The Iron Sand wings of the Third Kazekage were, of course, extremely famous.
But soon after, the Iwa shinobi realized the truth.
"No, wait, it's not the Third Kazekage, it's a puppet."
"Damn it, how can a puppet use the Iron Sand Secret Technique?"
They didn't have time to ponder why this puppet could use Iron Sand techniques, because the puppet Kazekage was already recalling the scattered iron sand on the ground, gathering it in the air into a massive triangular spike.
Magnet Release: Iron Sand Triangular Spikes!
Buzz!
With a massive tearing sound, the iron sand pyramid hurtled toward the Iwa shinobi.
The Iwa shinobi all pressed their hands down to the ground together.
Earth Release: Earth Prison Technique!
RUMBLE!
The ground surged upward, forming a ring of earth walls that sealed them inside.
All of them desperately poured chakra into the walls, thickening them layer after layer.
As long as they could block this attack, their jinchuriki Han would return to defend them.
BOOM!
The iron sand pyramid slammed against the earth wall, shaking it violently.
But the Earth Prison didn't break.
The triangular spike rose into the air again, spinning wildly.
Magnet Release: Iron Sand Gyro!
It drilled straight down toward them.
Not far away, Han instantly went into full tailed-beast transformation, becoming the form of Kokuo.
After tanking several Wind-Water Explosive Bullets, he charged rapidly at the Iron Sand Gyro.
BANG!
The solid iron sand pyramid was smashed apart by Kokuo's horn.
As the two sides clashed, the puppet Third Kazekage flying in the air made a provocative gesture before flying straight off.
Han, in his tailed-beast form, turned back to see that Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear had also completely vanished.
Only after confirming it was truly safe did Han retreat from full transformation.
Inside, the Iwa shinobi opened the earth prison.
Six of them had ghastly pale faces. Han asked urgently, "What happened?"
"Lord Han, we've been poisoned!"
Of the twenty Iwa shinobi, four had been killed outright by the iron needles. The rest, who had only been grazed by the iron sand, had all been poisoned as well.
Luckily, there hadn't been much poison coated on the iron sand. Sasori had been in a rush and hadn't prepared his instant-death poison.
Even so, judging by how fast the Iwa shinobi were slipping into unconsciousness, if Han had returned even a little later, all of them would've been done for.
"Damn it! Akatsuki, I'll remember this grudge!"
Han had come with so many men, and right at the start, suffered a huge disgrace.
Out of twenty Iwa shinobi, four dead, six poisoned.
The enemy retreated at leisure.
There was nothing more humiliating than this.
And Han wasn't sure if other factions were watching nearby.
But with his men poisoned, he had no choice but to slink back with them to rejoin the other Iwa forces for treatment.
———
Just as Han guessed, there were indeed many eyes watching from the shadows.
One was Tobi's Zetsu clone.
With its aura hidden underground, no one could see it. It had basically witnessed the whole thing.
Kakashi's group was also nearby, though they only saw the latter half. Still, they clearly saw the puppet of the Third Kazekage.
And then there was Sunagakure.
Rasa and Chiyo had long been at odds.
When Sasori came, Maki had hoped to gather some intel he could use against Chiyo.
And what he saw shocked him.
The Third Kazekage turned into a human puppet.
Other shinobi might not understand what a human puppet was, but Sunagakure certainly did.
If Sasori hadn't been an invited ally, Suna likely would've immediately sent shinobi to hunt him down.
Maki returned to the Suna base camp. Since this couldn't be concealed, he immediately reported it to Chiyo and Pakura.
"What? The Third Kazekage turned into a human puppet?", Chiyo's vision went dark, and she almost fainted.
Everyone knew the fuse of the Third Shinobi World War had been the disappearance of the Third Kazekage.
Although Sasori had defected at that time, no one had connected him with the Kazekage's disappearance.
Back then, Sasori was still young. No one would have thought he could kill the Kazekage.
But in truth, he had.
The reasons Sasori killed the Third Kazekage were complicated, but one thing could not be separated from it. His parents' deaths.
At that time, the Third Kazekage had been hailed as the strongest Kazekage. Sunagakure's policy then was aggressive expansion.
The Third Kazekage was the most forceful hawkish leader.
From Suna's geographical standpoint, his strategy was correct.
But Sasori's parents lost their lives in that war.
For Sasori, who had loved his parents deeply, this was something he could never accept.
With such a poison master and puppeteer harboring a grudge, the Kazekage's death was inevitable.
Sasori had simply concealed it well, so no one knew.
There had been countless defectors from every village, and Sasori's defection hadn't caused much of a stir at the time.
Chiyo had even used her influence to quietly downplay his betrayal.
But now it was out. Sunagakure would never forgive Sasori of the Red Sand, the killer of the Third Kazekage.
Chiyo, having weathered so many storms in her life, quickly calmed herself.
"Sasori's matter, we'll discuss it later. Right now, we're still in cooperation with Akatsuki."
"They've deployed a jinchuriki. We can't oppose them alone."
Maki replied formally, "The decision here rests with you, Elder Chiyo. But I'll report Sasori's matter truthfully to the Fourth Kazekage."
Chiyo's eyes narrowed slightly, "As you should."
For the entire village, this was a huge affair.
Now that it had been exposed, it would surely become Rasa's excuse to attack Chiyo politically.
But after so many years, and with Chiyo uninvolved, the best way to cover this matter was to resolve the current crisis well.
As for hunting Sasori down. Honestly, Suna didn't have the strength.
They had no one capable of matching him. After all, Sasori held both the Hundred Puppet Performance and the Third Kazekage puppet.
Just then, a Suna shinobi entered with a report, "Elder Chiyo, Kakuzu and Sasori have returned."
Maki's face darkened. He hadn't expected Sasori to return so openly.
"Let them in," Chiyo said after steadying her mood.
Sasori and Kakuzu came in together.
Previously, they had ambushed in sequence. Kakuzu splitting off his Earth Grudge Fear to pretend there were two, while Sasori had used the body of the Third Kazekage itself.
Though Kakuzu's ploy hadn't split the enemy unit, Sasori had still landed a heavy blow on Iwa with the Kazekage's bloodline limit.
Now, the enemy likely wouldn't dare to chase recklessly again.
Chiyo gave Sasori a long, deep look, a flash of complicated emotion in her eyes before she spoke, all business, "They deployed a jinchuriki. What does your organization plan to do?"
Kakuzu replied flatly, as if it were obvious, "That's our problem. As long as we guarantee Sunagakure's profit, that's enough."
"But before that, you can't retreat too early."
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