Sasori Joins!

"So, it's going to come down to a fight, huh?" Kakuzu had already expected this.

Strong individuals weren't easily persuaded by words. Not everyone was like Naruto Uzumaki behind them, who had the Six Paths to cheat for him!

Hidan's interest was instantly piqued upon hearing Sasori's words. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time!

"I'll fight you!"

He immediately prepared to grab his Scythe and engage Sasori in a fierce battle.

"Come back! Hidan!" Kakuzu shouted, stopping Hidan before he could take two steps.

In Kakuzu's opinion, Hidan might have a chance against Sasori in terms of Taijutsu alone, but Sasori was a puppeteer, and Hidan would likely have trouble getting close.

Moreover, even if Sasori had taken a shortcut to kill the Third Kazekage, his strength was probably not insignificant.

His true power was still unknown.

Otherwise, Hyuga Shin wouldn't have specifically warned him.

Since Hidan had his unique methods, Sasori likely had his own strengths as well.

This was an opportunity for Sasori to understand the organization, and a chance to showcase the organization's strength.

He couldn't let Hidan act recklessly.

Although Hidan's strength was average, his abilities were too dangerous!

Using them against a teammate who would fight alongside him in the future would create a bad impression.

Therefore, Kakuzu decided to step in himself, allowing Sasori to understand the organization's capabilities.

"Tch~"

Hidan pouted and reluctantly retreated to his original position.

"Brother Kakuzu, don't you dare lose, or the organization will be completely disgraced!" Hidan grumbled resentfully, still unwilling to give up.

"Come on, kid!" Kakuzu challenged Sasori, ignoring Hidan's complaints.

Sasori didn't hesitate and immediately removed the large scroll he carried on his back.

He then unfurled the scroll on the ground, formed a few hand seals, and placed his palm on it.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Ten puffs of white smoke rose, instantly revealing ten humanoid puppets.

Chakra threads connected them, and the ten puppets seemed to come alive.

"Could it be the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu? No! The structure and appearance are different."

"To be able to control ten puppets simultaneously at such a young age?"

When Kakuzu saw the ten puppets, he initially thought Sasori had obtained the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu from Monzaemon, the progenitor of puppetry, and was startled.

After all, there were very few puppeteers who could control ten puppets!

During the era of village establishment, Sunagakure produced Monzaemon, the progenitor of the puppet path.

He was also one of the founders of Sunagakure.

The Ten Puppets he wielded were extremely powerful, capable of offense, defense, and using poison, Sealing Techniques, Ninja Tools, swordsmanship, and more.

He had gained a great reputation in the late Warring States period and the era of village establishment. Later, his puppets became known as the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu.

Kakuzu had seen him fight from afar before; he was an extremely powerful and troublesome opponent.

Because of this, he had even studied the puppet path and had a certain understanding of it.

For a puppeteer, the more puppets they could control and the higher their proficiency, the stronger they became!

Therefore, Kakuzu dared not be careless. He immediately took off his outer robe, tore open his back, and four Earth Grudge Fear clones flew out.

He also had to give it his all. If Hidan's words turned out to be true, he would be ridiculed for a long time.

Although Sasori was quite surprised by Kakuzu's transformation, his movements did not stop.

He merely waved his ten fingers slightly.

The puppets instantly surged towards Kakuzu.

He had basically mastered the ultimate secret of puppetry, "Ten Fingers Manipulation"!

A white puppet wielding a large sword instantly broke through to Kakuzu's main body and slashed down!

"Earth Release, Hardening Technique!" Kakuzu's main body did not dodge. He directly used the Hardening Technique and grabbed the puppet's large sword with one hand.

Then, he threw a punch at the puppet's weak point.

He instantly destroyed one puppet.

Sasori was still young, and his combat experience was relatively lacking.

However, he also realized that individual assaults could lead to puppet losses. He immediately controlled his puppets to surround and attack Kakuzu!

Kakuzu's four clones also instantly joined the battle.

What should have been a duel between two people felt like a small-scale war.

The scene was quite lively for a moment.

"Wind Release, Pressing Harm!"

