Orochimaru did not realize he had saved the wrong person.
This matter really cannot be blamed on Orochimaru. Even Akihara Kagura could have guessed that Orochimaru had done his best to save Sasori of the Red Sand.
Members of the Akatsuki organization could not trust each other, as they did not understand each other's secrets. Naturally, Orochimaru could not possibly know Sasori of the Red Sand's true face.
It was rare for Orochimaru to see Sasori of the Red Sand's true form, believing that the body of the red-haired youth was Sasori's real body, with a hollow space where the heart should be.
As a result...
There was a complication.
Orochimaru, looking at the puppet without any consciousness or chakra, and the hollow space in the puppet's heart area, faintly felt that he had discerned the truth. Sasori of the Red Sand had turned his own body into a human puppet!
"Hehehe..."
A smile appeared on Orochimaru's face as he suddenly thought of an interesting idea. He wanted to go back and look for Sasori of the Red Sand's hidden real body.
Perhaps...
He could control this puppet master!
However, Orochimaru was a step too late when he returned. White Zetzu Awei, like a diligent cleaner, had collected all the puppet parts.
"Has that guy already escaped?"
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, seeing no fragments of the puppet.
Clearly.
According to Orochimaru's guess, Sasori of the Red Sand must have feigned death to escape, having already left this place, otherwise, no one would bother cleaning up puppet fragments for no reason.
Elsewhere.
In a small town in the Land of Rivers.
Jiraiya, along with Akihara Kagura, had pear juice. On the way, he saw a young girl with a stunning figure and immediately left his disciple to hit on her.
This mentor of elite ninja always had some odd quirks. There was no need to worry about him causing trouble in significant matters, and there was no hope of him handling minor affairs well.
It must be said, this is the benefit of training with Jiraiya.
Perhaps for others, this meant Jiraiya was not responsible enough; for Akihara Kagura, such moderate freedom was just right.
Akihara Kagura was the first to find the heart core of Sasori of the Red Sand left on the battlefield after the battle ended, directing White Zetzu Awei to collect Sasori's body and other assorted puppet parts.
White Zetzu Awei took Akihara Kagura to a cave where he stored his things.
"These are all the things I've collected…"
White Zetzu Awei pointed to a pile of puppet parts gathered on the mountain top, then took out a cylindrical heart, "This thing is a bit strange, always wanting to jump around..."
"Because this is the essence of a puppeteer, right?"
Akihara Kagura took the cylindrical heart from his hand and couldn't help but laugh, "Awei, go help me find a powerful corpse, perhaps we need to plant a spy in Akatsuki..."
"We plant a spy in Akatsuki?"
White Zetzu Awei was somewhat puzzled and asked curiously, "Aren't we both members of Akatsuki? Just undercover in Konoha temporarily..."
In theory, the subordinates of Uchiha Obito should indeed be members of the Akatsuki organization.
"Members of Akatsuki?"
Akihara Kagura glanced at the heart in his hand and said in a low voice, "If the Akatsuki organization can't be led by us, why should we consider ourselves as members of Akatsuki?"
Akihara Kagura looked at White Zetzu Awei and said with a light laugh, "Even Uchiha Obito isn't in a position to lead in the Akatsuki organization, let alone us who are his subordinates..."
"Then..."
White Zetzu Awei looked at the cylindrical heart in Akihara Kagura's hand, "Then... control him?"
"No."
Akihara Kagura shook his head, looking at the violently shaking heart in his hand, and said seriously, "This is not about control, this is about finding a like-minded companion."
"…"
White Zetzu Awei was greatly shocked.
This White Zetzu quickly sank into the ground to search for a powerful body nearby.
However, Akihara Kagura didn't actually need it; it was just an excuse to send him away, because the pile of human puppet parts in front of him was enough for his use, he could even find a redhead.
Akihara Kagura was not good at making puppets, he could only utilize the ability of the Rinnegan to create Six Paths puppets, barely reaching the level of a super puppeteer.
"Outdated art..."
As Akihara Kagura held an arm and removed things like blades from within the arm, he said, "The era has already changed…"
While speaking, Akihara Kagura raised his hand to condense a chakra black rod, directly inserting it into his arm to act as a chakra receiver.
Akihara Kagura was creating his own Asura Path puppet.
Compared to creating a Tendo Shisui, it was more convenient for Akihara Kagura to create an Asura Path because he only needed to complete the framework of an Asura Path, and the rest could be supplemented by Sasori of the Red Sand himself.
