Sasori of the Red Sand Digs Out His Own Heart

Qian Yun had been a little too far away for him to sense, which seemed to be an advantage of his own.

Sasori of the Red Sand hid himself with a technique and sent a sand clone up to the surface.

Qian Yun continued activating Flesh Release: Giant Hemorrhoids. Sasori of the Red Sand could no longer stay hidden, so he quickly burrowed out of the ground and fled at full speed.

Qian Yun gave chase and discovered that Sasori of the Red Sand had planted explosive tags along the way and had even released tamed red scorpions.

He really was underhanded. Any ninja with insufficient sensing range would probably have been killed by now.

Qian Yun bypassed the explosive tags and red scorpions, intending to wear him down to death like this.

Sasori of the Red Sand suddenly fell ahead of him, looking as though he were on his last breath.

Qian Yun grinned. This guy could play dead too? His chakra reserves were clearly still ample.

Qian Yun sent a sand clone over and had sand snakes lie in ambush.

Suddenly, Qian Yun realized that this guy was up to something sneaky again. His real body was creeping over from beneath the sand.

Qian Yun gave nothing away and pretended to stare fixedly ahead.

Clang!

At a certain moment, Qian Yun suddenly drew his sword and plunged it into the sand. A muffled groan came from below.

Qian Yun did not strike a second time, instead using the Body Flicker Technique to leave the spot at once.

Bang!

A puppet arm thrust out. Had Qian Yun not left just then, it would have pierced straight through his heart.

Bang! Bang!

Just as Sasori of the Red Sand rolled over and climbed to his feet, Qian Yun's custom smoke bombs exploded. Sasori of the Red Sand decisively used the Body Flicker Technique several times in succession.

However, it was already too late. With Qian Yun prepared and Sasori of the Red Sand caught off guard, multiple virus markers stained his body once again.

Flesh Release: Big Flesh Tumor.

Ugh...

Sasori of the Red Sand howled in agony, then looked at Qian Yun with a gaze that seemed ready to devour him alive.

Bang!

His Third Kazekage human puppet was released. Iron Sand Needles formed instantly, and Qian Yun once again flickered backward.

Screech, screech, screech...

The Iron Sand Needles pursued him, leaving Qian Yun looking utterly disheveled.

Aah...

Sasori of the Red Sand suddenly cried out. His attention had been drawn away, and three sand snakes had bitten his feet.

The facts proved that anger could make one lose both judgment and sensing ability.

A swarm of red scorpions closed in. Qian Yun suddenly charged forward with his sword in hand, moving incredibly fast.

Sasori of the Red Sand immediately controlled the Third Kazekage human puppet to meet him.

Pfft!

Sasori of the Red Sand was hit again. The Qian Yun holding the sword had only been a sand clone.

Qian Yun's real body suddenly appeared behind him, and this strike landed solidly.

Cough! Cough!

Sasori of the Red Sand was hit again, coughing blood continuously as he stared at Qian Yun and gradually calmed down.

Yet the moment he activated the energy scroll on his back, Qian Yun swiftly fled the scene, leaving decisively and without hesitation.

Sasori of the Red Sand panted heavily, the fury in his eyes utterly undisguised.

He took out a self-made healing scroll, treating his wounds while directing the little scorpions to search for Qian Yun.

He was no fool.

Qian Yun had gone to such lengths to assassinate him. It could not have been merely to avenge the poisoning from last time.

The first possibility was the Third Kazekage human puppet. The second was the Hidden Sand's classified information in his possession.

Things like puppet techniques, poison formulas, and even Hidden Sand Village's defensive barrier.

As he thought this, several red scorpions suddenly returned to report that Qian Yun had stopped twenty li away.

Sasori of the Red Sand smiled.

He had never suffered such a huge loss in his life. This grudge had to be repaid.

Even for the sake of concealing the Third Kazekage human puppet, he had to kill Qian Yun. Otherwise, there would have been no reason for him to hide in the Hot Sand Wilderness for two years without leaving.

While Sasori of the Red Sand thought this, Qian Yun had no intention of letting him rest.

After communicating with the Scorpion King, he released it.

Thud, thud, thud...

The Scorpion King was so massive that the ground shook as it ran. Even in the desert, the vibrations were intense.

As it charged, the Scorpion King summoned little scorpions from within a hundred li.