"Fire Release, Headland Hardship!"

"Lightning Release, False Darkness!"

"Water Release, Water Dragon Bullet!"

Kakuzu's four clones took to the sky, unleashing a barrage of ranged attacks on Sasori's puppets.

Their coordination was extremely默契 (implicit understanding), with Wind complementing Fire, and Water pairing with Lightning, resulting in immense destructive power and wide area of effect.

He himself instantly burrowed underground with Earth Release to evade the barrage of puppet attacks.

He then reappeared in another location.

This put Sasori under immense pressure.

After all, he lacked air superiority.

It was also difficult for the puppets to harm Kakuzu's main body, who was adept at Earth Release.

Furthermore, the water on the ground enhanced Kakuzu's Lightning Release.

If he hadn't hidden on a puppet, he would have likely been hit by Kakuzu as well.

The entire battle was extremely disadvantageous for him.

"Ninja Tool, Thousand Senbon Rain!" A puppet's mouth opened wide, unleashing a chaotic barrage towards the clones in the sky.

"Secret Technique, Manipulating Thousand Hands!" Countless slender puppet arms attacked Kakuzu, who had just dodged the encirclement.

While this technique indeed possessed considerable power, its attacks were too rigid.

Moreover, Sasori's control over this puppet ninjutsu was still far from perfect, not yet reaching the machine-gun-like attack density seen in later stages.

For Kakuzu, who had rich combat experience, there were still obvious weaknesses.

He evaded all of Sasori's attacks.

Kakuzu's combat experience was something a greenhorn like Sasori couldn't compare to.

At the same time, Kakuzu's clones continued to bombard from mid-air with various ninjutsu, leaving Sasori scrambling to defend himself and completely unable to attack Kakuzu's main body.

All the puppets were recalled to his side for defense, protecting himself.

The battle between the two, one attacking and one defending, lasted for about two to three minutes.

However, Sasori still couldn't dodge Kakuzu's tentacle fist attack and was injured.

Throughout the entire engagement, Sasori was suppressed and completely overwhelmed.

If this were a fight to the death, the current Sasori might not last ten minutes under Kakuzu's hands.

It was understandable that he was slightly lacking, as he hadn't yet grown to his full potential.

This also made Sasori recognize the strength of this Spark Organization.

Any single member could easily defeat him.

After a short while, the two fighters mutually ceased their battle, showing great tacit understanding.

"Have you considered it? Are you decided on joining our organization?" Kakuzu asked first.

"Your strength has earned my approval. I can join."

"However, it's best if things are indeed as you say."

"If I discover you've lied to me, I will withdraw at any time!"

Sasori agreed.

"Of course, our organization allows freedom of movement and never forces anyone. I fear that once you understand the truth, you won't want to leave."

"After all, the Spark Organization is the only light in this darkness-shrouded Ninja World."

"Welcome aboard!"

Kakuzu welcomed Sasori's joining.

"Welcome aboard!" Hidan also walked over from the spectator area, carrying his scythe.

Sasori merely nodded at their friendly gestures.

"Now, can you tell me about this so-called truth you mentioned?" Sasori asked impatiently.

"No rush. We need to take you to see the leader first, to help you escape your cage and break free from your restraints!" Kakuzu answered Sasori's question.

"Cage, restraints! What exactly do you mean? Why won't you tell me directly even after I've joined?" Sasori became somewhat displeased in his heart.

"Everything will be explained once you meet the leader. There's no need to rush now. As you said, if I'm lying, you can withdraw."

Kakuzu noticed Sasori's impatience and immediately explained.

"Let's go. Come with us to meet the leader. He's already waiting for you." Kakuzu said, turning to leave without waiting for Sasori's reply.

Hidan followed closely behind, and Sasori naturally had to follow as well. Since he had joined, there was no reason not to take this step.

He was even more interested in the so-called truth and darkness.

Hyuga Shin, who had been observing from the mountaintop, naturally knew the outcome. It seemed Kakuzu was quite capable.

Next up was the brainwashing, no! He misspoke, it was time for proselytizing.