Sasori unrolled the scroll and immediately pressed his hand against it.
A puff of white smoke appeared, and a figure in a brown robe materialized. It was the Human Puppet he had made from the Third Kazekage's corpse.
Then Sasori controlled Hiruko to shoot countless Chakra Threads from its back, immediately connecting them to the Third Kazekage Puppet.
The Human Puppet was activated in an instant. At that very moment, Sasori made the Third Kazekage open his mouth, and countless black Iron Sand particles flew out.
These Iron Sand particles gathered in the air, gradually forming the shape of a triangular pyramid.
"Let's see you defend against this! Magnet Release: Iron Sand Triangular Pyramid!"
At the sight of this, Sigurd's lips curled up. He waved a hand, and a surge of golden moonlight energy spilled forth.
The energy quickly began to gather in the air, eventually forming a golden triangular pyramid about the same size as the Iron Sand one.
"Why would I defend? Watch this—Moonlight: Golden Moon Triangular Pyramid!"
With that, Sigurd sent his own pyramid flying straight toward Sasori's Iron Sand Triangular Pyramid.
"Damn it!"
Seeing his opponent bring out a technique similar to his own, Sasori cursed in anger.
Then he immediately launched his own pyramid to block it.
Rumble!
The two pyramids collided fiercely in the air, making a deafening roar.
The golden Golden Moon Triangular Pyramid and the black Iron Sand Triangular Pyramid struggled against each other until Sasori's pyramid was the first to buckle.
"Damn it!"
Seeing this from below, Sasori cursed under his breath, then immediately changed his approach, scattering the Iron Sand he had gathered.
With nothing left to stop it, the Golden Moon Triangular Pyramid blasted through the surrounding Iron Sand and headed straight for Sasori.
At that very moment, Sasori made the Third Kazekage spew out countless Iron Sand particles again, forming a wall in front of himself.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Wall!"
Boom!
With a tremendous crash, the Golden Moon Triangular Pyramid slammed into the Iron Sand Wall, kicking up a cloud of dust.
When the dust settled, Sigurd saw that his Golden Moon Triangular Pyramid was embedded firmly in the Iron Sand Wall.
At that very moment, Sasori controlled the scattered Iron Sand in the sky, gathering it into several sharp giant needles, then immediately fired them at Sigurd.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Giant Needles!"
As the needles shot toward him, the thrusters in Sigurd's legs ignited.
Sigurd's speed suddenly surged, letting him easily dodge the Iron Sand Giant Needles.
The instant he dodged the attack, he hurled the Magic Sword in his hand toward Sasori.
Sasori reacted at once. Another black Iron Sand Wall rose in front of him, stopping the incoming Magic Sword.
Seeing his Magic Sword stuck in the Iron Sand Wall, Sigurd thought, If I sneak in a big move, the guy on the other side should survive, right?
After all, if he didn't unleash something big in a situation like this, he felt he might regret it for the rest of his life.
The thrusters beneath Sigurd's feet ignited again, and in an instant, he was right in front of the Iron Sand Wall.
Sigurd punched the hilt of his Magic Sword with all his might, then shouted, "Let me see your pride—Bolverk Gram!"
As Sigurd roared, a crimson blast of light shot forward from the blade of his Magic Sword.
The energy it released carried terrifying heat, instantly melting the Iron Sand around it.
Seeing this, Sasori immediately tried to retreat, but he was still too slow.
Just as the scorching explosion was about to reach him, he controlled the Iron Sand around him to envelop his body.
There was too little time, and Sasori couldn't even wrap the Third Kazekage in Iron Sand as well.
In the explosion, the Chakra Threads controlling the Third Kazekage were completely obliterated, and the Third Kazekage himself was badly damaged.
The instant the Chakra Threads controlling the Third Kazekage were destroyed, Sasori lost control of him as well.
Without the Third Kazekage's control, the Iron Sand protecting Sasori immediately became ordinary Iron Sand, then melted into molten iron in the explosion's heat.
Fortunately, before losing control, the Iron Sand had absorbed most of the blast's damage for Sasori.
That was the only reason his real body suffered no more than a few minor burns.
By contrast, the Hiruko shell he had used to protect himself was almost completely destroyed by the explosion.
After all, aside from its tail stinger, which was made of metal, the rest of Hiruko's shell was just wood. It couldn't possibly withstand the explosion.
Looking at Sasori, with his red hair, steaming body, and a few burns, Sigurd was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected Sasori to still have a body of his own.
Then he quickly realized, At this point in time, Sasori probably hasn't started modifying himself yet.
"Huff, huff!"
Sasori panted heavily. Feeling the burning pain on his skin, he became even more determined to turn himself into a Human Puppet.
Looking up at Sigurd, who held the Third Kazekage Puppet by the neck with one hand, Sasori silently considered his options.
The Third Kazekage couldn't do anything to his opponent. The Performance of a Hundred Puppets probably wouldn't work either.
But using a large number of puppets might buy him plenty of time to escape.
With that in mind, Sasori pulled another scroll from his robes.
Seeing this, Sigurd tossed the Third Kazekage Puppet in his hand down in front of Sasori.
The sudden move made Sasori's hand pause slightly as he pulled out the scroll.
Sasori looked at Sigurd in confusion and asked, "What's that supposed to mean? Are you trying to humiliate me?"
Sigurd waved a hand, then held out the other and invited him again. "I told you at the start that I was only here on behalf of our leader to invite you to join the Akatsuki."
Hearing this, Sasori was slightly taken aback. His opponent really had said something like that earlier.
But his tone had been so casual and arrogant that Sasori hadn't believed him at all.
Now, though, it seemed his opponent really had come to recruit him.
Sasori had never even heard of this so-called Akatsuki, but he was at a disadvantage now, so he had to know when to back down.
He still hadn't completed his eternal art. He absolutely couldn't die here without knowing why.
At that thought, Sasori immediately took a step forward and said, "Fine. I agree to join your organization."
Hearing this, Sigurd immediately began applauding and welcomed him. "Great! Welcome to the Akatsuki, our promising young Sasori!"
Sasori's forehead immediately bulged with veins. "Cut the crap. Now that I've joined, tell me what I'm supposed to do next!"
Before you continue