I, who just wanted to be lazy, was forced to become the Hokage.

Chapter 441 Rank A Mission [Scorpion of the Red Sand]!

The bright sunshine shines on the boundless desert.

Wrapped in a dark yellow coat, almost blending into the desert environment, Fei Liu Hu moved seemingly slowly but actually swiftly across the gravel, quickly traversing one sand dune after another.

As a puppet meticulously crafted by Sasori of the Red Sand, Hiruko's movement speed is no slower than that of an ordinary Jonin, and she doesn't even have the various shortcomings of a flesh and blood body.

Wherever Hiruko passed, it left a long trail on the sand, but it was quickly buried by the ever-present sandstorms of the desert.

Inside Hiryu-ko.

As Sasori of the Red Sand manipulated his puppet to stealthily approach his secret base, he was distracted by thoughts of the fate of the Loulan Kingdom.

This kind of multitasking is a piece of cake for him.

"Loulan, and those puppets..."

Sasori of the Red Sand gripped the scroll he had just obtained from Loulan, his handsome face cold and indifferent.

"A metal puppet that can move freely without the need for chakra threads..."

"The metal puppet has a special energy source inside, which can be used as the puppet's driving force..."

"Compared to the metal puppet army in Loulan, the puppetry knowledge taught in Sunagakure is practically ancient!"

He secretly left Sunagakure after assassinating the Third Kazekage.

During the years of the Third Shinobi World War, Sasori of the Red Sand had been secretly creating the "Third Kazekage" and other experimental puppets for practice.

A few days ago, Sasori of the Red Sand learned from a secret spy of Sunagakure that the Third Shinobi World War had officially ended.

Having spent several years in the secret base, Sasori of the Red Sand was restless and wanted to go out and explore, while also looking for a new, special base where he could study puppets.

After some searching, Sasori of the Red Sands identified Loulan, an inconspicuous little country near the Land of Wind.

Sasori of the Red Sand originally planned to find a secluded place within the territory of Loulan to continue advancing his puppet art.

Unexpectedly, an extremely powerful puppeteer already existed within the territory of Loulan!

Moreover, the opponent's skill level seems to be no less than his!

This immediately caught Sasori's attention and interest.

As one of the most talented puppeteers in the history of Sunagakure, Sasori's puppetry skills have reached a point where they can no longer find any direction for advancement within the village.

Even Chiyo's puppetry skills are not as good as Sasori's in the present day.

It's important to know that Sunagakure is the origin of puppeteers.

Sasori of the Red Sand originally thought that he would have to study puppetry alone and in solitude for the rest of his life.

Unexpectedly, in the Loulan Kingdom, "next to" Sunagakure, they encountered such a special puppeteer.

In particular, the metal puppets created by the other party provided Sasori of the Red Sand with a great deal of inspiration.

just like……

It's as if the other party's puppetry technique comes from the future!

"Let's study the puppet research data they provided first, and then go find An Lushan!"

Sasori of the Red Sand gathered his scattered thoughts and was about to increase the amount of chakra he poured into Hiruko.

"As for now, let's go back—"

The thought had just formed in Sasori's mind when he saw two figures standing quietly ahead of Hiruko's path.

"That is—"

Upon recognizing the figure, Sasori of the Red Sand, hidden inside Hiruko, instantly narrowed his eyes and stopped moving.

"The Slug Princess of Konoha! And—that shadow in the darkness! The Fourth Hokage!"

Above the desert.

Nara Rinka and Tsunade stood side by side, examining the short puppet together.

"Nara, we've been following him for so long, but he hasn't noticed us at all."

Tsunade looked at Hiruko with a hint of disdain in her eyes.

"An S-rank rogue ninja is somewhat undeserving of the title!"

"If you ask me, we should have just punched that puppet to pieces! Let's capture it first!"

"Sasori of the Red Sand is no ordinary puppeteer."

Nara Ranka shook his head.

"Moreover, I have some ideas about this super genius who specializes in puppetry."

"what?"

Tsunade turned her head and gave Nara Rinka a slightly strange look.

But before she could even open her mouth to make a joke, the short puppet in front of her launched an attack first.

"Hiryu Kou - Needle Eight Waves!"

Suddenly, Hiruko opened its mouth, aimed directly at Nara and Kakeru, and a dense barrage of poisonous needles and stingers shot out from its mouth.

These poison needles and stingers, crafted from special metals, flew at incredible speed across the distance between them, like a sudden black storm, crashing towards Nara and his companion.

Faced with the fierce attack of poison needles, Nara Rinka's eyes remained unmoved.

Without any hand seals being formed, the shadow beneath him surged like a wave, and a pitch-black shadow shield rose from the ground, blocking him and Tsunade.

Shadow Shield Technique!

Ding! Ding! Ding! ——

The poisonous needle storm formed by "Eight Needle Waves" struck the black shield created by "Shadow Shield Technique," and the contact and collision between the two immediately caused a series of dense knocking sounds.

A brand new A-rank mission message popped up on Nara Langui's panel.

[A-rank ninja battle mission detected!]

[Rank A Mission: Sasori of the Red Sand]

[Mission Objective: Defeat/Kill Sasori of the Red Sand]

[Mission Reward: Rank A Ninja Scroll]

Under Sasori's watchful gaze, his sudden attack with poison needles failed to penetrate the black shield's defenses; all of them were deflected.

He immediately realized the powerful defensive capabilities of the black shield and launched a new round of attacks without stopping.

"Hiruko: Heavy Blade Archives!"

Suddenly, two clouds of smoke exploded in front of Hiruko, and two enormous hidden weapon machines, resembling heaters, were summoned by Sasori of the Red Sand. A barrage of poison needles, senbon needles, and even kunai flew out from the machines.

Compared to "Needle Eight Waves", the attack posture launched by "Heavy Blade Library" is not only heavier, but also more fierce.

Amidst the barrage of poison needles and thousands of needles, Sasori of the Red Sand secretly mixed in several special kunai with explosive tags attached.

With Nara Rinka's keen eyesight, he naturally noticed the presence of those explosive tag kunai.

With a thought, the black shield in front of him immediately changed shape, its area expanding several times over, forming a solid and sturdy black barrier.

[Shadow Armor Technique]!

Boom! Boom! Boom! —

A series of continuous roars erupted from the desert.

Nara Rinka's technique once again blocked Hiruko's ninja tool attack.

Sasori witnessed this scene and knew that Hiruko alone would probably find it difficult to break through the defense of that strange shield.

The S-rank rogue ninja hidden within the puppet took a deep breath and silently took out a brand new scroll.

Come out!

My strongest servant!

The Third Kazekage!

(End of this chapter)