Natural Enemies

It turned out to be a rendezvous with Akatsuki. I thought it would be Kakuzu, but it turned out to be Sasori.

Honestly, Uchiha Shingen hasn't touched a bounty mission in a long time.

However, the bounty on the Fourth Kazekage is just way too damn high.

There were so many that even Uchiha Shingen would be tempted.

Uchiha Shingen didn't know where the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, ranked in terms of strength among all the Kazekage.

But this mining expert's massive bounty scheme is truly amazing.

"Sasori, didn't Akatsuki accept the employment of Iwagakure? Why aren't you in the Land of Stone? If you weren't employed by Iwagakure, then you're not an ally of Hidden Leaf Village."

Uchiha Shingen said with a smile.

Upon discovering that the visitor was Sasori of the Red Sands, he decided to kill him.

In this timeline where Deidara is peacefully serving as the successor to the Tsuchikage, Uchiha Shingen doesn't believe that Sasori of the Red Sands will necessarily have the same ending.

What if he changes his mind someday and goes back to Sunagakure?

Betraying the village and killing one's own Kage—such crimes would be absolutely indelible in Leaf Village. Orochimaru in the original timeline was only "whitewashed" because of his contributions in the Fourth Shinobi World War.

But this might not be the case in Sunagakure.

Before the siblings died, Sunagakure's attitude towards Sasori of the Red Sands was not resolute.

In the mainstream narrative of Sunagakure, Sasori of the Red Sands is portrayed as a genius puppeteer who has lost his faith.

They took down the Kazekage? Actually, it's not that serious.

Being killed by outsiders is a serious matter, but if it's done by one's own people, the nature of the crime is debatable in the eyes of the desert people who believe that might makes right.

After the Third Kazekage went missing, the Sand Ninja initially searched for him in a fairly conventional manner, but soon they began fighting amongst themselves until they were ambushed by the Cloud Village and reunited.

Later, they simply stopped searching and claimed that Leaf Village had assassinated the Third Kazekage.

The integrity of Sand Village should not be overestimated.

If Sasori of the Red Sands returns to Sunagakure, the Sunagakure's strength will increase dramatically, posing a significant threat to Leaf Village.

Therefore, Uchiha Shingen believed that the dead Sasori of the Red Sands was the best Sasori of the Red Sands.

"Uchiha Shingen, you made a pact with Nagato." Sasori sensed Uchiha Shingen's killing intent. He didn't quite understand where Uchiha Shingen's killing intent came from, since he had never had any grudge against Uchiha Shingen.

But he was certain of one thing: he would definitely be at a disadvantage in a fight. This guy in front of him was one of the very few who were immune to Puppet Technique mechanisms, and he would be completely outmaneuvered by him tactically.

"It's Rain Village Leaf Village, not Akatsuki. It seems you really didn't accept Iwagakure's offer." Uchiha Shingen nodded. "That's the problem."

"What's the problem?" Scorpion asked expressionlessly.

"You once attacked the Joint Chunin Exams venue, making you a dangerous missing-nin on the opposite side of Hidden Leaf Village. But now you're not being hired by Leaf Village's allies. Your presence standing before me puts me in a difficult position."

Scorpion just wanted to curse.

He really wanted to say that if it's too difficult, then don't do it, but Uchiha Shingen's reputation over the years made him feel that such words were useless.

"How about this, why don't you accept a job from Sand Village? That would be fairer, since Sand Village is an ally of Leaf Village."

"You'd better go yourself." Sasori secretly connected a strand of Chakra Threads to the ground. "The cowards of Sand Village will be very happy."

"That's an interesting assessment." Uchiha Shingen nodded. "Did you kill the Third Kazekage and attack the examination hall for this reason?"

"I have nothing to do with Sand Village anymore. If you want to deal with Sand Village, you don't need to involve me," Sasori said.

Damn it, what does Sand Village have to do with him? Why are they trying to pin everything on him?

"They say the more people avoid something, the more they care about it," Uchiha Shingen sighed. "You really do have feelings for Sunagakure."

Scorpion felt he had no choice but to resort to swearing.

Just as he was about to say something, a slight vibration came from underground through the Chakra Threads.

He quickly jumped back, grabbing a whole rock to hold it in front of him.

The rock that was pulled up began to crack instantly.

Uchiha Shingen has already activated his Ninjutsu.

Magnet Release - Scorching - Erosion Reincarnation.

Dark gold spread from where Uchiha Shingen was, and countless grains of sand surged up, their folds like waves.

Wherever the waves go, the water evaporates, and the vegetation crumbles along with the earth.

"Scorpion, I've always been curious, how did you manage to kill the Third Kazekage, who possessed the Iron Sand Technique?"

The Second Kazekage created the Sand Magnet Release and Puppet Technique, but the former also countered the latter.

To counter the Puppet Technique of Sand Village, Sand Magnet Release is the most effective technique.

Uchiha Shingen wasn't showing off; he was genuinely curious.

"I killed him by force." From the very beginning, Sasori sensed something was off about Uchiha Shingen's tone. He had been on guard the whole time, and successfully dodged the sudden first attack. "Don't think I'm easy to bully."

"For an S-rank missing-nin like you to speak in such a tone is ridiculous!" Uchiha Shingen said, continuing to expand the range of the scorching sand, sending more sand particles into the air. "Where are your puppets? Have they changed their profession now?"

"Just watch and see!"

Chapter Thirty-Nine Natural Enemies

Yellow sand covered everything, and Scorpion felt utterly humiliated.

