Leaving doesn't seem to be as easy as it sounds!

The howling windstorm, much like the previous earth escape technique, went beyond what Sasori could comprehend. The raging winds were constantly shifting in form—wind blades, wind swords, wind spears, wind bullets—each type of attack crashed relentlessly towards Sasori and his human puppet, the Third Kazekage.

Just being grazed by a single wind blade left a visible cut on his shin, even though it was made from extremely precious and high-quality materials. Sasori's heart grew cold; he knew he absolutely couldn't take consecutive hits from such an attack. Even though his body was a puppet, he wouldn't be able to withstand it.

Even the wings made of iron sand were on the verge of disintegrating under the barrage of wind spears and wind bullets.

As mentioned earlier, Sasori had only achieved longevity but was still far from immortality. If his weakness were found or if he was crushed by sheer overwhelming force, he could still die!

"I can't be distracted by trying to escape now. I need to focus on the battle."

Sasori felt a slight heaviness in his heart.

His attempt to retreat had failed, and the flying technique he had intended to use as a trump card didn't work. Unexpectedly, Uchiha Sougen also had flight capabilities. Sasori had prepared to defend against a Susanoo pursuit, but instead of seeing Susanoo, he was faced with yet another one of Sougen's skills! However, the preparations he made weren't wasted; they still served him well.

Magnet Release: Iron Sand Wall

Iron sand quickly gathered in the air against the wind, forming a thick wall of iron sand. Under Sasori's control, the human puppet Third Kazekage released even more iron sand, continuously reinforcing the wall's defense. This bought Sasori enough time to return to the ground.

His ability to fly depended on the Third Kazekage human puppet; he couldn't fly by himself.

The sky was merely a path for retreat, not a suitable battlefield.

Like most ninjas, the land was their true battleground. Even fighting at sea was better than being in the sky with nowhere to stand. Due to carrying himself and four other human puppets, the combat power of the Third Kazekage puppet was greatly reduced. It would be unwise to engage in an aerial battle with Uchiha Sougen.

So, he chose to return to the ground.

Once his feet were firmly planted on the ground, he could fully utilize the power of his human puppets.

Upon landing, the Third Kazekage puppet also descended, and the power of the Iron Sand Wall technique became harder to maintain. Just as Sasori touched the ground, the Iron Sand Wall, which had been holding off the storm, exploded into pieces, scattering countless iron sand particles like a rainstorm.

Then,

The Third Kazekage human puppet used magnet release to summon the iron sand back, forming a thicker and more solid iron sand cloud around Sasori. At the same time, two other human puppets used Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall, raising rock walls to block the approaching storm.

Although the wind blades and wind swords left hundreds of scars on the rock walls, and the wind bullets caused large chunks of the walls to collapse, they couldn't break through in one go.

"Quick reaction."

After two failed attacks, Sougen looked down at Sasori and weighed the long sword in his hand.

As they say, "third time's the charm."

He couldn't afford to fail a third time.

With a light stomp, the black hawk beneath him dived downward, rapidly closing the distance between them. Sougen raised his sword, and sparks of crimson fire flickered from his palm, enveloping the blade in red flames.

Sasori saw Sougen charging toward him again, but the genius puppeteer was fearless. He swiftly took out a new scroll, not the least bit shaken by Sougen's approach, and calmly summoned five more human puppets dressed in dark red robes.

Now, Sasori was controlling ten human puppets.

Among the newly summoned puppets, three were from the Cloud Village, and two were from the Stone Village. Interestingly, three of them specialized in water release techniques, and the other two in wind release techniques, rather than the Cloud Village's usual lightning release or the Stone Village's earth release.

These five human puppets were also among Sasori's top creations.

Water Release: Wild Water Wave

Water Release: Wild Water Wave

Water Release: Water Formation Wall

Under Sasori's control, the new puppets finally responded to Sougen's attack. The three specializing in water release rushed forward and performed two water release techniques: one for defense and the other for attack. The Wild Water Wave, though a basic C-rank water release technique, varied in power depending on the caster's skill.

As for the Water Formation Wall, it was a defensive technique similar to Earth-Style Wall.

Even after all this, Sasori wasn't satisfied. Given the overwhelming strength of Sougen's previous attacks, he had no room for complacency. The two puppets proficient in earth release created another set of Earth Release: Earth-Style Walls, stacking layers of protection upon protection.

Just as the rock walls rose,

Sougen was already upon them.

"Now witness it! My long-unused ultimate technique: Uchiha Style—Blazing Sword!"

Sougen swung his blade, cutting through the two waves of water ninjutsu. The water was instantly evaporated. Not only did the offensive Wild Water Wave evaporate, but the Water Formation Wall vanished under the intense heat from Sougen's sword. And it didn't end there!

The Blazing Sword technique was Sougen's signature move before he unlocked the Mangekyou Sharingan, combining his innate ability Magic Release (Flame) with the Uchiha clan's fire release and swordsmanship. It earned him the title Flame Demon after striking fear into the Mist Village.

Now,

With his mastery of the Bashō Fan and in-depth understanding of the five chakra nature transformations, Sougen had refined this ultimate fire technique to new heights. The powerful wind and earth releases he had used earlier were the results of his intensive research into chakra nature manipulation, eliminating the need for hand signs and blurring the lines of shape transformation. This mastery of elemental chakra allowed him to create such devastating wind and earth techniques.

As Sougen's strongest fire release,

The truth is, he had already developed it to an advanced level. After acquiring the Bashō Fan, his fire techniques had reached new peaks. The Blazing Sword's destructive power had surpassed its previous limits, though he hadn't had the opportunity to test its full potential until now.

