Puppeteers' Showdown

The deathly silence inside the cave was shattered in an instant!

When Shaye's gaze passed over Sasori's shoulder and fell upon the figure deliberately placed in the shadows beneath the workbench, lying there as if asleep, the blood throughout his body seemed to freeze in an instant.

That body wore the familiar black Kazekage robe and a conical hat embroidered with the character for "wind." Its face was peaceful yet utterly lifeless, its skin bearing the same inhuman texture as Sasori's. Most scalp-numbing of all were the clearly visible Chakra Threads extending from its back, connected to Sasori's ten fingers!

The Third Kazekage!

Although Shaye had been mentally prepared, and hazy fragments of memories from his previous life had hinted at it, witnessing this cruel, sacrilegious scene with his own eyes and seeing a Kage Level powerhouse reduced to such a state sent an uncontrollable fury mixed with bone-deep cold rushing through him, instantly crushing all reason and the plan he had made to negotiate!

It was because this man's disappearance that Sunagakure had fallen into leaderless panic! That Kumogakure had seized the chance to invade, sending countless familiar companions to their deaths on the battlefield! His father had been forced to return to the dangerous front lines! The village had been forced to cut its budget, unable even to pay out compensation! All the turmoil, sacrifices, and suffering... their root cause was the betrayal and desecration of the man before him!

"You... you really..." Shaye's voice trembled with extreme fury as he stared fixedly into Sasori's cold violet eyes. "You turned Lord Third Kazekage... into a Human Puppet?!"

Sasori slowly rose to his feet, his black robes stirring without wind. He showed no reaction to Shaye's fury, merely speaking in a nearly chanting yet ice-cold tone. "Oh? You recognized