Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

Once he encountered Itachi Uchiha, Deidara immediately went berserk and started attacking without any mercy, even reaching into his ninja tool pouch to grab clay.

Although Itachi Uchiha didn't deliberately develop his "pretending to be something," as the older brother of the second male lead, his "pretending to be something" was completely natural. For someone like Deidara, whose personality wasn't very composed, encountering an invisible and colorless "pretending to be something" was the most stimulating, especially with Itachi's little look in his eyes, which made Deidara furious no matter how he looked at it.

"...We encountered the yellow earth of Iwagakure on the way, which delayed us a bit."

Handsome Scorpion was quite considerate of his former teammate, speaking in a similarly casual tone.

"...Stop arguing, the Mist Ninja are already here, and the Three-Tails is about to revive..."

Kisame felt the excitement emanating from the greatsword on his back and stopped Deidara, who was about to unleash his fury.

“Itachi Uchiha, a rogue ninja from Konoha; Kisame, a rogue ninja from Kirigakure; Deidara, a rogue ninja from Iwagakure; and Sasori, a rogue ninja from Sunagakure. Your Akatsuki organization really thinks highly of Kirigakure, sending four of you at once.”

Sure enough, before Kisame could finish speaking, the Mizukage appeared in front of them. And that wasn't all; a large group of Kirigakure underlings appeared one after another, surrounding them with their weapons.

Deidara's clay bird was so conspicuous, and it flew over so openly in broad daylight, it was practically a guiding light for the Mist Ninja.

Although the water shadow girl looked quite imposing, she was also shocked inside.

This Akatsuki organization really thinks highly of them, sending four Double Flower Red Staff members at once, and all of them are top-tier.

According to her understanding, the Akatsuki's operating model has always been to capture tailed beasts in pairs. However, even with two top-tier members coming to Kirigakure, she still felt immense pressure. Although Kirigakure had been developing quietly for several years and gradually recovered some strength, it was still only at the mid-level. She was the only top-tier fighter. If she encountered the Akatsuki, she would have no choice but to fill the gap with human heads. Kirigakure's head count was enough to make up for the quality gap. As long as they didn't reach the level of Hashirama Senju or Madara Uchiha who disregarded numbers, there wouldn't be a problem.

But now the Akatsuki has actually sent four members with double red staffs to take down the Three-Tails, and to make matters worse, one of them can fly...

"...The Three-Tails has been revived. I'll leave this place to you and go catch it."

"Pfft!"

Itachi Uchiha sensed the massive amount of chakra brewing in the lake. Without saying a word, he finished speaking to the three of them, then leaped into the air, spun around four and a half times, and jumped into the water without splashing a single drop. His movements were incredibly smooth.

"Hehe, let's go! It seems like no one's going to fight here. Let's go! Water Release: Exploding Water Wave!"

Kisame and Itachi Uchiha had been teaming up for many years and had developed a good understanding. Itachi Uchiha was as firm as water. He picked up the large sword on his back, formed a hand seal with one hand, and launched a large-scale water jutsu. The humanoid tailed beast was no joke. The surrounding area immediately turned into a sizable lake.

"Exploding Clay - Giant Bird"

"Exploding Clay - Grasshopper!"

"Crimson Secret Technique: Thousand Machine Manipulation!"

"Bang bang bang..."

Kisame had already made his move, and Deidara and Sasori didn't say a word. There were quite a few Kirigakure ninja. After Deidara created a giant clay bird, he jumped onto its back and took off safely. Then he made a bunch of small clay grasshoppers and kept throwing them down.

Sasori, however, didn't have as many fancy tricks as Deidara. The enemy's numbers were simply too overwhelming. Even the Third Raikage, who was considered a super tough guy alongside his bastard uncle, was killed by 10,000 Iwagakure. He didn't think his Hiruko's toughness could withstand so many Kirigakure, especially since there were far more than 10,000 Kirigakure here. Hiruko sadly opened a rift, and several sealing scrolls flew out from it. Although they exploded, thousands of densely packed puppets of various shapes and sizes instantly appeared in the sky, and they were all human puppets. If Kakuzu saw this scene, he would definitely weep with joy. These were all money!

The cost of making a human puppet is not just about having a corpse; it also requires a large amount of financial investment. If it weren't for Kakuzu's money backing him up, Sasori would at most only have a hundred puppets made of inferior materials, like in the original work. Those defective products might be impressive, but they wouldn't even cut up Chiyo's two puppets.

