How Ninjas Fight

Crack...

The puppet fragments burned away in the flames.

High in the air, Sasori of the Red Sands, back in his original form, rode atop the Third Kazekage human puppet, hovering above the sea of flames.

From another sea of flames, Orochimaru got a clear look at the human puppet and sneered through gritted teeth.

So...

You're the bastard who set off the Third Shinobi World War!

After the Third Kazekage disappeared, Sunagakure invaded Konoha in search of him. That was what sparked the Third Shinobi World War.

Calling him the culprit was a little harsh. The Third Shinobi World War could be considered an extension of the Second, but he certainly qualified as its spark.

"Where are you looking?"

Wielding a massive sword, Akainu looked like an infernal judge of flames.

Orochimaru's expression turned cold as he spat the Kusanagi Sword from his mouth.

"Big guy, don't think I'm afraid of you."

"I'm certain you're no reclusive powerhouse. That kid summoned you from another dimension, didn't he..."

"Then let me show you how ninjas fight!"

Sora's Tachi extended dozens of meters. With a jerk of Orochimaru's head, it swung out at incredible speed!

Blade met blade, and the exploding edges of their weapons sent magma surging outward!

Looking at Orochimaru, whose neck stretched dozens of meters, Akainu furrowed his brow.

His Observation Haki could hear the anguished wails of countless souls in that grotesque body...

How vile!!

A red-haired, handsome boy stood atop the Third Kazekage human puppet.

Unlike a human, his abdomen had been modified with a poisonous steel cable, and a Spiral Slash had been installed in his lower back.

Where his heart should have been was a black cylinder.

"The one with 'Sasori' written on it is his Core. Just destroy that."

Shisui noticed the Core. After spending so much time with Uchiha Sora, he'd picked up a little of his snark, too.

"Does he really want his enemies to know where his weakness is? Why make it so obvious?"

Uchiha Sora smiled, coming to Sasori's defense. "It's not like he's exposing it. He usually stays inside his shell."

Upon thinking it over, Sasori realized something was off.

When he fought Konan, who had come to recruit him, he had indeed used the Third Kazekage human puppet.

But at the time, he hadn't finished modifying himself into a human puppet. Even Konan didn't know about his Core.

And the Uchiha kid in front of him had spotted it before Hiruko was destroyed...

Sasori narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Uchiha Sora's.

Could it be...

If it was true, he absolutely couldn't let those eyes be damaged. This boy would be a masterpiece on par with the Third Kazekage!

Sasori raised a hand and spoke indifferently. "You really do have a fine pair of eyes. So... can you see my attacks?"

Countless tiny grains of black Iron Sand billowed from the Third Kazekage's sleeves, like dark clouds gathering over a city.

Magnet Release Secret Technique: Iron Sand Shower!

The falling black rain was like the opening curtain to a gateway of life and death!

The Iron Sand carried not only the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release chakra but also the poison Sasori had applied to it.

He was the only puppeteer capable of making human puppets, preserving all the ninjutsu and Kekkei Genkai their makers had possessed in life.

He had graduated as a Chunin at eight, and completed ten S-rank missions in his teens. He should have been the next generation's strongest, the one to lead Sunagakure's rise.

Unfortunately...

The Third Hokage, who had neglected the psychological needs of children left behind by their parents, paid a terrible price for it.

"Shisui."

At a soft call, the two of them formed Hand Seals in perfect sync.

Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!

Two fire dragons roared and intertwined. Sharing the same origin and nature, they were more than the sum of their parts, turning a vast area into a sea of flames in an instant!

Vaporized poison rose in green wisps from the Iron Sand, which glowed red from the flames.

Facing the roaring fire dragons, Sasori's human-puppet face remained expressionless. He simply extended both hands, revealing a nozzle in each palm.

Flame Prison Soothing Formation!

Whoosh!!

A stream of orange-red flames burst from the pipes in his palms. The focused flames pierced through the fire dragons, carrying the red-hot Iron Sand toward the two below.

"I'll go first."