While Akihara Kagura was creating the Asura Path puppet, the cylindrical heart on the ground was trembling violently, desperately trying to find a puppet to possess!
Akihara Kagura assembled a puppet resembling a red-haired young man, inserted all the chakra receivers into the puppet, and then took out the cylindrical heart from the ground, slowly inserting it into the puppet.
"Finally, there's a body to use..."
This puppet immediately gained the consciousness of Sasori of the Red Sand.
However, just as Sasori of the Red Sand wanted to use this puppet body, he found that he couldn't control it at all, as the body had already been controlled by someone more powerful using Yin-Yang Release!
"Don't worry..."
Akihara Kagura raised his finger.
A chakra black rod slowly approached Sasori of the Red Sand's cylindrical heart, its sharp end piercing into the heart without any blood flowing out!
"What in the world is this!"
Sasori of the Red Sand looked at his heart in disbelief.
He felt someone was invading his will, a technique similar to the Sand Control Technique that Sasori of the Red Sand often used on others, someone was trying to control him!
"This is a stronger body..."
Akihara Kagura controlled the part of the black rod made from Yin-Yang Release that was exposed to melt into a pool of black liquid, slowly enveloping Sasori of the Red Sand's body.
This was another use of Yin-Yang Release.
By implanting one's Yin-Yang Release inside a person, one could control the person's physical actions using Yin-Yang Release. Turning his own essence into a cylindrical heart was the greatest help for Sasori of the Red Sand...
Compared to creating Tendo Shisui, it was more convenient for Akihara Kagura to create this Six Paths puppet, and he didn't even need to extract Sasori of the Red Sand's soul to easily control his will!
"It seems to be going smoothly."
Akihara Kagura's eyes gradually turned into a pair of Rinnegan.
As Akihara Kagura transformed, the puppet housing Sasori of the Red Sand also slowly turned into Rinnegan. This puppet was Sasori of the Red Sand's vessel and would also become Akihara Kagura's Asura Path!
"Rinnegan..."
"Who exactly are you..."
Sasori of the Red Sand looked at Akihara Kagura's eyes in disbelief.
The Rinnegan is not known as the eye of the Sage of the Six Paths; only the leader of the Akatsuki possesses those eyes. Why does this Konoha Village kid also have a pair of Rinnegan!
"Why not try out your own strength?"
Akihara Kagura looked at the trembling heart of the Sasori of the Red Sand but ignored the other's confusion, merely controlling the Sasori to lift the hand of the puppet.
Click...
Click click...
The hand of the human puppet kept changing until it turned into a thick gun barrel, from which countless chakra bullets were sprayed!
Dada dada!
A wall was riddled with bullet holes!
With Akihara Kagura's conscious control, the gun barrel transformed from the puppet's hand quickly retracted, turning into a chakra cannon barrel, and a laser beam shot out instantly, piercing through the cave!
This is the wonderful use of Yin-Yang Release Chakra!
By utilizing Yin-Yang Release Chakra, one can achieve the transformation of internal mechanisms, even Akihara Kagura's own body can grow a piece of modern weaponry.
"This puppet…"
The Sasori of the Red Sand was shocked to see the weapon emerging from his body.
Is this still the puppet he modified?
Why is this puppet so powerful? Even the appearance of the puppet's body is no different from a living person. There's actually someone in the world who can surpass his puppeteer skills!
"Who exactly are you... a divine being?"
The Sasori of the Red Sand looked back at Akihara Kagura.
Even though the Sasori of the Red Sand had always been in the Akatsuki conducting puppet research and experiments, not knowing much about Akihara Kagura, he knew that the young man in front of him couldn't possibly be a simple person!
"And... What is your relationship with Pain?"
The Sasori of the Red Sand suspected that there was some relationship between Akihara Kagura and Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki, because the Rinnegan was a very obvious feature.
"A competitive relationship."
Akihara Kagura's eyes turned back to normal.
With the change in Akihara Kagura, the eyes of the human puppet also turned into a pair of normal eyes.
"You don't need to know too much yet."
Akihara Kagura looked at the Sasori of the Red Sand and said softly, "You only need to know that I am also a member of Akatsuki, and sooner or later, I will stand by your side…"
"Before that day comes…"
Akihara Kagura lowered his voice and said solemnly, "It's up to you to act as my undercover agent within the Akatsuki organization, to carry out my will. You are still the Puppeteer of Akatsuki, still the Sasori of the Red Sand of the Akatsuki organization."
"I am... a puppet?"
The Sasori of the Red Sand suddenly realized his identity.
