Chapter 113: Is This All You’ve Got?

A few minutes later, Deidara crawled out of the deep crater, looking a little disheveled.

Despite how dangerous the battle had seemed, everything had actually been within his calculations.

One undeniable fact was that the existence of the big three unexplored sage regions had caused significant trouble for the Akatsuki. Without their connections to these powerful sanctuaries, neither Jiraiya nor Tsunade would have posed much of a threat.

Take this fight, for example—without the Slug Sage aiding her, suppressing Deidara's aerial advantage and supplying Tsunade with Senjutsu chakra, she wouldn't have been able to pressure him in the slightest.

But Tsunade was nowhere to be found now. Most likely, the Slug Sage had taken her away.

Dusting off his clothes, Deidara set off toward Konohagakure.

Now that this battle was over, it was time to dig deep into the village's secrets. No way he was leaving that opportunity to Jiraiya and the others.

...

The Conference Hall

The battle inside had entered a new phase. Sasori, Kakuzu, and Hidan had switched opponents—

Sasori now faced the assembled Konoha shinobi, while Kakuzu and Hidan took on Yamato.

After all, pitting Wood Release against Wood Release had been a deadlock, with neither side gaining the upper hand.

Besides, Sasori was particularly suited for large-scale warfare.

Hiruko stood motionless, facing off against the Konoha shinobi, yet his presence alone was enough to suppress them.

"This is great!"

"The enemy made such a foolish move—sending those two immortals against Tenzo and bringing the puppet master here instead."

"Even if he's the legendary first-ranked puppet master, Sasori of the Red Sand, what can he do against our overwhelming numbers?" A young Konoha shinobi said excitedly, as if victory was already within sight.

"No! Don't underestimate him!" A more experienced shinobi warned. "His Red Secret Technique is said to be capable of wiping out entire nations singlehandedly!"

"So what? We're not some weaklings from a minor village. We're Konoha's elite!" The young shinobi retorted.

But Sasori had no patience to keep listening.

"Enough."

"You'll soon see who the real fools are."

With that, the back of Hiruko opened up, and Sasori calmly stepped out, revealing his true form to the gathered shinobi.

"What?! The real body was inside the puppet all along?!"

"Wait… why does he look so young? According to intelligence, shouldn't he be over thirty by now?!"

The Konoha shinobi were stunned as they looked at Sasori's youthful, almost childlike appearance.

"Oi, Kakuzu! That bastard Sasori is going all out, even revealing his real body. We can't let him outshine us!"

On the other side of the battlefield, Hidan swung his scythe, slicing through an incoming wooden attack before shouting at Kakuzu.

"Hmph! I don't need you to tell me that!" Kakuzu growled in annoyance.

Five monstrous hearts turned deep earthy brown as wings sprouted from their backs, their chakra levels skyrocketing.

The old-timer had entered his second phase.

Sasori ignored the shock around him, reaching for a second scroll from his back and unfurling it with a hint of nostalgia.

"Red Secret Technique… it's been a while."

Poof!

As the smoke cleared, one hundred intricately designed puppets surrounded Sasori, filling the hall.

Unlike in the original timeline, where he had been holding back against Chiyo, this time, every puppet was equipped with deadly mechanisms, unique abilities, and even Kekkei Genkai.

"Burn them all!"

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

A Sarutobi clan member stepped forward, unleashing a powerful Fire Release technique aimed at incinerating the puppets.

Sasori tilted his head slightly, his face still wearing that innocent, almost emotionless expression.

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall."

One of his puppets moved forward—this one had light blue hair and sharp teeth, a human puppet made from a Hozuki clan member.

With the Hozuki bloodline's advantage, its Water Release easily extinguished the oncoming flames.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Bullets!"

Sixteen puppets simultaneously executed a barrage of wind bullets. The sheer quantity created a devastating storm, blasting through Konoha's formation.

Shinobi were thrown off their feet, struggling to dodge, but injuries were inevitable.

"Lightning Ball!"

Twenty-seven puppets unleashed a rain of crackling lightning spheres, forming a vast, deadly net that surged toward the Konoha shinobi.

"This is impossible! Puppets shouldn't be able to use ninjutsu!"

A panicked Konoha shinobi shouted in disbelief.

Any ordinary technique, when multiplied enough times, could become an unstoppable force.

And this was just the beginning—what would happen if all one hundred puppets unleashed ninjutsu at once?

"That's Sunagakure's human puppet technique!"

"Stay calm! We have the numbers advantage! Follow my lead—we'll counter his ninjutsu together!" A Nara clan member, acting as the field commander, called out.

He didn't bother explaining the intricacies of human puppets. Right now, all that mattered was coordinating their counterattack.

But Sasori simply stood still, his neutral expression appearing arrogant and condescending in the eyes of the Konoha shinobi.

"It's pointless."

With a single thought, his army of puppets surged forward.

Fire, water, wind, lightning, and earth—all five nature transformations. Kekkei Genkai and hidden techniques. Deadly traps and poison-laced weapons.

The puppets tore into the Konoha forces like a pack of wolves into a flock of sheep.

Screams echoed as lives were snuffed out.

Of course, the Konoha shinobi weren't entirely helpless. They were all elites, and Sasori's divided attention meant that each puppet was weaker than its full potential.

But that didn't change the fact that for every puppet destroyed, Konoha lost a living, breathing shinobi.

"Outer formation! Hold off the puppets!" The Nara clan leader shouted. "Inner formation! Follow my count!"

"Three… two… one… Fire Release, together!"

A massive combined Fire Release technique, rivaling an S-rank jutsu, surged toward Sasori.

Yet he remained unfazed.

A black iron wall rose before him—Iron Sand Defense.

"That's the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release! This just got a lot harder!" The Nara leader's face darkened.

"Akimichi clan! Use Super Multi-Size Technique to break through the defense!"

"Got it!"

Three towering giants appeared, smashing their massive fists against the Iron Sand wall, leaving deep craters with each strike.

"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"

Sasori controlled Hiruko, summoning three enormous wooden dragons that coiled around the Akimichi giants, rapidly draining their chakra.

"Cancel the expansion! Iron Sand conducts electricity—hit it with Lightning Release!"

Zzzzt!

A large-scale Lightning Release attack crackled across the battlefield.

In response, Sasori conjured a wooden shell, effortlessly blocking the attack.

As the lightning dissipated, Sasori calmly retracted the wooden shield. His face, still youthful and impassive, looked down at the Konoha forces.

Then, he spoke, voice as cold and indifferent as ever—

"Is this all you've got?"

----------------

Pls Drop some Power Stones

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