Complete Mayhem (10)

The burnt pieces of wood fell to the ground like rain.

Standing behind such a scene, Sasori couldn't register it in his mind.

"All five of them were jonin level..."

And the technique, Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire, was a C-ranked technique at best. If dealt properly, it was a technique that even a low-levelled chunin could deal with.

Akashi's use of this technique was very much different. Initially, the fireball he spat wasn't huge, just normal-sized just like how the technique usually goes. Then, as it split into exactly five smaller fireballs, their sizes suddenly grew, to an extent where each fireball resembled the infamous technique of the Uchiha Clan, Fire release: Great Fireball.

Then, the fact that the fire alone managed to overcome the enhanced bodies of the puppets, those who won't even take a smallest bit of damage to a ninjutsu of B-rank or lower...

"...Just how much have you been hiding?"

Sasori couldn't help but question, once more. 

He now realized that in contrary to his thoughts, there was barely any that he knew about Akashi's true strength.

Extreme profession at kenjutsu. Small bit of ninjutsu and genjutsu to aid his kenjutsu. Just with those, he managed to earn the title of S-ranked rogue nin.

Now, he was showcasing not only a great aptitude at ninjutsu, but that bizarre genjutsu-like trap of his... 

Sasori had to move back and create more distance between him and Akashi, feeling a sense of danger rising in him.

"Then... are you telling me that..."

A chill crept down his spine as he recalled one widely known information.

Akashi, without revealing his full strength, defeated Hanzo of the Salamander. Even if it was a sneak attack and a short-lasted battle, the fact that he succeeded in doing so remained true.

Sasori's facial expression twitched. Then, his lips formed a wide arc, forming a psychotic grin. His body trembled and he whispered in exhilaration,

"Doesn't that mean that... if I manage to make you my puppet... I will be capable of overthrowing the entire elemental nation?"

Akashi didn't speak back, finding no need to play with words. Reaching his arms out, he grabbed the Kiba blades he stabbed on the ground and pulled them back up. 

Thanks to the chakra-enhanced state of the Kiba blades, there was no need for Akashi to worry about the blades getting dulled out. 

'How convenient,'

Akashi thought as he threw one of the two blades toward Sasori.

"...Hm?"

Sasori raised an eyebrow as he saw Kiba flying toward him rapidly.

Throwing a weapon away like this... it wasn't a conventional or rational act of a swordsman. 

Not being able to understand the rationale behind Akashi's action, Sasori decided to dodge the blade instead of catching it. 

Puff. 

All of a sudden, the blade swapped its place with Akashi, and now, Akashi who held onto the other Kiba was right in front of Sasori, much to his shock.

'This technique...'

Sasori felt the lightning-encased Kiba closing its distance with him as Akashi swung it midair.

'Body Replacement... but how...?!'

It was one of the three basic ninjutsus that all the entry-level ninjas learned in the hidden villages. 

The ninjas usually replaced their bodies with a tree stump to avoid an incoming attack, and among all five major hidden villages, the ninjas of Konoha were known to be the most proficient at this technique.

However, that wasn't why Sasori was left shocked. What mattered was that Akashi managed to perform the body replacement with an object that was flying at a very high speed. Furthermore, considering how slim Kiba was, accurately pinpointing down the instantaneous position of the object and replacing the place with it was a very taxing process, one that wasn't supposed to be done in a mere of a second.

'...But!'

Then, just before Akashi's sword struck Sasori, Sasori's mouth opened, revealing the puppet-like joints. His mouth then emitted a breath of fire at a point blank range, which engulfed Akashi fully.

Puff.

Akashi who performed the body replacement with the sword turned out to be a clone. 

As Sasori's eyes widened, he realized that the 'sword' that the clone performed the body replacement with... was Akashi as he was now seen standing at the exact spot where that sword, Kiba was supposed to lie.

'From the very start...!'

When Sasori's eyes were occupied with the destroyed bits of his five puppets at the beginning, Akashi performed two ninjutsus. 

One was the transformation technique, also one of the three basic ninjutsus. He transformed himself into the Kiba blade as he sealed one of the two blades back in the scroll. Should Sasori had paid attention, he may have realized that something was off about the blades, however, the act of creating distance with Akashi and his bewildered mind prevented him from making an astute analysis. 

Another was the shadow clone technique, making his clone take his place and 'wield' him as a weapon.

The clone threw Akashi in the form of a sword. Then, the body replacement was performed. The clone attacked Sasori but was dispelled by his fire breath. 

Meanwhile, Akashi morphed back into his real body, utilizing the gap of time granted to him to undergo a lengthy series of hand seals.

"Fire Release,"

Unlike him who learned the majority of skills in his arsenal through a variety of life-threatening battles, Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato got to receive a handful of training from Jiraiya.