In an instant, Sougen's blazing sword evaporated the water techniques released by the human puppets. The scorching flames advanced, scorching the ground beneath them until it cracked. The raised rock walls shattered in the blink of an eye, and the earth release puppets that couldn't dodge in time were consumed by the flames, leaving not even a trace behind.

The chakra strings fell slack.

Sasori was dumbstruck.

How could it be this powerful?

The sheer destructive force of this move was far beyond unreasonable! His layers upon layers of defenses were as fragile as paper before Uchiha Sougen's attack. With no time to think, he could only desperately command the Third Kazekage human puppet, hoping that its iron sand techniques would be more reliable!

Magnet Release: Iron Sand Wall

The pitch-black iron sand once again coalesced and compressed densely, maximizing the defensive strength of the sand-iron wall.

The next second, the blazing stream of fire engulfing the nine puppets of Sasori collided with the sand-iron wall. The intense heat transmitted through the wall, and even Sasori, whose body had been turned into a puppet, clearly felt the heat. Although his body wasn't entirely puppetized, human puppets retained their chakra pathways but could not generate chakra on their own.

Sasori's chest contained a "core," the last living part of his body—his flesh and blood—which was the source of his chakra.

So, at that moment, the remaining flesh felt a burning sensation it had never experienced before.

"This won't do!"

His thoughts and actions aligned, and he raised his right hand. From his palm, a specially crafted black nozzle extended. A light "click" sound came from behind as the scroll on his back was engaged. Without needing to form any seals, with just a turn of the nozzle, a torrent of water burst forth, splashing against the now red-hot sand-iron wall.

A sizzling noise echoed in all directions.

Thick white steam shot up into the sky like smoke signals.

The sand-iron wall had endured the scorching flames for less than two seconds, reaching its limit. As the cold water hit it, the sudden clash of heat and cold caused the wall to instantly collapse, leading to a direct confrontation between the flames and the water.

And the result of this clash?

"Damn it!"

Sasori cursed aloud.

Lying on the ground, he had lost the right half of his body and a portion of his face. If he hadn't transformed his body into a puppet, and if he hadn't desperately twisted his body to protect the "rejuvenation core," he would likely have already crossed death's threshold and found peace in the afterlife.

"Still have the energy to curse? Looks like having a puppet body has its perks!"

Sougen used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Sasori, looking down at the genius puppeteer who still appeared as a young boy.

Upon seeing Sougen approach, a flash of malice appeared in Sasori's eyes. He suddenly opened his mouth, spitting out dozens of poisoned, hair-thin steel needles, aimed straight at Sougen's face. At the same time, his intact left hand twitched, attempting to continue controlling the Third Kazekage puppet, which had not been hit by the Great Fire Sword.

This determination to fight to the last breath impressed Sougen.

However—

Such petty tricks wouldn't work!

"Hmph!"

Sougen exhaled a gust of wind, blowing the incoming poisoned steel needles off course, far from hitting him. As for Sasori's subtle hand movements, they were no match for Sougen's keen Sharingan, which spotted the attempt. With a wind-infused blade, Sougen slashed down at Sasori's left wrist, severing his hand.

The flow of chakra was cut off.

The Third Kazekage puppet, which had just begun to rise, collapsed to the ground with a thud.

However, Sasori still wasn't ready to give up.

He didn't need his hands to control his puppets. His still-in-development technique, Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets, was designed to control one hundred puppets simultaneously. Two hands wouldn't suffice, and Sasori had no intention of adding eight more arms to his body. So, he had developed a technique to use chakra threads emitted from his rejuvenation core to control his puppets.

Once he gathered one hundred human puppets, his Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets would be complete.

Unfortunately, he didn't have one hundred puppets at the moment. The ten puppets he had summoned, except for the Third Kazekage, had been reduced to ashes by the Great Fire Sword. As for the puppets in his scroll, his right side had been burned away, and most of the scroll had been destroyed, leaving him unable to open what remained.

"Truly persistent."

Sougen's Sharingan clearly saw the chakra thread shoot out from Sasori's chest. Sasori's relentless determination to fight, even to his last breath, was somewhat admirable. However, Sougen didn't intend to let him continue his performance. Locking eyes with Sasori, Sougen unleashed his brutal and forceful ocular powers.

Although most of Sasori's body had been converted into a puppet, leaving only his chest with living flesh—

That was the genius of the human puppet technique.

Not only did it preserve the chakra pathways, but it also allowed the body's organs, including the eyes and ears, to function. This made Sougen's eye techniques just as effective against Sasori.

Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique.

This was one of Sougen's favorite genjutsu.

Not only did it restrict the enemy's movement, but it also allowed for communication within the realm of the target's mind.

"Uchiha Sougen, what are you trying to do?"

Trapped in the illusion, Sasori's spiritual body appeared fully intact, but large metal stakes pinned him down, making him unable to move. Glaring at Sougen, who stood before him, Sasori voiced his deep confusion.

"Are you planning to capture me and execute me publicly?"

"If I wanted to kill you, I'd do it now. I'm not interested in complicating something that could be simple. And no, you don't need to ask again whether I will kill you—the answer is no. The reason I'm choosing to capture you alive is because I want to see if you'll work for me."

Sougen didn't beat around the bush and directly revealed his true intentions.

"Work for you?"

Sasori was stunned.

This answer was completely outside his expectations. He was bewildered, unable to understand if Sougen was playing a trick on him.

"Are you messing with me?"

"You still don't believe me, huh?"

Sougen sighed. "I'm not joking, nor am I toying with you. Fine, I'll be straightforward! I value your skills. I need someone to help me research cells that contain the power of the Wood Release."