Akatsuki Base.
Uchiha Itachi had already sensed the death of his Puppet.
Kisame grinned, chuckling softly. "So Itachi's Puppet was also killed? The Konoha guys seem tough to deal with!"
Kisame's Puppet was dealing with Team 3, still entangled with them. That guy named Might Guy was not easy to handle; meanwhile, Itachi's Puppet was dealing with Team 7 and was eliminated so quickly. It was indeed surprising.
"Hmm."
Uchiha Itachi didn't say much in response.
Before he could obtain accurate information about Uchiha Sasuke, Itachi didn't want to reveal anything about his brother, especially knowing the rules of the Root.
However...
Their fates were quite peculiar.
Uchiha Itachi had once joined the Root but was manipulated by Danzo to kill his clan; Uchiha Sasuke also joined the Root and was controlled by Akihara Kagura, relentlessly hunting his own brother.
"Deidara and Sasori..."
Itachi shifted the topic to the Akatsuki's matters.
"Don't worry about them."
Pain shook his head and continued solemnly, "We have already completed the extraction of Shukaku from the One-Tails Jinchuriki. The two of them can easily escape from those chasing them..."
"..."
Itachi doubted this.
Because he knew how strong his brother Uchiha Sasuke had become!
Neither Sasori nor Deidara might be a match for Sasuke, especially with the highly skilled Hatake Kakashi on their side...
However...
Itachi didn't anticipate.
The puppeteer battles in the ninja world had long undergone a transformation.
Inside a hidden cave.
When Team 7 and Chiyo found this place, Deidara and Sasori had just finished sealing Gaara with the Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals. Gaara's body, the Jinchuriki of the One-Tails, had already had Shukaku extracted and was now a corpse.
"You go first."
Seeing Team 7 and Chiyo, Sasori waved for Deidara to retreat with Gaara's body and said coldly, "I'll stay to deal with them."
"Tch, I wanted to give it a try!"
Deidara was reluctant to leave. Seeing Team 7, he seemed eager. "Like old man Kakuzu says, seeing your headbands reminds me of the first Konoha ninja I fought..."
"Akihara Kagura, right?"
Hatake Kakashi interrupted Deidara, rubbing his forehead. "Then you lost to Kagura and were imprisoned by him, impersonated to kidnap the Third Tsuchikage. I was there at that time..."
"!!!"
Deidara's eye twitched!
A flash of anger appeared on his face!
These bastards...
Why didn't they cooperate with him!
They even poked at his wounds here!
He still hadn't forgotten the moments when Akihara Kagura humiliated him. Deidara despised that talented guy because he was too humiliating!
"That guy..."
Deidara clenched his fist, his arm trembling. "It's all because of that guy that the old man kept nagging me about not learning Dust Release. Who wants to learn that crappy thing, it can't compare to my art!"
"He seems to hate Kagura..."
Uzumaki Naruto cautiously pointed at Deidara.
"That's normal..."
Without waiting for Kakashi to answer, Chiyo spoke first, "Many people hate Akihara Kagura. His existence is like a mountain, making it hard for others to breathe, making ninjas unable to control their own fate..."
"This..."
Naruto couldn't understand.
To him, Akihara Kagura was like an older brother in the family. He had a good relationship with Kagura and never found anything wrong with him.
"..."
Kakashi understood well.
Because Akihara Kagura was too powerful, making it impossible for other villages to harm Konoha, even forcing them to accept Konoha's harsh conditions, naturally leading to resentment from others.
"Let's go quickly."
Sasori of the Red Sand did not comment on their discussion, instead he coldly instructed Deidara, "You've lost an arm. Staying here will hinder my battle..."
"Got it!"
Deidara angrily released a giant clay bird, manipulated it to grab Gaara's corpse, and then left the cave by mounting the bird.
"Leave the Kazekage!"
