"Heh, why not give it a try and find out?"
Sasori sensed that something was wrong as well, but he could not show it.
What unsettled him even more was that enormous "Patrick Star" in the sky just now.
Deidara, who had gone alone into Sunagakure to search for Hyuga Chiba, might have already met with trouble.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand World Method!"
After quickly regaining his composure, Sasori took the initiative to control the Third Kazekage Puppet, creating a massive number of Iron Sand spikes that formed something like a barrier as they pierced toward Rasa.
At the same time, he controlled the remaining Human Puppets and launched a combined assault on him.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Suddenly, a powerful repulsive force sent every Iron Sand spike and Human Puppet flying away.
A blue-eyed youth had somehow appeared in midair before Rasa.
"Lord Chiba?"
Rasa was somewhat surprised.
He had not feared Sasori's attacks just now, but he had not expected Chiba to appear before him.
And besides...
"What speed!"
"Did he use the Flying Thunder God?"
Rasa had experienced the Third Shinobi World War and knew full well how Konoha's Yellow Flash had profoundly affected battlefields everywhere.
With the Tenseigan and the Flying Thunder God Technique, Hyuga Chiba would only be even more terrifying.
This made Rasa even more determined to drag the other villages down with him.
His own misfortune was certainly painful, but if everyone else suffered alongside him, it would still bring him some pleasure.
"You're Hyuga Chiba, the one who awakened the Tenseigan?"
Sasori's heart sank as well.
That attack had practically been one of his strongest moves at present, yet that blue-eyed youth had repelled it with the same Shinra Tensei used by Pain?
Did that not mean that if they fought, it would be extremely difficult for him to harm Chiba?
"Sasori, you have considerable talent for puppetry. From now on, work for me."
Chiba looked at the utterly vigilant Sasori and spoke directly.
"Hmph, in your dreams!"
Sasori snorted and prepared to control the Third Kazekage Puppet and the other Human Puppets to continue attacking Chiba.
Even if he truly could not defeat him, he would never submit to him.
"If that's the case, then let me first show you my... Tenseigan Puppet."
Chiba smiled as though he did not care, then raised a hand and released a green Chakra Orb.
The orb flew at tremendous speed into... the Third Kazekage Puppet's body.
"Nani?"
As the Chakra Orb entered, every chakra thread Sasori used to control the Third Kazekage Puppet snapped on its own.
Then, to his utter disbelief, he saw the Third Kazekage Puppet turn around by itself. An expression returned to its once-fixed face, and its eyes seemed to gain a hint of life.
It was as though it were rapidly transforming from a puppet into a real person.
Although the Third Kazekage Puppet was ultimately still a puppet, this sight—something Sasori had never witnessed and never even imagined—dealt a tremendous blow to his worldview.
"Sasori, your greatest mistake was turning yourself into a Human Puppet and then appearing before me."
After seeing Sasori's shock, Chiba gathered another Chakra Orb in his left hand.
"No!"
At that moment, Sasori seemed to realize something. He hurriedly controlled the remaining Human Puppets to block Chiba from every direction.
Meanwhile, he fled without regard for anything else.
Otherwise, something more terrifying than death might happen to him.
"From the moment you came here, your future was already decided. Go!"
Chiba shook his head. The Chakra Orb in his hand shot out, evaded every Human Puppet blocking its path, and entered Sasori's body as he fled.
"Damn it!"
All of Sasori's movements came to an abrupt halt, and his body involuntarily turned back to face Chiba.
His thoughts also seemed to be silently undergoing some change that terrified him.
"What exactly did you do to me? What kind of ability is this?"
At that moment, Sasori was utterly shaken, even... afraid.
After all, even Pain, who possessed the Rinnegan, could at most kill him.
But Hyuga Chiba, who possessed the Tenseigan, could control his body and influence his thoughts?
"I already told you. I merely turned the Human Puppets you refined, including yourself, into my Tenseigan Puppets."
Seeing this, Chiba continued in an indifferent yet incomparably cruel tone, "If you must blame something, blame your talent for puppetry for being inferior to the Tenseigan. Blame yourself for turning yourself into a Human Puppet."
"After all, I have no way to directly turn living people into Tenseigan Puppets."
"..." Sasori fell completely silent, and no one knew what he was thinking.
"What a terrifying ability." Rasa, who had watched the entire exchange, felt a chill run through his heart. "Before Lord Chiba, every puppet will become his aid."
"For everyone skilled in Puppet Technique, including Elder Chiyo and Sasori, Lord Chiba, who possesses the Tenseigan, is their absolute nemesis."
"Brother Sasori's Human Puppets, even Brother Sasori himself, were turned into some kind of Tenseigan Puppets by Chiba and placed under his control?" Deidara, who had caught up from behind, wore an equally incredulous expression.
He finally understood what Hyuga Chiba had meant earlier when he said making Brother Sasori submit would be easier than making Deidara submit.
"It's just... isn't this far too cruel for Brother Sasori?"
Several traces of sympathy appeared in Deidara's gaze as he looked at Sasori.
The so-called Tenseigan Puppets did not merely take control of Sasori's body; even his thoughts no longer belonged to him.
They had also mercilessly trampled the Puppet Technique Sasori had always taken such pride in beneath their feet.
Clap! Clap!
Just then, applause rang out. Obito appeared amid a distortion of space and praised Hyuga Chiba, "Truly splendid."
"As expected of the Tenseigan, an eye on the same level as the Rinnegan. It can even accomplish something like this."
"But your existence will affect a great plan, so today, you must disappear from this world. Your Tenseigan will be put to use by us."
"Tobi?" Deidara looked at Obito in surprise. "You already shook off those Konoha ninja?"
"And what did you just say?"
"Your so-called great plan isn't the same as Akatsuki's plan, is it?"
"Hmph!" Sasori seemed to briefly regain his senses because of Obito's appearance. Not particularly surprised, he snorted. "So you joined Akatsuki for some purpose after all."
"That foolish act you put on before was merely a disguise."
"My apologies, Senior Sasori, Senior Deidara." Obito spoke without a trace of emotion in his voice. "Whether you did so willingly or not, from the moment you defected to the enemy, you had already chosen death."
"And it would be better for my identity to remain hidden for now."
"So sorry for the trouble, but you two, Hyuga Chiba, and Rasa over there will all have to disappear together."
Before you continue