"Lose yourself in the midst of eternal art!" Sasori murmured, his eyes glinting.
Then he looked on expectantly, eager to watch Naruto get obliterated by Thousand-Hand Manipulation.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as he'd hoped.
These thousand puppet hands could certainly catch most people off guard, but against Naruto, who had mastered the Flying Thunder God, they were still far too slow!
Naruto formed Hand Seals with one hand and shifted slightly.
In an instant,
Whoosh! Black-and-gold light flashed through the air like a shooting star. Naruto vanished from where he stood and appeared beside the Kunai he had just thrown.
With no target in sight, the puppet arms could only flail blindly, pounding the ground.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The ground instantly cracked apart, battered until it was riddled with holes. Under the arms' terrifying strength, a bottomless pit burst open.
It was easy to imagine that if this power struck a person, even someone with an immortal body would be reduced to dust!
Sasori's gaze darkened, turning icy. "That damn Flying Thunder God again..."
At last, Sasori understood why the Yellow Flash had struck fear across the world during the Third Shinobi World War and become the key to ending it...
It was all because that incredible Flying Thunder God Technique had let him stand invincible from the start!
His enemies couldn't escape, and they couldn't catch him.
It was like he was cheating. How was anyone supposed to fight him?
Naruto remained calm and said softly, "Sasori, if this is all your art amounts to... then I have to say, it's a huge disappointment."
"Damn you... How dare you disparage my art?" A blazing fury ignited in Sasori's eyes.
Sasori's fingers began to dance wildly. Pulled by the chakra threads, the Third Kazekage swiftly returned to his side.
"Then I'll show you the ultimate secret of my Human Puppet!" Sasori formed Hand Seals with one hand, his signs changing rapidly.
The next instant,
Hiss! An eerie aura began to emanate from the Third Kazekage. His body trembled slightly, then his enormous, dark mouth suddenly opened wide.
"Whoosh—" With a piercing hiss, a torrent of black grains poured from the Third Kazekage's mouth.
The black grains rapidly spread and hovered around him, forming an ink-dark cloud that seemed to come straight from hell, filling the air with dread.
Naruto watched and murmured, "Oh? So this is the Third Kazekage's Iron Sand?"
Sasori's pupils contracted. A near-manic expression crossed his face. "That's right! Before my unparalleled ultimate art, even a Human Puppet can wield the Kekkei Genkai it possessed in life! And what you're seeing now is the Third Kazekage's special technique!"
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand!"
The words had barely left his mouth when—
"Hiss, hiss, hiss—" The dark Iron Sand twisted and writhed in the air, radiating a terrifying aura. In an instant, it transformed into countless chunks of black iron sand.
"Die! Magnet Release: Sand Shower!" Sasori triggered the Hand Seals and shouted furiously.
In a flash,
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—" Countless chunks of black Iron Sand ripped through the air, hurtling forward with unstoppable force.
The attack was so terrifying it seemed beyond human.
"As expected of the strongest Kazekage—you've got some skill!" Naruto narrowed his eyes and swept an arm out, sending several Kunai hurtling in different directions.
In an instant, the Flying Thunder God Technique activated.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Naruto darted between the Kunai, black-and-gold light trailing behind him as he became several dazzling streaks.
By constantly changing position with the Flying Thunder God, he made it impossible for the Sand Shower to lock on to him!
But Sasori seemed to have anticipated that. He changed his Hand Seals again, a red gleam flashing in his eyes as he roared, "Hit everything! No discrimination, full coverage!"
The moment the words left his mouth,
"Boom—" A terrifying surge of chakra burst from the Third Kazekage. He opened his puppet mouth, spewing out an ever-growing torrent of black sand.
It formed chunks of iron sand and shot through the air once more. There were so many that they completely blotted out the sky!
As long as Naruto remained in the area, he was bound to be hit by the Iron Sand!
Naruto gave him an amused smile. "Can't keep up with me, so you're trying to sweep the whole area with sheer numbers? If I just left, wouldn't that be a huge disappointment?"
