[ Hellhound, Strength of a Hundred Fist ]!
Lava Release chakra rapidly gathered on the surface of his left hand's crystal cloak, scalding magma adhering to his fist, billowing black smoke rising from it. After dragging Hiruko's body over with his right hand, Sato Hideaka suddenly punched out with his left fist!
With a loud thud!
The fist easily pierced through Hiruko's body.
The puppet shield on the table was pierced into Hiruko's body. Countless streams of magma, carrying an aura of scorching heat and destruction, burst forth from his fist, instantly turning the humanoid puppet into flames, melting it into liquid, and disappearing from this world!
Hiruko was completely destroyed, leaving not a trace in this world...
However, just before Hiruko was dragged away by Sato Hideaka and subjected to a heavy punch, the door behind Hiruko suddenly opened, and a dark figure jumped out and leaped thirty meters away, leaving only a silhouette draped in gray cloth!
"The destructive power of this move far exceeded my expectations. Was Lava Release combined with Sannin's Princess Tsunade Strength of a Hundred? It seems I'll have to lose quite a few puppets... before I can gather humanoid puppets that are comparable to the Third Kazekage again!"
The figure that leaped from Hiruko's body spoke with a magnetic quality, unlike Hiruko's previous hoarse and shrill voice, which instead gave one a somewhat comfortable feeling.
Sato Hideaka twisted his neck, as if he had just finished warming up, and said, "I heard that Sasori of the Red Sands can control fifty puppets at the same time. Although I don't know how you did it, I still want to try!"
The figure draped in gray cloth turned around and removed it, revealing a red head and a handsome, delicate face, as exquisite as a woman's, yet also as flawless as a doll's.
"Fifty? That was my previous limit. Now, facing so many puppets... you can try my most satisfying creation first. I think you'll find it very interesting!"
As Scorpion spoke, he took out a scroll from his sleeve. With a bang, a black figure floated in mid-air. This figure wore gray clothes and had a cold and stiff appearance; it was a humanoid puppet.
However, the puppet's clothing and the brown fur vest on its back caused Sato Hideaka's pupils to shrink slightly. He said calmly, " The Third Kazekage, I didn't expect that only half a month after the Third Kazekage disappeared, you would have turned him into a humanoid puppet?"
"Oh, it seems you know the Third Kazekage quite well, recognizing him in an instant. Then you must know what abilities the Third Kazekage possesses. Between the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai and your Lava Release Kekkei Genkai and Crystal Release Kekkei Genkai, which is superior?"
Sasori seemed very interested in this, slightly bending over and his fingers began to move. The Third Kazekage's body moved along with it. Sato Hideaka knew this was the technique of a puppeteer, using Chakra Threads invisible to the naked eye to control the puppet's movement and attacks.
" Magnet Release: Iron Sand Shower!"
The Third Kazekage Puppet opened its mouth, and countless fine black Iron Sand floated in mid-air, resembling the tiny Kikaichū that Sato Hideaka had seen before, densely packed like black mist dancing in the air.
The black mist rapidly condensed, forming countless thin iron needles in the air. Each needle pierced the void, raining down on Sato Hideaka like a raging storm, its attack exceptionally swift...
With the Third Kazekage's chakra infusion, the power of these iron needles was many times greater than that of the previous Senbon needles!
Seeing this, Sato Hideaka completed the hand seals for the Body Flicker Technique, and his figure suddenly multiplied into nine. Each of the nine different figures threw a Crystal Three-Pronged Kunai, and the nine Crystal Three-Pronged Kunai shot towards Sasori with a whooshing sound...
Faced with the flying iron needles, Sato Hideaka seemed to rely on his crystal cloak formed from Crystal Release chakra and was not particularly concerned!
So, you actually think that way about the Third Kazekage's Iron Sand Shower?
Seeing that Sato Hideaka didn't seem to intend to dodge, Sasori's heart stirred slightly. The Third Kazekage Puppet's left hand instantly opened, revealing rows of wooden blocks with black runes. After a puff of smoke, countless puppet arms extended...
Facing the paved ground, it was like a storm of Iron Sand Shower!
Sato Hideaka's blue eyes narrowed slightly, and his figure vanished from his original spot, appearing beside a thrown Flying Thunder God Kunai. However, after dodging the Sand Shower attack, he was met with an attack from a large number of puppet arms.
[ Crystal Release: Crystal Technique!]
Faced with the attack of numerous puppet arms, Sato Hideaka swiftly formed hand Hand Seals at his chest, and gently patted the puppet arm with his right hand. Immediately afterward, the puppet arm began to crystallize rapidly, turning into a pile of crystal statues that stopped in front of Sato Hideaka.
The crystallization continued relentlessly, creeping along the long puppet arm and relentlessly encroaching on the direction of the Third Kazekage!
