This puppeteer is a bit... well...

Chapter 206 Pain and Sasori of the Red Sand (Please subscribe and vote with monthly tickets)

After settling things off with Kohinata, Ryuji continued to study the two ninja swords.

The fragments of the decapitation sword were just plain metal, nothing special, and they didn't have the ability to absorb iron from blood.

Clearly, the special abilities of the Executioner's Blade do not originate from the material itself, but rather from the forging process or certain techniques inscribed on the hilt.

As for the explosive blade—the observation instrument quickly reverse-engineered the technology.

This is a forging technique that combines psychic magic with swordsmanship. It can quickly summon corresponding explosive tags through various sword-wielding actions or hand seals. The technique is simple and crude, yet very practical.

The key difficulty lies in the explosive tag summoning contract scroll.

Ryuji didn't know if any subspaces like the Holy Land of Explosive Tags existed in this world, but this scroll could summon explosive tags from nothing, just like the Multiplicative Explosive Tags developed by the Second Hokage. It was simply unreasonable.

Long Er further analyzed and studied the technology, and developed the multiplicative detonating symbol.

Then, in a flash of inspiration, he loaded the spool into the mechanical bird's body as an ammunition magazine, transforming it into a bomber.

Of course, this process took a long time.

By the time the mechanical bird was completely modified, the mechanical castle had already been back in Sunagakure for half a day.

With mission reports, arrangements for the Vortex Clan, and the real estate plan for the Mechanical City... there was still a lot of work waiting for Long Er to do, so he had no choice but to step out of his portable laboratory.

……

Talking two ends.

While Ryuji was busy dealing with various political affairs, somewhere in the Land of Wind, Sasori of the Red Sand finally received a recruitment offer from the Akatsuki organization.

A cold wind blows, and yellow sand stretches endlessly.

In the desolate desert and Gobi, bare cliffs stand side by side.

On a cliff, Scorpion, dressed in a brown vest and with no change in appearance, stood looking down at the person below.

He wore a black robe with red cloud patterns and was a boy with short orange hair. Black metal rods were stuck in his nose, chin, and ears. Especially the ones stuck in his nose... their thickness exceeded that of ornaments, making them look quite eerie.

But the scorpion felt nothing.

His puppets were created by modifying corpses, and he saw countless times more gruesome scenes like this every day. Besides, there are plenty of unique individuals in the ninja world; it's not surprising that some truly bizarre characters would emerge.

But he still cared about this person.

He was clearly a living person; his demeanor, words, actions—everything about him conformed to the standards of a living person. Yet, from Scorpion's perspective, he appeared lifeless, as if he were a dead man, creating a strong sense of incongruity.

What's going on with this guy?

"Sasori of the Red Sand, what's your answer?"

The calm words brought Scorpion back from his reverie.

He looked up at the people below and smiled gently.

"Pain, is it?" Scorpion asked. "I don't know who you are, but I have no interest in joining any organization."

"I see!" Payne seemed to have expected this, and was not disappointed. He said calmly, "Then let's fight. If I win, you'll join my organization."

"I wouldn't mind having one more human puppet."

Sasori of the Red Sand revealed a cold smile, the scroll slid into his hand, opened, and formed hand seals.

"Bang!"

As the thick white smoke dissipated, the Third Kazekage's puppet appeared beside Sasori.

This is...

Payne's pupils contracted.

Sasori, an unprecedented puppeteer capable of multitasking, naturally wouldn't miss Pain's expressions and reactions, and couldn't help but ask with some curiosity, "Oh~ you seem to know a bit about my puppets!"

"...I have met the Third Kazekage."

After a moment of silence, Pain said, "I've heard that your puppets are made from corpses, but I fought the Third Kazekage just four months ago, and there's been no news of anything happening to him since. This puppet of yours..."

"You've fought the Third Kazekage and know about my puppets..." Sasori chuckled softly. "It seems your organization isn't the insignificant little group I imagined. By the way, what's your organization called again?"

"dawn!"

"dawn?"

Scorpion stood there, stunned.

Ever since he was banished from the Land of Wind by Ryuji, he has been inquiring about information about the Akatsuki organization.

However, the only information they could obtain was from small organizations operating in the Land of Rain.

Scorpion initially thought that Ryuji was referring to that organization, but after learning about the organization's usual practices, he changed his mind.

Because that organization was too naive.

Acting on the principle of preventing war... that's not really anything special, but they advocate for people to abandon war and take action through mutual understanding and communication.

Such behavior was met with disdain by Scorpion.

It's not that I disdain such behavior, but rather that I believe an organization that acts based on such a philosophy is destined to fail and will not survive long, so it is unlikely to be the kind of organization that will recruit me in the future.

No, let's not talk about whether we can survive.

Given the organization's modus operandi, it's impossible for them to recruit someone as notorious as me.

It's worth noting that not long ago, in order to obtain materials for creating puppets, he destroyed a small country, which was completely contrary to the Akatsuki's operational principles.

Therefore, Sasori of the Red Sand did not pay much attention to the Akatsuki organization.

As he had predicted, not long after, news of the Akatsuki's annihilation by Sunagakure spread throughout the ninja world.

He didn't pay much attention, and just wandered around the ninja world doing what he liked while inquiring about the other Akatsuki organization.

But no matter how he inquired, he couldn't find any information.

Over time, he stopped caring about it as much.

Just when he was about to forget about it, the Akatsuki organization came knocking on his door.

"Hmph..." Sasori laughed happily. "The Akatsuki, huh? Then let me see what you've got to make me join!"

"You haven't answered my question yet." Payne pointed to the puppet floating beside him and said, "Many parts of this puppet are still made of human flesh. This is the Third Kazekage's puppet, isn't it? Why is it that the Third Kazekage didn't die, yet you have his puppet?"

"Are you bothered by it?"

"No, I'm just a little curious."

"I'll tell you if you win!"

As he spoke, Sasori flicked his right hand, sending out chakra threads from his five fingers that connected to the Third Kazekage puppet, while his left hand formed a hand seal.

"Click!"

The Third Kazekage puppet opened its mouth, and a large amount of iron sand slid out.

"That's easy!" Pain raised his right hand, aiming it at Sasori of the Red Sand, "Universal Pull!"

Instantly, a powerful suction force was generated, pulling the scorpion's body towards it.

Sasori's eyes widened, and he changed his left hand seal, unleashing "Ninja Art: Iron Sand Rain!"

Instantly, all the scattered iron sand flew up and turned into a dense barrage of bullets that shot towards Payne.

(End of this chapter)