Scorpion Joins!

"Looks like we'll have to settle this with a fight after all," Kakuzu thought. He'd expected as much.

Strong people weren't so easy to convince with words. Not everyone was like Naruto Uzumaki later on, with the Six Paths handing him a power-up!

Hidan's interest sparked at Sasori's words. He'd been waiting for this moment for ages!

"I'll fight you!"

He immediately started toward Sasori, ready to take him on with his Three-Bladed Scythe.

"Get back here, Hidan!" Kakuzu barked, stopping him before he'd taken two steps.

Kakuzu figured that, in taijutsu alone, Hidan might be able to hold his own against Sasori. But Sasori was a puppet master, and Hidan would probably struggle to get close.

Besides, even if Sasori had managed to kill the Third Kazekage through some trick, his strength was probably no joke.

They still didn't know how strong he was.

Otherwise, Hyuga Shin wouldn't have gone out of his way to warn Kakuzu.

Hidan had his own unique techniques, so Sasori likely had strengths of his own.

This was a chance for Sasori to learn about the organization—and for them to show him what the organization could do.

Kakuzu couldn't let Hidan run wild.

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

Using them on a teammate he'd soon be fighting alongside would leave a bad impression.

So Kakuzu decided to take Sasori on himself and give him a look at the organization's strength.

"Tch~"

Hidan pursed his lips and reluctantly returned to his place.

"Don't lose, Kakuzu! If you do, the organization will be a laughingstock!" Hidan grumbled, still unwilling to let it go.

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

Sasori didn't hesitate. He pulled the large scroll from his back.

He flung it onto the ground and spread it flat, then quickly formed a few hand seals and slapped his palm against it.

"Poof! Poof! Poof!"

Ten plumes of white smoke rose, and ten humanoid puppets appeared in an instant.

Chakra Threads linked up, and the ten puppets seemed to come alive.

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

"He's so young, yet he can already control ten puppets at once?"

When Kakuzu saw the ten puppets, he'd thought Sasori had gotten his hands on the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu, created by Monzaemon, the founding father of puppetry. The thought had startled him.

After all, there were very few puppet masters capable of controlling ten puppets!

During the founding era, Sunagakure had Monzaemon, the originator of puppetry.

He'd also been one of Sunagakure's founders.

The ten puppets he wielded were immensely powerful. They could attack and defend, and use poison, Sealing Techniques, hidden weapons, swordsmanship, and more.

They'd earned him a great reputation in the late Warring States period and the village's founding era. Later, his puppets came to be known as the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu.

Kakuzu had once witnessed him in action from a distance. He'd been an exceptionally powerful and troublesome opponent.

That was why Kakuzu had specifically studied puppetry and gained some understanding of it.

For a puppet master, the more puppets he could control and the greater his proficiency, the stronger he was!

Kakuzu didn't dare take him lightly. He immediately tore open the back of his outer garment, and four Earth Grudge Fear clones burst out.

He'd have to go all out. Otherwise, if Hidan's prediction came true, he'd never hear the end of it.

Sasori was genuinely surprised by Kakuzu's transformation, but he didn't stop moving his hands.

He merely flicked his ten fingers.

The puppets instantly surged toward Kakuzu.

He'd already mastered the highest puppet technique, the Ten-Finger Manipulation!

A white puppet wielding a greatsword charged straight at Kakuzu's body and brought its blade down!

"Earth Release: Hardening Technique!" Kakuzu didn't dodge. He hardened his body and grabbed the puppet's sword with one hand.

Then he punched the puppet in a weak spot.

The puppet was destroyed in an instant.

Sasori was still young, after all, and lacked experience in battle.

But he realized that sending the puppets in one at a time could cost him, so he immediately directed them to surround and attack Kakuzu!

Kakuzu's four clones joined the battle at once.

It was supposed to be a fight between two people, but they'd turned it into a full-scale skirmish.

The scene grew lively in an instant.