The instant he finished speaking,
Naruto abruptly drew a Kunai marked with a Flying Thunder God Mark and tossed it into the air.
His hands flashed through a sequence of Hand Seals, and he called out,
"Wind Release: Flying Thunder God Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
In an instant, the earth shook!
Boom! A torrent of terrifying Wind Release chakra roared skyward from Naruto like a raging tornado. The wind howled around him, making him look as if the God of Wind had descended upon the world!
Then the Wind Release chakra surged toward the Flying Thunder God Kunai in the air.
The next moment,
Whoosh! The Flying Thunder God Kunai seemed to come alive, blazing with light as it flashed through the air. A blue glow unique to Wind Release gleamed along its blade, while a powerful space-time aura poured from it and countless afterimages appeared one after another.
One became countless!
In an instant,
"Vmmm—!" The afterimages became real. Countless Flying Thunder God Kunai tore through space and hovered in the air, radiating enough force to destroy everything.
Every Flying Thunder God Kunai carried the cutting power of Wind Release and the aura of space-time!
That meant each one could serve as a medium for the Flying Thunder God Technique!
Then,
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The Flying Thunder God Kunai shot through the air, slicing across the sky as they met the Black Sand Shower!
Boom! The Flying Thunder God Kunai clashed with the Iron Sand Shower, unleashing a deafening blast as a terrifying shock wave surged in every direction.
The sight was astonishing, dazzling beyond words!
Sasori's lips curled with disdain. "Don't waste your effort. Iron Sand is one of the hardest substances in the world. Nothing can break it except those three divine swords... It—"
But before he could finish, Sasori froze.
Because,
In the very next instant,
"Crack—" Hairline fractures appeared across the surface of the black Iron Sand chunks struck by the Flying Thunder God Kunai. Then the Kunai sliced right through them!
It took five or six chunks of Iron Sand just to destroy a single Flying Thunder God Kunai!
There was no doubt: they couldn't withstand the Kunai's unstoppable assault!
"How is this possible?!" Sasori stared in disbelief.
Naruto explained, "In terms of hardness alone, my Kunai are naturally inferior to Iron Sand. But once I coat them in Wind Release and imbue them with the space-time aura of the Flying Thunder God, they become blades that nothing in this world can withstand!"
The moment he finished speaking,
Boom! The Black Sand Shower was completely defeated, and the remaining Flying Thunder God Kunai shot straight toward Sasori.
"Damn it!" Sasori cursed under his breath and triggered the Hand Seals again.
"Whoosh—" The Third Kazekage opened his mouth once more, spewing out a massive torrent of black sand. The instant it appeared, it swiftly gathered into a gigantic shield in front of Sasori.
By then, the Flying Thunder God Kunai were already upon them.
Rumble! Deafening crashes rang out as the Kunai battered the black sand shield, tearing it full of holes in an instant. Grains of black sand fell to the ground like stars raining from the sky.
Dust billowed, blotting out the sky!
"Reinforce it! Reinforce it!" Sasori frantically pushed more chakra into the Third Kazekage, who continued spewing black sand to shore up the shield.
For a moment, the two sides were locked in a stalemate.
But against such a terrifying swarm of Flying Thunder God Kunai, there were bound to be openings!
Just then,
Whoosh! A Flying Thunder God Kunai suddenly veered off course, passed the shield, and shot toward Sasori's side.
"Oh no..." Sasori turned his head, his heart sinking.
Sure enough, the next instant,
Whoosh! The familiar black-and-gold light burst from the Kunai, and Naruto appeared in a flash. His right hand opened, chakra surging as a Rasengan materialized and slammed toward the Third Kazekage.
Sasori tried to trigger the Hand Seals again, but it was too late.
Boom! The Rasengan slammed into the Third Kazekage's back. Its terrifying spiraling force erupted, and amid the howling wind, it sliced him clean in half.
The Third Kazekage fell to the ground, instantly reduced to a heap of wreckage!
Naruto then turned toward Sasori, a teasing smile on his lips, and spoke.
"Now, let's move on to the third stage!"
[Rasengan obliterated the Third Kazekage Human Puppet. Villain Points +439!]
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