Hatake Kakashi raised his hand, leaving a Flying Thunder God mark like a manhole cover. He then commanded, "Sakura, Elder Chiyo, you two stay here and deal with him. Naruto and I will go after the other guy. Once we recover the Kazekage, I'll come back immediately!"
"Understood!"
Haruno Sakura nodded promptly.
"Okay."
Elder Chiyo nodded and then took out a scroll from her pocket. "It doesn't matter if you don't come back. I want to have a good talk with my dear grandson..."
"Dear... grandson?"
Sakura looked at Elder Chiyo in surprise.
However, Elder Chiyo ignored Sakura, directing her gaze towards Sasori. "How long has it been since we last met, Sasori? I heard you retired a long time ago. I really want to see what my grandson looks like now..."
"..."
Sasori remained silent.
Indeed, he was Elder Chiyo's grandson. This was a fact he couldn't deny, but saying anything would be lowering himself, so saying nothing was better.
"Let me try first..."
Elder Chiyo stepped towards Sasori, a chakra thread flying from her hand, wrapped around several kunai. As the chakra thread fell, the kunai shot rapidly towards Sasori!
"Manipulated Assault Blades!"
In the next moment, the kunai flew towards Sasori!
The kunai, enhanced with chakra, moved extremely fast!
"Still playing with outdated puppet techniques? Unfortunately, the times have changed..."
Sasori coldly watched the incoming kunai, the tail of his puppet Hiruko suddenly extending in front of him, with gun barrels protruding from it!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Nails infused with chakra shot out like bullets, directly knocking down the flying kunai!
The nails were even faster and more powerful!
"It seems like nothing has changed!"
Elder Chiyo swiftly dodged the flying nails, but her eyes showed faint shock and unease at this scene!
Because...
The speed of these nails was strangely fast!
Crack...
Crack crack...
The black robe with red clouds on Sasori's Hiruko puppet began to crack. The mechanical puppet gradually transformed, with countless cannon barrels emerging densely from Hiruko's body!
"That is!"
Haruno Sakura watched Hiruko in astonishment!
"It seems to be highly offensive..."
Elder Chiyo frowned, sensing that Sasori's puppet techniques had taken a strange turn. "If it's too offensive, its defense will weaken..."
"I told you, times have changed."
Sasori retorted in a muffled voice, coldly continuing, "Why can't a powerful attacking puppet also have strong defense?"
As he spoke, Hiruko's puppet emitted a grating metallic sound. The cannon barrels quickly retracted, revealing black, hard armor plates on Hiruko's body, forming something like a suit of armor!
Elder Chiyo's eyes narrowed slightly. Her fingers moved lightly as she pondered Hiruko's weaknesses. "If it has both attack and defense, its flexibility will decrease..."
If its flexibility is significantly reduced...
That means if they can withstand Hiruko's attacks and have enough power to break its defense, Hiruko would become a sitting duck!
"It seems he's made many modifications to his puppet..."
Elder Chiyo glanced at Haruno Sakura beside her, softly saying, "My attack power isn't strong enough to break his defense. That puppet's defensive capabilities are very strong..."
"Let me handle it!"
Haruno Sakura had great confidence in her fists!
"But..."
Elder Chiyo raised another concern, speaking seriously, "You must avoid all of that puppet's attacks perfectly. I just tested it, and the nails shot by those mechanisms are very fast..."
"I understand!"
Haruno Sakura's heart tightened.
"It's not just about speed…"
Chiyo shook her head and continued to remind, "You also need extremely rich combat experience to judge the hidden weapons fired from the mechanisms. That guy Sasori has armed that puppet to the teeth. The only drawback is probably its flexibility..."
"..."
Haruno Sakura fell silent.
Because combat experience was what she lacked the most.
All along, Haruno Sakura had not participated in many battles. Even when she did, she was merely playing a minor role. The only significant combat experience she had was during a Chunin exam she participated in over the past two years, which was far from extensive.
"Leave it to me."
