First Battle

The blade flashed, ringing with a tremor!

Its force was chilling!

Yet just as the blade was about to strike Chen Xiaoxi,

Chen Xiaoxi's body suddenly turned into an afterimage and vanished from where he stood, reappearing farther away.

The Kazekage Puppet's blade cut through empty air, and Sasori's eyebrows lifted slightly.

"Tsk. The Body Flicker Technique?"

"I knew I couldn't count on taking you out that easily."

"Then—"

"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Shower!"

The instant the words left his mouth, Sasori's gaze sharpened. A twitch of the Chakra Threads in his hand sent the Kazekage Puppet's hands through the Mi Hand Seal in an instant!

Countless grains of Iron Sand immediately gathered before the Kazekage Puppet, like a towering black wave, pressing down with an overwhelming force.

Then the Iron Sand rapidly condensed, transforming into a mass of black needles that shot toward Chen Xiaoxi at incredible speed!

Like a rain of steel!

As the Iron Sand Shower came rushing toward him from every direction, Chen Xiaoxi showed no panic or fear.

His gaze was merely indifferent.

As calm as a frozen lake.

He slowly raised his left hand, parted his lips, and said evenly:

"Bakudo #81—"

"Dankū."

As the words fell, a vast, pale-blue barrier suddenly appeared.

Like a wall of heaven that cut off space, it instantly stopped every needle in the Iron Sand Shower from reaching him! The countless Iron Sand needles struck the barrier like mayflies trying to topple a tree, unable to affect it in the slightest!

More than ten seconds passed. Even after the entire barrage of Iron Sand needles had ended,

Dankū remained unchanged.

At the sight, Sasori's eyes shifted, and he froze for a moment.

What was going on?

Was that... a ninjutsu that required no hand seals?

A Wind Release secret technique?

No, that wasn't right... Could it be some kind of special Kekkei Genkai?

Realizing this, Sasori was briefly taken aback. Then a surge of excitement suddenly rose in his heart.

After witnessing this unusual power, he was even more determined to turn the brown-haired boy before him into a Human Puppet.

Perhaps he would even become a weapon more powerful than the Third Kazekage!

Meanwhile,

Chen Xiaoxi frowned slightly as he looked at Sasori.

He had originally planned to leave without bothering with this bastard, but he hadn't expected his opponent to go straight for a killing move.

At this point, it seemed he had no choice but to fight.

Just then, a prompt sounded in Chen Xiaoxi's mind.

"Ding! System task triggered:"

"Defeat Genius Puppeteer Sasori of the Red Sand (0/1). Reward: one draw."

A task?

Hearing the prompt, Chen Xiaoxi froze for a moment, then felt a surge of delight.

Well, sorry about this. It would also give him a chance to test his current strength.

With that thought, Chen Xiaoxi looked up at Sasori, a playful smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

With his current power at one hundred percent Bankai, defeating Sasori of the Red Sands before he reached his complete form would naturally be no problem.

"You, who are about to be turned into a Human Puppet, might only be able to smile while you still can."

"By the way, I'm quite interested in the technique you just showed me."

"So I've decided... to end this quickly."

As the words fell,

Sasori raised both hands. The Chakra Threads at his fingertips grew even more tangible, and countless black grains of Iron Sand appeared before the Kazekage Puppet's hands once more.

"Heh. What a coincidence."

"I was planning to end this quickly, too."

As he spoke, Chen Xiaoxi rested one hand on the scabbard and gripped the hilt with the other, gently drawing the silver blade at his waist.

His Zanpakuto, Senbonzakura!

The moment the blade came free, Sasori's eyes flashed.

"Tsk..."

"So this is the weapon that was giving off such a strange aura earlier?"

"Come on, then. Show me what it can do."

Sasori spoke without expression.

Hearing this, Chen Xiaoxi merely smiled as he raised the blade in his hand, pointing its tip at Sasori.

"You may regret saying that in a moment."

Chen Xiaoxi smiled.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura."

The instant the words fell, Reiatsu burst forth around Chen Xiaoxi.

Holding his Zanpakuto in a reverse grip, Chen Xiaoxi slowly let go.

As the Zanpakuto fell, its blade transformed into countless drifting cherry-blossom petals, forming a pink sea that swirled around him.

Sasori's gaze trembled.

"How beautiful!"

Sasori stared blankly, captivated by the blossoms filling the sky, and spoke without thinking.

But he didn't know that beautiful things often came with great danger!

Senbonzakura looked beautiful, but every single petal was actually made up of countless blades!

"Fall!"

He stretched out his long fingers, then slowly curled them closed.

The sea of pink blossoms roared toward Sasori and engulfed him in an instant!

The red-haired Sasori had never expected the black-haired guy before him, who seemed so harmless, to attack without a word.

Still, he seemed to have anticipated it. He immediately controlled the Iron Sand to fly over with the Kazekage Puppet, just in time to shield himself.

Countless grains of Iron Sand gathered in an instant, forming an Iron Sand Wall that blocked the flying blades.

However, only moments later,

the thick Iron Sand Wall was pierced through by the blade tips, which slashed straight toward Sasori's left arm!

Squelch!

Blood sprayed, and Sasori's expression changed abruptly.

In that brief instant, his arm had been cut open by the blades.

"As expected of a Kage Level fighter. You dodged on instinct alone?"

"Looks like taking you down with Shikai alone would be quite a hassle after all."

Chen Xiaoxi smiled at Sasori.

"It actually broke through the Kazekage's Iron Sand Wall. Not bad. A pity its speed and accuracy are both lacking."

"If this weapon is your ultimate trump card, then..."

"I'm disappointed."

As the words fell, Sasori remained expressionless and immediately began operating the Kazekage Puppet again.

His arm had been cut, but an injury of that degree meant nothing to him.

This time, a black symbol flashed on the Kazekage Puppet's right hand. In an instant, it summoned over a thousand arms, which closed in around Chen Xiaoxi.

Hidden among those arms were countless mechanisms filled with poisonous gas. Once they trapped their opponent, victory would be theirs in an instant!

He had used this technique to kill countless powerful shinobi in the Ninja World.

Yet even now,

Chen Xiaoxi raised the blade in his hand again and pointed it straight ahead.

"I said I'd end this quickly. I'm not planning to keep wasting time with you.

"So don't blink."

"Bankai—"

"Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."