Logan's eyes widened, "You don't know?!"
Sasori gazed at him calmly and said straightforwardly, "I don't know."
"Also, you can get lost now."
This wasn't the answer Logan was expecting. He spread his hands and said, "Aren't you both in the Akatsuki? Don't you guys have meetings, talk to each other, keep some general level of contact?"
Sasori secretly rolled his eyes, " Who said being in the same organization means we have to stay in contact? You were part of the group before too, weren't you? Now that you've asked your question… leave..."
"But I got kicked out. I was gone too long, and now I'm blacklisted." Logan said matter-of-factly, "Why don't you just use the Magic Lantern Body Technique to ask? It's important."
His gaze flickered toward the ring on Sasori's thumb.
Sasori's hand instinctively moved toward the weapon mechanism of Hiruko, but halfway through, he stopped, "Why don't you use your own ring to contact them yourself? Can't you ask on your own?"
His tone rose slightly at the end.
Taking a deep breath, Sasori shifted slightly to the side and pointed toward the door, "And like I said, get..."
"Aiya, I already told you, I can't! I tried to use the Magic Lantern Body Technique, but the leader blocked me. I've been locked out, you get it?" Logan pulled out the 'Sky' ring from his cloak to show him, his expression completely serious.
'You get it… my ass.'
Sasori secretly gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to summon the Third Kazekage puppet and crush this man.
"Regardless, I don't know where Uchiha Itachi is." Sasori said, his tone carrying a cold edge. He paused for a moment, then added pointedly, "And I certainly won't be openly asking for you."
Logan frowned slightly, clearly troubled.
"Oh, well, if you don't know, then that's that." His gaze darkened a bit.
With the Akatsuki's loose structure, members indeed rarely kept track of each other beyond their immediate partners. If someone was doing fine, no one cared. If someone died, the most they'd get was a passing comment of 'Oh, they're dead?', and that would be the end of it.
'Honestly, Pain could at least organize some team-building events or a group dinner once in a while.'
Accepting the lack of answers, Logan slowly got to his feet, dragging his steps as if reluctant to leave. Sasori kept a wary eye on him, his impatience practically etched into his face.
"..."
Logan had spent quite a bit of effort getting inside, and now, barely a minute later, he was supposed to leave? His gaze wandered around the room, hands clasped behind his back, pretending to admire the place. He casually strayed a little off the direct path to the door.
With a clicking sound, a hidden mechanism activated, and a chilling killing intent filled the air. Logan cleared his throat lightly, "Then I'll leave."
He reached for the door himself, stepping out. Before leaving, he glanced back to see Sasori staring at him with a deadpan expression.
"You really should renovate this place..."
"I won't see you out."
…
Once the wooden door shut with a sharp clap and the sound of footsteps faded into the distance, the house fell back into its usual empty silence.
Sasori finally dragged Hiruko and sat down.
His gaze drifted toward the chair opposite him, the one Logan had briefly occupied.
"Uchiha Itachi?"
Frowning slightly, Sasori tried to piece something together. He knew Logan and Itachi had been close, as they are former comrades-in-arms before they defected.
But now, after all this time, why was Logan suddenly looking for Itachi? And more importantly…
Sasori recalled the so-called 'exchange of information' Logan had casually mentioned before asking his question.
'How exactly had that guy managed to disappear so thoroughly that even the leader and Zetsu couldn't track him down?'
'Where had he been?'
It would be a lie to say that Sasori was not curious at all. But in the end, he decided against dwelling on it. Whether it was Logan or Itachi, none of it truly concerned him.
Shaking his head, he activated Hiruko's mechanisms with a series of soft clicks. In the desolate landscape, where only the cold wind howled, he stepped into his underground workshop once more, vanishing down the passage leading to his puppet creations.
…
Knock, knock, knock.
A familiar knocking sound echoed.
Sasori had spent the night resting directly in his workshop. By the time the sound filtered through layers of flooring, it had already weakened… but the fact that it reached this deep into the underground chambers and the mountain interior meant the visitor wasn't just knocking anymore. They were pounding.
'A visitor?'
Sasori instantly recognized the scene.
Whenever he stayed at his own hideout, the traps and puppets would ensure his safety. It was one of the few places where he could relax more than when wandering outside.
His groggy mind was forced into clarity as he bolted upright and headed for the surface.
Shoving aside an array of mechanical tools, a pencil rolled off his workbench with a soft clatter. Sketches and designs lay scattered across the messy workspace.
This half-underground base carved into the hillside was far from well-kept. As Sasori stepped over scattered puppet parts and unfinished projects, he casually scooped up two puppets.
With a flick of his Chakra Threads, the human puppets came to life, moving as if they possessed a will of their own. They sifted through the clutter, retrieving two gleaming weapons.
Ascending to the surface, he opened the door, and sure enough, that face greeted him.
"Yoho, good morning, Sasori. Sorry to bother you again, but I suddenly remembered..."
Before Logan could finish, the two human puppets lunged forward, blades gleaming as they swung straight at him.
The crisp sound of weapons slicing through the air made it clear… this was no joke.
Logan's expression shifted instantly. He leaped back onto the clearing in front of the wooden house, but the puppets relentlessly pursued!
Clang! Clang!
Dust billowed in chaotic swirls as fleeting arcs of lightning flickered. Sasori's doorstep had never been this lively in broad daylight.
As a genius puppet master, Sasori's creations were naturally top-tier. With bodies of reinforced metal and aggressive precision in their attacks, Logan found himself weaving between two dark figures, locked in an exchange of blows.
For a few minutes, the battle looked intense, but ultimately, these were just ordinary puppets. No matter how skillful the puppet master, it couldn't bridge the absolute gap in raw strength.
Lightning crackled at Logan's feet. In a sudden burst of speed, he outpaced the puppets' movements. As a blade sliced downward, he slipped past it, seizing the brief moment of stillness, an instant that stretched infinitely in his perception.
His hand shot out, gripping the cold, lifeless wrist. With a forceful pull, the heavy puppet was flung, slamming straight into the other.
Bang!
A thunderous crash echoed as the two metal bodies twisted together, screeching against each other in a tangle of iron.
Logan's combat instincts flowed seamlessly. Without a moment's hesitation, he dashed forward, pressing a palm against the entangled puppets.
At some point, a Rasengan had already formed in his hand. The spiraling Chakra sphere erupted, sending shockwaves rippling through the air.
Both puppets were slammed into the ground, one stopped moving entirely, and the other struggled to rise.
Logan drew Shimizu from his waist. The battered puppet sluggishly raised its weapon, iron plating shedding in fragments.
Logan felt that something about this is off. But his blade had already swung.
Before the puppet's longsword could descend, an arm was severed first.
Logan's grip on his short blade faltered for a fraction of a second as he glanced up.
The disarmed sword spiraled high into the sky before plummeting, embedding itself into the dirt.
The puppet wobbled.
Logan stepped back—and with that, it collapsed.
So with just a few clangs, both puppets had been reduced to scrap.
Scratching his head, Logan turned to Sasori with an awkward expression.
"Uh… this…" Destroying someone else's property wasn't exactly ideal, but technically, they attacked first. Right?
Sasori stared at the destroyed puppet on the ground in silence, and his Chakra Threads dissipated.
After a long pause, he exhaled slowly.
His thought process had been simple, he would cut it first and then talk about it. And honestly, that made him somewhat comfortable.