Sasori of the Red Sand

The newcomer was moving incredibly fast, and the distance between them was steadily shrinking.

"That man's Chakra is more than twice that of an ordinary High Ninja. He's an expert."

As they ran, Ayako Hyuuga kept relaying information about their pursuer.

"Stop!"

Mo Jingxian gave up on running.

"The enemy's already got his eyes on us. We can't get away."

The unfamiliar ninja had a clear target and was doggedly pursuing them. His hostility was unmistakable.

Since there was no hope of escape, the three decided to fight with everything they had.

After quickly discussing a plan, the newcomer appeared in their sight.

He looked fifteen or sixteen, with red hair and the standard Sand Ninja uniform.

He wasn't wearing a Sand Ninja Forehead Protector, though, and two Puppets stood beside him.

His Body Flicker Technique was highly polished, so his Taijutsu was probably good too. Combined with his Chakra reserves, which were greater than an ordinary High Ninja's, he was clearly a formidable opponent.

From the information the enemy had revealed, he seemed to be at the level of an elite High Ninja.

"Sasori of the Red Sand!"

Mo Jingxian exclaimed in surprise. He had recognized the newcomer.

The fighting between the Sand Ninja and Konoha had been going on for over three months, so it made sense for Sasori to be here.

Judging by Sasori's appearance, he hadn't yet transformed himself into a Puppet. His Puppet Technique hadn't reached its peak, either.

That was the one piece of good news.

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

There was no time to explain. Sasori was already close, controlling a Puppet to spit out dozens of Senbon and send them hurtling toward the group.

"Be careful, both of you. He's an expert."

Before the words had even left his mouth, Mo Jingxian vanished from where he stood.

The moment the two sides met, Sasori skipped the small talk and went straight into hunting mode.

Sasori's parents had been killed by White Fang of Konoha during the Second Shinobi World War.

There was no chance of reconciliation between them. Sasori of the Red Sand's hatred for Konoha had been carved into his very bones.

Mo Jingxian knew the history, so he understood that this encounter would end with one side dead.

He summoned the Wind Element within him, transformed into a gentle breeze, and shot toward Sasori's real body.

Clang! Clang!

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

A shout came from behind him. A Death Sandworm Puppet suddenly burst out from underground, pushing aside the sand and appearing in front of Ayako Hyuuga and the other ninja.

Rows of steel teeth gleamed inside its enormous mouth, its claws were like silver hooks, and its fearsome presence was overwhelming.

It lunged down at them with unstoppable momentum.

"Get out of the way!"

Mo Jingxian shouted.

The instant his attention wavered, the twin-bladed Puppet sprouted another pair of arms from its ribs.

Pfft, pfft, pfft!

A barrage of Senbon shot from its palms, their tips gleaming with a dark blue light.

With the twin blades blocking his retreat and poisonous Senbon poised to take his life, Mo Jingxian had fallen into a deadly trap.

From the moment he appeared, Sasori of the Red Sand had demonstrated a Puppet-controlling skill far beyond that of an ordinary Puppeteer.

He had suppressed the entire three-person team by himself. Judging by the situation, victory was only a matter of time.

Behind Sasori of the Red Sands, in a place no one was watching.

A patch of sand looked slightly different from its surroundings, as if it were covered in a faint layer of mist.

A figure gradually took shape there. It was Mo Jingxian, using refraction to make himself temporarily invisible.

Sasori controlled two Puppets. One chased Ayako Hyuuga and the other ninja around, while the other's poisoned needles had already pierced their bodies.

Now!

Just as Sasori caught sight of victory, an inaudible Vacuum Slash swept toward his neck.

When had he—

By the time Sasori noticed the sneak attack, it was too late.

The Vacuum Blade came crashing down.

Pfft!

Like a hot knife cutting through butter, the hand wrapped in a Wind Blade sliced through his opponent's neck with ease.

The head flew several meters into the air, tumbling over and over.

