Sasori of the Red Sands

The sudden arrival of two people shattered the peace along the way.

Orochimaru looked at Baiyu with a smile, his face showing intense longing.

Last time, he had been badly injured and, in his carelessness, Baiyu had wounded him. This time, he had recovered his strength and would never make the same mistake again.

"So it was you! I thought you'd fled to Kirigakure. I didn't expect you to be hiding in the Land of Rain."

Baiyu sounded surprised. His tone made Orochimaru grit his teeth, wishing he could bite him.

What did he mean, fled?

That was what ordinary people did. If you couldn't win, you fled. He had made a strategic withdrawal.

The smile faded from Orochimaru's face. His expression turned unreadable as he watched Baiyu's movements closely. At last, he said slowly, "Hand over the antidote, and I'll spare your life."

"The antidote? Is that subordinate of yours out of commission?"

Baiyu asked. He himself had never expected poison to have such an effect on a living person.

Yakushi Kabuto was just an ordinary person, while Baiyu's skill at making poison was specifically meant to counter ghosts and spirits.

By extension, he could make ordinary poison, too. But in the hands of a great scientist like Orochimaru, creating an antidote would be child's play.

So Baiyu hadn't chosen to use ordinary poison.

He could have, but there was no need.

Yakushi Kabuto was also an excellent medical ninja. You could tell from his name that he understood poisons well.

"Then let's see if you can stop me."

Baiyu answered casually. Orochimaru's threat was a secondary concern.

The things Baiyu worried about least at the moment were Taijutsu and the Summoning Technique. As for ninjutsu and genjutsu, he could at least use the Sharingan to counter and mitigate them somewhat.

With his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, ordinary jōnin couldn't do a thing to him.

Orochimaru wasn't an ordinary jōnin. He was a Kage Level powerhouse, dangerous because he had mastered all sorts of forbidden techniques.

On the contrary, the person at Orochimaru's side, who had yet to say a word, put Baiyu under immense pressure.

Others might not recognize him, but the moment Baiyu saw Orochimaru and the man's attire, the pressure on him surged.

He wore a black cloak patterned with red clouds and crouched on the ground, his body forming a grotesque shape.

The Jade Maiden of the Akatsuki—Sasori of the Red Sands.

Sasori's specialty was the Puppet Technique. He was a peerless genius who had brought the Sand Village of the Land of Wind's signature secret art to the highest level.

In his teens, he had single-handedly killed the Third Kazekage and his Shadow Guard, then successfully turned the Kazekage into a Human Puppet that retained all his former secret techniques.

Ninjutsu and Taijutsu usually focused on killing with a single strike, using all kinds of assassination methods.

The Puppet Technique was different. After turning all sorts of objects into puppets, its user overwhelmed the enemy with numbers and tortured them to death.

The best way to deal with a puppeteer was to smash everything in sight—provided you could destroy the puppets the puppeteer had painstakingly crafted.

While Orochimaru and Uchiha Baiyu were talking, Sasori of the Red Sands had already grown impatient. Seeing that Orochimaru still hadn't made a move, he said, "You're telling me this little brat beat you? Orochimaru, you really are useless. You've lived this long for nothing."

Sasori of the Red Sands had no fondness for Konoha Ninja. His parents had once been killed by shinobi from Konoha.

As a rogue ninja who had left Konoha, Orochimaru had always annoyed Sasori. He couldn't understand why Zero had assigned Orochimaru to work with him, though he had received orders privately.

Keep an eye on Orochimaru!

The Akatsuki didn't trust Orochimaru.

The chill left Orochimaru's face, replaced by a mocking look. "Then you go ahead."

With that, he folded his arms and watched from the sidelines.

Sasori of the Red Sands' attitude proved the Akatsuki's attitude.

How could Orochimaru be content to serve as one of the Akatsuki's hired hands?

If he hadn't defected from Konoha and lost so many of his people, and if Zero's strength weren't so terrifying, he would never have joined the Akatsuki.

The Sage's Eye appearing in a single person had aroused Orochimaru's intense interest.

"Heh. I'll finish him in a minute."

Sasori chuckled, not taking Baiyu seriously in the slightest.

"Hiruko: Needle Eight Waves."

A barrage of high-density poisoned needles and spikes shot from the mouth of the Hiruko Human Puppet. All the needles were released from scrolls, so they took up no space.

Baiyu had been watching the two of them carefully. When he saw Sasori of the Red Sands move, he rested his wrist against his Forward-Blade Sword and flicked the scabbard open with his left fingertips.

A killing intent swept toward him.

"Thunder Breathing: Thunderclap and Flash: Ryusho Sen!"

Every cell in his body surged into motion as chakra coursed through him. He accelerated in an instant, dodged the countless needles, and rapidly closed in on Hiruko.

Orochimaru noticed the wariness in Baiyu's eyes. The corner of his mouth lifted, and he stepped back to put some distance between them.

He had only just joined the Akatsuki and wasn't familiar with anyone. This time, he had come out on a mission from the leader, Zero, and happened to run into Uchiha Baiyu.

The strange man beside him, Sasori of the Red Sands, clearly didn't take him seriously. Orochimaru deliberately kept quiet, so Sasori could learn a lesson.

It would be even better if Uchiha Baiyu could kill him outright.

With that in mind, Orochimaru withdrew from the battlefield.

He was just about to go take a look at another young member of the Uchiha Clan.

Sasori calmly turned Hiruko around, dodging Baiyu's first strike.

"Godspeed Draw-Sword! Iai: Draw-Sword Technique!"

Baiyu seized the opportunity. He halted, spun around, and drew his sword in a sweeping slash at Hiruko.

At first, the blade met a solid resistance. As the centrifugal force built, the cut grew easier.

Clack, clack, clack!

The joints of Sasori's Hiruko puppet rattled.

"Hiruko: Artificial Arm: Senbon!"

Another A-rank ninjutsu. A dark barrel emerged from Hiruko's left arm and rapidly fired poisoned needles in every direction.

Baiyu's Three-Tomoe Sharingan opened in an instant. He sprang backward and, with his enhanced eyesight, slashed away every needle in front of him.

"People who play with techniques really are sneaky!"

Baiyu leisurely returned his Forward-Blade Sword to its scabbard and took a dose of poison-resistance medicine.

When it came to poison, if you wanted to poison others, you first had to poison yourself.

Sasori of the Red Sands was an expert in poisons. Most shinobi chose to coat their weapons with poison.

Baiyu was extremely cautious about something so life-threatening, taking care to avoid infection and poisoning from Sasori of the Red Sands' toxins.

Increasing his body's poison resistance was the first line of defense against toxins.

When two poison-makers fought, the effects of their poisons were minimized.

Baiyu didn't intend to poison Sasori to death, either. It probably wouldn't work. Orochimaru had already defected, so Sasori had likely begun gradually turning himself into a Human Puppet.

At this point, Sasori no longer cared whether the flesh on his body was good or bad, black or pink.

"Not going to bring out the Third Kazekage Puppet?"

Baiyu said coldly. The man was still testing him.

A shell of copper skin and iron bones encased Sasori. If Baiyu couldn't break through it, he couldn't hurt the person hiding inside.

Hiruko's defenses were comprehensive. It was Sasori's first layer of disguise and protection.

It wasn't just a simple shell. It also concealed a large number of hidden weapons.

Among them, the Third Kazekage Puppet was even trickier. Magnet Release could greatly interfere with swordsmanship; if you weren't careful, the weapon in your hand would fly away.

For the first time, Baiyu faced an enemy who was this difficult to handle.

Magnet Release!

A swordsman's worst enemy.