Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

He wasn't sure if Kakashi and the others could catch up with Sasori, but since Kakashi had taken the initiative to chase after him, he must have some clues. Zongxian was also gambling that Kakashi could find and catch up with Sasori. As for whether he could defeat Sasori, that was not important.

In any case, he was already prepared to take action personally.

The biggest problem now is whether we can find the Crimson Sand Scorpion!

[Chapter 227. The Scorpion of the Red Sands on His Journey]

Sasori's initial trip to the Land of Hot Springs was just a side trip. After leaving the village, he began his aimless journey. He visited the endless, majestic mountains of the Land of Earth, and along the way, he collected several corpses of Iwa ninja. He also went to the top of the mountain in the Land of Lightning to listen to the endless thunder, and also took away a lot of puppet materials.

He passed through the Land of Yu on his way south.

Konoha and Kumogakure have deployed tens of thousands of troops to fight a spectacular battle on this scenic land. For Sasori, this is nothing short of a feast laid out before him. He changed his plans to visit the Land of Fire and instead stayed in the Land of Hot Springs for the time being, transforming into a hyena and roaming the battlefield, happily collecting usable materials.

He hadn't harvested materials so easily since the end of the Third Shinobi World War.

The capabilities of his puppets depend heavily on the inherent abilities of the 'materials' themselves. To give a simple example, no matter how much a genin's corpse is modified, it can never compare to the Third Kazekage's puppets. Ordinary mechanisms can be perfected to the extreme, but the bloodline limits and ninjutsu mastered by powerful puppets cannot be enhanced through modification.

In Scorpion's mind,

His puppet must at least be the corpse of a Chunin who possesses special abilities, and a Jonin's corpse would be even better. Moreover, it must be at least 70% intact, especially the brain and torso must not have serious damage, otherwise the chakra meridian system cannot be completely separated, and the various abilities that the deceased possessed in life cannot be preserved.

Unfortunately, Jonin are not easy to deal with; their corpses are hard to obtain, and most of the time the corpses you get are in a terrible state.

The scorpion puppets can only accumulate slowly.

According to Sasori's original plan, once the war between Konoha and Kumogakure ended and a victor was determined, he would leave the Land of Hot Springs and continue his endless journey.

until--

He saw Susanoo.

Having witnessed the astonishing power of the supernatural abilities, I was immediately tempted and had some thoughts about the power of the Uchiha clan. If the members of the Uchiha clan were made into human puppets, I wonder if this supernatural power could be preserved.

However, after observing for a period of time,

He had to give up his wishful thinking. It was too difficult to get his hands on the corpses of the Uchiha clan members. Many Uchiha died in this great battle, but all the corpses were recovered. Unless he faced the Konoha ninjas head-on, he had no chance to touch those corpses, let alone target Uchiha Munen or Uchiha Shisui, who possessed the great power of Susanoo!

But he was unwilling to give up just like that.

then,

He infiltrated the Konoha ninja's base and stole a batch of scrolls from the corpse disposal team.

"...Still nothing? Tsk!"

Scorpion looked down at the last scroll, still unable to find the bodies of the Uchiha clan's fallen soldiers. To be precise, he hadn't found a single body of the Hyuga, Aburame, or other clans' fallen soldiers. Although these bodies were all Jonin and Special Jonin, strictly speaking, he hadn't lost out on this deal.

But ultimately, there are still some regrets.

Ultimately, they were unable to achieve their goal.

The small cave was man-made, and the stone platform inside was neatly filled with corpses, all of whom were Konoha ninja who had died in this great battle. Sasori shook the scroll in his hand, preparing to put the corpses away, when he suddenly turned his head and looked at the cave entrance.

Someone's coming!

"They arrived faster than I expected!"

Scorpion muttered something under his breath.

Having stolen so many corpses from the Konoha base, he had naturally considered that the Konoha ninjas might catch up. However, the Konoha ninjas were catching up much faster than he had expected. He put down the scroll in his hand and stared intently at the entrance of the cave.

······

"Parker, is this the target?"

Kakashi pressed his body against the rock wall and peeked out from the corner of the rock. He saw a cave with obvious signs of human excavation. It was definitely not a naturally formed cave, but one that had been violently dug out by someone. There were also piles of rubble at the entrance of the cave that had not been cleared away.