Thanks to them, there were a good deal of ninjutsus that he managed to learn. Even though Yahiko had water nature, Konan had earth nature, and Nagato had wind nature, Jiraiya left a scroll that contained some basic ninjutsus, and the scroll included ninjutsus that Akashi could put into use.

As such, he could do this.

"Great Fireball."

What Sasori saw then, was the gigantic ball of fire that resembled a miniature sun, a several times greater than the normal size.

Before he could react, the embodiment of fire struck him. His vision turned white, and as the gigantic explosion arose, he found his puppet-like body smoking and cracked everywhere as he was blasted back from the force.

As Sasori's back plummeted into a tree bark, he had to grit his teeth to hold in an urge to scream from an agonizing pain. Even though he turned his body into that of a puppet through the use of a forbidden jutsu, the brain still existed, and so did the nerves. 

Akashi wasn't the type to give his enemies the time to react. While Sasori slid off the bark and fell to the ground, Akashi was already found dashing toward Sasori, holding onto two Kiba swords with each hand. 

The lightning ran down the metallic blades of the Kibas. 

Sasori, ignoring the pain and nausea that overwhelmed him, quickly stood up. Supporting his body by placing one hand on the bark next to him, he quickly opened a pocket space within his puppet-like body and took out a small-sized scroll. 

Just as Akashi arrived in front of Sasori, the scroll was unsealed with a puff.

A metallic noise rang as Akashi's blades collided with something other than Sasori's body. 

When the smoke cleared, Akashi saw a wall of iron sand blocking his blades. Even though the electricity ran through the iron sand, by having the wall of iron sand connected to the ground, the electricity was being absorbed to the ground without harming Sasori and...

"That must be..."

Akashi narrowed his lone eye behind his Kiri-nin mask as saw the puppet that resembled the exact appearance of the missing third Kazekage of Sunagakure.

"...Of course."

Backing, Akashi inspected the full form of the third Kazekage as the puppet under Sasori's control.

"He, heheh... surprised?"

Although wobbly and notably damaged, Sasori grinned cockily. He seemed genuinely proud to show this puppet of his.

"You probably noticed by now... but all these puppets under my control are different from any other, in that they all used to be living humans."

Sasori held his hands out, and ten blue strings of chakra connected themselves from his each fingertip to a variety of joints of the puppet.

The puppet's body creaked as if getting used to Sasori's control. Then, it suddenly propelled towards Akash, flying above the ground through the use of magnetism via the iron sand.

CLANG!

The spark rose as Akashi blocked the sharp iron mass that suddenly generated on the puppet's right hand. The electricity then ran down from Kiba to the iron mass, but for some reason, the puppet didn't seem to be affected by it.

"Heh, do you think that I wouldn't have taken measures for that?!"

As Sasori confidently shouted, Akashi deduced that the third Kazekage's original body somehow had a high tolerance over electricity, and that this trait was further enhanced after he was turned into a puppet by Sasori. 

If the electricity was stronger—to the level of A's Lightning Release: Chakra Mode, there would've been a notable damage. However, the electricity that Kiba provided wasn't strong enough, it seemed.

Akashi dashed back as the puppet swung its other arm, also encased in the iron mass that quickly formed through the gathering of the iron sand. 

Simultaneously, the iron sand on the puppet's right hand dispersed. Then, its right arm suddenly opened and revealed numerous seals just inside. 

As Sasori grinned, the seals glowed before suddenly, numerous hands of wood shot out of the seals, rushing onto Akashi.

Akashi swiftly performed a body replacement with a tree stump, letting the hands of wood strike and rip the wood stump instead.

Now at a further distance away from Sasori and the puppet, Akashi continued his inspection of the puppet.

'Those seals seem to be a one-time use. However, there still are a variety of traps on that puppet...'

While close-up, Akashi analyzed that the puppet probably was able to emit something out of its mouth, be it fire or poison. Additionally, there were small holds on its bodies, and he thought that the poison-drenched senbons were likely stockpiled inside, ready to be thrown at any moment.

Akashi quickly thought as he watched Sasori's hands elegantly moved as if playing an instrument. 

'A sure use of genjutsu won't be as easy at the moment. Kenjutsu... a close-up combat isn't ideal, for I don't have enough information about that puppet.'

Akashi also knew that defeating this 'third Kazekage' puppet won't be the end. There definitely were numerous other puppets that Sasori accumulated within this chaotic war. 

Behind the mask, Akashi chuckled, seeing that it was time to pull out another card in his arsenal.

'Really, there is no way.'

He raised his index finger, pointing it at the nearing puppet.

'Energy Release,'

A straight and narrow, green-colored beam suddenly shot out of Akashi's index finger, piercing through the incoming puppet and travelling even beyond, through Sasori's chest as well.

'Heat Line.'

Travelling past Sasori's pierced chest as well, the beam of laser continued to travel, piercing through numerous trees as it they were a butter.

Completely unexpected, Sasori's eyes widened as the purple liquid spurt out of his pierced chest.