Just as Naruto finished speaking.
The Rasengan, infused with the chakra of all five nature transformations, slammed straight into Hiruko's sturdy back.
In an instant, a deafening boom rang out.
"Boom—" The terrifying force of the Five-Style Rasengan was like a ferocious beast, instantly tearing through every inch of Hiruko's body.
The once-indestructible demon-faced back shattered into countless pieces, and Hiruko's massive body broke apart piece by piece. The Akatsuki cloak was reduced to dust.
Then.
The spiraling force erupted completely, gathering into a colossal, multicolored sphere of energy several dozen feet across and engulfing Hiruko entirely.
The five nature transformations intertwined, compressing, spinning, and exploding without end! With brutal force, they ravaged everything inside the sphere.
A moment later.
[The Five-Style Rasengan decisively wrecked Hiruko. Villain Points +323!]
"That should do it..." Naruto slowly withdrew his hand. As he did, the terrifying sphere gradually dissipated.
"Crack—" Hiruko fell out of it. Its once-mighty body was now charred black, covered in hideous cracks and mangled sections. It was utterly wrecked.
Still, to give credit where it was due, its defenses were truly impressive. It hadn't been completely pulverized by the Five-Style Rasengan!
Then, in the next instant.
Whoosh! Hiruko suddenly came apart, and countless fragments shot in every direction.
A red-and-black figure flashed through the flying debris, leaping at incredible speed toward the cave entrance.
Naruto fixed his gaze on the figure and said softly, "So I finally get to see your real face, Sasori of the Red Sands!"
The red-and-black figure bounded over to Deidara and stopped beside him.
Only then was the face that had remained hidden in the darkness finally revealed to the world.
It was a face of exquisite perfection, like a porcelain doll's. A short mane of crimson hair fluttered in the wind, lending him a hint of wildness.
And with the black cloak emblazoned with red clouds, his striking, unconventional handsomeness was brought out in full!
There was no doubt. This man was...
The true body of the Shinobi World's greatest puppeteer, Sasori of the Red Sands!
Sasori's face seemed utterly lifeless. As his eyes moved, they conveyed only a peculiar, mechanical beauty.
And that was his ultimate art: transforming himself into a perfect puppet body that would never age!
With the chakra-filled core of flesh in his chest, Sasori could attain eternal life!
That eternal art was no idle boast!
He really could do it!
Yet now.
Even Sasori's unchanging face couldn't hide a trace of shock. He stared in disbelief and said, "How is this possible? You're nothing but a body of flesh and blood, so why has my poison had no effect on you?! This is the strongest poison there is—it was potent enough to cripple even the strongest Kazekage!"
Sasori had every reason to be shocked. Naruto had already inhaled a massive amount of poison gas!
And yet he could still use ninjutsu to blast Sasori to pieces!
That had never happened in Sasori's career as a shinobi!
Sasori refused to believe Naruto had some kind of immunity to poison! He had spent years painstakingly researching this deadly toxin, and no living creature in the world could resist it!
He had even studied the poison of Hanzo of the Salamander, the former demigod, in depth. Its potency had been nowhere near his own!
"Your poison..." Naruto lifted his eyes, looking thoughtful, as if savoring something. "It would've been quite troublesome before, but now, all it does is make me feel a little pain, like being pricked by needles..."
It was true. If Naruto had faced a poison cloud blanketing the area before, it might have been quite troublesome. He would've had to rely on long-range attacks to hit everything at once.
But now, after obtaining the Immortal Body of the Evil God...
The poison couldn't do anything to him except cause pain!
As for pain, he had been the king of assassins in his previous life. If he couldn't handle a little sting, he might as well go stand at the village gate and ask for a Tailed Beast Bomb...
Sasori's mind raced. Then his eyes suddenly widened, and he exclaimed, "You feel pain, but it doesn't affect your physical abilities... Could that be the Jashin Cult's Immortal Body?!"
"You're smart," Naruto said with a grin.
At the confirmation, Sasori's pupils contracted. He was shocked all over again. "How is this possible? How could that insane body be successfully created twice?!"
He knew full well that the Jashin Cult had poured everything it had into creating a single immortal body, Hidan's. How could another one, Uzumaki Naruto, suddenly appear?!
