Without Hiruko shielding him, Red Sand of the Desert finally revealed his true appearance. With beautiful red hair, amber eyes, and a youthful, handsome face, he seemed almost like an ordinary boy next door—hardly someone connected to the puppeteer hidden inside Hiruko. At first glance, he appeared about the same age as Deidara, or perhaps even slightly younger. Yet based on his earlier battle alone, the contrast was staggering.
"You mean this man is really a ninja from your Suna?" Seeing Sasori's true form, Hiashi Hyuga—who was clearly shocked by how young he looked—didn't even think to check Mizuki's injuries first. "When did Suna produce such a young, powerful ninja?"
"No, among those around our age in Suna, no one seems stronger than me," Gaara replied. "If this truly is his real appearance, I've never seen him before."
Gaara dismissed Hiashi's speculation.
"Then maybe this person really is a rogue ninja from Sunagakure," Temari, along with Hyuga Nagare, rushed over quickly after witnessing the destruction of Hiruko. "If Sunagakure's records are right, his physical features suggest he might just be…that person…"
Even Temari herself seemed astounded by her own guess.
"You mean the genius puppet master? Grandma Chiyo's grandson?" Gaara also said, surprised. "It does look a bit similar—we once saw some photos of him when he was very young. But can it really be the same person? Isn't he supposed to have gone missing? Even if he were still alive today, he should be at least thirty-something. How could he look like this?"
Sasori appeared no older than fifteen or sixteen—barely older than Temari herself.
"Still, if it really is him…" Temari continued.
"[Human Puppet]?" Gaara unconsciously murmured.
Just imagining being killed by a terrifyingly strong opponent—and even in death, having one's body turned into countless puppets—was enough to send chills down anyone's spine.
"All right, regardless of what happens now, I don't know what kind of powerful figure you're talking about. Still, even if he *was* the Kazekage, we wouldn't run from a fight!"
Hiashi's words immediately left everyone speechless.
'You're jinxing us! Kazekage? Could we really end up facing him later?'
Only Mizuki, Gaara, and Temari had mentally prepared themselves for such a possibility. Others likely thought Hiashi was merely boasting to raise morale. However, Hiashi truly did have reason to speak boldly—if the opponent wasn't immune to Gentle Fist techniques, he was confident he could take on three hundred enemies head-on. His Byakugan combined with Gentle Fist made him nearly as overwhelmingly unfair as the Sharingan.
"Mizuki, can you keep going?" Hiashi called out toward Mizuki nearby. That last strike had landed hard. Had it not been for Mizuki's surprisingly fierce performance earlier, no one would've believed he could survive.
Ko Hyuga quickly rushed to Mizuki's side, pulled out a small vial, and fed him several tiny pills. Then, supporting Mizuki upright, he rapidly wrapped tactical bandages around his bleeding wounds.
"Cough, cough," Mizuki spat out some blood-mixed saliva, forcing himself awake. "I'm not dying just yet, though we'll be doomed if we can't beat that puppet master later."
Mizuki knew this wasn't the time to let his guard down. If he blacked out now, he probably wouldn't make it to the next chapter of the ninja world.
"Good," Hiashi Hyuga felt slightly relieved. Someone who could crack dark jokes wouldn't die anytime soon. Those life-saving pills had proven their worth again and again. For those who understood their power, the pill's effect was deeply respected. As long as he survived for now, there was still a good chance he could be saved later. As for the side effects, those could be dealt with afterward—only if you survived, of course.
As Mizuki struggled to channel chakra and heal himself using the Mystical Palm Technique, Hiashi swiftly dashed past Kurenai Yuhi. He launched into a complete set of Gentle Fist strikes, forcing Red Sand of the Desert into continuous retreat. A huge weight lifted from Kurenai as she faced off against the puppet master. Neither the puppet master nor the genjutsu specialist was a true taijutsu practitioner. Face-to-face combat came down to raw fundamentals. Though neither specialized in physical fighting, both were far stronger than most ninjas. Comparatively, Red Sand of the Desert held a slight advantage—the puppet body felt no pain and cared little about injuries, enabling it to adopt desperate all-or-nothing tactics. Hidden mechanisms on his body also diversified his fighting techniques, allowing deadly attacks from positions where Kurenai found it difficult to adapt.
