Chapter 63: Ambush

Kumogakure suffered severe destruction due to the Eight-Tails' rampage and loss of control. Many Cloud Ninja were killed or injured during the sealing operation.

With fires erupting on the home front, Kumogakure could no longer continue confronting the Konoha Ninja in the Hot Water Country. The Cloud Ninja had to retreat to the border.

Meanwhile, Orochimaru had already returned to Konoha's base camp.

Upon his return, Jiraiya immediately rushed over, excitedly informing Orochimaru about what had happened in Kumogakure.

As the mastermind behind it all, Orochimaru simply replied, "Good. The Cloud Ninja will likely keep quiet for a while now. I'm returning to Konoha to rest. You'll handle things here until then."

After saying this to Jiraiya, Orochimaru turned his back and walked away without a second thought, completely ignoring Jiraiya's reaction of staring with wide eyes.

...

At this moment, in Sunagakure.

Sasori had already completed his first human puppet, Hiruko, and was preparing to make his move against the Third Kazekage.

He wrote a letter stating that he'd developed a new puppet which compensated for the weakness of puppet ninja in close combat, offering balanced offense and defense. With this puppet, any puppet ninja would experience a substantial power increase.

He stressed that the Third Kazekage must come alone to meet him outside Sunagakure tonight, where he would personally demonstrate every function of his puppet.

After having one ninja deliver the letter, Sasori sealed Hiruko into a scroll.

Then Sasori sat before the puppets he had crafted of his parents, simply staring at them motionlessly.

Chiyo came to visit Sasori and found him once again staring blankly at the puppets of his parents, causing her heart to ache.

Chiyo was currently working in secret with a group of medical ninja to develop a Reincarnation Ninjutsu. This technique used the caster's entire chakra as a medium to transfer life force to the deceased, transforming the soul of the dead until the caster's own death.

Chiyo's secret purpose in developing this Reincarnation Ninjutsu was to bring back Sasori's parents.

After all, seeing her grandson so distressed and isolated at home, Chiyo felt deeply pained.

Therefore, she wanted to exchange her own life to bring back Sasori's parents, allowing them to accompany their son once more.

After watching Sasori for a while, Chiyo didn't disturb him and quietly left.

After Chiyo left, Sasori turned his head toward the door, revealing a trace of complex emotion in his eyes.

But soon, this complexity vanished, replaced by intense killing intent.

The Third Kazekage received Sasori's letter. Upon reading it, his grin stretched all the way to his ears.

Kazekage the Third sighed, "Truly worthy of being Chiyo's grandson! Reputed as a genius puppet artisan, you've developed even better puppets for our Sunagakure village. You're truly a cornerstone of our village!"

As time passed, the puppets developed by the Second Kazekage had become outdated. After all, other ninja had already figured them out and discovered many countermeasures against puppets.

These obsolete puppets definitely needed upgrades.

One reason behind Sasori's title as the Genius Puppet Artisan wasn't just his talent for making puppets, but also because he had upgraded Sunagakure's puppets multiple times.

Therefore, Kazekage the Third didn't doubt Sasori at all. He planned to visit him in the evening to see these new puppets he'd developed.

While Kazekage the Third continued working, an old saying from Shindai suddenly popped into his mind.

"Uncle Kaito, watch out for Sasori."

The Third Kazekage shook his head.

Watch out for Sasori? If we need to be cautious even about Sasori, then who can we trust in Sunagakure?

"Since Shindai provided such important intelligence to Sunagakure before, I should write him a letter commending his contribution."

The Third Kazekage took out a blank sheet of paper and began writing.

Night arrived.

The Third Kazekage stretched lazily, glanced at the moon outside the window, and stood up from his chair. "Time to meet Sasori."

He arrived outside Sunagakure. Although the letter hadn't specified an exact location, he easily spotted Sasori in the distance.

After all, this was a desert—completely open terrain where anything could be seen immediately.

Approaching Sasori, the Kazekage smiled and said, "Sasori, have you been waiting long?"

This was merely a polite greeting from the Kazekage, but Sasori replied bluntly, "Hmm, I dislike waiting for others, and I dislike being kept waiting."

The Third Kazekage blinked in confusion.

He was merely being courteous, but Sasori's blunt reply left him feeling distinctly uneasy.

Fortunately, no one else witnessed this exchange.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Kazekage the Third continued, "Right, didn't you mention in your letter that you'd developed a new puppet capable of compensating for puppet ninjas' weakness in close combat—a puppet with both offensive and defensive capabilities? Let me see it quickly!"

Sasori unrolled a scroll and summoned Hiruko.

At the sight of Hiruko, Kazekage's eyes lit up. "Sasori, your new puppet is truly lifelike—it seems almost human!"

This was only the second time the Kazekage had seen such a realistic puppet—the first being Shindai's Kannazuki.

However, when placed side by side, Sasori's puppet appeared even more lifelike than Shindai's Kannazuki—the famed puppet known for its realism.

In truth, Sasori's puppet was unnervingly realistic. The Third Kazekage couldn't shake the feeling that it was a living person—something deeply unsettling.

Sasori paid no heed to the Third Kazekage's praise. After all, how could such a puppet not appear lifelike, given the level of detail and artistry poured into it?

As he demonstrated, Sasori explained to the Third Kazekage, "First, we've addressed the weakness of puppet ninjas in close-range combat. Hiruko's body is hollow—allowing the puppet master to hide inside and operate it from within."

Sasori opened Hiruko and climbed inside.

The Third Kazekage's eyes lit up. Indeed, this was an excellent concept.

Moreover, Hiruko looked astonishingly lifelike—so much so that enemies would never suspect it was a puppet, let alone realize someone was hidden inside.

Sasori continued, "[Poison Needle Barrage] can be launched from its mouth."

Manipulating Hiruko, Sasori opened its mouth. However, rather than firing directly at the Third Kazekage, he shot an enormous number of poisonous needles toward the side.

"The left limb houses a dual hidden mechanism. Its rear is extremely sturdy—nearly impervious to attacks from Kunai or Shuriken..."

As Sasori continued his demonstration, the Third Kazekage gradually became captivated.

The new puppet Sasori had researched was far better than the Third Kazekage had imagined—and by far.

The Third Kazekage already started fantasizing: if all the puppet ninjas in his village were equipped with these puppets, their power would surely increase dramatically!

Inside Hiruko, Sasori observed the Third Kazekage's expression and revealed a faint mocking smile on his face.

"Finally, a metallic stinger can extend from the cave entrance in its back. This weapon delivers a powerful toxin—even the slightest scratch is fatal... Behold!"

Without warning, the tail shot out from Hiruko's back and plunged directly into the unsuspecting Third Kazekage's body.

<><><><><><><><>

Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!

~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!

<><><><><><><><>

~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!

~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!

patreon.com/Tansnovel

<><><><><><><><>