You're a Jonin, and So Am I

"Even poisoned, even with part of my attention tied up suppressing it, I, Jiraiya, can still take you down!"

Calling himself invincible was too arrogant even for Jiraiya, so he had changed a few words.

How little did you eat to get this drunk?

"I hope you can stay that optimistic."

Sasori of the Red Sands chuckled coldly.

As a genius, Sasori of the Red Sands was undoubtedly confident, both in his strength and in his mastery of poisons.

Jiraiya had been afflicted with the exotic poison [Bee Fujiko]. There was no way his strength had dropped by only thirty percent.

Even if it really had dropped by only thirty percent, Sasori of the Red Sands was still confident he could beat Jiraiya.

You're a jonin, and so am I. Even if there's a gap in our strength, it can't be that big. What makes you think you can beat me while you're poisoned?

I'm not buying it.

"Performance: Human Body Manipulation."

Sasori of the Red Sands murmured the words, spreading his fingers and releasing countless chakra threads toward Asuma and the others watching from the sidelines.

"Everyone, fall back!"

Uchiha Mai's expression shifted slightly, and he barked a warning. He had recognized Sasori of the Red Sands' technique.

Performance: Human Body Manipulation was generally used when a puppeteer's puppets had been destroyed, manipulating corpses with chakra threads to fight in their place.

Puppets were not to be underestimated. Equipped with all kinds of mechanisms and concealed weapons, and coated in deadly poison, they posed a greater threat than ordinary genin.

And Sasori of the Red Sands' puppets were certainly of an even higher caliber.

Using corpses instead of puppets would yield no more than seventy percent of his usual strength. He wasn't a necromancer, after all.

The problem was