Sasori of the Red Sands

"You damn brat!" Sha said, enunciating every word.

Lihuo wasn't intimidated by his appearance. In fact, he genuinely admired Sha's behavior.

After all, not everyone could go streaking in broad daylight.

Feeling Lihuo's gaze travel up and down his body, Sha finally lost control of his anger and lunged at Lihuo like a leopard.

At that moment, Lihuo calmly murmured to himself,

"System, claim my reward."

"Ding! You touched the head of an A-rank ninja: Sha. Choose three of the following rewards."

"Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere"

"Moderate Physical Enhancement"

"100,000 yen"

"Wind Style: Vacuum Blade"

"Expertise in Assassination Techniques"

The moment he saw the rewards, Lihuo's eyes lit up.

"I have to say, it's no wonder he's Anbu. I actually got Expertise in Assassination Techniques."

Without the slightest hesitation, Lihuo quickly made his choices.

"I choose 'Expertise in Assassination Techniques,' 'Vacuum Sphere,' and 'Moderate Physical Enhancement.'"

As soon as he finished speaking, a cold, mechanical voice rang out.

"Rewards have been issued."

A familiar pain made Lihuo furrow his brow. Then he felt an unprecedented power fill his body!

Not only that, Lihuo also learned how to use Vacuum Sphere and mastered countless assassination techniques.

If Lihuo had been clueless about assassination before, now he could be called a master assassin!

"You dare let your guard down in the middle of a fight!"

With Sha's furious shout, he appeared right in front of Lihuo and kicked at him at incredible speed.

Thud!

Lihuo blocked Sha's enraged strike with his arm. It was clear that Moderate Physical Enhancement had made him considerably stronger!

This move genuinely startled Sha and calmed him down.

The two resumed their fierce struggle. Though Sha had the strength of an elite Jonin,

he couldn't use chakra, and Lihuo had also stabbed him. His strength had taken a serious hit, and he was barely holding his own against Lihuo.

As for Lihuo, he had powerful ninjutsu and a formidable physique,

but now that Sha had calmed down, he was as slippery as an eel. Lihuo couldn't find a quick way to defeat him.

Neither could gain the upper hand—until a sudden surge of chakra erupted in the direction where Orochimaru was fighting the three Jonin.

Lihuo was delighted. The Third Hokage's Anbu must have arrived. The battle was decided!

Sha had the same thought. He glanced toward Orochimaru, then turned and sprinted toward the Land of Wind.

Lihuo obviously couldn't let him get away so easily. Sha knew too much valuable information.

If Sha returned to Sunagakure, all the information about Lihuo and the village would fall into enemy hands.

But instead of chasing after him in a hurry, Lihuo calmed his mind.

"'Simplified Sage Mode,' activate!"

In an instant, a powerful wave of Natural Energy spread out from Lihuo.

Without a moment's hesitation, and without caring whether Orochimaru and the others would notice,

Lihuo immediately unfurled the densest sensory net he could. With Sage Mode and the Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques boosting him, he got a clear picture of Orochimaru and the others.

At that moment, every Jonin locked in the battle sensed Lihuo's blatant scrutiny.

Though the sensation was crude, Orochimaru recognized his student's chakra.

After Orochimaru explained, the Konoha shinobi slowly lowered their guard.

The Sunagakure Jonin, however, looked grim. They knew the battle over there was probably over, and the two Chunin were most likely doomed.

Once Lihuo was sure Orochimaru and the others were too occupied to pay attention to him, he held his breath, concentrated all his mental energy, and called out,

"Flying Raijin Jutsu!"

To be safe, Lihuo had previously placed a Flying Thunder God Mark on Sha!

Before the words had even faded, Lihuo vanished, leaving only a crimson afterimage on the Uchiha Clan Crest.

As he sprinted, Sha spotted the border of the Land of Wind. Beyond it stretched an endless desert wasteland.

After everything he'd been through, even the desert he'd once grown tired of seemed strangely familiar.

Suddenly, a flash of red light appeared, and Uchiha Lihuo materialized above Sha.

"Sorry, but you'll have to stay here."

"What... how did you..."