"It sure turned into a black-letter day for Kurenai Yuhi. Not only has she been completely countered, but the opportunity she finally got slipped right through her fingers."
Meanwhile, Hiashi fought fiercely, full of vigor. Despite his exhausted body, how could he accept it—being stuck, helpless for so long while even a Suna Genin had come to rescue him, even though he was a Jinchuriki? When he had been helpless, it was Mizuki—a Chunin he had never taken seriously before—who turned the tide. How could he—Hiashi Hyuga, a man who lived by the pride of the Hyuga clan—possibly feel satisfied?
Now the defenses of Hiruko had finally been breached. Previously, he had been completely unable to find an attack point, but things had improved. Now that Sasori had revealed his original body, his defense, while clearly nowhere near the terrifying level of Hiruko, offered greatly improved speed and maneuverability. Although Hiashi didn't know what powerful abilities Sasori might possess, this situation was still much better than before. Up close, in hand-to-hand combat typical of the Hyuga style, there were few people in the world better than Hiashi Hyuga. Sasori, as a puppet master, certainly wasn't among them.
Red Sand of the Desert clearly saw what Hyuga Hiashi was aiming for. Using his superior agility, he kept weaving through the strikes — the battle had completely flipped in his favor.
Through his Byakugan, Hiashi could see that even though Red Sand of the Desert had revealed his Original Body Puppet form, something about his chakra flow felt off.
"So it's still a puppet? But without chakra threads controlling it, is this really similar to that armored shell type from before? Something feels off."
The chakra flow within Red Sand of the Desert was clearly unlike that of a civilian, confirming that his opponent was still just a puppet. However, unlike Hiruko's state, no one was hiding inside. Instead, only one area near the chest—close to where a heart would be—contained a sealed object impervious even to Byakugan, from which massive amounts of chakra flowed to operate the Original Body Puppet.
"So that's the vital spot? If I destroy it, I should be able to land a killing strike."
Although not a puppet master himself, Hiashi could still judge Sasori's condition accurately. The weakness of the reincarnation core could never hide from the Byakugan. Yet while such intentions were admirable, execution proved difficult. Weaknesses and vital points were always the most heavily guarded. Without special methods, landing a solid blow on Sasori's reincarnation core wouldn't be easy.
Even in a disadvantageous position, Red Sand of the Desert showed no signs of panic. Having abandoned both his human body and spirit, his desires were far weaker than before. Except for a few rare individuals capable of stirring emotions within him, very little could make him anxious. Moreover, he hadn't yet revealed his hidden trump cards.
"What should I use?"
While his defense might have been weak in his original body state, combining decent agility with the use of scrolls to unleash devastating ninjutsu made for an effective offensive tactic. Still...
"Their opponents aren't incompetent either. It'd be embarrassing to use techniques meant for pushing around rookies. Then again..."
Having made his decision, Red Sand of the Desert wasted no time. He used blade wheels to push Hyuga Hiashi back, dodged Gaara's incoming giant sand hand, and ignored kunai thrown by Kurenai Yuhi as they struck his body with crisp metallic sounds before falling to the ground.
[Red Secret Technique – Hundred Puppet Army] Immediately afterward, hundreds of chakra threads sprouted from the reincarnation core inside Red Sand of the Desert's chest, linking and commanding over a hundred puppets unleashed from the Sealing Scroll.
If performed during daylight, such a scene would truly deserve the phrase "covering heaven and earth." Even under the cover of night, the sight was nothing short of terrifying. Where once only the pale moonlight offered any visibility, the sky was now swallowed whole by a swarm of nearly a hundred puppets blotting out even the stars.
Witnessing such a terrifying sight, Hiashi and the others stood frozen in shock.
"This is the Hundred Puppet Army technique that wiped out an entire nation with just one man?"
"He'd always heard about this technique, but actually seeing it was something else entirely—just watching left him feeling completely helpless..."
"It has to be him! The legendary puppet master of Suna—the mighty Red Sand of the Desert, Grandma Chiyo's beloved grandson!" Only that Red Sand of the Desert, whose feats were still whispered as legend within the village, could possibly wield puppet techniques at such an incredible level.