It had long had enough of Sasori of the Red Sand. For two years, he had used it as a target to practice ninjutsu.

Even a clay figure had some anger in it, much less the ruler of the Hot Sand Wilderness.

The scorpion tide surged in, and Sasori of the Red Sand finally realized something was wrong.

Red scorpions filled dozens of li around him. Even the Body Flicker Technique would not let him escape.

He immediately activated the Third Kazekage human puppet, continuously firing magnetic iron sand needles.

Batch after batch of little scorpions were nailed to death, only for more batches to surge forward.

Sandstorm: Great Quicksand Technique.

The scorpion tide was pushed away by waves of sand and immediately scattered in retreat.

Sasori of the Red Sand knew that if this continued, Qian Yun would surely finish him off in the end.

He intended to flee this area, and the sooner, the better.

However, Sasori of the Red Sand's actions had long been within Qian Yun's calculations.

He not only wanted to force Sasori of the Red Sand to death, but also wanted to ruin Granny Chiyo and Ebizō.

He did not intend to spare a single person who had pursued him.

He took a full three rolls of film, every photo crystal clear.

Qian Yun followed from afar, not the least bit anxious now.

An hour later, Sasori of the Red Sand was utterly exhausted, and his wounds had torn open repeatedly.

So he made a crazy decision. He had considered this matter for years, but had never made up his mind.

He took out a purple scroll, then a human-skin jar covered in curse marks.

Squelch!

After rapidly forming hand seals, Sasori of the Red Sand decisively dug out his own heart and swiftly sealed it away.

He succeeded. He quickly entered the Third Kazekage human puppet and used Magnet Release to fly away from the area through the air.

The method was far too novel, completely beyond expectation.

Qian Yun blinked. This is going to be a little troublesome.

With someone like this watching from the shadows in the future, he would probably have to guard against assassination at all times, or he could lose his life at any moment.

Troublesome!

The Scorpion King wanted to eat Sasori of the Red Sand's body, so Qian Yun hurried over to stop it and sealed away Sasori of the Red Sand's body.

[Constitution]

A green Constitution trait dropped from Sasori of the Red Sand. That was rather rare.

The Scorpion King refused to let the matter go and even roared at Qian Yun.

Helpless, Qian Yun threw it back into the sealing space again.

Next, he headed for Sasori of the Red Sand's residence, hoping to find that mentally twisted man.

However, after searching for half an hour and even sending sand snakes in to probe, he found no trace of Sasori of the Red Sand.

Could it be that the heart-sealing technique was not perfect, and he had gone to deal with his heart?

Qian Yun cautiously entered Sasori of the Red Sand's residence. Aside from a bedroom and a laboratory, there were no other rooms.

Qian Yun found some experimental notes, an ancient map, and some flesh tissue containing magnetic force.

Third Kazekage experimental cells?

The map marked several underground rivers and the locations of ancient cities.

After spending two hours determining the direction and having the little lizard lead the way, Qian Yun left the desert at nightfall.

Along the way, the little lizard kept bickering with the Scorpion King. Roughly speaking, the little lizard claimed that its ancestor had once been the ruler of the desert, while the Scorpion King had merely been a nobody back then.

The little lizard kept urging Qian Yun to eat the Scorpion King. The Scorpion King said no one could eat it, and that it could even eat Qian Yun whenever it wanted.

Qian Yun was annoyed to death, but he did not join their argument.

He found a cave and briefly organized Sasori of the Red Sand's information.

Three days later, Qian Yun had finished reading all of Sasori of the Red Sand's memories and gone through his experimental notes.

This guy truly was a genius. Putting aside puppet techniques, he had actually cloned the Third Kazekage's skeletal tissue using nothing but Hidden Sand's crude medical records.

His materials were limited, however, and he could not clone any other cellular tissues.

After making a few improvements, Qian Yun cloned himself and controlled the clone with puppet techniques.

It was not agile and could not fight for the time being.

He then cloned Sasori of the Red Sand's heart. His body regained a heartbeat and breathing, yet it could not move, like a vegetable.

Once he returned to Konoha Village, if he could find a way to learn the Shadow Clone Technique, he should be able to create a body double capable of moving.

For now, he tossed both artificial bodies into the sealing space and continued on his journey.