"Holy crap! That's outrageous!!! ∑(?Д?ノ)ノ"

But this thousand puppets are different now. Each one is a deadly weapon, not only covered in deadly poison, but also covered in various traps and hidden weapons. When these thousands of puppets suddenly appeared in the air, everyone was startled.

Even Deidara, who was flying in the sky on a giant bird, was startled by the sudden appearance of thousands of puppets, despite knowing some of Sasori's background. He almost fell off his bird.

"Hiss... Sasori of the Sand Village, indeed terrifying..."

Kisame and the Mizukage, who were exchanging ninjutsu, also paused. Kisame was alright, after all, she was one of their own, but he was surprised that this tech geek who rarely went out had such exaggerated skills, and he almost couldn't hold his big sword steady.

But the Water Shadow Girl is different; she instantly sucked away all the surrounding cold air.

This is the famous White Secret Technique of Sunagakure! Controlling ten puppets at the same time is already pretty impressive, but now this Sasori of the Sand has pulled out over a thousand puppets at once, and each one is exquisitely crafted. It seems like he wants to control over a thousand puppets simultaneously.

That's way too exaggerated...

1093. Can puppets also perform ninjutsu?

"This...wow! No wonder he's the greatest puppeteer of the century..."

Huang Tu and the others, who were watching from a distance, felt a chill run down their spines when they saw thousands of exquisitely crafted human puppets floating in the air. They were secretly glad that Handsome Scorpion hadn't taken out his weapon when he fought them earlier. How were they supposed to fight these thousands of puppets covered in deadly poison?

This Sand Sasori is truly outrageous.

The legendary puppeteer Sasori was very famous before. Although he rarely showed his face in the ninja world, and no one knew where his fame came from, his fame was undeniable. He was renowned throughout the ninja world for both his fame and his reputation. But to be honest, he had never seen Sasori before, so he thought that Sasori, the number one puppeteer in Sunagakure for a hundred years, was probably only at the level of Chiyo.

Chiyo's level was already extraordinary; she was the number one puppeteer in the ninja world decades ago. The Chikamatsu Ten Puppet Masters were renowned, and even her father dared not confront them head-on.

Only now, seeing Sasori of the Sand pull out over a thousand puppets at once, did he realize what it truly meant to be the greatest puppeteer of the century—it was simply too outrageous...

"This kid had this trick up his sleeve... No wonder the lord is working so hard to make money..."

Shindou was astonished by his nephew's skill. He understood puppetry better than Huang Tu and the others, and he also knew more about the cost of creating a human puppet. Handsome Scorpion, a perfectionist, with sufficient funding, strived for perfection in every puppet he made. Moreover, Handsome Scorpion's puppets differed from the traditional puppets of Sunagakure. The traditional puppets, made from human corpses, were far more agile than ordinary puppets, but they didn't retain the corpse's abilities. Handsome Scorpion's puppets, however, retained the corpse's previous abilities, representing a great reform and innovation in puppetry...

However, because the puppets needed to retain their abilities from their previous lives, their creation was incredibly time-consuming, expensive, and labor-intensive. Sasori had no shortage of time and manpower, but funding became a major problem after the boy left the village. Seeing his nephew's numerous exquisitely crafted "human weapons," Shinto couldn't help but once again marvel at how truly good Kakuzu was. Back then, he only wanted Kakuzu to take care of his nephew a little, just to keep him from going hungry. He never expected Kakuzu to spend so much on his nephew. Thinking back, all he'd done over the years was help Kakuzu with the Six-Tails and Four-Tails, and he hadn't even introduced him to many business opportunities. Compared to how Kakuzu had cared for his nephew, Shinto felt truly ashamed...

"That's too much..."

Heitu's eyes widened in disbelief; she truly didn't know how to describe the scene before her. Was this the power of a Double Flower Red Stick? She was indeed far stronger than her father...

...

"This...this...."

"Sri Lanka is number one! How are we supposed to fight this..."

"There are just too many puppets..."

The Mist Ninja underlings who had surrounded Handsome Scorpion and his group, ready to grab their weapons, were also stunned. They stared at each other, bewildered by the thousands of puppets, their bodies gleaming with a chilling light, that were being pulled by chakra threads. They had no idea how to fight this battle. Judging from the green light emanating from the puppets, anyone with eyes could tell that they were poisons that would kill instantly upon contact with blood.

Of course, they weren't afraid of death; those who have been in the business for a long time have long since disregarded life and death. But the key is that even if they are not afraid of death, they must die in a worthy and meaningful way. It would be a bit stupid to rush up and fight those unkillable puppets hand-to-hand. The key is that the puppeteers who control these puppets are surrounded by so many puppets that they can't get in at all!

