Sasori of the Red Sand

The newcomer's speed was immense, and the distance between the two parties was rapidly closing.

"That person's Chakra reserves are more than double that of an ordinary High Ninja; he is an expert."

As they ran, the opponent's information was continuously relayed to the other two by Ayako Hyuuga.

"Stop!"

Mo Jingxian gave up on continuing their flight.

"The enemy has locked onto us; we cannot escape."

The strange Ninja's target was clear, pursuing them relentlessly with obvious hostility.

Since escape was hopeless, the three decided to make a stand.

After a brief tactical discussion, the newcomer appeared within their line of sight.

He was fifteen or sixteen years old, with red hair, dressed in the standard attire of a Sand Ninja.

However, he wore no Sand Ninja headband, and two Puppets followed by his side.

His Body Flicker Technique was highly proficient, suggesting his Taijutsu was likely formidable, and with Chakra levels exceeding a typical High Ninja, he was clearly a troublesome foe.

Analyzing the information revealed by the enemy, his strength was likely at the Elite High Ninja level.

"Sasori of the Red Sand!"

Mo Jingxian exclaimed in shock, having recognized the newcomer's identity.

The war between the Sand and Konoha had been raging for over three months, so Sasori's appearance here was not entirely inexplicable.

Judging by his appearance, Sasori had clearly not yet modified his own body into a Puppet, and his Puppet mastery had not yet reached its peak.

This was the only piece of good news.

"Who is Sasori of the Red Sand? Do you know him?"

There was no time for explanations; Sasori had already reached their vicinity, manipulating one Puppet to spit out dozens of Senbon needles at them.

"Both of you, be careful; this man is an expert."

Before the words had even faded, Mo Jingxian had already vanished from his spot.

The moment they met, there was no idle chatter; Sasori immediately entered hunting mode.

Sasori's parents had died at the hands of the White Fang of Konoha during the Second Great Ninja War.

There was no possibility of reconciliation between the two sides; Sasori of the Red Sand's hatred for Konoha was carved into his very bones.

Mo Jingxian knew this history, so he understood that this encounter was a fight to the death.

He channeled the wind element within his body, transforming into a gust of breeze as he flew toward Sasori's main body.

"Clang! Clang!"

A Puppet blocked his path, its twin blades slashing out afterimages as it exchanged two blows with Mo Jingxian in an instant.

Shouts came from behind as a Death Sandworm Puppet suddenly burst from the ground, scattering sand as it appeared before Ayako Hyuuga and the other.

Within its massive mouthparts, rows of steel teeth glinted with sharp edges, its claws like silver hooks, its presence ferocious.

It lunged downward with unstoppable momentum.

"Dodge!"

Mo Jingxian shouted urgently.

In the split second he was distracted, the twin-blade Puppet sprouted two extra arms from its ribs.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

Its palms spat out a barrage of Senbon, the tips of which glinted with a ghostly blue light.

With the twin blades sealing his retreat and the poisonous Senbon reaping lives, Mo Jingxian was instantly plunged into a lethal trap.

From the moment Sasori of the Red Sand appeared, he displayed powerful Puppet manipulation skills, a world of difference from an ordinary Puppeteer.

He suppressed the three-man squad single-handedly, and judging by the situation on the field, victory was only a matter of time.

Behind Sasori of the Red Sands, in an unnoticed spot.

A patch of sand looked slightly different from its surroundings, as if covered by a layer of misty water vapor.

A figure gradually manifested; it was Mo Jingxian, who had used the principle of refraction to achieve a brief invisibility effect.

Sasori controlled his two Puppets, one chasing Ayako Hyuuga and her companion, while the other had already fired poison needles into his opponent.

Now!

The moment Sasori saw victory, a silent Vacuum Slash cut toward his neck.

When?

Sasori realized he was being ambushed too late.

The edge of the Vacuum Blade slashed down fiercely.

"Pfft!"

Like a hot knife slicing through butter, the palm wrapped in Wind Blade cleanly severed the opponent's head.

The head flew several meters into the air, spinning continuously.

One could even see the expression of terror still frozen on its face.

