The Land of Rivers.
Inside Akatsuki's secret base for extracting the Biju, the cave was dimly lit. On the grotesque fingers of the giant statue, two figures stood alongside several ethereal silhouettes, working together to extract the Biju into the giant statue.
Gaara floated in the air, his face twisted in pain, surrounded by swirling colorful energy. Faint red Biju Chakra continuously poured out from his body through his seven orifices.
"The enemy is approaching." Zetsu spoke.
"Who?" Deidara was stunned for a moment and asked.
The Jinchuriki was brought back by him and Sasori. And in this cave, only he and Sasori were physically present, while the others were merely projections of their Chakra through Pain's Ninjutsu.
As a result, Deidara was naturally more concerned about the approaching enemies than the others.
"Uchiha Sasuke." Zetsu replied, "There is also…"
"Uchiha?" Sasori's gaze immediately shifted to Itachi's projection, his eyes fixed on him, "Uchiha Itachi's younger brother?"
"Itachi-san's…" Kisame's expression shifted slightly.
"Itachi, is it true?" Deva Path Pain asked, with no emotion to be heard.
"I'm not sure." Itachi looked as cold as usual, and his expression didn't change at all. It seemed as though he didn't care about that kind of thing at all.
"Since it's an old acquaintance, Kisame, you should go take a look." Pain said, "Use that technique, though it will cost you 30% of your Chakra."
"Thirty percent of Chakra is nothing to me." Kisame grinned, baring his sharp teeth.
"That's true." Pain agreed.
Just as the conversation ended, Zetsu's voice sounded again, this time with a hint of difficulty.
"In addition to Uchiha Sasuke, there are four other individuals. It seemed they've been summoned with the Impure World Reincarnation. Judging by their appearances, it's the Shodaime Kazekage, Nidaime Kazekage... and Sasori's parents."
Sasori was stunned when he heard this. His grotesque puppet turned to look in Zetsu's direction and he asked in a hoarse voice, "What did you say?"
"Impure World Reincarnation?" Pain's eyes narrowed, and he glanced at Itachi vaguely, "How could Uchiha Sasuke know that Forbidden Technique?"
Itachi, unfazed, remained silent, completely indifferent to the inquiry.
"Since there are two puppets involved, perhaps..." Pain's Deva Path had his gaze fixed on Itachi's projection, and he seems to have decided to let Uchiha Itachi go and take a look at the situation.
"Let me go!" Sasori interrupted coldly.
A brief silence filled the cave, and after a moment, Pain finally relented and spoke.
"Hmm."
…
On the way.
Naruto, currently disguised as Sasuke, was sprinting at full speed, kicking up dust in his wake.
It was not until two figures cloaked in black robes with red clouds appeared before him with a thundering noise that he was forced to stop. Looking up, he saw two grotesque faces in the billowing smoke and dust.
They are Sasori's puppet body, Hiruko, and Kisame's non-human face.
At this moment, Naruto was still using Sasuke's appearance. He was only stunned for a moment, and immediately regained his composure. But he did not speak, and his eyes quietly looked at Sasori.
Kisame showed a ferocious smile and shouted at Naruto with contempt, "Long time no see, Uchiha Sasuke."
Sasori, hiding within Hiruko, was silent. However, seeing the reanimated forms of his parents standing in front of him caused a wave of anger to surge within him.
"You... deserve to die!"
Naruto smiled, and was very satisfied with Scorpion's reaction. Inwardly, he repeated, 'I am Uchiha Sasuke', and then casually responded, "Is that so?"
"But I'd suggest you step out of that wretched puppet, otherwise, your parents won't recognize you."
"Die!" Sasori roared as he controlled Hiruko to lunge forward at blinding speed. The giant venomous stinger on its back shot toward Naruto like a deadly scorpion's tail.
Seeing this, Kisame also sprang into action. He used Water Release Ninjutsu to change the terrain, and the surrounding forest suddenly turned into a vast ocean.
The Shodaime and Nidaime Kazekages rushed towards Kisame, their Wind Release Ninjutsu launching powerful blasts onto the water's surface. The surrounding area was immediately plunged into darkness, as if engulfed by a torrential storm.
Meanwhile, Sasori's puppet, Hiruko, lunged at Naruto with its venomous stinger fully extended. But Naruto remained completely still, using Sasori's reanimated parents as shields. He silently tossed an invisible Flying Thunder God Kunai, then watched the scene unfold.
This move was truly ruthless, but Naruto felt a twisted sense of satisfaction as a smile crept across his lips.
He knew that Sasori was not someone deserving of mercy. Having turned hundreds of people into puppets, Sasori was a merciless killer whose hands were stained with blood.
In Naruto's eyes, Sasori had long lost any semblance of humanity. There was no point in considering virtues like kindness for someone like him.
For Naruto, enemies were to be annihilated without hesitation, regardless of their background or tragic past.
As expected, Sasori hesitated when it came to attacking his parents, which are summoned with the Impure World Reincarnation. Even though they couldn't feel pain or be injured by his venomous stinger, Sasori couldn't bring himself to strike them directly.
Instead, Sasori redirected the stinger, making it loop around and strike toward Naruto from above.
Just as the venomous stinger was about to pierce him, Naruto vanished in an instant, and at the next second, Naruto appeared Sasori's puppet body, Hiruko. He punched downward, his fist cloaked in the blood-red Biju Chakra, dense and overwhelming.
The puppet Hiruko collapsed from the head down, shattering completely with the force of Naruto's punch. The cracking and splintering sounds echoed, sending chills down the spine. Even more terrifying was the way the puppet was torn apart by the sheer force of Naruto's attack.
Naruto quickly summoned the Kusanagi Sword from his seal space, delivering a powerful slash toward Sasori, who was still hiding inside.
'Too weak, too slow.'
With just this one exchange, Naruto realized that the Sasori before him was not the real one. This was one of puppets controlled with Pain's Ninjutsu, meaning it only had about 30% of Sasori's Chakra and strength.
'So, Akatsuki are busy extracting Shukaku's power from Gaara, leaving them unable to spare any forces?'
'What a coincidence.'
Naruto's face twisted into a sinister grin, 'As the saying goes, attacking the mind is the best strategy.'