As the Summoning Technique's formula unfolded.
Two intricately constructed puppets slammed onto the floor, their joint gears spinning at high speed, their sharp limb blades aimed straight at the Third Kazekage's vital points.
The poison had already taken root in his organs, but Sasori wanted to leave nothing to chance. He struck to finish him off.
"Whew... I'm deeply sorry about your parents. I thought that continuing to nurture your growth would be enough to make amends, but in the end, you've disappointed me. And... none of this justifies betraying the village and attacking the Kazekage."
Cold sweat dripped from the Third Kazekage's chin. Inky-black poison markings covered his skin as the toxin ate its way along his nerves toward his brain.
The Third Kazekage clenched his teeth, suppressing the surging agony as one hand, hidden beneath his desk, rapidly formed hand seals.
"Sasori, I'll show you how laughable it is for a puppet user to attack a Magnet Release ninja! Magnet Release... naturally counters puppeteers and every samurai!"
The hand seals were complete! Masses of black iron sand surged up through cracks in the floor, engulfing both puppets like a black tide. The iron sand burrowed into their joints and drive cores.
Yet, amid the Third Kazekage's furious shouts.
The iron sand's suppression, which should have jammed their mechanisms and severed their chakra connections, failed to work. The iron sand entered the puppets, but Sasori's control over their movements did not falter in the slightest.
At the sight, the Third Kazekage's hand abruptly froze mid-seal. His chest heaved violently, and a great mouthful of black, poison-laced blood spattered onto the floor.
"Unaffected by iron sand... this is... the Human Puppet Forbidden Technique! Sasori!!! How dare you dabble in a forbidden technique like this! Cough, cough, cough."
The Third Kazekage stared at the boy who had once been so gentle and obedient. What churned in his chest was not just deadly poison, but genuine bewilderment.
He could not understand how, with his years of care, Chiyo personally overseeing Sasori's training, and layer upon layer of supervision, Sasori had silently mastered the forbidden Human Puppet Modification Technique.
Was Chiyo... covering for him too?!!
No!
He knew what kind of person Chiyo was. Besides, with how dearly she loved Sasori, she would never allow her grandson to dabble in such a forbidden technique.
Then... had Sasori done it himself?!!
How was that possible...
At his words, Sasori stopped laughing wildly. Nothing remained in his eyes but icy indifference. He advanced slowly, flexing all ten fingers nimbly, and the puppets' attacks accelerated once more.
"Make amends? Can a word of remorse and a little support with resources erase the fact that my parents died? Stop struggling. Not even Konoha's Tsunade could cure the poison in you.
"Because... this poison has no cure to begin with. I spent three whole years getting my hands on it! So just be good and die!"
His fingertips twitched. One puppet abruptly evaded the sections entangled in iron sand, its concealed poison-needle magazine opening as a dense barrage of fine, poisoned needles shot toward the Third Kazekage.
The other puppet circled to the side, its blades cutting along paths that targeted blind spots where the flow of Magnet Release was weakest.
"Grandma Chiyo taught me far more than puppet construction and mechanisms. She clings to Sunagakure's outdated rules, afraid to act, but I'm different. I'm willing to pursue art..."
Sasori lowered his gaze to the puppets, which still moved freely despite being wrapped in iron sand. His tone held a trace of indescribable complexity.
Ordinary puppets relied on mechanical structures and chakra threads for control. Iron sand could indeed easily destroy their internal structures and jam their mechanical joints.
But... human puppets were different. They used the meridians a person had possessed in life as the foundation of their drive system, with the flow of chakra hidden deep within the flesh. Magnet Release could only lock down the outer shell; it could not reach the true core pathways of control at all.
The Third Kazekage kept driving his Magnet Release to block the incoming poisoned needles. Yet the poison from the initial dose continued to erode his consciousness. His vision began to double, and his control over the iron sand grew less precise bit by bit.
He understood his current disadvantage. The poison in his body was obstructing his chakra supply, and his control over Magnet Release would only grow weaker.
"If Chiyo knew you were secretly practicing the Human Puppet Technique, she would never have let you come this far. You need to understand what kind of infamy your grandmother will bear because of what you've done!"
The Third Kazekage brought up Chiyo, trying to use her position to restrain him.
Sasori merely scoffed at his words and sent the puppets pressing forward again.
"She won't know. Once I finish you off today, I'll leave the village... and then... turn you completely into a new human puppet.
"Finally, I'll use your Magnet Release to settle the old score with Hatake Sakumo. He's far too powerful. Without a way to counter him, there's no hope of revenge."
Sasori's voice, tinged with madness, echoed endlessly through the enclosed office.
As he spoke, Sasori's fingertips kept trembling. The two human puppets moved in response, black chains of refined iron shooting from their chests and lashing forward to bind him with a sharp whistle through the air.
The deadly poison within the Third Kazekage had long since saturated his organs, draining every last ounce of strength from his body.
His Magnet Release chakra dispersed completely. His limbs were stiff and powerless; he could not even raise a hand.
Cold chains coiled tightly around his torso and limbs, binding him firmly to the floor.
The Third Kazekage's eyes trembled and lost focus, his vision blurred and clouded. With only a final scrap of consciousness remaining, he stared fixedly at the boy approaching him step by step.
Sasori fell silent and walked slowly, lightly, until he stood before the Third Kazekage.
From above, he quietly looked down at the Kazekage who had wronged him his entire life.
"You'll become one of the most beautiful works of my eternal art."
His tone was flat, without the slightest hint of emotion. Only bone-deep indifference remained.
"Rest easy, Uncle Third."
"This is the last time I'll call you by that sickening name. Soon, Hatake Sakumo will join you down there. Not one of you will escape."
A slender hand reached out and settled on the Third Kazekage's shoulder.
Chakra stirred faintly at his fingertips, extinguishing the last trace of the man's life.
The Third Kazekage, the so-called strongest Magnet Release ninja in Sunagakure, fell then and there.
Sasori took out a Sealing Scroll, lightly unfurled it with his fingertips, and stored the Third Kazekage's entire, intact body inside.
He did not linger, turning to survey the wrecked office.
He walked out of the office.
Several ANBU corpses lay scattered across the floor. They were all ninja on duty who had rushed over at the noise, only to be silently killed by the puppets.
He stored every corpse in the scroll, one by one, and cleared away all traces of fighting, bloodstains, and debris inside.
The entire Kazekage's Office soon returned to its original state, so clean that it seemed no murderous tragedy had ever occurred.
Once he had finished, Sasori pushed open the door and left the office building.
The night wind swept across the silent Sunagakure settlement, carrying yellow sand through the sky.
He walked alone, avoiding every patrol post, and climbed to the top of Sunagakure's highest cliffside platform.
The evening wind fiercely whipped up the hem of his clothes. Yellow sand struck his face, pelting his brows and eyes.
He stood at the cliff's edge, gazing at the scattered houses within the village.
One small house glowed with dim yellow lamplight, warmth spilling through its paper windows. That was where Chiyo was, and also... the only place he had called home since childhood.
There was no hesitation or lingering attachment.
Sasori simply watched in silence.
After a moment, he slowly turned his head.
The last trace of a child's warmth in his eyes vanished completely, leaving only icy, deathly stillness.
The swirling wind and sand swallowed his slender figure. The cliffside platform stood empty.
Sunagakure no longer had its prodigy, Sasori.
From that day on, all that remained in the world was the missing-nin... Sasori of the Red Sands.