Having succeeded in one strike, Mo Jingxian showed no signs of joy.

The next moment, he spun around abruptly!

The Vacuum Blade left his palm, shooting out like a throwing knife.

The Vacuum Blade was blocked by the Sand Lizard Puppet guarding Sasori, and the real Sasori emerged leisurely from behind it.

That figure whose head had been severed was merely a Sand Clone.

Attack, ambush, and counter-ambush—all played out within a few short seconds.

This is the nature of combat between Ninja.

Ayako Hyuuga and Shinju Ishikawa arrived at Mo Jingxian's side, guarding his flanks.

Sasori of the Red Sand swept his gaze over the three of them.

When he saw the Byakugan in Ayako Hyuuga's eyes, a glint of light flashed in his own.

It was pure appreciation, like a child seeing an interesting toy.

"Be careful, both of you. The Third Kazekage died at his hands."

He could tell that Sasori had set his sights on Ayako Hyuuga and would not let her leave easily.

When Mo Jingxian uttered the words "Third Kazekage," Sasori was visibly stunned for a moment.

Sasori's assassination of the Kazekage had been carried out very cleanly.

He was absolutely certain that there had been no one else at the scene at the time.

Mo Jingxian lunged forward, seizing the opportunity to close the distance and launch an attack.

Ayako Hyuuga and her companion were slightly slower to react; the secret was simply too shocking.

By the time they regained their focus, Mo Jingxian was already locked in a fierce struggle with Sasori of the Red Sand.

The two immediately joined the fray, pinning down one of Sasori's puppets and forcing him to divide his attention.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft..."

Sasori unsealed seven more puppets in succession, bringing his total to exactly ten.

Sasori of the Red Sand was getting serious!

Sasori's own taijutsu was formidable; it was merely overshadowed by his mastery of puppetry.

Once engaged with him, it was equivalent to being swarmed by ten people.

Mo Jingxian felt stifled; attacks came from every direction, sealing off all room to maneuver.

Eight Water Flood Dragons extended from his back, winding and twisting as if he had grown eight living arms.

He had not used this technique in a long time, but it was perfect for dealing with a swarm.

Nine puppets were held at bay in the outer circle, yet his several attempts to close in on Sasori failed to yield results.

The battle entered a stalemate.

As they exchanged blows, Mo Jingxian began to constantly analyze intelligence on his opponent.

He had not released any ninjutsu; all his skills were focused on puppet manipulation.

The chakra consumption for controlling the puppets was minimal, while his own chakra was draining rapidly.

Sasori of the Red Sand had likely realized this as well, hence his adoption of a war of attrition.

The only way to turn defeat into victory was through close-quarters combat.

Sasori's taijutsu was strong; even at close range, it would be difficult to achieve results quickly, and once caught in the enemy's combat rhythm, the fate of the three was easy to imagine.

Sasori was worthy of his reputation as an S-rank rogue ninja; his eye for combat was razor-sharp.

After suffering one minor setback, he never gave the three of them another chance.

Like a seasoned hunter, he was slowly trapping his opponents within the encirclement of his puppets.

Suddenly!

The unexpected happened.

Ayako Hyuuga risked injury to sever the Chakra Thread of the puppet in front of her.

This was only possible because Sasori had focused most of his attention on Mo Jingxian, allowing her to seize the opportunity.

A puppet with its Chakra Thread severed was no different from a lifeless object.

The coordination between the three was seamless; Shinju Ishikawa immediately moved to guard in front of Ayako.

At the same time, he threw a kunai, aiming straight for Sasori's main body.

The fuse of the Explosive Tag was about to burn out, and Ayako Hyuuga sealed the puppet into a Storage Scroll.

All these actions were completed in a single instant.

Mo Jingxian seized the opportunity and shouted, "Explode!"

The eight Water Flood Dragons behind him detonated in unison, covering a radius of twenty meters.

A field of Ice and Snow Domain appeared in the desert, and all nine puppets were frozen in place.

With Wind Element Mastery promoted to the intermediate level, the temperature of Mo Jingxian's Ice Release dropped once again, breaking through the threshold of negative one hundred degrees Celsius.

