Blooming and Withering

The ice shattered, and Sasori of the Red Sand burst out from the range of the technique.

The Magnet Release of the Third Kazekage puppet reconnected with the earth, and iron particles began to emerge from the yellow sand beneath its feet, flowing into the air to converge into a sphere of iron.

Frost still clung to Sasori's hair and brows, and his face was deathly pale, but the wound on his chest had been frozen shut, stopping the bleeding.

"What a fragile body," he mocked himself.

Sasori's condition was poor; the unexpected skirmish had dealt him severe, unforeseen damage.

Yet his eyes were bright, as if he had found a very interesting toy.

His figure pursued Mo Jingxian into the distance, leaving behind a devastated battlefield.

At first, it might have been out of hatred, just wanting to crush a few people from Konoha.

Later, discovering the Byakugan had been a pleasant surprise.

He was very picky about his collection, and the Byakugan was definitely of masterpiece quality.

The surprises did not end there; through their exchange, he discovered that the Konoha ninja who used Ice Release was of even greater value than the Byakugan.

Instant-cast ninjutsu, Kekkei Genkai, and those unpredictable genjutsu and sealing techniques all deeply fascinated Sasori.

At this moment, his appreciation for Mo Jingxian was second only to the perfect puppet in his hands.

Sasori's pursuit of the art of puppetry had long since descended into madness; in his eyes, Mo Jingxian's squad was nothing more than exquisite, mobile materials.

The high temperature in the desert was approaching fifty degrees; using Ice Release in such an environment caused his chakra consumption to increase exponentially.

The meager chakra squeezed from a Military Ration Pill was a drop in the bucket, and Mo Jingxian's speed dropped lower and lower.

[Reputation from Sasori +50]

He spared a sliver of energy to glance at the panel: 934 reputation points.

With 66 points still missing, it seemed he could not count on a trade to turn the tables.

The thought flashed through his mind, and after pushing his physical limits, his pace quickened by a fraction.

He hadn't escaped far before the enemy behind him caught up again.

Sasori adopted a stance of not stopping until his goal was reached, forcing Mo Jingxian into a dead end.

No.

If this continued, he would be exhausted to death; it was better to stake everything on one final gamble.

Having made up his mind, Mo Jingxian stopped and turned to adjust his breathing.

Sasori arrived quickly; this time, not only did his main body keep its distance, but even the Third Kazekage puppet maintained a safe gap.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Arrows formed from iron sand sprayed out continuously like a machine gun.

Mo Jingxian ran at high speed around Sasori, dodging attacks while searching for a flaw.

His chakra had become extremely thin, and his recovery was clearly insufficient to keep up with the consumption.

Currently, he was only relying on pure taijutsu to circle with Sasori.

"Bang!"

Mo Jingxian seized an opportunity to lunge forward, only to be blocked by an iron shield that appeared out of nowhere.

He struck it with a palm, but the iron shield remained unscathed, while he himself was left with two wounds from iron spikes that suddenly extended from it.

The Third Kazekage puppet was incredibly powerful, its secret techniques capable of both offense and defense.

Mo Jingxian tried twice more, but aside from gaining a few more wounds, he achieved nothing.

The only thing to be thankful for was that Sasori was also heavily injured and had little chakra left.

Therefore, he was currently unable to perform high-difficulty puppet manipulation techniques or unleash large-scale ninjutsu coverage.

The two were like beasts in an arena; one of them had to fall.

Sasori was in no hurry; no one could outlast a puppeteer in a war of attrition.

He had used his puppets to exhaust many opponents to death; he only needed to wait for the prey to run out of stamina, and then he would move in to harvest.

This piece of art today was no exception; although there had been a slight mishap at the start, he would not make the same mistake a second time.

His technique in controlling the puppet was sharp and steady.

Like an experienced hunter, he was wearing his opponent down bit by bit.

Mo Jingxian lunged again.

A rain of iron sand needles fell from the sky.