The Sasori of the Red Sand, who always liked to turn others into human puppets, finally realized that he seemed to have been turned into a puppet by someone else, his voice becoming somewhat unyielding and angry.
"You want to treat me as a puppet?"
"Don't you also like to treat others as puppets?"
Akihara Kagura's remark directly silenced the Sasori of the Red Sand.
"Don't worry, you are free."
"You can even have your own will."
Akihara Kagura, soothing his puppet and subordinate, warned, "Most of the time, I won't make you do things you dislike, so it's best not to do things that upset me…"
The Sasori of the Red Sand vaguely understood his situation.
His body was completely under the control of the other party, even his heart was controlled, making it impossible for him to resist.
"Furthermore."
Akihara Kagura's fingers moved slightly, and under his control, the Sasori of the Red Sand slowly raised his arm: "Now, you possess a power you could never have obtained on your own. You should have already witnessed the strength of this puppet, haven't you?"
"…"
The Sasori of the Red Sand could only nod.
Even if the Sasori of the Red Sand did not want to become a puppet controlled by others, he had to admit that he was attracted by Akihara Kagura's puppet, unable to resist the temptation to uncover the secrets of this puppet!
This is a temptation no puppeteer could ever give up!
Even the Sasori of the Red Sand was unwilling to give up the opportunity to uncover the allure of this puppet!
Moreover, his heart is controlled by Akihara Kagura's Yin-Yang Release, leaving him no choice but to silently endure everything...
After some thought, the Sasori of the Red Sand felt the great temptation brought by society, as well as the terrifying threat it posed. No matter how he contemplated, it seemed impossible to change the other's mind, forcing him to accept this arrangement for now.
"Alright, I agree to your terms."
"Congratulations on making the right choice…"
Akihara Kagura raised his palm, softly beginning to arrange his tasks: "You can return to the Akatsuki organization now. It's best to conceal your identity, absolutely do not let Pain discover the chakra receiver hidden on you by me…"
Akihara Kagura continued with precautions for going undercover: "For your safety, I won't normally allow you to use the power of the Rinnegan. If you encounter danger, you can notify me in advance. I can allow you to use my chakra, even summon you to my side…"
"Chakra receiver…"
The Sasori of the Red Sand's eyes narrowed, suddenly recalling a possibility: "The leader of the Akatsuki organization, Pain... Is he also your puppet?"
"Of course not."
Akihara Kagura shook his head, unconcerned about revealing any secrets regarding his Six Paths of Pain: "The leader of the Akatsuki, Pain, is the puppet of another person. Seriously speaking, that person should be considered my senior brother, right?"
"So, there are two pairs of Rinnegan in the ninja world?"
The Sasori of the Red Sand thought about this, feeling a numbness in his heart.
Because he had once witnessed the power of those Rinnegan with his own eyes.
This Konoha Village kid is the junior brother of the person behind Pain, both possessing the Rinnegan…
The Sasori of the Red Sand wildly speculated about the relationship between Akihara Kagura and Pain, wondering if something had happened between them. Otherwise, why would this Konoha Village kid plant himself as a spy in the Akatsuki?
"Stop your wild speculations."
Akihara Kagura could guess the thoughts of the Sasori of the Red Sand and took the initiative to say: "Like you, I am a member of the Akatsuki, but the organizational structure of the Akatsuki seems a bit off. A person with my capabilities shouldn't merely be a minor Konoha Village undercover agent, right?"
"Yes…"
The Sasori of the Red Sand subconsciously nodded, then asked: "One of the Three Legendary Sannin of the Konoha, Jiraiya's disciple… He couldn't possibly be just an ordinary Konoha Village undercover agent, right?"
"Barely considered a candidate for the Hokage of the Konoha Village…"
Akihara Kagura sighed, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied with his identity.
"…"
The Sasori of the Red Sand nodded, not thinking there was anything wrong with this undercover identity.
Because the Sasori of the Red Sand was once the guard of the Third Kazekage, as well as a candidate for the Kazekage, harboring hopes of succeeding as the Kazekage.
The Sasori of the Red Sand still chose to murder the Third Kazekage, aiming to become the most powerful puppet master, opting to become a rogue ninja.
"Then, I hope we get along well in the future."
Akihara Kagura grasped his Asura Path puppet, treating it as if it were still alive: "For now, it may still be necessary to use the name Sasori of the Red Sand, but in the future, more people will surely remember your new name, Asura Path · Sasori!"
~~~
Yep, some people guess it! Asura Path Sasori is in the building!!!
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