CHAPTER 115

Without the protection of Hiruko, the Red Sand Scorpion finally revealed his true form. With flowing crimson hair, amber eyes, and the youthful appearance of a teenage boy, it was difficult to believe that this seemingly innocent figure was the same deadly puppet master who had terrorized them moments earlier. At first glance, he appeared no older than Deidara — perhaps even younger. But based on his prior performance, the contradiction between his appearance and strength was unsettling.

"Is this person truly a ninja from your Sand Village?" Hiashi Hyuga asked, surprised. He momentarily forgot Mizuki's injury, his gaze fixed on Sasori. "Do you have such a young powerhouse among your ranks?"

"No," Gaara answered, brows furrowed. "There's no one our age with that kind of strength in Sunagakure. If this is his true appearance, I've never seen him before."

Temari and Hyuga Ke, having rushed over after seeing Hiruko destroyed, joined in.

"Judging by his face... if the records from our village are accurate... this might be him..." Temari murmured, her expression darkening.

"You mean that genius puppet master? Chiyo-sama's grandson?" Gaara's tone held disbelief. "It does resemble the old photos. But he vanished years ago. Even if he survived, he should be in his thirties — not a teenager."

"Unless... that body is a puppet," Temari said gravely.

Even the idea of being turned into a puppet post-mortem was horrifying — and if Sasori had done that to himself, it confirmed how dangerous he truly was.

"Regardless of who he is," Hiashi said sharply, "Even the former Kazekage wouldn't make us retreat without a fight."

That earned silence. But Gaara and Temari were both uneasy. Mizuki, too, realized the weight of what Hiashi was implying.

Hiashi had earned the right to speak boldly. His Byakugan and Gentle Fist were formidable — especially against chakra-dependent puppet mechanisms. But even he had limits.

"Mizuki, can you keep fighting?" Hiashi asked, glancing at the wounded ninja nearby.

Mizuki coughed, spitting up bloody saliva. "I'm not dead yet. But if we can't beat that guy soon... I won't be around to crack more jokes."

Hiashi helped him sit up, gave him emergency medicine, and bound the bleeding wound with a tactical bandage. The Almighty Potion had kept Mizuki alive through worse.

As Mizuki began channeling chakra and using Palm Sage Jutsu to heal himself, Hiashi charged Sasori with a flurry of precise Gentle Fist strikes, forcing him back. Kurenai, relieved, fell back — her illusions ineffective against Sasori's puppet body.

Sasori's tactics were cold and mechanical. His puppets didn't feel pain and could sacrifice themselves for damage. Kurenai had found herself cornered repeatedly by traps and attacks designed to bypass her skillset.

"Yeah, today's not Yūhi Kurenai's day," Mizuki muttered weakly. "Hard to shine when your opponent's immune to illusions."

Hiashi, despite being tired, was determined not to let a foreign jinchūriki or a Chunin like Mizuki be the only ones contributing. Now that Hiruko had been destroyed, Sasori's true body was exposed — faster, more agile, but not as defensively overwhelming.

Hiashi noticed something strange: "He's still a puppet, but there are no chakra threads. He's not controlling it from the outside..."

Through the Byakugan, he saw that Sasori's body had no chakra flow like a human's. But in his chest — near the heart — a sealed container radiated chakra. That must be the "core."

"So that's the regeneration core... Destroying it should finish him."

But getting to it was another matter entirely.

Sasori remained composed, even with his body revealed. Having shed his humanity, he had little left to fear — and hadn't yet used his trump card.

Then, with a flick of his hand, he launched another spinning blade at Hiashi, forcing the Hyuga to dodge. Using the distraction, Sasori avoided Gaara's grasping sand and ignored Kurenai's kunai, letting it clink harmlessly off his body.

"Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets!"

From the core in his chest, a hundred chakra threads shot out. Sasori unfurled a scroll — and with it, a hundred puppets exploded into the sky.

If it had been daylight, they might've blotted out the sun. But even at night, under the pale moonlight, it was a terrifying spectacle.

Puppets rained down like a mechanical storm.

"So this is the technique that could destroy a nation..." Temari said quietly.

"There's no mistaking it," Gaara added grimly. "He's Sasori of the Red Sand — Chiyo-sama's grandson."

"A rogue with this much power..." Hiashi muttered. "His strength rivals a Kage. Why would Sunagakure let him go?"

"He didn't defect," Temari clarified, face tight. "He vanished — around the same time as the Third Kazekage. Their disappearances triggered the Third Great Ninja War."

"That was covered up?" Kurenai said, aghast.

"It was," Temari admitted. "The Third Kazekage was more important than Sasori. His disappearance overshadowed everything."

Kurenai looked at the hundred puppets filling the sky. "We should retreat. There's no way six of us can handle this."

Hiashi hesitated but finally gave the order. "Fall back."

Even though his Gentle Fist could sever chakra threads, there were too many puppets. Winning was improbable — surviving would be a miracle.

Mizuki pushed himself to his feet, trembling. "We just beat Deidara and now this? And we didn't even get to see Sasori's full abilities... No Iron Sand, no Kazekage puppet. All this, and we still haven't scratched the surface."

Compared to the later mission where Naruto and Kakashi defeated Deidara, and Sakura with Chiyo defeated Sasori — this attempt felt meaningless. Without someone like Chiyo to back them up, the odds were hopeless.

"Kurenai's not weak," Mizuki thought. "The world's just changed too fast."

Hiashi had strength and vision, but not the insight to match Kakashi. Temari and Gaara had potential, but were clearly exhausted. Mizuki had done well to disable Hiruko, but had nothing left.

"Close ranks! We fight while retreating! Head back to Konoha!" Hiashi shouted.

As they turned to flee, Mizuki couldn't help but curse under his breath.

"All this effort, and we still run like cowards? Maybe I should just drop a bomb and see who the world favors more..."

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