Shinju Ishikawa's kunai flew toward the vicinity of Sasori.

"Boom!"

Such an obvious attack naturally could not harm Sasori, but it interrupted his offensive rhythm.

Mo Jingxian seized the opening and lunged directly in front of him in one breath.

The puppets were sealed within the Ice Release; under normal circumstances, he could break free with a bit of time.

But in battle, every second determined life and death.

Mo Jingxian's palm-blade struck out like a sharp edge, and Sasori decisively abandoned those puppets.

As an outstanding puppeteer, he would never allow an opponent to get close, no matter the situation.

Sasori immediately retreated while his right hand reached for a scroll hidden behind his back.

He stared at his opponent's movement path, determined never to give the other party another chance to close the distance.

When Mo Jingxian met the emotionless eyes of Sasori of the Red Sand.

"Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique!"

Sasori's vision changed; the howling wind, the frozen puppets, and the charging opponent all vanished.

He found himself pinned to a rack by massive stakes, unable to move even a finger.

He reacted immediately, realizing he had fallen into a genjutsu.

Sasori had once seen a description of this technique in the village records, a powerful genjutsu originating from the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan.

A fatal intelligence gap plunged him into a massive crisis.

Sasori was extremely decisive; the moment he was caught in the genjutsu, he directly detonated the Chakra within his body.

He risked the cost of severe injury to regain consciousness, all to gain that one-second advantage.

The Vacuum Slash was already inches away.

Twisting his body with all his might, he paid the price of further injury to release his strongest puppet.

The Third Kazekage Puppet!

Mo Jingxian's Vacuum Blade hand-strike sliced through the puppet armor of Sasori of the Red Sand, leaving a hole in his chest.

Unfortunately, at the final moment, Sasori avoided the vital point, failing to kill the enemy in one blow.

Sasori paid the price of a severe injury to save his life and successfully summoned his strongest puppet.

Mo Jingxian did not choose to continue the pursuit, instead forming hand seals at high speed.

"Ice Style: Ice Flood Dragon Seal Technique!"

Everything was within his calculations; while he had just severely wounded the enemy, he had left a technique marker inside the opponent's body.

Sasori's movement speed was fast, definitely exceeding that of over ninety percent of High Ninjas.

As his feet touched the sandy ground, a giant maw lunged out from beneath him.

The Ice Flood Dragon swallowed Sasori and his puppet, continuing to rise from the ground until it stopped at a height of ten meters.

Ink-colored sealing runes swirled within the Ice Flood Dragon, gradually closing in on him.

Mo Jingxian poured a massive amount of Chakra into it in one breath, determined to leave no future trouble.

Ayako Hyuuga and Shinju Ishikawa were busy sealing the nine puppets Sasori had left behind; this was experience the squad had gained from multiple encounters with Sand Ninjas.

Once a puppeteer loses their puppets, they are like a tiger without teeth, their danger level dropping sharply.

"Retreat! I can't hold it much longer!"

Mo Jingxian shouted in terror, the veins on his neck bulging.

"Crack, crack, crack!"

Cracks extended from the dragon's head downward, spreading faster and faster.

Ayako Hyuuga and her companion were startled; they glanced at him and then resolutely fled toward the direction of the Land of Earth.

The sealing runes stopped at an Iron Shield, unable to break through the final link to form a perfect seal.

Sasori of the Red Sand had released the Third Kazekage Puppet at the last moment, which had invisibly saved his life once again.

The puppet remained far from the ground, sealed within the massive block of ice.

Even if the puppet retained the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai, it was to no avail.

It could only release the iron sand stored within its body to defend against the enemy, and that burst of energy just now had also caused Sasori to waste a massive amount of Chakra.

Neither side had expected the battle to reach such a tragic level, with both having nearly exhausted their very last drop of Chakra.

Regrettably, the Ice Flood Dragon shattered first.

Mo Jingxian's foundation was too shallow; his innate talent had yet to be fully transformed into actual strength.

The moment the sealing technique failed, Mo Jingxian had no intention of staying behind to fight to the death.

Stuffing a handful of Military Ration Pills into his mouth, he turned on his heels and ran...