Although the intelligence report mentioned it, Scorpion now wants to chop up the intelligence personnel and feed them to the dogs.

Is this what they call seemingly mastering the Kazekage's exclusive Magnet Release?

They've become incredibly skilled! Even the Third, who's supposedly the strongest, is a bit weaker when using Magnet Release.

Moreover, if there's nothing mixed in this sand, he'll chop down birds live on the spot with his Sasori of the Red Sands.

The ingredients mixed in are quite unusual.

Seeing the yellow sand drying and crumbling, Scorpion knew he couldn't stand it and turned to run away.

Despite turning himself into Human Puppet, he can run very fast.

He darted out in a flash, constantly pulling up rocks from the ground to use as cover behind him.

It's not that he doesn't want to release the puppets, it's just that the sand is moving too fast.

Moreover, although his puppet was sand-resistant, he really had no idea what kind of weird stuff Uchiha Shingen had mixed into the sand.

Human Puppet are not easy to make, and repairing them is very troublesome.

Let's create some distance first.

"Why are you running, Sasori? That's not fair! Weren't you going to show me? Show me now!" Uchiha Shingen's feet stomped on a patch of yellow sand, moving like a speedboat racing across water, no slower than Sasori. "Don't worry, I'm careful. I promise you won't feel any pain."

"Go to hell!" Scorpion yelled back as he ran, "I'm not in pain anyway! Why are you chasing me?!"

In the past, Scorpios always had their own rhythm in their speech and actions, and they rarely swore.

After all, he considers himself an artist, and as an artist, he must maintain a certain demeanor.

Even though he hated Orochimaru so much, he still managed to maintain his composure and greet Orochimaru's ancestors with an elegant demeanor.

But facing this despicable person behind him, he simply couldn't maintain his composure.

Unlike Sasori, Uchiha Shingen never cared about his image. He didn't care at all that Sasori had insulted him and manipulated the sand to surround Sasori from all sides.

During this chase, the sand had grown to a considerable size.

Giant hands, formed from sand, slapped down one after another.

The earth and rocks exploded, and Sasori, with remarkably skillful movement, dodged Uchiha Shingen's repeated "eagle catching chick" attacks.

Uchiha Shingen was amazed; Sasori could really run fast!

As expected of a puppet, those movements were incredibly flamboyant; most people couldn't do that.

After running for a while, Scorpion had to admit it.

The Sand Magnet Release technique is quite annoying for puppeteers.

The floating sand and grit mixed in the air constantly assaulted his puppet body; if it weren't for the good protection, his body would have already given out.

If he were made of flesh and blood, it would be more than just a strike.

After giving himself a mental thumbs-up, Scorpion finally managed to release his first Human Puppet.

It was also the only thing he had available.

Shamefully, although he was stubborn, Sasori knew very well that of all his Human Puppet, only the Third Kazekage was truly capable of fighting Uchiha Shingen.

Forget about the hundred machines; they're just a gift.

Then there's poison. Uchiha Shingen Susanoo, so ordinary methods can't apply poison to him.

A ninja who is not prepared to encounter a powerful enemy is not a qualified ninja.

Ever since his last battle with Uchiha Shingen, Sasori knew that this guy was his nemesis.

Therefore, he specially prepared poison for Uchiha Shingen.

From afar, Uchiha Shingen saw white mist rising around Sasori.

However, because the scorpion was incredibly fast, it flung the mist far away as soon as it appeared.

This amused Uchiha Shingen.

"What, are you still jet-powered?" he shouted. "Don't run away, come and have some fun!"

With a deafening roar, a thick, dark barrier of Iron Sand, resembling a mountain wall, rose up and collided with Uchiha Shingen's yellow sand sea.

The Iron Sand is far stronger than normal sand, and it cuts through the yellow sand sea.

Compared to the last time, the Third Kazekage Human Puppet's Ninjutsu output capability has been significantly enhanced.

However, Uchiha Shingen is no longer the same Uchiha Shingen he once was.

White Chakra emanated from his body.

Bones, muscles, and skin are formed one by one.

The massive Susanoo rose from the sea of sand, its hands Hand Seals.

Susanoo Sandstorm.

With the amplification of Susanoo, the scorching sand became violent, rising into the sky and blotting out the sun, forming a sandstorm of extremely large scale.

Susanoo was also rising, and its lower body was also being condensed.

A true, fully realized Susanoo stepped onto the ground and with one stride, arrived before the barrier of Iron Sand.

He threw a punch.

This is Susanoo: Great Strength Fist.

The seemingly indestructible Iron Sand barrier was shattered on the spot by this punch.

Countless Iron Sand pellets shot out like bullets, completely beyond the scorpion's control.

What propels them is the monstrous power unleashed by Susanoo.

As a heartless person, Scorpion felt an urge to gasp upon seeing this scene.

What the heck is this?

It wasn't like this last time.

As the whistling sound rang out, he raised the second Iron Sand curtain without hesitation.

Forced by external forces, the reverse-flowing Sand Shower lashed heavily against the Iron Sand curtain.

Scorpion saw that on the side of the Iron Sand curtain facing him, protrusions were emerging wildly, densely packed and shocking to the eye.

Outside the Iron Sand curtain, black rain swept everything away, dust flew everywhere, and the earth shook.

At this level of combat, the puppeteer's weaknesses were fully exposed.

Scorpion knew it was time to slip away.

No poison works anymore, I'll keep it and play with it at home.

As I was thinking this, a yellow line appeared in the center of the Iron Sand curtain.