With Sasori's emergence, the humanoid envoy who had set foot upon the long road in pursuit of the Dao had taken a crucial step toward becoming a Human Puppet.
On that basis, the frail body of flesh and blood gradually became separated from the sense of self acknowledged by puppet masters—the large-scale adoption of puppet prosthetics and mechanical modifications was steadily becoming mainstream within the Joruri Cult. In extreme cases, modified prosthetic components accounted for more than 70% of the target's body!
Though that alone could not yet be called true mechanical ascension...
This generation of puppet masters had nevertheless begun to regard their mortal fleshly bodies as mere "vessels" for consciousness. Guided by similar theories, they had even developed a special technique that briefly preserved a target's "mental activity" after death, turning them into a "living corpse"!
Of course...
Such an art that transcended the boundary between life and death required the victim to undergo highly complex puppet-prosthetic implantation surgery while still alive. Moreover, the window of time available for treatment after death was extremely short.
Generally speaking, unless they were fighting a battle they had firmly under control—like this pincer offensive against the Rock Ninja—not every puppet master who had undergone modification surgery could preserve a relatively intact "vessel" on an intense frontal battlefield.
Then could these successfully preserved "vessels" be revived through the hands of the Divine Child?
The answer to that question was rather subtle...
After the great battle in Jingu Forest, Hyakkimaru had barely clung to life as he escaped back to the Land of Wind. His entire body had suffered severe burns, and all manner of organs and tissues showed signs of necrosis. If one gathered every scrap of usable flesh left on his body, there probably would not even be enough to make