He exploded a burst of chakra beneath his feet, using the sudden change in speed to shake off the puppet for a fleeting moment.

Throughout the previous battle, Mo Jingxian had maintained a consistent speed, all to lure his opponent into a cognitive trap of habit.

He had not given up; he was still thinking of a way to carve out a path.

The puppet was tricked by his feint, and he used the gap between the two attacks to rapidly close in on the enemy.

The corners of Sasori's mouth curled up, a subtle arc so slight it would go unnoticed if one didn't look closely.

But he was indeed smiling.

"Bang!"

Yellow sand filled the sky as a massive crater exploded into the ground.

Crouched within the pit was a humanoid puppet, a long, steel scorpion tail whipping behind it.

Puppet: Hiruko.

The scorpion tail left an afterimage, striking toward the enemy in an instant.

Sasori had also laid a trap, exploiting his opponent's cognitive inertia.

This was the duel of a ninja, a battle of both force and intellect.

Twisting and shifting, Mo Jingxian moved rapidly within the limited space.

While dodging, his hands wove through seals at high speed, using the newly appeared puppet to mask his movements.

He pushed his elemental perception to its absolute limit.

The iron sand shot from behind, grazing his cheek; the friction left a bloody gash that burned with searing pain.

The venom-coated scorpion tail descended, aiming for his head.

He dodged sideways, kicking the tail away with a whip kick, only for a Magnet Release attack to follow.

He was dancing on the edge of a blade, exhausting every trick he had in the narrow space.

"Hum, hum!"

A vast amount of iron sand rose from the ground, gradually coalescing into a giant iron sphere.

Sasori was preparing for the final blow, and Mo Jingxian had yet to break through Hiruko's obstruction.

Suddenly!

The sand and stone beneath Sasori's feet turned into a mudflow, and his ankles were gripped tightly.

His body sank rapidly; in the blink of an eye, he was submerged up to his knees in the swamp.

The yellow sand around him exploded with "bangs" as two figures suddenly appeared.

It was Ayako Hyuuga and Shinju Ishikawa, who had supposedly fled.

It turned out the two had used the terrain to set an ambush here long ago.

The timing was impeccable, launching their attack the second before the enemy's victory seemed assured.

When Sasori's attention was entirely focused on Mo Jingxian, he naturally neglected his own feet.

The only C-rank ninjutsu Shinju Ishikawa had mastered, Mud Swamp Technique, achieved an effect no less than an A-rank jutsu when used at the perfect moment.

The two appeared behind Sasori.

Shinju gripped a kunai and thrust it toward his heart, while Ayako Hyuuga's Eight Trigrams Palms struck out fiercely.

The roles of hunter and prey had reversed!

Sasori of the Red Sand, who had controlled the rhythm of the battle a moment ago, was now trapped in a death-defying mire.

The Third Kazekage puppet rushed back to protect its master, but it was too late.

The skin on his back could already clearly feel the sharpness of the kunai and the flow of chakra at the tips of Ayako Hyuuga's fingers.

"Iron Sand Drizzle!"

Concentrating the Third Kazekage puppet's chakra into a single release, the iron sand transformed into dense, myriad long spears, shrouding all three of them.

Ayako Hyuuga abandoned her chance at survival and did not dodge.

If Sasori did not die, they would all die; there was no other choice.

She had long grown tired of being a burden, watching Mo Jingxian stand in front while she remained powerless.

The feeling was suffocating.

Now... the opportunity had arrived.

She drove her chakra into the enemy's body without hesitation.

One palm, two palms...

Alas, her skills were still lacking; the enemy's attack had already arrived.

Suddenly, her collar was grabbed, and she was flung away with great force.

Her body flew backward, retreating out of the range of the ninjutsu.

Within her line of sight...

Shinju Ishikawa held the enemy tightly, and iron spikes of various shapes pinned the two together.

Shinju tilted his head back, blood gushing from his mouth, and smiled at the girl who had always stood in front of him.

"Boom!"

The explosive flames buried both of them.