"There are so many of us, and he only has a thousand puppets. What are we afraid of? Follow me and charge!"

The world has no shortage of patriots. Every village has a few of these kinds of people who would rather face danger than admit it. Bai Yanqing, one of the leaders in the group, perfectly exemplifies this. Because of this, despite his mediocre strength, he quickly rose to a high-ranking position in the Mist Village after the Blood Mist Hidden Era. Seeing the appearance of thousands of puppets seriously affecting the morale of the Mist Village, he knew that this couldn't go on. Although he was a little panicked, after all, he was a puppeteer who could control thousands of puppets, he knew that if he didn't take action to boost morale now, things would get really difficult once their morale dropped to its lowest point.

So, after Bai Yanqing roared to boost morale, he grabbed his weapon and charged forward.

"Kill them!"

"Hey Qing University student! Let's go!!"

The Naruto world is full of hot-blooded, immature youths, especially when someone takes the lead. They are easily infected by this. Seeing Byakugan take the lead and rush forward, the Mist Ninja underlings were also infected by Byakugan and followed suit, their blood boiling and grabbing their weapons.

"Hmph! A bunch of trash, let me show you what real art is."

"Fire Release... Fireball Technique!"

"Bang bang bang..."

Sasori, who was controlling thousands of puppets inside Hiruko, remained calm when he saw the Mist Ninja rushing towards him. Within the small space inside Hiruko's body, he manipulated his hands with lightning speed, leaving behind a series of afterimages.

Then, the puppets controlled by those chakra threads were seen simultaneously forming hand seals in a very professional manner. Then, thousands of puppets simultaneously spewed large fireballs at the charging Mist Ninja, creating a truly spectacular scene.

"Holy crap! What is this?! Σ(?д?lll)"

"careful...."

"My god! The puppet can even use ninjutsu... (Д)"

"Water Release..."

"Water Release..."

"Boom boom boom...!"

numb.

Everyone was numb!

The Fireball Technique is just a simple C-rank Fire Release technique, nothing special, not very powerful, and easy to dodge. But when thousands of Fireball Techniques are unleashed at the same time, it's a different story. There are so many densely packed fireballs that there's nowhere to hide.

The Mist Ninja underlings who had just rushed forward were terrified when they saw the densely packed fireballs. Fortunately, some of the veterans reacted quickly and formed hand seals to release Water Release techniques. Once someone took the lead, the others followed suit. They didn't care what kind of Water Release techniques it was; as long as they could extinguish the fireballs, that was all that mattered!

In an instant, all sorts of water-based techniques collided with the densely packed fireballs, splitting the world into two colors in a spectacular and magnificent scene.

1094. The Puppet Master's Ceiling

Watching the handsome Sasori control thousands of puppets and clash with a group of Mist Ninja underlings using ninjutsu.

A team fight was turned into a solo show by Handsome Scorpion, who single-handedly took on the entire team...

Everyone was stunned. Kisame and the Mizukage had forgotten about exchanging ninjutsu, and Deidara, who was flying in the sky on a giant bird, had also forgotten about his art of explosion. They all stared in shock at the scene of the handsome Sasori single-handedly taking on a whole group of enemies.

This is absolutely outrageous! If it was just an exaggeration when Handsome Scorpion pulled out thousands of puppets before, then this is a bit fantastical. First of all... the puppets actually know ninjutsu?

And not just one, but thousands!

That's practically cheating.

Secondly, although Sasori is famous, few people have seen him fight in recent years. Even Deidara only saw Sasori using Hiruko in battle. Sasori's strength has always been a mystery. Everyone knows that he is the strongest puppeteer in the ninja world, but no one knows exactly why he is so strong. Even the Akatsuki members only know that this strongest puppeteer in the ninja world spends his days holed up in his toy room, tinkering and making things. Pain, the leader, said he was strong, so he was strong, but even Pain couldn't say exactly how strong he was, let alone them.

Now they finally realize just how awesome this strongest puppeteer in the ninja world really is; he's practically an army corps in himself!

Controlling thousands of puppets simultaneously is impressive enough, but to control thousands of puppets to unleash ninjutsu at the same time—that's probably the pinnacle of puppeteer skill. It's unlikely anyone in the ninja world will surpass him for the next hundred years...

"This... Lord Golden Lion, I admit my ignorance. I've heard my father mention your village's puppets, but I've never heard of puppets being able to use ninjutsu..."