"The smell was coming from that cave, and it was mixed with the stench of corpses."

Puck perched on Kakashi's shoulder and reached out a paw to rub his nose, which felt a little uncomfortable.

"call!!!"

Kakashi took a deep breath.

He didn't rush to attack, but instead pushed up his headband, revealing his hidden crimson eyes. He then turned to Itachi and Kimimaro behind him, "Itachi, Kimimaro, get ready. We'll try to launch a surprise attack! Also, puppeteers are skilled in using poison, so remember to take precautions and be careful not to get poisoned."

Never engage in a direct confrontation if you can launch a sneak attack; this is a rule Kakashi learned in the Anbu.

Ninjas don't have many rules of etiquette and morality in their battles. As long as they can kill their opponents, any means are allowed. What makes the puppeteers of Sunagakure most feared is not how unpredictable their puppets' mechanisms are, but the poison that can kill people in a short time.

Almost every qualified puppeteer is also a qualified poison master.

In the past wars between Konoha and Sunagakure, Konoha suffered many losses in this regard. Fortunately, Konoha had Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin. This princess of Konoha Village is the most powerful medical ninja in the ninja world. With her unparalleled medical skills, she concocted an antidote to counter the Sunagakure puppeteers, helping Konoha achieve a quick victory in the war.

"Kakashi-senpai, it seems there's no chance of a sneak attack now; we've probably already been discovered."

Uchiha Itachi looked up at the opposite cliff, his scarlet eyes fixed on a small, yellowish-brown lizard lying motionless on the rock face, almost blending into the rock. However, it could not escape the detection of the Sharingan.

The chakra flowing within the lizard's body revealed its presence.

"A summoned beast?"

Kakashi followed Itachi's gaze and felt a chill run down his spine. Ordinary animals do not possess chakra. Apart from a few exceptionally gifted summoning beasts, most summoning beasts, like ninjas, need to work hard to fuse their physical and mental energy to extract chakra.

Therefore,

Ninety-nine percent of animals with chakra flowing in their bodies are summoned beasts of ninjas.

"Has it been exposed? Damn it."

Kakashi muttered something in annoyance.

He was careless. Because he was too focused on Sasori himself, he neglected to investigate the surrounding environment and failed to notice the lizard whose presence was extremely faint. If Itachi Uchiha hadn't reminded him, he might have suffered a great loss.

“A master like Sasori of the Red Sand is not so easy to ambush. Even if we found the lizard in advance, there's nothing we can do. Whether we catch it or kill it, we will inevitably be discovered. Moreover, there may be more security measures around here... Kakashi-senpai, let's go and take a look! We've already been exposed anyway.”

Itachi Uchiha suggested.

"..."

Kakashi glanced at Itachi Uchiha, who remained calm and composed, without showing any sign of panic, with a complicated expression.

At this point, I truly understood why so many members of the Uchiha clan boasted that Itachi Uchiha was a peerless genius second only to the clan leader, not only because he awakened his Sharingan quickly and trained in ninjutsu rapidly, but also because of his exceptional mental fortitude.

On the contrary, I was the one who lost my composure!

Kakashi closed his eyes slightly, took several deep breaths, and cleared his mind of all the chaotic emotions that arose from hearing the truth about the Third Kazekage's disappearance. He didn't need to think about those useless things right now; focusing on the current task was what he should be doing.

“Let’s go! Let’s see what this criminal really looks like, and see if he really is Sasori of the Red Sand… But speaking of which, Itachi, Kimimaro, do you know what Sasori of the Red Sand looks like?” Kakashi remembered an important question.

How can we confirm that the target is indeed the Red Sand Scorpion?

The Sand Village issued a wanted poster for Sasori of the Red Sand. Not to mention that the wanted poster was issued a long time ago, the photo on it may not even match the real person anymore. Kakashi has never even seen Sasori's wanted posters that have been issued for many years.

“I haven’t seen Sasori’s wanted poster, but the clan leader said that human puppetry is Sasori’s unique technology. We just need to see if his puppets have chakra flowing through them.”

