Naruto finished speaking and reached toward Sasori with his right hand, its terrifying force bearing down on him.
"Damn! He's so fast!" Sasori cried, his face paling in alarm. His hands danced, sending the chakra threads controlling his puppet whipping toward Naruto as he leaped back again and again.
Whoosh! Naruto infused his wrist with Wind Release chakra. With a sweep of his hand, he sliced through the chakra threads as easily as tofu.
Watching Sasori stumble backward in panic, Naruto chose not to press his advantage.
Instead, he fixed his gaze on the ground.
Sasori's retreat had left Deidara and Gaara completely exposed.
"W-w-w-w..." Deidara's eyes were vacant. The constant erosion of Purple Lightning and Sasori's poison gas had left him dazed and senseless.
Naruto crouched and gently laid his hands on the two of them, then taunted Sasori.
"What, you don't want your teammate or the Tailed Beast anymore?!"
"You..." Sasori's eyes were bloodshot, his face twisted with rage.
"Looks like you really don't want them! Guess they're mine now." Naruto's lips lifted in a faint, carefree smile.
As he spoke, in the very next instant—
Whoosh! Naruto and the two others vanished in the blink of an eye, swallowed by a powerful space-time ripple.
Yet a mere moment later, Naruto appeared again.
Only—
Deidara and Gaara had vanished without a trace, as if they'd evaporated.
Konoha, Hokage Building.
"Jiraiya, why can't I shake this feeling of dread? Could something happen to them on this mission?" Tsunade asked worriedly as she stood in the corridor outside the office.
"Don't worry! As long as Naruto's there, at least no one will die," Jiraiya reassured her.
"All right." Tsunade sighed helplessly. They reached the office, and she slowly pushed open the door.
In an instant—
Jiraiya and Tsunade's eyes widened. They were both stunned.
Because, at that moment—
Two people were lying on the Hokage's desk: one blond, one red-haired. It was an extremely bizarre sight!
"Abba abba..." The blond one was even mumbling incoherently, drool dribbling from his mouth.
"Wait..." Tsunade came to her senses. She barely knew the blond one, but she knew the red-haired one all too well!
Wasn't that Gaara, the Kazekage of the neighboring village, whom Akatsuki had captured?!
"Wait... Who put Gaara and this blond guy on my desk?!"
Land of Rivers, battlefield.
Gazing at the spot where the two had vanished, Sasori seethed with rage and roared at Naruto.
"Damn it! Uzumaki Naruto, where did you take them?!"
Sasori didn't care that the One-Tail was gone. He could always capture it again another time.
But he couldn't stand losing Deidara!
Although Deidara and Sasori argued constantly and each had his own unique view of art, that was exactly what had driven Sasori's art to keep improving. Deidara's different artistic sensibilities had challenged him.
So even if he never said it aloud, deep down Sasori admired Deidara. He even considered him a giant in the Shinobi World's art scene!
Now Naruto had taken Deidara, and his fate was unknown. No wonder Sasori was so furious...
"Heh..." Naruto's lips curled into a mocking smile. He beckoned Sasori over with a finger and taunted him. "Beat me, and I'll tell you!"
At Naruto's provocative look, Sasori's fury reached its peak. His voice turned ice-cold. "Uzumaki Naruto! I won't hold back this time just because the organization wants to capture the Jinchuriki alive. I'm going to erase you completely!"
As he spoke, in the next instant—
Whoosh! Sasori tore off his Akatsuki cloak and flung it into the air, revealing a body that had been completely transformed into a puppet.
There was no pulse of flesh in that body, only the beauty of machinery. The chakra core in his chest gleamed brightly, while the four scrolls on his back radiated a terrifying aura!
Sasori of the Red Sands, fully unleashed!
Watching this, Naruto finally broke into an excited smile. "Now this is getting interesting!"
"Die!" Sasori fixed Naruto with a cold stare and raised his hands, palms aimed at him.
Click! Black tubes emerged from both palms, and the first scroll on his back suddenly lit up.
Sasori's face twisted into a grimace, like a demon from the depths of hell. He shouted—
"Fire Release: Flame Prison Dance!"