Lihuo held out his hand, and a pale blue Rasengan instantly took shape!

Boom!

The deafening blast sent thick clouds of smoke billowing into the air.

But the saying "where there's smoke, there's no fire" clearly didn't apply here.

When the smoke cleared, a massive crater came into view. Sha's corpse lay inside it, and Lihuo stood nearby.

"It's finally over."

Lihuo wiped the sweat from his forehead and let his guard down a little.

But just then, footsteps sounded at the worst possible moment.

"Looks like you killed a Sunagakure Anbu at the border of the Land of Wind, little friend from Konoha."

It was Oniichiro and Sasori of the Red Sands.

Sensing their approach, Lihuo immediately prepared for battle and said coolly,

"One thing after another. It never ends."

Oniichiro sneered at his words.

"Who exactly are you, and why are you carrying the short sword of the great Konoha White Fang?"

At this, Sasori, who had been hidden in the shadows, slowly raised his head and studied Lihuo.

Lihuo recognized Sasori in that moment and thought to himself,

"So this is Sasori of the Red Sands. His presence isn't that terrifying, but my instincts tell me fighting him would be extremely dangerous."

Although Lihuo knew Sakumo had killed Sasori's parents, he didn't want to dishonor Sakumo's kindness in lending him the sword, so he chose to tell the truth.

"Konoha White Fang is an elder of mine. What, do you want to take him on?"

Though Lihuo's words were insolent, Oniichiro wasn't the least bit angry.

"Konoha White Fang is renowned. If I fought him, I'd have little chance of winning."

"But... you killed one of our Anbu on Sand Village territory. How do you think you'll answer for that?"

Lihuo understood that the men before him weren't the sort to be cowed by Konoha White Fang's name.

Facing two formidable opponents, Lihuo's eyes shifted slightly, and he immediately came up with a plan!

Instead of remaining on guard, Lihuo lowered his arms and stood tall, facing Oniichiro.

"You Sand shinobi tried to steal Konoha's classified information. I caught you in the act and dealt with you."

"And now you want to attack me too? What, are you trying to start a war?"

Oniichiro: (ﾟoﾟ;;

"Is that what the script says?"

Lihuo's sharp words left Oniichiro completely stunned.

After all, Oniichiro had only just arrived at the border and hadn't had time to investigate.

Now a Konoha shinobi had pinned such an accusation on him. His first instinct was to explain himself.

But the moment he started explaining, Lihuo knew he'd taken the bait!

Lihuo could tell that Oniichiro was an elite Jonin, and Sasori was no weakling either.

If they fought now, Lihuo would undoubtedly be the one to suffer. Orochimaru would probably notice he was missing soon.

As long as he kept stalling, victory would be his!

If he used Flying Raijin to escape right now, he'd reveal his greatest trump card to Sunagakure. Lihuo didn't want that.

Just then, he heard—

"Clack, clack."

With a whir of mechanisms, the puppet named "Crow" charged straight at Lihuo.

The unexpected attack didn't throw him off. After all his physical enhancements, that kind of speed was child's play to him!

Lihuo used Kami-e and easily dodged Sasori's attacks,

while continuing to put pressure on Oniichiro.

"As a Jonin, aren't you going to control your subordinate?"

"Should I take this as a declaration of war against Konoha?"

In terms of strength, Oniichiro was a renowned elite Jonin in Sand Village.

But when it came to politics, he was utterly clueless. Just as he found himself caught in a dilemma,

Sasori spoke up.

"Either way, he killed Sha, didn't he? That alone is more than enough."

Lihuo thought,

This is bad!

There was no longer any hesitation in Oniichiro's eyes, only murderous intent. He said coldly to Lihuo,

"I don't know whether this is a declaration of war. I only know that you killed my comrade."

At that, Lihuo snorted.

"The most talented puppeteer in Sunagakure, Sasori of the Red Sands—you certainly live up to your reputation."

Sasori ignored Lihuo and said coldly,

"Tell me how you're connected to Konoha White Fang, and I'll leave your corpse intact."

"Big words."

Lihuo assumed a proper fighting stance and went all out!

A fierce battle was inevitable!