Outside the Sand Village.
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, was stunned.
In the past few seconds, his emotions had undergone a tremendous upheaval.
The battle between him and Deidara had been ongoing, with the advantage clearly on his side. Just as he was about to unleash a powerful attack to subdue the blond brat before him, an all-too-familiar roar echoed from within the village.
"Damn it, that's Shukaku's roar! Has Gaara gone berserk??"
Rasa's heart sank. He couldn't ignore this and immediately turned away from Deidara, rushing back towards the village.
Although the Sand Village had many skilled ninjas, only Rasa had the quickest means to subdue Shukaku. He couldn't afford to waste time. He had to return before the village suffered significant damage.
"Hey! Old man, are you running away? I haven't even shown you my greatest art yet! Don't go! Hmm!"
Rasa completely ignored Deidara's shouts, racing back to the village at top speed. Just as he was about to activate his jutsu, the scene before him left him utterly shocked.
Shukaku had been resealed!
Floating in the sky was a silhouette he knew all too well.
The person behind his current achievements played a crucial role in his life.
"Master?"
With a slight lift of its sand iron wings, the silhouette turned around, expressionless, staring at Rasa.
"This is..."
"A puppet?!"
Rasa was taken aback. He never imagined that his mentor, who had been missing for so many years, had been turned into a human puppet.
The only person capable of such a feat had also been on the missing persons list.
Sasori of the Red Sand!
"Rasa, long time no see. Time flies, doesn't it..."
From the rooftop, Sasori spoke softly:
"Don't be surprised. You should be grateful to me. If it weren't for my help, you wouldn't have become Kazekage at such a young age."
Rasa, already enraged to the extreme, shouted, "Sasori! As a genius puppeteer, why did you kill the Third Kazekage? Why did you betray the village!"
Sasori responded, "If you need a reason, I'll tell you. I have no attachment to the village, and the village couldn't bind me. I only wanted to pursue my art."
"As for the Third Kazekage, he is my most prized collection. Do you... like it?"
Sasori's voice was raspy and cold. Rasa could no longer contain his fury. Seeing the enormous tail behind Sasori holding the barely conscious Gaara ignited his anger completely. With a wave of his hand, a mass of gold dust gathered around him.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Spears!"
This was Rasa's signature jutsu, condensing gold dust into spear-like drills capable of rapid, continuous thrusts.
Although furious, he hadn't lost his rationality. They were in the Sand Village, and using wide-range attacks would cause extensive damage to the village. In his haste, he opted for the Gold Dust Spears, which combined speed and power.
"Clang!"
Just as the Gold Dust Spears were about to pierce Sasori, a much larger Iron Sand Spear shot out, striking the Gold Dust Spears and deflecting them off course.
"Hmph." Looking at the somewhat shattered Iron Sand Spear, Sasori snorted coldly:
"Indeed, gold dust is harder than iron sand. This trip wasn't in vain. Rasa, you will become my second prized collection!"
...