The blade, coated in poison, gleamed with a faint purple hue.

A four-armed, two-headed puppet loomed menacingly. Uchiha Itachi, never having faced a puppet master before, cautiously chose to avoid direct confrontation. Kakashi had warned him about the deadly toxins used by puppet masters, and Itachi was in no rush to approach the puppet, whose body was mostly concealed by a dark red robe.

Who knew what traps lay hidden beneath that cloak?

In fact, the traps didn't have to be hidden at all.

As Itachi prepared to form seals to evade the puppet's attack, the puppet suddenly opened its mouth. From the gaping maw, a barrage of poison-tipped senbon, glowing the same ominous purple, shot out like a sudden downpour, swift and hard to defend against.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Itachi's small blade moved so fast it left afterimages in the air.

All of the poisoned senbon were deflected in an instant. The three-tomoe Sharingan granted Itachi extraordinary visual acuity, allowing him to track each senbon's trajectory. His relentless training in the Uchiha swordsmanship style had prepared him to respond with precision.

Together, these two abilities allowed him to fend off every single senbon.

Apart from a few drops of purple poison clinging to his blade, Itachi remained unharmed. After deflecting the attack, he quickly formed a one-handed seal and used a substitution jutsu to avoid the puppet's grasp.

"Such speed... as expected of the Uchiha prodigy!"

From behind a stone platform, Sasori manipulated the puppet to continue its assault, observing Itachi and Kakashi's reactions closely. He confirmed that the intelligence he'd gathered from the memories of past victims was accurate—Uchiha Itachi was no mere figurehead. He was a true genius of the Uchiha clan.

And that was even better. The more valuable the material, the stronger the human puppet would be!

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Suddenly, an attack came from above.

Three shuriken, gleaming coldly, were thrown at Sasori's head and shoulders.

While Sasori had been focusing on Itachi, Kakashi, having used the Earth Release to burrow through the mountain, silently emerged directly above Sasori. Without a sound, he launched the shuriken downward at his unsuspecting target.

As everyone knew, the puppet master's weakness was their real body.

No matter how formidable the puppet, if you could strike down the puppet master, their creations became useless. Although Kakashi had little experience battling Sand Village puppet masters, his father, the White Fang of Konoha, had been their nightmare. Kakashi had read the notes his father left behind, detailing how to defeat these puppet masters.

However—

Times had changed!

The puppet masters White Fang encountered were not on the same level as Sasori of the Red Sand.

Kakashi's shuriken hit their intended target precisely. But instead of the sound of flesh being struck, he heard the clear, metallic ring of a weapon striking something hard. All three shuriken were deflected, leaving Sasori completely unharmed.

"Is this… Earth Release Hardening? Or perhaps Lightning Release Body Enhancement?"

Questions filled Kakashi's mind.

Most shinobi, while possessing immense attack power and agility, had low defense. Their bodies were fragile, and they could be killed by a single well-aimed shuriken or kunai. Puppet masters, in particular, were often among the most fragile, dedicating their energy to crafting puppets, controlling them, and concocting poisons, leaving little time for physical training. Some high-ranking puppet masters didn't even have the basic taijutsu skills of an average jonin.

Yet, despite missing his mark, Kakashi wasn't disappointed.

He hadn't forgotten that Sasori was the one who had killed the Third Kazekage. If someone like that was taken down easily, it would be even more worrying—it could indicate an even deadlier trap. While his attack hadn't harmed Sasori, Kakashi had learned something valuable: his opponent had a formidable defensive technique.

Ordinary shuriken wouldn't work.

Next time, he'd try explosive tags or ninjutsu. But for now… his priority was evading Sasori's counterattack.

Battles between high-level shinobi were incredibly fast. So fast, it felt like offense and defense happened simultaneously. Kakashi's attempted ambush had given away his position, and Sasori's fingers twitched, summoning another dark red-cloaked puppet that had been lying in wait.

This puppet was different from the one before.

It looked more human—no extra heads or arms. Hovering in the air, controlled by chakra strings, it tilted its head up to look at Kakashi, who was still partially embedded in the rock ceiling. With a click, its mouth opened.

Kakashi's Sharingan detected chakra gathering within the puppet, concentrating around its throat.

It wasn't an ordinary puppet—it was a human puppet!

In that instant, Kakashi realized the danger and felt a cold chill. His instincts screamed that the threat was imminent!

"Earth Release: Iron Rock Cannon!"

The puppet spat out a rock that started the size of a peach pit but rapidly expanded to the size of a coconut. Its speed, like a bullet fired from a cannon, and its destructive power lived up to the name "Iron Rock Cannon."

The boulder hurtled toward the cave ceiling, smashing into it with a thunderous crash. Dust and debris rained down as spiderweb-like cracks spread across the rock, though the cave itself didn't collapse. This cave had been carved out by Sasori himself using Earth Release and had been reinforced to prevent easy destruction.

"Cough, cough—!"

A cough echoed at the entrance of the cave.

Covered in dirt and grime, Kakashi retreated to his original position. He didn't seem to have lost an arm or a leg, and it looked like he had come out of Sasori's counterattack unscathed. But the rapid, intense coughing and the tightly furrowed brow, as if it could crush a mosquito, proved that he was far from okay.

Earlier, even though he had used Earth Release to escape at the fastest speed, he couldn't entirely avoid the impact of the Rock Iron Cannon. The force, though weakened by the layers of rock it had passed through, still placed a heavy strain on Kakashi's body. The metallic taste in his throat confirmed it was blood without even needing to spit it out.

With sheer willpower, he forced himself to endure the pain because there wasn't even time to cough up blood.

