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

Chapter 442 What era is this? Still using traditional puppetry!

The number "three" is imprinted on the pristine white surface of the roll.

As Sasori of the Red Sand continuously poured chakra into the scroll, wisps of white smoke were released from it.

The next moment, a brand new humanoid puppet appeared in front of Hiruko, facing Nara Rinka and Tsunade.

"This humanoid puppet looks so familiar..."

Tsunade gazed at the newly appeared puppet, her mouth involuntarily widening as a terrifying thought surfaced in her mind.

"It feels like I've seen it somewhere before..."

Before Tsunade could figure out where she had seen this humanoid puppet before...

As Sasori manipulated the chakra threads, the Third Kazekage puppet suddenly opened its mouth, releasing wisps of black "smoke" that floated and surged around its body.

Even Sasori of the Red Sand dared not be careless in the slightest when facing the special combination of the Fourth Hokage and the Slug Princess.

The brief exchange had already made Sasori of the Red Sand realize that ordinary ninja tool manipulation techniques were completely ineffective against that pitch-black shield.

Therefore, upon summoning the strongest puppet at present, the Third Kazekage, Sasori of the Red Sand unhesitatingly activated its special bloodline limit—

Magnetism!

"Nara! Be careful, the opponent is an S-rank rogue ninja from Sunagakure."

Tsunade stopped her thinking and instead spoke up to remind her.

"That black mist is very likely a poisonous fog that the other side secretly developed."

"It's not poisonous fog."

Nara Rinkazu stared at the Third Kazekage puppet, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"It's magnetic escape."

"The humanoid puppet that appears later is modeled after the Third Kazekage!"

Nara Lan Gui's words had barely faded.

Sasori then manipulated the Third Kazekage to launch an attack.

The "black smoke" emanating from the Third Kazekage's puppet body was actually tiny iron particles controlled by the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release.

"Magnetic Release: Iron Sand Rain!"

Under the control of the Third Kazekage, the clumps of black iron sand condensed into sturdy iron needles the size of kunai, which bombarded the location of Nara Rinka and Tsunade like a storm.

The attack range of "Iron Sand Rain" is overwhelming, leaving almost no room for escape.

Despite such a terrifying attack, Nara Rinka's expression remained unchanged. He maintained his Shadow Armor Technique defense, allowing the Third Kazekage puppet to launch its attack.

Boom! Boom! Boom—

The collision between [Shadow Armor Technique] and [Iron Sand Rain] unleashed a roar even more violent and terrifying than before.

The jet-black, sturdy iron needles crashed one after another against the defensive barrier formed by the Shadow Armor Technique, yet they still couldn't budge it an inch, instead shattering it into pieces.

One by one, the sturdy iron needles shattered, reverting to their original form of black iron particles, which swirled around the [Shadow Armor Technique] like smoke, indirectly creating a blind spot in the field of vision.

"What a cumbersome chakra shield!"

Sasori of the Red Sand gritted his teeth slightly, but the next moment, a smile appeared on his lips.

"But to only defend and not attack? That's a gross underestimation of my abilities!"

Sasori of the Red Sand controlled the Third Kazekage's puppet and used its Magnet Release bloodline limit to sense the natural iron stored in the desert.

Although the Third Kazekage's humanoid puppet can store a certain amount of iron sand in advance.

However, the puppet's body also needs to house mechanical devices, leaving little storage space.

The sand and iron that are almost everywhere in the desert are the foundation upon which the Third Kazekage relied to roam the Land of Wind!

Through the Magnet Release bloodline limit, the Third Kazekage could absorb and control the almost ubiquitous iron sand in nature, and create ninjutsu attacks that could be described as natural disasters at any time.

This is the strongest Third Kazekage in the history of Sunagakure!

On the smooth, yellowish desert surface, swirling pits about half a meter in diameter suddenly appeared. Strands of iron sand floated up from these pits and then, under the control of the Third Kazekage, gathered around his body.

"As expected, it's the Third Kazekage's Iron Sand Technique!"

Tsunade stared at the iron sand that surrounded the Third Kazekage like a black cloud, her pupils shrinking to pinpoints.

"That Sasori of the Red Sand... he actually turned the Third Kazekage into a human puppet!"

At that moment, Tsunade suddenly realized a problem.

The Third Shinobi World War was sparked by the mysterious disappearance of the Third Kazekage.

But now, the Third Kazekage, who was supposed to have "mysteriously disappeared," has not only reappeared, but has also appeared in the form of a human puppet in the hands of a rogue ninja from Sunagakure!

The outbreak of the Third Shinobi World War...

Was this all orchestrated by Sunagakure itself?