Shisui leaped into the air. As he jumped, one after another, his Phantom Body Flicker Technique clones split off from his real body. They braved the flames and closed in on Sasori of the Red Sands.

Body Flicker Shisui, huh...

The battlefield was the easiest place to make a name for yourself. Even Sasori, far away in the Land of Wind, had heard of Shisui.

He didn't think much of it because he'd earned his own title at around the same age. Now he was nearly twenty.

We're both geniuses, but I'm a full cycle older than you. What chance do you have against me?

Most importantly...

The Sharingan Genjutsu the Uchiha Clan was famous for had no effect on me, a human puppet!

Choosing me as your opponent was the most foolish decision you could have made!

At its core, Shisui's Phantom Body Flicker Technique was still a visual illusion. It didn't actually make his real body intangible.

The reason his enemies thought every phantom was real was that Shisui used his incredibly fast Body Flicker Technique to attack in place of the phantoms.

Sasori didn't distinguish the real from the fake by sight. He sensed chakra threads.

Unless Shisui used the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, this trick wouldn't fool Sasori.

He had already identified Shisui's real body. Like a spider waiting for its prey, he deliberately let Shisui approach.

The instant he gets close, I'll kill him!

Below, Uchiha Sora fired dozens of Kunai wrapped in Fire Style chakra, covering Shisui's approach.

When Shisui leaped above the Third Kazekage, a hint of a smile seemed to flicker across Sasori's cold face.

You fell for it, brat!

Whoosh!!!

Ignoring the other phantoms, Sasori's steel cable shot from his abdomen like a venomous snake, piercing Shisui through the heart!

I felt the impact. That's the real one!!

Then...

Thud! Thud!

Two muffled impacts rang out almost simultaneously.

The "Shisui" who had been struck turned into a cloud of smoke, while one of Uchiha Sora's Kunai transformed into Shisui within the smoke.

A layer of flames clung to Shisui's short blade, and his eyes were scarlet.

He couldn't learn Fire Style Chakra Mode, but over the past few days, he'd learned to coat his weapon in chakra.

This is bad!

Sasori reeled in the cable and turned sideways to protect his Core.

Whoosh!!

A human puppet's head soared into the air. It wasn't Sasori's, but the Third Kazekage's, beneath him.

The Uchiha had a special way of communicating.

By connecting their eyes with their visual prowess, they could convey a great deal of information.

In the original timeline, Itachi often showed his little brother Sasuke images, and Fugaku had shown some to Itachi as well.

Uchiha Sora didn't need to say anything to share information with Shisui. A glance was enough.

He'd said it aloud on purpose...

So Sasori could hear.

Everything had been done to give him a false impression: that the two of them would target his Core, making him focus on protecting it.

Attacking the Core could indeed inflict a fatal wound, but Uchiha Sora hadn't underestimated Sasori. There was no way this guy would be defeated so easily.

Once he'd decided to act, Uchiha Sora had meant to pull the problem out by the roots.

Killing the slippery snake would probably be a tall order, but he could at least try to keep Sasori of the Red Sands here.

That meant...

He couldn't give Sasori a chance to escape.

Only a handful of ninjas in the Shinobi World could fly, and the Third Kazekage was one of them.

Sasori could transfer his Core. Even if they gained the upper hand, he could move it into the Third Kazekage, then use his ability to fly and escape.

The first step of their plan was to destroy the Third Kazekage!

At the same time the head took flight...

Boom! Boom! Boom!!

Countless wild fire serpents rose from the earth, roaring and hissing.

The countless giant serpents formed an impenetrable net, attacking from every direction. Wherever they passed, they seemed to burn charred ravines into the air, filling it with a pungent, scorched smell.

Kanzaki Kaori!!

Sasori managed only to cut off a fragment with his steel cable before he had to leap away to dodge the attack. He could only watch as his masterpiece was swallowed by the sea of flames...

"Uchiha... Sora!"

Even as a human puppet, he could still feel the fury with which he gritted his teeth.

"You finally called me by my name instead of 'brat.'"

Uchiha Sora's lips curled up as he reversed his grip on his sword.

"Now you can't run, Sasori."