Chiyo's fingers extended chakra threads as she began to explain, "When it comes to combat experience, Scorpion is far from matching mine. That's why he hasn't dared to move. I'll control your body to dodge the puppet's attacks..."
"Alright!"
Haruno Sakura leaped up, charging towards Sasori of the Red Sand. The chakra threads from Chiyo's hands attached to her body!
"Charging straight at me?"
Sasori of the Red Sand snorted dismissively, unimpressed by Haruno Sakura's threat. After shedding several pieces of armor from his puppet Hiruko, several square openings were revealed.
Three gun barrels emerged!
Blue chakra spewed out from the three gun barrels!
Rat-tat-tat!
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
Countless chakra bullets encased in iron sand flew out, forming a powerful line of fire in front of Sasori!
"What!"
Chiyo's face turned pale with shock. She hastily raised her hand, controlling Haruno Sakura's body to rapidly ascend, narrowly avoiding the bullets!
Fortunately, Sasori's Hiruko puppet was driven by chakra, not actual gunpowder. Even at high speed, it remained within the ninja's reaction time!
"This kind of mechanism..."
A flash of terror appeared in Chiyo's eyes as she recalled the hidden cannons on Hiruko. She wondered how many more attack methods it had!
Chiyo immediately realized her mistake. Even after seeing Hiruko's attack methods, she still underestimated its aggressiveness!
"Did you think you could evade by being in the air?"
Sasori controlled Hiruko to extend two more cannons, launching two rockets. The tails of the rockets emitted blue chakra light!
Chiyo hurriedly controlled Haruno Sakura to dodge!
The rockets exploded on the cave ceiling, causing countless rocks to fall!
"This won't do..."
Chiyo quickly controlled Haruno Sakura to land beside her, pulled out her own puppets, and said in a deep voice, "I must use puppets to distract him..."
"Okay."
Haruno Sakura obediently followed her elder's advice.
"Don't worry..."
Chiyo, feeling a bit uneasy, tried to reassure Haruno Sakura, "Just smash that puppet when you get close. Its movement speed is very slow. I will cut the puppet's movements from time to time, using chakra threads to keep an eye on you..."
"Mm!"
Haruno Sakura nodded firmly.
"To think he has become this strong..."
Chiyo took out two scrolls and summoned two puppets.
"Those are..."
Sasori's voice suddenly turned grim.
Those were the puppets 'Father' and 'Mother' that he created in his childhood, hoping they could replace his deceased parents to accompany him. However, they never met his standards and were abandoned. Unexpectedly, Chiyo had kept them and used them now!
Click, click...
The 'Father' and 'Mother' puppets started moving under Chiyo's control, charging towards Hiruko!
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
The cannons on Hiruko roared!
Chiyo's eyes flashed as she controlled her puppets to release a defensive jutsu: "Mechanical Light Shield Block!"
A defensive shield blocked the iron sand bullets!
Although the shield developed cracks under the dense barrage of bullets, it stubbornly held its position, drawing Hiruko's fire!
Taking advantage of the 'Father' and 'Mother' puppets attracting Sasori's attention, Haruno Sakura ran along the cave wall, avoiding occasional bullets and rockets from Hiruko. She leaped towards Hiruko, swinging her fist down!
"Granny..."
"This is the third time..."
"I told you, times have changed."
Hiruko's tail suddenly folded up, transforming into a series of tubes. Blue chakra erupted from the tubes, propelling Hiruko at a speed that made it nearly invisible, dodging Haruno Sakura's attack!
Haruno Sakura stared in shock as Hiruko vanished before her eyes!
A gust of wind from high-speed movement surged through the cave!
Sasori's Hiruko moved to the other side of the cave.
At this moment, Hiruko's appearance had drastically changed. It unfolded four propeller wings, with several tubes continuously spewing blue chakra, allowing it to hover in the air, looking completely out of place in this era.
"Attack, defense, agility..."
"Who says these can't all be present in a puppet?"
~~~
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