Boom—!
Amid flames shooting into the sky.
Uchiha Shingen held his blade in one hand. The Three-Tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly, yet his mind remained perfectly clear throughout it all.
This guy had come for me. He was also the one watching me from the shadows before.
At that moment, Uchiha Shingen understood that the feeling of being watched earlier had not been an illusion.
This guy... might be even stronger than Yagura!
He might even be the strongest opponent I had faced so far, aside from Jiraiya!
No matter what this guy wanted, I cannot let him succeed. Since he is a puppeteer, his real body is his greatest weakness!
I have to drag him into close combat!
The thought flashed through his mind, and in an instant, Uchiha Shingen had already charged before Sasori.
Kotetsu came slashing down, trailing a cold gleam!
Level Four Taijutsu Mastery, Level Three Tool Mastery, and the guidance Setsuna Uchiha had given him recently.
Over this period, Uchiha Shingen's greatest improvement had not been in the ninjutsu he had originally planned to develop.
It was his swordsmanship!
His close-combat ability!
Combined with Kotetsu's sharpness, even a body of steel would have been cleaved in two by this strike. Yet the sure-kill slash ultimately missed.
Whoosh—!
The moment the blade swept through the air.
Uchiha Shingen lowered his gaze and saw a sight that defied the human body's structure.
Sasori's upper body bent sharply backward, as though his spine had nearly been snapped in half.
Such a degree of distortion would have permanently paralyzed an ordinary person's lower body. No normal person could do that.
"This guy is a puppet too?!"
Uchiha Shingen silently cursed himself for having thought too simply.
I could spot a puppeteer's greatest weakness in an instant. How could