!