"Wind Release: Pressing Harm!"

"Fire Release: Headland Hardship!"

"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"

Kakuzu's four clones leaped into the air and unleashed a barrage of long-range attacks on Sasori's puppets.

Their coordination was impeccable. First, Wind Release combined with Fire Release, then Water Release with Lightning Release. The attacks were devastating and covered a wide area.

Meanwhile, Kakuzu himself used Earth Release to burrow underground and evade the puppets' attacks.

He reappeared somewhere else.

This put Sasori under immense pressure.

After all, he had no way to attack from the air.

It was also difficult for his puppets to hurt Kakuzu, who excelled at Earth Release.

And the water covering the ground even boosted Kakuzu's Lightning Release.

If he hadn't hidden among his puppets, Sasori would likely have been hit by Kakuzu's attacks.

The battle was heavily tilted against him.

"Hidden Weapon: Thousand Senbon Rain!" One puppet opened its mouth and fired a storm of senbon at the clones in the sky.

"Secret Technique: Manipulating Thousand Hands!" Countless slender puppet arms attacked Kakuzu, who had just escaped being surrounded.

The technique had considerable power, but its attacks were too rigid.

And Sasori was still far from mastering the puppet technique. He hadn't yet reached the sort of attack density that would make it resemble a machine gun.

Against an experienced fighter like Kakuzu, the technique still had obvious weaknesses.

Kakuzu evaded every one of Sasori's attacks.

Sasori couldn't compare to someone like Kakuzu, who'd survived countless battles.

At the same time, Kakuzu's clones kept flying through the air, bombarding him with all kinds of ninjutsu. Sasori was forced to run for his life, with no chance to keep attacking Kakuzu's main body.

He had to pull all his puppets back around himself to defend and protect himself.

The two of them traded attacks and defenses for two or three minutes.

But Sasori still failed to dodge Kakuzu's tentacle punch and was injured.

He'd been suppressed throughout the entire fight, utterly pinned down.

In a fight to the death, Sasori might not have lasted ten minutes against Kakuzu.

After all, he hadn't yet grown into the fighter he'd become later. It was only natural that he fell a little short.

The fight also gave Sasori a sense of the Spark Organization's strength.

Any one of its members could beat him to a pulp.

Not long afterward, the two of them stopped fighting, seemingly in perfect accord.

"What do you think? Have you decided whether to join our organization?" Kakuzu asked first.

"You've earned my respect with your strength. I'll join."

"But I hope things really are as you said."

"If I find out you lied to me, I'll leave whenever I want!"

Sasori agreed.

"Of course. Our members are free to come and go. We never force anyone to stay. I'm only worried you'll be reluctant to leave once you learn the truth."

"After all, the Spark Organization is the only light left in this Shinobi World, shrouded as it is in darkness."

"Welcome aboard!"

Kakuzu welcomed Sasori to the organization.

"Welcome aboard!" Hidan came over from the spectators' side, carrying his Three-Bladed Scythe over his shoulder.

Sasori merely nodded at their friendly welcome.

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

"No rush. First, we need to take you to meet the leader. He'll help you escape your prison and break free of your restraints," Kakuzu replied.

"A prison? Restraints? What do you mean? I've joined you, so why won't you just tell me?" Sasori was starting to get annoyed.

"You'll get all the answers after you meet the leader. There's no need to rush. Just like you said, if we're lying to you, you can leave."

Kakuzu could tell Sasori was getting impatient, so he quickly explained.

"Come on. We're taking you to meet the leader. He's already waiting for you." Kakuzu turned and walked away without waiting for Sasori to answer.

Hidan followed close behind. Sasori naturally went with them. He'd already joined, so there was no harm in taking this next step.

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

Hyuga Shin had naturally seen how the fight ended from his vantage point on the hill. It looked like Kakuzu was quite capable.

Next came the brainwashing—no, wait, I mean the preaching.