Kakashi fell silent at Itachi's answer.

really,

Have I been too relaxed lately because the war is over? I couldn't even figure out something so simple, and now I have to ask Itachi Uchiha, a junior, to remind me... Training can't be neglected. It's not just about physical tempering; mental cultivation is also essential!

Enough with the nonsense.

Kakashi made a piece of jewelry and rushed out first, speeding towards the cave that wasn't far away. His crimson Sharingan spun as he checked the ground inch by inch, making sure there were no traps before continuing. He stopped only when he reached the entrance of the cave.

Zhang Mu looked into the cave.

Torches burning on the cave walls dispelled the darkness, allowing a clear view of the cave's interior, including the crudely designed stone platform, the dozen or so corpses lying on it, and the short, red-haired 'boy' standing behind it.

"So young?"

Kakashi was stunned.

Standing behind the stone platform, Sasori of the Red Sand was probably only a little over 160 centimeters tall. He had short red hair and delicate features. If it weren't for his somewhat indifferent expression, which made him seem unlike a young man, it would be hard to associate this boy with Sasori of the Red Sand, an S-rank rogue ninja.

The Red Sand Scorpion has yet to accomplish the feat of conquering a country single-handedly.

However, the abilities he displayed when he left Sunagakure were enough for the Sand Village to classify him as an S-rank rogue ninja. The puppets he made are still top-notch in Sunagakure and are treasures that many puppeteers would fight tooth and nail for.

"Kakashi Hatake, Itachi Uchiha, Kimimaro Kaguya... Looks like my luck isn't too bad!"

Scorpion immediately recognized the identities of the three people who walked in.

As a genius who developed the forbidden technique of creating human puppets, he was proficient in many different abilities, including the technology of reading memories. His research on the human body and soul had reached a profound level that was difficult for ordinary people to understand. Reading memories from the corpses of ninjas was not very difficult for him.

This allowed them to gather a lot of information, which enabled them to recognize Kakashi and his group at a glance.

Upon seeing Kakashi and his group, Sasori's feelings shifted from regret and disappointment to deep joy. He discovered members of the Uchiha clan in the Konoha ninja's base, but due to the circumstances, he did not dare to capture them.

So after stealing the bodies stored in the morgue, he didn't clean up his lingering scent, nor did he rush to escape. Instead, he lingered in this desolate, ghostly place, hoping to catch a few big fish.

The Konoha ninjas who discovered the stolen body could not possibly remain indifferent. Given their abilities, it wouldn't be difficult for them to find the clues he deliberately left behind. However, it's highly unlikely that Konoha would mobilize a large army to track him down. The most probable scenario is that they would send out one or two small elite units to investigate.

As a rogue ninja of Sunagakure,

Sasori was very familiar with the methods of these major ninja villages. Although Konoha and Sunagakure could not be directly equated, as beings of equal standing, they had many things in common. Moreover, let's not forget that the four major ninja villages, including Sunagakure, all liked to copy Konoha's answers.

The Anbu system, the training of medical ninjas, and the establishment of ninja schools all follow this principle.

"The Scorpion of the Crimson Sands?"

Kakashi asked tentatively.

"Huh? You know me?"

Scorpion was somewhat surprised.

Although he is an S-rank rogue ninja, he has never made a big show of his existence. Not to mention the ninjas of Konoha, even the young people of Sunagakure might not recognize him if they stood in front of him.

Just like in the original history, Naruto and his friends had no idea who Orochimaru was.

"Not going to answer?" Sasori raised an eyebrow. "Never mind, I'll just read the answers directly from your brains in a moment." The moment he finished speaking, he suddenly raised his right hand, and the puppet buried in the ground burst out of the ground, spreading out its four arms, from which purple-glowing blades sprang out, lunging towards Kakashi.

"Crack!"

Kakashi disappeared.

What was cut into pieces by the puppet's four arms was a piece of wood.

"A substitution technique? That's fast! But let's see how many times you can dodge it?"

The scorpion finger touched it lightly.

The puppet moved accordingly, its four arms moving along a trajectory almost impossible for a normal human to achieve, and it charged towards Uchiha Itachi again. The blades, glowing with purple light, were clearly coated with a deadly poison; even a slight touch would be fatal!