Absurd! This was utterly absurd!
"Could it be that I'm Jashin?" Naruto naturally wouldn't reveal the truth, so he made up an answer on the spot.
Sasori knew Naruto was messing with him. He decided to capture him outright. Once he dissected Naruto, everything would become clear!
With that thought, Sasori's right hand twitched.
In an instant.
Hiss! An ancient scroll slid out from the sleeve at his wrist, and a strange aura rose with it.
Then Sasori grabbed the scroll and gave it a sharp flick.
"Flap—" The scroll unfurled at once, revealing its contents to everyone: a dense collection of bizarre, talisman-like symbols.
Yet, right in the middle of them...
Was a large, archaic number three!
Naruto saw it and understood. "Are you going to bring out the legendary strongest Kazekage?"
Sure enough, as soon as Naruto finished speaking.
Sasori swiftly formed Hand Seals with his other hand.
In an instant.
Poof! A cloud of smoke burst from the scroll, and a man appeared within it, hovering in midair.
His face was grim, with a distinctly mechanical look. Blue hair streamed in the wind like a waterfall, and a tattered black robe wrapped tightly around his body. His eyes were hollow, and he radiated a chilling aura of death.
This man was none other than Sunagakure's strongest shinobi, the Third Kazekage!
Unfortunately, Sasori had turned him into a Human Puppet. The ten chakra strings behind him were clearly visible, gleaming brilliantly.
Sasori's eyes narrowed as he said coldly, "I'll make you crumble to dust before my art."
As soon as he finished speaking.
Sasori gave the chakra strings in his hand a sharp tug.
Under his control, the motionless Third Kazekage suddenly erupted with an astonishing presence.
In the very next instant.
Creak, creak! The Third Kazekage's two puppet arms emerged from beneath his black robe. With a dizzying twist, they transformed in the blink of an eye into a saw blade and a razor-sharp blade.
The moment the weapons appeared, the Third Kazekage charged at Naruto.
He moved with incredible speed, the wind howling in his wake. The weapons in his hands carved one razor-sharp arc after another through the air.
The space around them seemed ready to split apart.
If an ordinary person were unfortunate enough to be struck by those weapons, they'd lose their head on the spot!
"Pretty fast..." Naruto merely smiled. He casually drew a Kunai and channeled his chakra, instantly coating the weapon with Wind Release chakra at its most potent.
In an instant, the ordinary Kunai shone with brilliant blue light, becoming a weapon capable of cutting through anything in the world.
By then, the Third Kazekage had already lunged at Naruto's face. Naruto swung his Wind Release Kunai and charged straight at him.
The two launched into a fierce battle.
"Clang!" Sparks flew as Naruto and the Third Kazekage's weapons collided again and again. The clashing rang out without pause, displaying the stark, distinctive beauty of pure Taijutsu.
But in the next instant.
Crack! The Wind Release Kunai suddenly surged forward, cleanly slicing the blade in the Third Kazekage's left hand into several pieces.
The sudden turn of events made the Third Kazekage stagger backward a few steps.
Naruto pressed his advantage, raising his right arm and driving his elbow toward the Third Kazekage's face.
"You fell for it..." Sasori grinned wickedly.
Then his hands moved rapidly, and the chakra strings blazed with dazzling light.
Whoosh! At Sasori's command, the Third Kazekage's body shot backward.
At the same time, he raised his right hand high, palm facing Naruto as he charged toward him.
"Puppet Secret Technique: Thousand-Hand Manipulation!" Sasori shouted in a low voice.
In an instant.
Boom! A black seal on the Third Kazekage's right hand suddenly burst open, and hundreds upon hundreds of thick, powerful puppet arms surged madly from the cloud of black smoke.
The puppet arms wove together in a dense mass, creating a terrifying sight that blotted out the sky.
Then they surged toward Naruto's face with enough force to crush anything in their path.
Their speed, their strength—it was terrifying!
The air shuddered wherever they passed.
In the blink of an eye, this cataclysmic attack was right in front of Naruto!
And this was the awesome might of Sasori's strongest ambush technique—Thousand-Hand Manipulation!
The moment Sasori saw an opening, he launched this terrifying killing move.
His opponents rarely had time to react before they were blasted to death in an instant!
Before you continue