Or was it just a farcical mix-up that left people both amused and exasperated?

During a battle, Tsunade cannot afford to be distracted for too long.

Due to Nara Rangsei's "laissez-faire" attitude.

Sasori of the Red Sand successfully completed yet another brand new ninjutsu using the Third Kazekage's puppet.

The black iron sand surrounding the Third Kazekage's puppet's body, under the control of the Magnet Release chakra, condensed into a gigantic, sharply angled, jet-black triangular cone through shape transformation.

After creating the three-sided cone, Sasori of the Red Sand did not rush to attack, but continued to absorb the surrounding iron sand material to increase the volume of the iron sand cone.

"Nara, what are you waiting for?"

Tsunade looked at the ever-growing, pitch-black triangular cone in front of her, her mood slightly heavy.

"Even if you really wanted to get rid of this S-rank rogue ninja from Sunagakure, you wouldn't have gone this far, would you?"

That's right!

In Tsunade's eyes, Nara Rinka's actions at this moment were undoubtedly a sign of letting Nara go!

Previously, Sasori of the Red Sand had not noticed the existence of the [Shadow Creature] at all; it was a rare opportunity for a sneak attack.

Immediately afterwards, Sasori of the Red Sand unleashed his puppet technique without any hindrance or interference.

Given Tsunade's understanding of Nara Rinka, she could have easily stopped Sasori's summoning action with her Shadow Technique when he released his puppet technique!

But Nara Rinka did absolutely nothing.

Tsunade was completely baffled.

In fact, Nara Rinkachi just wanted to see if the Third Kazekage's humanoid puppet could also trigger a new A-rank mission...

The [Magnetic Escape] technique that the opponent possesses is actually quite practical.

Unfortunately, the panel remained unresponsive.

Nara Rinka sighed inwardly. His right hand swept across his ninja tool pouch, and a seemingly ordinary, pitch-black kunai appeared in his palm.

"I just wanted to see just how strong this Third Kazekage really is..."

Nara Rinka flicked his wrist, and the black kunai in his hand shot out like an arrow.

"Actually, puppeteers are actually quite easy to defeat!"

Sasori saw the Fourth Hokage throw a kunai from afar, and several question marks appeared on his little head.

Could it be that the Fourth Hokage of Konoha intends to defeat his strongest puppet using that small kunai?

Isn't that just ridiculous?

Sasori of the Red Sand suspected a trap, so he had the Third Kazekage stop absorbing the surrounding sand and iron matter and directly manipulate the mountain-sized, pitch-black three-sided cone to smash into the enemy in front of him.

Just as the kunai and the three-edged cone were about to collide.

Nara Rinkaku has just completed one round of hand seals.

"Sword Shadow Clone Technique!"

The kunai that was thrown out split from one into two, and then from two into four...

With the support of Nara Rinka's chakra, that single kunai instantly multiplied into hundreds and thousands.

The kunai, being small in size and lacking in offensive power, naturally had no way to stop the attack of the giant triangular cone.

As the three-pronged cone collided with the rain of kunai, one by one the kunai were sent flying, turning into smoke and dissipating into the air.

However, some kunai still managed to bypass the attack range of the black triangular cones and directly approach the Third Kazekage's puppet.

"Using metal weapons to fight the Third Kazekage who possesses Magnet Release?"

A cold smile flashed across Sasori's handsome face.

"It's simply—"

Before Sasori of the Red Sand could react...

Beside the kunai that flew towards the Third Kazekage puppet, a completely new figure suddenly appeared, as if he had crossed time and space.

【Flying Thunder God - Shadow Blade】!

In the instant Nara Rinka travels through time, a long, black whip made of shadows emerges from her hand.

woo-

The shadow whip lashed through the air, producing a sharp whistling sound.

Under Sasori's shocked gaze.

Nara Rinkazu's black whip lashed across the air behind the Third Kazekage.

clap clap-

The chakra threads connecting Sasori of the Red Sand and the Third Kazekage's puppet snapped one by one under this sudden and unexpected attack.

Without the puppeteer's control, even the mighty Third Kazekage is nothing more than a mindless, lifeless puppet, completely incapable of attacking on his own.

The massive iron sand cone, having lost the Third Kazekage's chakra control, immediately went out of control and exploded in mid-air, turning into a fine, swirling black rain.

[Shadow Convergence Technique]!

Nara Rinkazuchi's shadow whip wrapped around the Third Kazekage's continuously falling corpse, firmly grasping it in his hand.

In an instant.

The third generation of Kazekage has changed hands!

"What era are we living in? Still using traditional puppets!"

(End of this chapter)