A Spectacular Battle

However!

"Heh-heh, you fell for it!"

The dark-skinned Omoi suddenly grinned slyly.

The two vanished before Hiruko in an instant, then immediately appeared behind him, one on each side, and swung their swords. "Cloud Style: Inner Slash!"

His rear defenses were far weaker than his front.

The two were confident they could land a hit and severely wound Hiruko.

But reality promptly doused their hopes with a bucket of cold water.

"Clang!!!"

Seeing that the tail stinger hadn't budged at all, the joy on their faces froze.

"How is that possible?!"

They hurriedly leaped back, aghast. "We clearly aimed for the weak point at the joint connecting the tail stinger. Why couldn't we break through?"

Sasori of the Red Sands answered with a teasing tone. "Did you really think I'd overlook those weak points?"

As a puppeteer, he understood better than anyone where a puppet's weaknesses lay.

So, after obtaining Chakra Metal from Uchiha Ye and discovering just how incredibly hard it was,

he immediately coated all the weak spots with a layer of Chakra Metal to strengthen their defenses.

The tail stinger, which he used so often, was especially important.

"Even though their ambush failed, they're still jonin. Their combination technique is impressive!"

Watching the battle, Uchiha Ye praised them inwardly. "They used a deceptive sword technique to get behind Hiruko."

"If Big Brother Sasori hadn't upgraded Hiruko's parts, that attack would've been enough to severely damage him."

In that respect, the two of them could certainly defeat Zabuza without Kubikiribōchō by working together.

Though they'd have to sustain serious injuries to do it!

"Still, Big Brother Sasori's chances of taking them down while pursuing them are pretty low!"

Hiruko's arms suddenly opened wide. A large number of poisonous senbon shot out from the sealing tags inside, and deadly poison gas spewed forth.

In an instant, the attacks caught up with Omoi and his companion as they retreated, throwing them completely off rhythm and making their expressions change.

Uchiha Ye also retreated and thought, "Because Kamui is sure to come to their rescue!"

Sure enough!

Just as Uchiha Ye had said,

when Kamui saw Hiruko pursuing Omoi and the other man, she immediately formed hand seals to stop him. "Lightning Illusion: Lightning Flash Pillar!"

The blinding light made Hiruko's movements falter. He then backed away to escape its glare, wary of an ambush.

"Hmph, trying to retreat? Did you think I'd give you the chance?"

Amid the blinding light, Kamui appeared behind Hiruko like a flash of lightning and swung her sword. "Cloud Style: Inner Haze Slash!"

"Clang!"

The sharp blade clashed heavily against the sturdy tail stinger.

But amid the sparks, two Shadow Clones of Kamui appeared on either side of Sasori of the Red Sands. They shouted as they attacked from both sides. "Cloud Style Slash!"

There was no way Hiruko could dodge this attack.

Kamui's real body had him pinned down, and her two Shadow Clones had blocked his escape. He could only face them head-on.

"Excellent!"

Facing the attacks about to strike, Sasori of the Red Sands praised them without a hint of panic. "Aside from Ye, you're the only one who's made me use this many abilities. I acknowledge you!"

As he spoke, Hiruko raised both arms.

They opened like blooming flowers, revealing a dense cluster of sealing tags inside.

With a series of explosive thuds, a swarm of puppet arms burst out.

Each arm bore several blades, and they surged toward Kamui's two Shadow Clones like a towering wave.

This was the technique that should have belonged to the Third Kazekage Puppet in the original story, but now appeared on Hiruko: Thousand Hands Manipulation!

Splurt!

Kamui's two Shadow Clones wielded their blades with astonishing speed, severing a great many arms in a single strike.

Their momentum undiminished, they continued straight toward Hiruko.

"Now... let's see you get out of this!"

Seeing this, Kamui couldn't help but grin triumphantly.

She thought it was only reasonable that three jonin working together had forced Sasori of the Red Sands into a desperate position.

If they could severely damage this puppet, what would they have to fear from the real Sasori of the Red Sands?

It was universally acknowledged in the shinobi world that puppeteers weren't skilled at close combat.

"Is that so? Aren't you celebrating a little too soon?"

Hiruko's voice rang out, low and deep. Its arms suddenly opened again, releasing a concentrated burst of chakra. "Machine Light Shield!"

Boom!

Kamui's two Shadow Clones struck the shield with their blades, but couldn't break through at all.

"How is that possible?!"

Kamui's expression changed at once. She hurriedly retreated with her Shadow Clones.

"Running away? Did you ask my permission?"

Hiruko's tail stinger immediately shot after them.

Its arms continued to open, and a dense rain of kunai shot from the exposed sealing tags.

But Kamui suddenly dispelled her Shadow Clones, then grinned as her scheme succeeded. "Heh-heh, you fell for it again!"

The moment she finished speaking, Omoi and Katai burst out of the smoke left by her Shadow Clones, moving at high speed. One on each side, they swung their swords. "Cloud Style Slash!"

Hiruko's full attention was on Kamui.

There was no way it could dodge the two attackers rushing at it now.

Kamui was certain that even if this strike didn't completely destroy the puppet, it would still severely damage it.

By then,

once Yugito arrived and held back Sasori of the Red Sands' other companion,

the three of them could keep attacking Sasori of the Red Sands and would surely destroy the puppet completely.

And without a puppet, a puppeteer wouldn't pose much of a threat.

"Die!"

Katai and Omoi roared as they unleashed an incredibly fierce attack.

"Splurt!"

Hiruko's body was savagely torn open.

But a cloud of green poison gas immediately exploded outward.

Katai and Omoi both cried out in alarm and hurriedly retreated.

But their heads soon began to spin, and they could barely keep their balance when they landed.

There was no doubt they'd been poisoned.

"Impressive!"

Watching the scene, Uchiha Ye couldn't help but praise them.

"The three of them work together incredibly well!"

"Kamui is especially impressive. No wonder she's the captain. She guided her two teammates into launching a fatal strike at just the right moment. Even Big Brother Sasori fell for it!"

Being able to destroy Hiruko by working together was an excellent achievement.

Hiruko was already at the level of an elite jonin!

And with the added threat of its poison, it could even endanger Kage-level opponents.

The three of them had managed this through their teamwork, even though Sasori of the Red Sands hadn't underestimated them at all.

They really were outstanding.

Of course, that was only natural!

Three jonin couldn't possibly be weak, no matter how poorly they worked together.

And these three worked together with exceptional coordination!

"Still..."

Looking at the damaged Hiruko, which was clearly unusable, and Sasori of the Red Sands, who had already emerged from it, Uchiha Ye thought, "The battle's about to end!"

Hiruko was only Sasori of the Red Sands' weakest weapon.

He usually used it to test his opponents and gather information.

Whether it was damaged or destroyed, it was only an appetizer. It didn't matter.

It looked as if Kamui had outsmarted Sasori of the Red Sands and destroyed Hiruko.

In reality, she'd only sent herself headlong into a fire pit.

Neither the Performance of a Hundred Puppets nor the Human Puppet made from the Third Kazekage was something they could handle.

Especially when two of them had already been poisoned.