Sasori's left ring finger twitched slightly, and the puppet arm connected to the Chakra Threads on his left hand began to break rapidly. After the Crystal Release chakra crystallized the broken puppet arm completely, it stopped. His left middle finger twitched slightly again, and a cylindrical object extended from his left arm.
Countless plumes of dark green smoke billowed out from the cylindrical object and quickly spread outwards!
This is really troublesome...
A hint of seriousness appeared in Sato Hideaka's blue eyes. Although his strength was not weak, he was still a mortal after all. As long as he was a mortal, he could not escape the effects of poison. Moreover, Scorpion was a master of poison making. The poison he created would probably cause someone to lose their ability to move once inhaled.
There is even a possibility that there may be no second chance of treatment in a short period of time, leading to death!
With his hands forming Hand Seals at his chest, the ground began to tremble. Then, Sato Hideaka's entire body rose up, leaving the area filled with green smoke, and he stood ten meters in the air, looking down at Sasori of the Red Sands.
Under Sasori of the Red Sands's horrified gaze, countless layers of soil began to peel away, revealing a lifelike red Crystal Giant Dragon, over ten meters long, that shimmered with a captivating luster in the sunlight. Sato Hideaka stood atop the dragon's head.
"This, this is... Crystal Release ninjutsu? It's truly a captivating work of art...!" Sasori praised without reservation, but then added, "However, works of art that cannot last forever always have significant flaws."
"This is Crystal Release: Crystal- Crystal Release: Tearing Crystal Falling Dragon. No matter what kind of power it is, it is no different from a so-called puppet. It is just one of the tools that humans control to achieve their intentions. Humans who are controlled by tools they have created have no meaning in their lives!"
Standing atop the crystal dragon, Sato Hideaka coldly addressed Sasori, who was seven meters below him. Magma began to condense on his entire right arm, while black smoke billowed from his right side—this time, it was a high-level concentration of Lava Release chakra.
Hearing Sato Hideaka's words, Sasori's calm voice finally revealed a flicker of emotion. "Power, like a puppet? How laughable... You completely misunderstand the value of a puppet. Once a puppet is damaged, it can be replaced with a new one. People will gain eternal time by constantly exchanging for new puppets, and their lifespan will be unlimited!"
Is it possible to exchange bodies for eternal life?
This approach seems similar to... and similar to what Sannin, one of the Orochimaru, did in the later stages of his life.
Sato Hideaka's expression was somewhat strange. No wonder Sasori and Orochimaru's relationship was so subtle; it turned out that they both fundamentally desired eternal life, and both sought to achieve immortality by exchanging bodies.
The only difference is that one person obtains a flesh-and-blood body through ** (a form of sexual intercourse), while the other obtains different puppets through secret techniques. The two paths lead to the same goal!
However, both of these methods would involve losing oneself to some extent. If there were a truly perfect way to achieve immortality, then perhaps only Otsutsuki Clan Kaguya Clan's body could be so perfect, achieving an eternal existence without aging or death.
Shaking his head, Sato Hideaka cleared his mind of distractions and said to Sasori beneath him, "Do you think it's troublesome to gain eternal life by constantly exchanging bodies? Forget it, let's end this battle quickly... Lava Release: Great Eruption!"
With a sudden punch, countless streams of magma erupted, condensing in the air into a gigantic fist the size of a hill, which slammed down towards the scorpion, who was more than twenty meters away, with a scorching and destructive aura!
This is a special move from Akainu, one of the three Akainu of the Marines in One Piece. Sato Hideaka even believed that if he gathered enough Lava Release chakra in his right hand, it could reach the size of a mountain peak and easily destroy a mountain!
This... power?
Sasori's ten fingers danced incessantly, ten chakra Chakra Threads barely perceptible to the naked eye controlling the Third Kazekage's puppet. Large amounts of Iron Sand continuously spewed from its mouth, forming an iron fist in the air as enormous as the Lava Release Great Eruption.
A bright red, scorching fist collided violently with a cold, black fist in the air, producing a deafening roar. Thick black smoke billowed from the point of impact, and the iron fist rapidly melted...
The iron fist formed from Iron Sand seemed no match for the Lava Release: Great Eruption!
Scorpion ripped off his coat and flung it over, revealing a body with a texture completely different from human skin. The structure of this body seemed different from that of ordinary people, and there were even obvious signs of it being pieced together in some places. On his back were four scrolls arranged in a row.
He has completely transformed his body into a cold, lifeless puppet.
The four scrolls arranged in a row symbolized Sasori of the Red Sands's Puppet Technique. The first represented flames far exceeding ordinary temperatures, the fourth represented a torrent of water with immense force, and the second represented a vast swarm of puppets...
As for what the third scroll represents?
Nobody knows! (To be continued.)