"Not bad at all, little girl."

Sasori of the Red Sand gave a rare note of praise, then turned his gaze toward Chiyo.

"Grandmother, don't you know? We are masters of the puppet arts."

Chiyo's pupils contracted. "So… you've turned yourself into a puppet!"

The others all froze, faces darkening. Their understanding of Sasori's madness deepened. Orochimaru had transformed himself into something neither man nor snake. Sasori had made himself into a puppet.

Perhaps… for the sake of immortality!

Sasori confirmed it. "That's right. Just a small step in the pursuit of eternal art."

Chiyo no longer wasted words. She knew she couldn't persuade her grandson with talk. If so, she would have to beat some sense into him.

She turned to the others. "Sasori is a master of puppets. I'll face him directly. You only need to support me. But beware—his poison is lethal!"

With that, she charged forward.

Guy told Lee to stay behind and guard Naruto and Gaara. He himself, together with Neji, rushed in to assist.

Tenten, better suited for ranged support, remained at the rear, ready to strike when needed.

Sasuke vs. Deidara

Elsewhere, Sasuke's Lightning Body Flicker pursued Deidara relentlessly, his vibrating lightning blade tearing the air, exuding a terrifying aura.

Deidara backed off quickly, his hand-mouth swallowing clay from his pouch and spitting out explosive clay bombs by the handful. They rained down toward Sasuke.

But Sasuke calmly unleashed Chidori Current, short-circuiting every single bomb into a dud.

Deidara snarled. "Damn it! Every lightning user deserves to die!"

"The one who's going to die—"

"—is you!"

Kakashi's voice came from behind. His hand crackled with Chidori as he stabbed toward Deidara's back.

Deidara's eyes widened. He twisted aside, but Kakashi had predicted his dodge. The thrust shifted mid-strike, piercing his shoulder clean through. His entire arm was severed.

Deidara cried out, stumbling backward, retreating with gritted teeth, too focused on survival to even register the pain.

And now Sasuke closed in from the front, sealing his escape. The two lightning users had him pinned.

Deidara cursed inwardly. This is common knowledge—my clay is weak to lightning. And I just had to run into the wielder of that cursed Lightning Fang sword technique, and now this Uchiha brat too! Their speed is insane… I can't keep dodging forever.

What now? Should I risk self-destruction? Or wait for Sasori's support…? No, looks like Sasori is in trouble too. I'll have to think of my own way out…

Sasori's Trump Card

Meanwhile, Chiyo, Guy, and Neji charged from three sides.

Sasori's arm split open into a mechanism, firing thousands of senbon in a storm like a deadly rain.

Chiyo nimbly avoided them. Guy spun his nunchaku, deflecting the needles. Neji activated Rotation, scattering them harmlessly. All three knew Sasori's poison was too deadly to risk a single scratch.

Sasori's eyes narrowed. Their strength was no trifling matter. He couldn't hold back any longer.

He pulled out a scroll and summoned… a human puppet.

Chiyo's face turned pale. "That's… the Third Kazekage! Sasori—you killed the Third Kazekage!"

Gasps broke out among the group.

Years ago, the Third Kazekage's sudden disappearance had thrown Sunagakure into turmoil. Only when Rasa took the mantle was the village stabilized, blaming Konoha for the Kazekage's fate and launching war.

But no one ever suspected Sasori. He was too young then. No one believed he could kill their strongest Kazekage.

Yet the truth was right before their eyes.

"What?! That's the Third Kazekage—turned into a puppet?!" Guy and Neji were shaken, struggling to find words.

Given Sasori had even remade himself, human puppets weren't beyond belief.

But the Third Kazekage? That was another matter entirely.

Sasori smirked. "Surprised? He's my finest work. Let me show you his strength. Poisoned Blades!"

Blades sprouted from the puppet's arms, venom glistening along the edges.

Guy leapt in, clashing with his nunchaku. He didn't gain the upper hand, but his taijutsu prowess forced the Kazekage puppet back step by step.

Then, with a clack, the puppet's arms transformed again, sprouting a swarm of segmented mechanical limbs. They unfurled like a grotesque sea urchin, lunging at Guy. The sheer density would drive any trypophobic mad.

"What the hell is this?!" Guy shuddered, springing back to evade.

Neji seized the chance, hammering the limbs apart with a barrage of Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palms.

Chiyo pressed forward, summoning two puppets of her own—one male, one female.

Sasori's tone wavered faintly. "Grandmother… even now, you brought them? It's pointless. They're dead."

"But they are still your parents!"

Chiyo's hands trembled slightly as she controlled the puppets. Her words shocked everyone anew.

So much hidden history lay between them.

Sasori responded coldly, driving the Third Kazekage forward. Chakra surged in the puppet's core, while Sasori scattered a pile of black iron sand.

The sand trembled, drawn up under the puppet's control.

The Kazekage's Magnet Release… still functioned!

No one knew how Sasori had preserved it, but here it was.

Iron sand fell like rain, hurling toward them. Chiyo hid behind her two puppets, who intercepted with weapons, batting the sand aside.

But curiously, the iron sand seemed to avoid striking those two.

As if Sasori… did not wish to harm them.

Neji spun his Rotation, pulling Guy within the barrier, deflecting the storm.

But Sasori continued. The sand gathered again, forming colossal shapes—a massive cylinder of solid iron sand, crashing down with crushing weight.

Guy and Neji were forced to dodge.

The sand shifted again—into triangles, spinning tops, jagged spikes—falling relentlessly, impossible to block head-on. Only evasion kept them safe.

Chiyo's advance was stalled, forced to hide behind her puppets.

From the back, Tenten watched in curiosity. She'd read the stories of the Third Kazekage, hailed as the strongest Kazekage, master of Magnet Release.

But watching now, she was unimpressed.

Compared to Natsuki's Magnet Release, this is nothing. The Third Kazekage's a corpse—he should stop making trouble already.

(End of Chapter)

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