Puppet: Ibuse

A month later.

Sasori of the Red Sands finally finished turning Ibuse into a puppet.

On a deserted stretch of rocky wasteland, five people wearing animal masks stood in a row.

"Sasori, bring out your puppet and show the boss what you've turned that venomous salamander into."

Lang Xing sounded eager.

Over the past few months, he had grown familiar with Pakura and the others. He no longer spoke so cautiously and had come to see himself as part of the group. He even seemed to enjoy it.

And with good reason.

He had no interests beyond making money. Holding a vast fortune gave him satisfaction and a sense of security.

In the few months he had spent with Long Ye, he had earned as much as he normally would in several years. Bounties that large did not come along every day.

A month earlier, he and Pakura's group of three had gone to Cedar Village to collect a debt and returned with one hundred million. Long Ye divided it fairly, giving each of them twenty million. That was no small sum.

Sasori stepped forward.

For once, he was not hiding inside Hiruko. He appeared in his real body.

Puppeteers relied on puppets to fight and had little combat ability themselves. In the past, Sasori had stayed inside Hiruko to protect himself.

The fact that he was willing to show his real body in front of them meant, at the very least, that he trusted them.

Sasori took out a scroll!

Then he released its seal!

A massive shape appeared.

The huge puppet still looked like Ibuse. Like the Kazekage Puppet, it had been made from the original body, but it now bore clear signs of modification.

A hatch opened over Sasori's heart, revealing his Regeneration Core.

More than a