Sasori's core was still trembling.
He stared at Naruto, his gem-like eyes reflecting that young yet unfathomable face.
"Recruit me?"
Sasori let out a grating metallic scrape. He was sneering.
"Why? Because of that mouth of yours? Talk no Jutsu?"
"Or because of those shoddy techniques in your hands?"
He raised a hand. The blue core in his chest stabilized once more, emitting a cold glow.
"What I seek is eternal art, not becoming a tool for politicians."
Naruto did not argue. He merely turned and gave Sasuke an order.
"Sasuke, activate the beacon."
The moment he spoke, Sasuke took a button from his pocket and pressed it.
At the same time, the Chakra Beacons positioned nearby activated instantly.
The Energy Core in Sasori's chest suddenly emitted a shrill alarm.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The blue light began flashing violently, while the energy readings in his vision soared wildly.
85%... 92%... 98%...
"What's happening?!"
Sasori's puppet body jolted violently. He lowered his head toward his chest, where the core was spiraling out of control.
His chakra circuits began overloading. A resonant effect had been forcibly triggered by some external force, and energy backflow was spreading at an irreversible speed.
Self-destruct countdown: 10... 9... 8...
"What did you do?!"
For the first time, panic entered Sasori's voice.
Naruto calmly shrugged.
"While you were studying that 'complete data,' I hid a little gift inside it."
"A trigger protocol for a Chakra Resonance Beacon. As long as I activate the beacons buried beneath the surrounding sand, your core will be forcibly guided into its self-destruct sequence."
Countdown: 5... 4...
Sasori was completely lost.
He realized that the knowledge he had learned all this time was too fragmented, lacking any coherent system, and relied too heavily on inspiration.
As a genius puppeteer, he had been