"A rogue ninja from *your* village? You're telling me he's this strong? He could take on a Kage!" Hiashi Hyuga asked in surprise. "How could someone like him become a missing-nin?"
That kind of talent is an invaluable treasure for any ninja village. How could he just defect so easily? At least Hiashi himself had never heard anything about a wanted notice issued by Suna for Red Sand of the Desert.
"It's quite embarrassing actually," Temari said uncomfortably. "Although I'm not too familiar with the detailed events of those ancient times, I remember hearing that Red Sand didn't defect—he simply disappeared, along with the Third Kazekage."
Though Red Sand was also a rare puppet genius, his disappearance was almost completely overshadowed by the simultaneous vanishing of the Third Kazekage. The incident surrounding the vanished Third Kazekage eventually sparked the Third Great Ninja World War.
"And such a significant event was kept so secret by Suna," Kurenai Yuhi, who rarely showed much presence, suggested. "The former prodigy has now become such a terrifying missing-nin targeting the One-Tail Jinchuriki. This isn't something you can just wave away with some half-baked excuse. Also, should we consider retreating?"
Under these circumstances, even if they were at full strength, the six of them might barely stand a chance. Now, after such heavy exertion, they stood even less of a chance. Plus, who knew what other hidden cards Red Sand might still hold?
Hiashi thought briefly before finally ordering, "Retreat..."
It wasn't like they had zero chance—but his Gentle Fist was specifically effective against puppets. All he needed to do was sever the chakra threads. However, there were just too many puppets. A direct confrontation would result in heavy casualties on their side even if they won. And let's not forget—they didn't exactly have great odds to begin with.
Seeing Hiashi make the decision, Mizuki struggled to his feet. Between the effects of life-saving pills and constant use of Mystical Palm Technique, he barely regained enough strength to move again.
"But how exactly are we supposed to escape? We've barely survived forcing Red Sand to unleash Hundred Puppet Army, and now we're finished. After paying such a heavy price, all we did was take down Deidara and give Red Sand a workout with his puppets? We haven't even seen his Third Kazekage puppet yet, let alone techniques like Iron Sand World Method or Iron Sand Barrage. Are we really not even qualified to witness them?"
Compared with Gaara's mission to regain his position three years later, what were they lacking this time around? Mizuki had given it some serious thought. First was the lack of Naruto Uzumaki—the stamina monster—who, with Kakashi Hatake's Mangekyo Sharingan, crushed Deidara. Second was Sakura, with help from Grandma Chiyo, managing to defeat Red Sand.
Loosely speaking, Hiashi Hyuga could fulfill a role similar to Kakashi Hatake, but there was simply no replacement for Chiyo. Kurenai Yuhi-type ninja couldn't elevate their signature genjutsu techniques to a higher level when battle power escalated so drastically—at the very least, they'd need to reach Itachi Uchiha's level minus Tsukuyomi. Otherwise, they became practically useless. Even if they managed to catch someone off guard once, most two-man squads could still support each other and survive the threat. That's probably why Kurenai eventually faded into the background and Team 8 became little more than a formality.
"You can't blame Kurenai for lacking strength," Mizuki murmured under his breath. "It's just that the world changed too fast."
If Mizuki had developed steadily without causing chaos everywhere, he probably would've reached this level in a few years.
As for Sakura Haruno's role, there was absolutely no substitute. No one else could replicate her legendary super strength behind the Cherry Blossom Tearing Impact—enough to defeat Hiruko, break through Third Kazekage's Iron Sand Body, and then coordinate with Chiyo to overcome the Hundred Puppet Army.
As for the rest... Ko Hyuga was a solid team member, but never really part of the core lineup. Temari and Gaara had been helpful enough, but looking at how battle-worn they were, Mizuki couldn't bring himself to fault them. Therefore, even if Mizuki managed to catch Deidara off guard and defeat Hiruko, it wouldn't matter if their overall battle strength remained insufficient.
"Fall back toward me while fighting! Retreat gradually! Destination—Konoha!" Hiashi Hyuga made the decision to abandon the mission and return to Konoha. Though humiliating, they had no complaints; they'd simply been outmatched. This situation was beyond what the current group could handle.
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