Huang Tu and the others watching from afar, including Zhen Dou, were stunned by their nephew's move and couldn't lift their jaws for a long time.

Huang Tu stared blankly at the scene of one person controlling thousands of puppets to engage in a battle with the Mist Ninja, and muttered a question.

This completely shattered his understanding of puppeteers. Although puppeteers are known for their formidable strength in team battles, often considered devastating weapons, and capable of creating a new world with a powerful tank, this is merely an exaggeration. Historically, no one has ever been able to achieve this, not even a master puppeteer like Chiyo. After all, a puppet is still a puppet, not a real person. The inability to unleash ninjutsu is a major deficiency, and its destructive power is far inferior to that of ninjutsu.

These puppets are only effective in team battles because they are coated with poison and are not human, so they cannot feel pain or die. However, if you want to farm stats, they are definitely not as fast as a large-scale ninjutsu.

But now Sasori's puppets can actually unleash ninjutsu, which is different.

"...Handsome Sasori has an exceptional talent for puppetry. He started learning puppetry at the age of three, and by four he had mastered various puppetry techniques and could create puppets from scratch. By seven, he had mastered many techniques that even the most seasoned puppeteers could never achieve in their entire lives, including the Chikamatsu Ten Puppet Masters, and even modified them to fight the Seven-Tails. His talent in puppetry is unparalleled in the ninja world; even the legendary puppetry master, Bunzaemon, couldn't compare. Because this kid's talent is so immense, ordinary puppetry techniques simply cannot satisfy his ambitions. Even our Sunagakure's forbidden technique, the Human Puppet, is no exception. Although our Sunagakure's Human Puppet is made from human corpses, it's not that different from traditional puppets, just more flexible and versatile. But this kid's Human Puppet is different; the Human Puppet he creates can inherit the abilities of the puppet's previous owner..."

Masato explained that it had taken a lot of effort to restore his chin after the correction.

To be honest, he was also shocked by his nephew's actions. He knew that his nephew had a human puppet made from Sunagawa's corpse, and that this puppet retained Sunagawa's Magnet Release ability. However, he never expected that his nephew would be so sharp, developing human art to this extent. If Sunagawa's iron sand was preserved because of Sunagawa's Magnet Release due to his bloodline limit, then bloodline limits are things with properties. However, traditional ninjutsu such as Fire Release and Water Release are different from bloodline limits. These things are evolved from chakra through hand seals by one's own chakra attributes. When an ordinary person dies, the chakra in their body dissipates. It is impossible for someone who is not destined to be like Hashirama Senju, Madara, or the two sons of the Six Paths Elder, whose corpses still retain those messy chakra attributes or whose chakra can be reincarnated.

When an ordinary person dies, they're just an ordinary corpse. In Orochimaru's words, an ordinary person's corpse has no research value because everyone is the same; once they die, they're gone. Bloodline limits can be inherited or preserved, so it's not surprising that Sasori was able to preserve Sunagawa's bloodline limit. However, the thousands of puppets in Sasori's hands couldn't all be bloodline limits. There aren't that many bloodline limits in the ninja world that he could turn into puppets. These are just the corpses of ordinary ninjas. Yet, in Sasori's hands, they can still inherit the ninjutsu they were in life. That's incredibly impressive.

Although it's just a simple fireball technique with relatively low power, its sheer number of attacks makes it comparable to an S-rank ninjutsu. Crucially, it doesn't consume the user's own chakra; it uses the chakra stored in the puppets. Since the chakra consumption of a single fireball technique is minimal, a special Jonin could easily unleash twenty or thirty fireballs. This means that Sasori could control these puppets to continuously unleash at least twenty or thirty large-scale S-rank fire release techniques—almost on par with small to medium-sized tailed beasts!

Furthermore, very few people in the entire ninja world could withstand a single volley of thousands of fireballs. Even the Fourth Raikage's Lightning Release Chakra Mode couldn't withstand it, and there were still two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight more rounds to come...

While the handsome Sasori in the original work was quite strong, he wouldn't have been defeated by the pink-haired girl and Chiyo if he hadn't been holding back so much. However, the current handsome Sasori, despite not turning himself into a human puppet, is far more powerful than in the original work thanks to Kakuzu's financial support. He has raised the ceiling of the puppeteer profession by several levels!

Imagine a massive S-rank Fire Release technique consisting of thousands of fireballs. Even with the added plot support, the pink-haired girl and Chiyo in the original work wouldn't be able to withstand a single wave of that.

"This... allows a puppet to inherit its abilities from its previous life?! (?Д?)ノ"