The next moment—
Roar! The tubes in Sasori's palms flashed, spewing a raging inferno. Like a ferocious fire dragon, it charged at Naruto with its claws bared.
The flames burned so hot they seemed capable of reducing the entire world to ashes!
This was an extraordinary fire stored in Sasori's scroll. Its power far surpassed that of ordinary Fire Release Ninjutsu like Great Fireball. It was virtually unstoppable!
Naruto's eyes gleamed at the sight, and he smiled. "Fire Release? Perfect. I haven't used this technique in a while!"
As he spoke, Naruto quickly formed Hand Seals.
Poof! A cloud of smoke burst beside him, and two Shadow Clones appeared. Naruto stood between them, the three of them arranged in a neat line.
Then—
Boom!
An incredibly powerful surge of chakra shot skyward from all three Narutos. Their cheeks puffed out, as if an immense force were about to erupt from within them.
Then came a deafening shout.
"Fire Release: Goemon!"
The next instant—
The Narutos each played their part: one blew wind like the god of wind, one breathed fire like a dragon, and one sprayed oil like an oil well!
Working together in perfect harmony, their attacks intertwined furiously.
In a flash—
Rumble!
A vast sea of oil appeared out of nowhere, radiating suffocating heat. Like a ferocious beast carrying the might to devour heaven and earth, it surged toward Sasori's flames!
It left nothing in its wake!!!
Unlike Jiraiya, Naruto had mastered all five chakra natures. He could perform this astonishing technique with nothing but Shadow Clones.
He could even use it as easily as he did now, without entering Sage Mode!
Its power might have been a little weaker without senjutsu chakra, but it was still horrifying!
"This Fire Release..." Sasori's brows furrowed. He seemed to sense danger, and the first scroll on his back flashed repeatedly, making the flames grow even more terrifying.
The two scorching Fire Release attacks collided with a tremendous crash.
But as soon as they met—
Sasori's flames were swallowed up by the colossal wave of burning oil, utterly unable to fight back.
Roar! The wave of burning oil didn't slow down at all. Even as it consumed the flames, it surged straight toward Sasori.
"How could this happen?" Sasori stared in shock.
But there was no time to hesitate. Seeing his Fire Release fail, Sasori's second scroll flashed. A powerful jet of water burst from the tube and slammed into the wave of burning oil.
Unfortunately, the jet vanished into the sea like a pebble dropped into a pond. It accomplished nothing except making the wave even more imposing!
"Damn it..." Sasori cursed in frustration when neither fire nor water could help him.
But the sea of oil was like a demon's gaping maw, about to swallow the spot where he stood.
Whoosh! Sasori hurriedly sent the hook in his chest flying toward a nearby mound of earth, and his body was pulled along with it.
Only then did he narrowly escape the clutches of the sea of oil.
Smack! Sasori covered his right eye with one hand. His face darkened, twisted with fury as he spoke. "I can't believe you've driven me this far... But from this moment on, there won't be any more surprises!"
As he spoke, Sasori's wrist twitched, and chakra threads drew the third scroll from his back.
Then it slowly unfurled in front of him.
Suddenly, in the next instant—
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! A hundred red figures shot from the scroll and hovered in the air.
Their faces were twisted, like demons crawling out of hell. Every one of them was a puppet!
The atmosphere grew oppressive in an instant!
At the same time, countless chakra threads burst from Sasori's chest, reaching into the air and connecting tightly to the red puppets.
Sasori covered his face with his right hand once more. Absolute killing intent flickered in his eyes as he declared proudly, "This technique is powerful enough to destroy a small country! Prepare to hear your own screams!"
"Puppet Technique: Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets!"
As he spoke—
Click, clack, click! The hundred terrifying puppets roared like demons, their forms unnerving. Then they tore through the air and charged at Naruto.
Naruto watched them, a trace of resignation in his eyes, and said,
"A numbers game? Don't you know what I'm best at is..."
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique?"
As he spoke, Naruto formed Hand Seals.
Poof, poof, poof! Terrifying clouds of smoke burst across the battlefield, completely engulfing Sasori's puppets.
Then a thousand Narutos, each holding a Rasengan, appeared like gods!
Before you continue