"You destroyed my puppet—then I'll use your body as repayment!"
Sasori of the Red Sand pulled out a scroll inscribed with the name Third Kazekage, his voice cold.
Boom!
With a puff of white smoke, the puppet of the Third Kazekage emerged.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Drizzle—"
A tide of black iron sand surged forth, transforming into countless needle-like projectiles. They rained down like a storm, targeting Zetsu's First Clone.
"Susanoo—"
The First Clone summoned Susanoo, wrapping himself within its protection.
The storm of iron sand needles clattered against Susanoo's exterior with a metallic chorus, but none could pierce its defenses.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Pyramid—"
Seeing that Iron Sand Drizzle had failed, Sasori manipulated his Kazekage puppet to condense the sand into a massive pyramid-shaped spear, which crashed toward Susanoo.
Boom!
Susanoo raised the Yata Mirror in its left hand. The colossal iron pyramid struck, only to be nullified as the divine shield dissolved it back into harmless sand.
From Susanoo's right hand, the Totsuka Blade extended, glowing with fiery light, and slashed toward the red-haired boyish figure of Sasori.
"Iron Sand Wall—"
Sasori quickly had the puppet erect a wall of dense iron sand to block the fiery strike.
Crack!
The wall split apart, and Sasori's body behind it was sliced clean in two.
Had he not shifted his true core—the Living Core—into the Kazekage puppet at the last second, Sasori would have been killed outright.
"Puppet Arm Mechanism—"
From the Kazekage puppet's left arm, a thousand segmented arms shot outward, lashing toward the First Clone.
Slash!
With one swing of the Totsuka Blade, the countless arms were severed in unison.
But from the severed limbs, a black poisonous mist seeped forth, rushing toward the First Clone.
"Amaterasu—"
The First Clone dispelled Susanoo and activated his right eye's dojutsu.
Black flames erupted, swallowing the poison mist.
In moments, the deadly vapor was completely incinerated, erased without a trace.
"Secret Red Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets—"
Sasori unfurled another scroll through the Kazekage puppet, releasing its seal.
Hundreds of puppets appeared, each armed with weapons, swarming into the sky.
They blotted out the heavens, then rained down as one toward the First Clone.
"Amaterasu—"
Again, the black flames flared. One after another, the puppets were consumed midair, tumbling from the sky as charred husks, their reinforced bodies unable to withstand the all-devouring fire.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Wings—"
Horrified and enraged by the destruction of his life's work, Sasori had the Kazekage puppet sprout iron wings and take flight.
From above, the puppet beat its wings, unleashing a storm of razor-sharp iron feathers.
Swish!
The First Clone evaded, but the feathers curved midair, homing back toward him.
Each one carried tracking ability.
"Susanoo—"
The First Clone re-clad himself in Susanoo. The storm of iron feathers slammed into its armor but were deflected harmlessly.
The Totsuka Blade lashed out, its fiery light stabbing toward the airborne puppet.
The Kazekage puppet dodged, circling behind Susanoo and thrusting a massive iron spear at its back.
Crack!
The blade swept backward, cleaving the spear in two—and nearly the puppet with it.
The puppet nimbly soared higher, retreating to where the blade could not reach. From above, Sasori prepared his finishing strike.
But at that instant—
The First Clone had Susanoo hurl him skyward.
As Susanoo vanished from chakra exhaustion, he appeared close to the puppet.
"Amaterasu—"
Black fire engulfed the Kazekage puppet.
"No—!"
Sasori panicked, flooding the puppet with sand in an attempt to smother the flames.
But Amaterasu clung like a curse, burning inescapably.
Boom!
The puppet fell from the sky, consumed entirely by black flames.
The Living Core within it turned to ash.
With its destruction, Sasori of the Red Sand perished.
Elsewhere, Kisame Hoshigaki grinned savagely as he confronted the Second Clone.
"Water Style: Water Shark Bomb!"
A shark formed of water surged forth, jaws wide to devour the clone.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
The Second Clone spat out a torrent, shaping it into a dragon that crashed against the shark.
"A Konoha ninja, using Water Style in front of me?" Kisame sneered, his grin growing more feral.
For someone to wield Water Style before the Monster of the Hidden Mist—to him, it was provocation.
"Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
A flood poured from his mouth, vast enough to form a lake, swallowing the battlefield.
The Second Clone leapt high to evade, but within seconds the area had become an ocean.
"Water Style: Four Shark Rain!"
Kisame pressed his hand to the surface. Four sharks erupted from the water, leaping at the clone.
"Water Style: Water Wall!"
A wall of water rose up before the Second Clone, blocking the pack of sharks.
"Again with Water Style?" Kisame's face twisted, anger boiling.
"Water Style: Thousand Sharks Jutsu!"
The lake churned violently as a thousand sharks formed, rushing from all directions.
An S-rank technique—overwhelming in scope.
"His chakra reserves are massive, but his mastery over Water Style is just as terrifying," the Second Clone thought.
In truth, he wasn't mocking Kisame. His Ice Release—born from Water and Wind—meant his chakra naturally favored Water Style. In this environment, it was his best option.
"Ice Release: Frozen Domain—"
Frigid air burst outward. The lake froze solid in an instant, the thousand sharks crystallized into a glacier over a hundred meters wide.
"Ice Release… the Yuki Clan? Impossible!" Kisame's eyes widened.
"Ice Release: White Whale—"
The clone ignored him, forming seals.
A massive whale of ice surged forward, crashing across the frozen waters toward Kisame.
"Water Style: Super Shark Bomb Jutsu!"
The feral grin was gone—Kisame's expression hardened.
A colossal shark of water formed, equal in size to the whale.
The two titans collided.
The Super Shark Bomb's power absorbed the chakra of the icy whale, but the absorption had limits.
Crash!
The shark shattered under the impact. The whale, diminished but still massive, barreled on, slamming into Kisame.
He was hurled back like a cannonball, arms torn and numb as he barely clung to his sword.
"Water Style: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
Water roared from Kisame's mouth, swelling into a massive sphere that trapped both combatants inside.
Here, only he could breathe. His opponent would eventually suffocate.
But the clone's expression never wavered.
"Ice Release: White Whale—"
Another whale of ice burst forth, and this time the clone merged into it, using the beast as cover.
Kisame launched another Super Shark Bomb, colliding with the whale, but the clone emerged from within.
"Ice Release: Ice Prison—"
A massive block of ice sealed Kisame inside, immobilizing him.
"Ice Release: Frozen Thorns—"
Countless spiked icicles erupted around the prison, spearing through it—and through Kisame's body within.
His eyes widened, but his struggles were futile.
Skewered and torn apart, Kisame Hoshigaki died on the spot.