Ninja battles aren't like turn-based games where one has to wait for the other to strike before attacking. The key to ninja combat is to press the advantage relentlessly. The puppet that had used Earth Release came charging again, firing another Rock Iron Cannon from its gaping mouth, which looked like a black hole.

The attack method seemed quite simple. But as the saying goes: "Master one trick, and it can take you far."

It wasn't about complexity, but effectiveness.

This move, the Rock Iron Cannon, had both impressive speed and destructive power. More importantly, it didn't consume much chakra, forcing Kakashi to dodge desperately. Because of his physical discomfort, his movements had slowed down, and he found himself suppressed by just a single puppet.

Kakashi was beyond frustrated!

This is ridiculous!

Damn it, puppets don't even need to form hand seals to perform jutsu? He had slowed down just a little, and now even breathing hurt his chest. He hoped his ribs weren't broken and puncturing a lung, though it probably wasn't that serious. His chest pain was manageable, and while he felt like coughing up blood, he could still hold on.

But this situation couldn't drag on!

Injuries only worsen the longer they're left untreated—they don't heal with time... unless it's something minor like a small cut on the hand, and that doesn't count!

Especially when, out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi noticed that both Uchiha Itachi and Kaguya Kimimaro were each tangled up with a puppet, and Sasori, standing motionless behind his stone platform, hadn't moved an inch. It became clear to Kakashi that retreat was the only option.

Controlling three puppets at once with such ease meant Sasori wasn't even using his full strength! His puppet-mastering skills were undeniably impressive.

From his father's notes, Kakashi knew that for Sand Village puppeteers, controlling just one puppet made you a competent Genin. Controlling two puppets at the same time made you Chūnin-level. When someone could handle three or more puppets, they were considered Jōnin-level, and the more puppets they could control, the stronger they were.

The famous Chiyo of Sand, for example, was said to control up to ten puppets in battle.

Kakashi didn't know Sasori's limit, but in his current condition, he couldn't test it. Even if Sasori doubled the number of puppets to six, that might be enough to keep them all here. With his internal injuries, Kakashi was struggling to handle just one puppet.

Kimimaro, as a close-combat fighter, was having a rough time dealing with a puppet master who liked to coat all his weapons in poison. The poisoned bones he produced couldn't be reabsorbed into his body for reuse, forcing him to continually generate new ones, consuming chakra. This was putting immense pressure on Kimimaro, whose body hadn't fully matured yet.

The only one having an easier time was Uchiha Itachi. While he was still young and hadn't fully grown, he was older than Kimimaro and his fighting style was less taxing. The power of his Sharingan, with its three tomoe, gave him incredible perception. Unlike Kakashi, Itachi could turn his Sharingan on and off at will.

However, Itachi was also frustrated. His preferred method, genjutsu, was useless against these puppets. While his skills in ninjutsu and taijutsu were just as formidable, he preferred to control opponents through genjutsu—it was less tiring and more efficient than head-on combat.

"A puppet master, huh…" Itachi sighed softly.

Genjutsu didn't work on puppets, and Sasori, who was controlling them, was out of range for his illusions. This was Itachi's first time encountering such an annoying opponent, making him realize just how troublesome a skilled puppet master could be. Without his Mangekyō Sharingan, and lacking access to the powerful Amaterasu, breaking through Sasori's defenses was no easy task.

Aware of this, Itachi hadn't wasted chakra on unnecessary jutsu, opting instead to rely on the precise Uchiha-style swordsmanship to battle the puppet. He patiently searched for an opening to turn the tide.

But before Itachi could find a way to shift the battle, Kakashi signaled for a retreat. Even though Itachi wanted to test Sasori's abilities further, Kakashi was the team leader, and disobeying orders wasn't something a good ninja would do. Retreat was the only choice.

Unlike Itachi, who was somewhat reluctant, Kimimaro was more than happy to retreat. The fight had been frustrating and uncomfortable for him, constantly forced into a defensive stance.

However, the problem was that retreating wasn't going to be easy. Sasori didn't understand Kakashi's signal, but he could tell they were closing in on each other and slowly moving toward the cave entrance—it was clear they were trying to escape.

"Trying to run?" Sasori smirked. "No way! I'm not letting my prey get away."

His fingers moved swiftly, and in an instant, seven more puppets clad in dark red robes appeared by Sasori's side. "Sharingan, Shikotsumyaku… such precious materials. How could I let them slip away?" he muttered softly.

His fingers danced in the air as if he were playing a piano, though no music played. Instead, ten puppets charged at Kakashi and the others. Five of them were standard puppets, attacking with various poisoned mechanisms, while the other five were human puppets skilled in ninjutsu, each wielding one of the five elemental releases: Earth, Water, Lightning, Fire, and Wind.

Earth Release: Rock Iron Cannon

Water Release: Water Severing Wave

Lightning Release: Ground Spark

Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough

The multicolored attacks surged toward Kakashi and his team like a flood breaking through a dam. The wind and fire techniques combined, as did the lightning and water, while the earth techniques didn't hinder the others.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

Instead of retreating, Kakashi stood his ground, gritting his teeth. Retreat had to be done methodically, not by turning tail and running. If they couldn't block this wave of attacks, there would be no chance to escape.

"Water Release: Water Wall!"

A surge of water rose up from under Itachi's feet, combining with Kakashi's stone-carved dog-head wall to form a double-layered defense. Clearly, both understood what needed to be done at this moment. Kimimaro, who didn't specialize in ninjutsu, also stepped forward, positioning himself in front of Kakashi and Itachi.

He coated his skin with a layer of bone beneath, preparing to act as a shield in case Kakashi and Itachi couldn't hold back Sasori's attack, even though he was a bit small for a shield.

(End of Chapter)