He could even see the look of terror still frozen on its face.

Even after landing the blow, Mo Jingxian showed no sign of joy.

The next moment, he whipped around!

The Vacuum Blade left his hand and shot forward like a throwing knife.

The Sand Lizard Puppet guarding Sasori deflected it, and the real Sasori leisurely emerged from behind it.

The figure whose head had been cut off was only a Sand Clone.

Attack, ambush, counterambush—all of it had played out in just a few seconds.

That was a battle between ninja.

Ayako Hyuuga and Shinju Ishikawa came to Mo Jingxian's side, guarding him on either flank.

Sasori of the Red Sand's gaze swept across the three of them.

When he saw Ayako Hyuuga's Byakugan, a gleam flashed in his eyes.

It was pure admiration, like a child spotting an interesting toy.

"Be careful on your own for a while. He was the one who killed the Third Kazekage."

He could tell Sasori had set his sights on Ayako Hyuuga and wouldn't let her leave easily.

When Mo Jingxian said the words "Third Kazekage," Sasori clearly froze for a moment.

Sasori had carried out the assassination of the Kazekage so cleanly.

He was absolutely certain that no one but himself had been at the scene.

Mo Jingxian sprang forward, seizing the opportunity to close in and launch an attack.

Ayako Hyuuga and Shinju Ishikawa reacted a little more slowly. The main reason was that the shocking secret had caught them off guard.

By the time they came to their senses, Mo Jingxian was already fighting Sasori of the Red Sand.

They immediately joined the battle and tied up one of Sasori's Puppets, forcing him to divide his attention.

Pfft, pfft, pfft...

Sasori released seven more Puppets, bringing the total to ten.

Sasori of the Red Sand was taking things seriously!

Sasori was a strong Taijutsu user, but his Puppet Technique had overshadowed that skill.

Facing him was like being surrounded by ten opponents and kicked from every side.

Mo Jingxian was in a tight spot. Attacks came from all directions, leaving him no room to dodge.

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

He hadn't used this technique in a long time, but it was perfect for dealing with a group attack.

The nine Puppets were held back at the perimeter, and although he tried to attack Sasori at close range several times, none of his attempts succeeded.

The battle had reached a stalemate.

As they fought, Mo Jingxian began constantly analyzing his opponent.

Sasori hadn't used any Ninjutsu. All his skills lay in controlling Puppets.

The Chakra cost of controlling the Puppets was low, while Mo Jingxian's side was consuming far too much Chakra.

Sasori of the Red Sand had probably noticed, which was why he was using a war of attrition.

Their only chance to turn the tide was to attack at close range.

Sasori's Taijutsu was strong, and even if they closed in, they wouldn't achieve much in a short time. If they let the enemy dictate the pace of the battle, they could imagine what would happen to the three of them.

Sasori lived up to his reputation as an S-rank rogue ninja. His eye for an opportunity was razor-sharp.

After suffering one small setback, he never gave the three of them another opening.

Like a seasoned hunter, he slowly trapped his opponents beneath the Puppets' relentless assault.

Suddenly!

The unexpected happened.

Ayako Hyuuga accepted an injury to cut the Chakra Thread controlling the Puppet in front of her.

Sasori had focused most of his attention on Mo Jingxian, which was why she had managed to seize the opportunity.

A Puppet whose Chakra Thread had been severed was no different from an inanimate object.

The three worked together with perfect coordination, and Shinju Ishikawa immediately moved in front of Ayako to protect her.

At the same time, he threw a Kunai straight at Sasori's real body.

The fuse on the Explosive Tag was almost burned through. Ayako Hyuuga sealed the Puppet inside a Storage Scroll.

All the movements were completed in an instant.

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

The eight Water Flood Dragons behind him burst apart together, covering a radius of twenty meters.

An Ice and Snow Domain appeared in the desert, freezing all nine Puppets in place.

His Wind Element Mastery had advanced to the intermediate level, lowering the temperature of his Ice Release even further. It had already plunged below minus one hundred degrees.