The shockwave from the Explosive Tags sent the Third Kazekage puppet flying.

At the final moment, Sasori of the Red Sand utilized the Substitution Technique to swap places with Hiruko.

Though his life was spared, he was nonetheless wounded.

The chakra wedge Ayako Hyuuga had left inside his body severed two of his chakra pathways.

The Explosive Tags had also bruised his internal organs.

In less than two seconds, everything had unfolded in the blink of an eye.

A line of water, sharp as a blade, pierced through Sasori's chest, grazing his heart before shooting out his back.

Mo Jingxian had unleashed the Water Release: Water Severing Wave, a ninjutsu he had yet to fully master.

He had originally planned to use the cover of the puppets to launch a sneak attack.

He had not expected the situation on the field to shift so violently, exceeding everyone's expectations.

Perhaps it was not yet Sasori of the Red Sand's time to die; the Water Severing Wave dissipated just like that, lacking the follow-up cutting damage.

Sasori did not want to die yet; he still had many pursuits left unfulfilled.

Using the last of his remaining chakra, he controlled Hiruko and fled without looking back.

Mo Jingxian could no longer hold on; under the dual exhaustion of body and spirit, his vision blurred.

Before losing consciousness, he vaguely saw Shinju Ishikawa smiling and waving goodbye to him.

He did not know how much time had passed.

Mo Jingxian felt his eyelids were heavy and his head throbbed... as if someone had pried open his skull and was stirring the contents with a stick.

He also smelled a faint fragrance, which seemed to be Ayako's.

His body felt as though it were draped over someone's back, swaying slightly.

He was too sleepy; his eyelids closed uncontrollably, and then he knew nothing more.

When he woke up again, three days had already passed.

The first thing he saw upon opening his eyes were charred rafters; he seemed to be lying in a wooden hut.

He turned his neck, his joints emitting two crisp "crack" sounds; his body felt like an old machine that had just been restarted.

Ayako Hyuuga was guarding his side, her arms wrapped around her knees, her face buried between her legs.

The room was very quiet, with sounds occasionally drifting in from the street outside.

As his consciousness returned, the scenes of what he had experienced flooded into his brain.

"Ayako."

The girl lifted her head abruptly, her eyes filled with joy: "You're awake!"

"Mm." Mo Jingxian scanned his surroundings: "Where is this?"

"Land of Earth." Ayako reached out to touch his forehead:

"That missing-nin fled and didn't appear again; we are safe."

"Safe is good."

Mo Jingxian made a move to sit up, and Ayako came over to help him.

His body had not yet fully recovered; he felt as though he had just emerged from a serious illness.

Even just sitting there consumed a significant amount of Mo Jingxian's strength.

"Shinju, he..."

It was not that Mo Jingxian wanted to bring it up, but some things had to be faced.

Ayako Hyuuga wore a sorrowful expression: "Shinju, to save me..."

The room fell silent once more.

Mo Jingxian gathered his thoughts: "Don't blame yourself too much; this is the fate of a ninja. Perhaps one day, we..."

"Fate." She repeated the word, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly turned to stare at Mo Jingxian:

"Fate can also be changed, right?"

"Perhaps." Mo Jingxian nodded: "Perhaps as long as our strength is sufficient to change the rules, we can change fate."

"Change the rules!"

It was as if something had been ignited within Ayako's heart; the confusion in her eyes was gradually replaced by determination.

"You're right. As long as one has the strength to change the rules, there will be no more pain."

The girl pulled out a pile of scrolls and pushed them toward Mo Jingxian, leaving only Shinju's ninja headband behind.

"What is this?" Mo Jingxian asked, puzzled.

"Spoils of war," she said. "Including the Third Kazekage puppet, there are nine in total.

We can trade them for a large amount of resources to improve our strength."

"Holy crap!" Mo Jingxian was startled.

He then scoffed ruthlessly: "Hah! Sasori of the Red Sand, you've even lost your underwear in this deal!"