"Zzt! Zzt!"
Namuie gasped for breath, his lightning-wreathed Ninja Blade stuck in the ground. His expression was gravely solemn.
His hair was already soaked with sweat and whipped by the swirling sand. He looked filthy, and his clothes, unlike the Konoha ninja uniforms, were torn and ragged, covered in cuts and slashes.
Ahead of him, a group of Cloud Ninja were locked in a desperate battle against ten puppets floating in midair.
A trace of gloom flickered in Namuie's eyes as he watched the boy, who looked completely at ease and clearly wasn't even fighting at full strength. He couldn't help feeling profoundly shaken.
Who... was this guy!?
Sasori stood motionless, his face expressionless. With one hand, he casually controlled ten puppets as they fought the Cloud Ninja, as if a child were playing some private game of his own. The only difference was that this game left the bodies of Cloud Ninja strewn about, their lives snuffed out.
Any Sunagakure ninja who saw this would be utterly astonished. They would never believe anyone could control so many puppets at once.
For Sunagakure, this was... beyond the definition of a genius.
Sasori glanced calmly at Minato, who had already finished his fight on the other side, and thought to himself,
Looks like... it's all over.
Just then, his little face changed slightly. He raised his head and looked into the distance.
The Cloud Ninja noticed Sasori's momentary distraction, and their hearts filled with delight.
Great, he's finally let his guard down!
Some immediately rushed him, while others swiftly formed Hand Seals. They had only one goal: to kill this terrifyingly powerful young Sand Ninja right there.
But what happened next dashed their hopes.
As the Cloud Ninja attacked, Sasori flicked his fingers. The ten puppets controlled by his Chakra Threads