Chapter 9

"Scorpion of the Red Sand!?"

Mitsui Nakaichi and Hyuga Kagami exclaimed in unison as they stared at the red-haired man before them.

For the two who had just survived a war, this was a name they could never forget.

Scorpion of the Red Sand, the genius puppet master, one of the strongest ninja of the Sand Village. He had disappeared along with the Third Kazekage, and was eventually classified as an S-rank rogue ninja.

He had appeared multiple times on the battlefield to collect ninja corpses, and his record of assassinating elite jonin made him so feared that the Sand Village had abandoned their pursuit of him. He was a threat that none of the Five Great Ninja Villages wished to provoke.

With one hand resting on his hip, Scorpion smirked, "So, you've recognized me? Well then, Leaf ninja, since we've met, why not help me test my latest masterpiece?"

With that, he pulled out a scroll marked with the number 'Three.'

Poof!

A cloud of white smoke erupted, and a human puppet appeared before Mitsui Nakaichi and Hyuga Kagami.

Seeing the black iron sand floating around the puppet, Mitsui Nakaichi gasped in terror, "That's Magnet Release!? The... the Third Kazekage!?"

Hyuga Kagami was just as shocked, but not because of the Third Kazekage's puppet. He was surprised that someone as powerful as Scorpion would appear in such a desolate place.

Hyuga Kagami had no way of accurately gauging Scorpion's strength, but at the very least, he was above an elite jonin—far beyond what Kagami could handle. The moment he laid eyes on Scorpion, only one thought filled his mind: survival at all costs!

Controlling the Third Kazekage puppet, Scorpion let it float into the air and laughed. "This is my most satisfying work to date. Leaf ninja, feast your eyes on my art!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the floating iron sand surrounding the Third Kazekage puppet transformed into countless needles, raining down like a deadly storm toward Mitsui Nakaichi and Hyuga Kagami.

Mitsui Nakaichi quickly retreated while throwing kunai, each carrying an explosive tag, toward the incoming iron needles.

Trailing slightly behind, Hyuga Kagami took cover behind Mitsui Nakaichi as they both fled at full speed.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The explosions from the six tags kicked up thick clouds of dust across the rocky terrain.

Seeing that his explosive tags had barely managed to block the iron needles, Mitsui Nakaichi shot a cold glance at Hyuga Kagami before suddenly turning and fleeing toward the nearest outpost—without so much as a word of warning.

He abandoned him!

Clearly, Mitsui Nakaichi had decided to drop all pretense and make his hostility toward Kagami known.

Realizing this, Hyuga Kagami no longer had any reason to hold back and ran off in a different direction.

Watching the two flee after only a brief resistance, Scorpion chuckled, leaped onto the back of the Third Kazekage puppet, and used Magnet Release to form massive iron wings. He then soared through the sky, choosing to pursue Mitsui Nakaichi first—his apparent priority target.

"He can fly!?"

Hyuga Kagami's heart sank as he caught sight of Scorpion flying through the air using the puppet.

In the ninja world, flight was an overwhelming advantage. Facing an airborne enemy almost always led to a desperate, losing battle.

As things stood, Hyuga Kagami, running on the ground, was no match for Scorpion soaring above.

Suppressing his panic, Hyuga Kagami calmly analyzed the situation while keeping a close eye on Scorpion's movements.

"I've seen the Third Kazekage puppet. Scorpion won't let me live!"

The fact that the Third Kazekage had been turned into a puppet was still a secret. To keep things that way, Scorpion would never allow anyone who knew the truth to escape.

In other words, the moment Scorpion revealed the puppet, both Mitsui Nakaichi and Hyuga Kagami were marked for death.

"The nearest outpost is still over two and a half hours away. Even if I reach it, the stationed ninja won't be able to stop Scorpion."

"Running isn't enough—I need to find a way to force him back!"

As Kagami pondered his strategy, he suddenly noticed Mitsui Nakaichi collapse face-first into the ground mid-sprint.

"What happened!?" Startled, he quickly realized, "The iron needles were poisoned!"

Although Mitsui Nakaichi's explosive tags had blocked most of the needles, a few had still grazed his arm.

Since the injuries weren't fatal, neither Mitsui Nakaichi nor Hyuga Kagami had paid much attention.

But now, seeing Mitsui Nakaichi suddenly collapse, Kagami instantly put the pieces together. From his memories of his past life, he knew that Scorpion was a master of poisons.

With Mitsui Nakaichi unable to fight, running was pointless—it would only exhaust him. Kagami decisively halted his escape.

After casually delivering the final blow to the paralyzed Mitsui Nakaichi, Scorpion strolled toward Hyuga Kagami, a teasing smile on his lips. "Oh? Giving up already?"

Hyuga Kagami locked eyes with Scorpion. "I've always wondered... why did you betray your village? With your power and status, even becoming Kazekage wasn't out of reach."

Surprised by Kagami's calmness, Scorpion eyed him curiously before smirking. "No need to stall for time—no one is coming to save you."

As he walked toward Scorpion, Kagami continued, "That's true. You even dared to assassinate the 'Strongest Kazekage.' It's no wonder you had no respect for the Sand Village."

Scorpion narrowed his eyes, intrigued by Kagami's approach, wondering what he was planning.

"Nineteen meters…"

"Seventeen meters…"

"Fourteen meters…"

Maintaining a composed exterior while panicking internally, Kagami carefully measured the distance between them.

His only chance was to use his Rotational Pull technique to drag Scorpion's real body toward him and seal his chakra points with Gentle Fist.

But Rotational Pull's range was only about fifteen meters—he had to get closer.

At eleven meters, Scorpion finally raised his hands.

Connected to him by glowing blue chakra threads, the Third Kazekage puppet floated into the air, forming sharp iron spears from the surrounding iron sand.

Knowing he had reached his limit, Kagami stopped hesitating and launched Rotational Pull with all his might!

The moment Kagami moved, the battle-hardened Scorpion smirked, thinking Kagami was just another desperate ninja trying to take him down in a suicidal attack.

But his smirk froze instantly.

With a tremendous whooshing force, the Third Kazekage puppet was yanked away from him. The suction was so powerful that it snapped Scorpion's chakra threads in an instant!

Hyuga Kagami, expecting to pull in Scorpion, was equally dumbfounded as he found himself holding onto the Third Kazekage puppet instead!