Shinju Ishikawa's Kunai flew close to Sasori.

Boom!

Such an obvious attack couldn't hurt Sasori, of course, but it disrupted his rhythm.

Mo Jingxian seized the opportunity and rushed straight up to him.

The Puppets were trapped in the Ice Release. Normally, they could break free with enough time.

But in battle, every second could determine life or death.

Mo Jingxian thrust his hand forward, its edge as sharp as a blade, and Sasori decisively abandoned the Puppets.

An outstanding Puppeteer would never let an opponent get close, no matter the circumstances.

Sasori immediately retreated, while his right hand reached for a Scroll hidden behind him.

He kept his eyes on the route Mo Jingxian would take with the Body Flicker Technique. He wouldn't give his opponent another chance to close in.

As Mo Jingxian met Sasori of the Red Sand's utterly emotionless gaze—

"Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique!"

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

He was pinned to a frame by enormous stakes, unable to move even a finger.

He immediately realized that he had fallen under a genjutsu.

Sasori had once read a description of this technique in the village records. It was a powerful genjutsu from the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan.

A fatal gap in his intelligence had plunged him into a grave crisis.

Sasori acted without hesitation. The instant the genjutsu took hold, he detonated the Chakra within his body.

He paid the price of a severe injury to break free, just to gain that one second.

The Vacuum Slash was already right in front of him.

He twisted his body with all his strength and, accepting the cost of yet another injury, released his strongest Puppet.

The Third Kazekage!

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

Unfortunately, Sasori dodged at the last moment, avoiding a vital point. The attack failed to kill him.

Sasori paid for it with a serious injury, but he survived and successfully summoned his strongest Puppet.

Mo Jingxian chose not to keep attacking. Instead, he rapidly formed Hand Seals.

"Ice Style: Ice Flood Dragon Seal Technique!"

Everything had gone according to his calculations. As he grievously wounded his opponent, he had also placed a technique marker inside him.

Sasori's Body Flicker was fast, certainly faster than that of more than ninety percent of High Ninja.

The moment his feet touched the sand, a massive mouth burst up from beneath him.

The Ice Flood Dragon swallowed Sasori and his Puppet, then continued rising until it had reached a height of ten meters above the ground.

Ink-black sealing runes swam through the Ice Flood Dragon, slowly closing in around him.

Mo Jingxian poured in a huge amount of Chakra, determined to leave no loose ends.

Ayako Hyuuga and Shinju Ishikawa busied themselves sealing away the nine Puppets Sasori had left behind. This was something their team had learned from facing the Sand Ninja time and again.

Once a Puppeteer lost his Puppets, he was like a toothless tiger, and his threat level dropped sharply.

"Get out of here! I can't hold on much longer!"

Mo Jingxian cried out in panic, the veins on his neck bulging.

Crack, crack, crack!

Cracks spread downward from the Ice Flood Dragon's head, growing faster and faster.

Ayako Hyuuga and Shinju Ishikawa jolted in alarm. They glanced at him, then resolutely fled toward the Land of Stone.

The sealing runes stopped at an Iron Shield, unable to break through the final layer and complete a perfect seal.

At the last moment, Sasori of the Red Sand released the Third Kazekage Puppet, unknowingly saving his life once more.

The Puppet was far from the ground, sealed inside a massive block of ice.

Even the fact that the Puppet retained its Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai was no help.

It could only release the iron sand stored in its body to fend off enemies, and the explosive burst just now had also consumed a great deal of Scorpion's chakra.

Neither side had expected the fight to become so brutal. They had nearly exhausted every last drop of chakra.

Unfortunately, the Ice Flood Dragon shattered first.

Mo Jingxian's foundation was too shallow; his natural talent had yet to fully translate into strength.

The moment the Sealing Jutsu failed, Mo Jingxian had no intention of staying to fight to the death.

He stuffed a Military Ration Pill into his mouth and bolted...