228. Chase

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After dealing with several troublesome shadow clones, Sasori's puppet manipulated a water jet to sweep back toward Naruto and the others.

"Wind Style: Great Gale Palm!" Temari swung her fan, summoning a powerful storm to intercept the water jet and counterattack Sasori.

However, Sasori evaded with ease, and the concentrated water jet pierced through the storm without resistance, continuing its trajectory.

Fortunately, the team reacted quickly. Even Chiyo, despite her age, moved with impressive agility.

The worst off was Kankuro's puppet, Sanshōuo Instinctively, Kankuro and the others had taken cover behind it, but the puppet, still heated from previous flames, was suddenly doused by the high-pressure water. The rapid cooling caused the puppet to crack and shatter completely it was now beyond repair.

Sasori's water jet attack ceased soon after, as another scroll disappeared from his back. The four ninja were mostly unharmed, save for a little dust on their clothing.

By now, the battle dynamic had shifted—Naruto and Sasori were the primary combatants. Kankuro had lost his main puppet and was unable to contribute effectively.

At last, Chiyo, who had been observing the battle while providing commentary, stepped forward. She retrieved two scrolls and broke their seals. Two puppets appeared before her.

"Sasori," she began, her voice laced with resolve, "I've let this go on long enough."

Sasori's expression flickered perhaps with sadness, disdain, or indifference. He sneered, "You still keep those old toys?"

Chiyo's fingers flexed, and her tone softened slightly. "These are your first creations, Sasori. My beloved grandson's earliest work. It's only fitting they be the ones to stop you."

The two puppets Chiyo summoned were modeled after Sasori's parents. As a child, after losing them in the war, Sasori had crafted these puppets and used them to mimic the warmth of parental love he could no longer experience. They had once cradled him to sleep.

In time, however, Sasori grew disillusioned with the fragility of human life. He began to believe that true art lay in eternal beauty, in forms that defied decay.

This obsession drove him down a dark path. Sasori assassinated the Third Kazekage, turned countless victims into puppets, and eventually destroyed an entire nation with his Hundred Puppet Army.

The title "Sasori of the Red Sand" was not a reference to the crimson of his hair, but to the blood that stained the deserts in his wake.

After Sasori's defection, Chiyo had modified his parental puppets into combat-ready weapons, carrying them with her as a grim reminder of her grandson's descent into darkness.

For Chiyo, wielding these puppets against Sasori was a heartbreaking irony—asking a child's creation of his parents to confront the man that child had become.

As the two faced off, decades of estrangement culminated in silence. Without speaking further, the puppeteer and her grandson clashed.

Sasori chose not to use another scroll but instead engaged directly. He manipulated his own puppet body, using razor-sharp, poison-coated wires and a blade-spinning tail.

Chiyo, meanwhile, controlled the parental puppets with unmatched precision, their every joint and weapon moving in perfect sync.

Blades clashed in a rapid, high-speed dance of death. Sparks flew as steel met steel. Sasori's tail whipped like a serpent, while Chiyo's puppets countered with swift, merciless strikes.

Kankuro watched in awe. For the first time, he truly understood the heights puppet mastery could reach. "So… this is what puppetry can do," he muttered.

Naruto and Temari, less interested in puppetry, observed the strange dynamic between Chiyo and Sasori.

"They're… smiling?" Temari asked, her voice uncertain.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. It doesn't feel like a life-or-death fight or even a clash of ideals. It's like…" He paused. "Like a family moment, a grandmother trying to guide her wayward grandson."

The intensity of the battle was tempered by fleeting smiles. Sasori's smirk seemed to say, I've mastered all you've taught me. Meanwhile, Chiyo's expression softened, reflecting relief and a quiet pride.

The atmosphere felt too personal for Naruto or Temari to interrupt, so they stood by, reluctant to intervene.

But, as always, someone arrived to shatter the moment.

With one final clash, Sasori's blade retreated, damaged. Chiyo's parental puppets, too, bore the marks of the fight one blade was shattered, and cracks had formed in their frames.

Before either could re-engage, an explosion boomed in the distance, its echo fading like a backdrop melody coming to an end.

Both Sasori and Chiyo hesitated their thoughts elsewhere. Sasori worried about Deidara's mission, while Chiyo's concern shifted to Gaara's fate.

Naruto sensed the tension and reassured them. "They're fine. Deidara's on the run, and Gaara is chasing him down."

Relieved, Temari and Kankuro turned their focus back to Sasori. But the battle had taken a turn.

Meanwhile, within Naruto, Kurama jeered at Shukaku. "Hey, Tanuki! Is that all you've got? Letting someone escape so easily?"

"Shut it, Fox!" Shukaku snapped. "That bastard flies too fast!"

Kurama laughed. "Excuses, excuses. A weakling with one tail, what else can I expect?"

Gaara focused on his pursuit and ignored the bickering Tailed-beasts, His sand swirled beneath him, carrying him after Deidara. "Stay still, you coward!" he growled.

Deidara, grinning as always, eventually descended to regroup with Sasori. "Out of clay," he muttered nonchalantly. "Guess I'll need backup, un."

Sasori scowled, his voice tinged with irritation. "You're useless, Deidara."

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