But now, what use was talking about any of that? The only thing that mattered was hoping he himself was fine…
He actually wasn't hurt all that badly. After all, Shigeo intended to recruit him. If he killed him, how would he use him?
Hearing the shout, Sasori made Hiruko's body arch as if to stand. Traps bloomed across the carapace. Countless senbon laced with poison blasted toward Shigeo's position.
His prone, twisted posture wore a perverse expression. The chill in his eyes, plus the scorpion tail swaying behind him, radiated pure killing intent.
They said Sasori commanded three hundred puppets. Hiruko was only one of them.
Shigeo raised Jiton (Magnet Release) as a guard. The poison needles rang against the magnetic field, then, as the field turned to flowing sand, clattered to the ground.
Hovering in the air, Shigeo looked down at Sasori and at Deidara still wheezing hard off to the side. "Your time of death has arrived."
As he spoke, his magnetic sand surged like a sky-blotting tide and slammed down at the two of them.
The vast Jiton smothered Hiruko in an instant. But moments later the scorpion burrowed underground. When he burst out again he opened with Katon (Fire Release), then followed with blades of Suiton (Water Release) that sliced the surrounding rock clean in half.
Shigeo paused. His Magnet Release hadn't wrecked Hiruko's joints?
He snapped open his Sharingan. Understanding clicked at once. Sasori had wrapped the puppet joints in chakra, blocking infiltration by Magnet Release.
Shigeo had never seen this method before. It hadn't even appeared in the original storyline. Looked like everyone's capabilities had leveled up.
"Kukuku… will you only use Magnet Release to bully my puppets? I guarantee it—if you switch to anything else, you won't beat me!"
Sasori tried to goad him. His chakra sheathing could hold for only a quarter of an hour, and he'd already wasted time arguing with Deidara. He couldn't even last ten minutes now. If the opponent went back to Magnet Release, all his puppets would be scrapped. Rather than sit and wait to die, he'd provoke him and hope the other took the bait.
Shigeo laughed. "Even without Magnet Release, I can erase you."
So what if Magnet Release couldn't seep into the puppet? At worst it meant a longer fight. Still, the words did remind him: since he'd run into a top hand like Sasori, testing other jutsu wasn't a bad idea. Shigeo decided to attack with the Mokuton line.
"Try this." The magnetic field vanished. Shigeo unleashed Mokuton: Mokuryū no Jutsu (Wood Dragon Technique), sending the dragon crashing at Hiruko.
Sasori moved fast. The instant he saw the wooden dragon, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. He'd seen a sight like this before, hadn't he? In the battle at the Echo Wind Valley, a wooden dragon had appeared.
Sasori asked, "You're Shigeo?"
Akatsuki had suspected as much already. In the shinobi world, users of Mokuton could be counted on one hand. Those still alive were rarer than phoenix feathers and qilin horns.
Now it seemed their guess had been right.
And at this point, what was the point of talking about recruiting him into Akatsuki? He was Akatsuki's natural enemy. Today it was fish and net. Only one would remain.
Up in the sky, Deidara heard this and went wide-eyed. He hadn't forgotten that that girl, Cheng Meier, had mentioned this name. In her heart, Shigeo was a hero. Since he was someone she cared about, Deidara would destroy him. Even if it meant going down with him.
At that moment, Chiyo-baasama rushed over. She had already eliminated the figure that looked exactly like her.
The other three Suna shinobi were still fighting their shadows. They would only be free after they surpassed their current selves and killed the clones that copied them.
When Chiyo-baasama saw the youth hovering in the air and heard what Sasori said, she understood at once. He was Shigeo. In the shinobi world, those who could float unaided were, aside from Ōnoki, only him.
She didn't know why he had appeared here, but with him present, at least they had a chance to get out alive.
"Where's Maki?" She glanced around but didn't see him. Only a few scraps of Suna uniforms and some flecks of blood foam drifted on the gorge's water.
"Dead," came Shigeo's low reply.
No wonder Shigeo had told him to hold this position. The enemy inside had been ready. Anyone lacking the ability to match them would find only a dead end.
Across the way, Sasori—hidden within Hiruko—was staring at Chiyo as well. "Granny… long time no see."
Eighteen years. They had been apart for eighteen years. Memories surfaced for both of them. Chiyo didn't know why he had defected from Suna, but Sasori knew very well—some of his research had never been recognized by the village. For example, human puppets…
Chiyo's gaze locked on him. Her fingers slowly curled into a fist. "Yes. Long time. Still using the old puppet?"
Hiruko—she had seen this puppet eighteen years ago.
"Kukuku… this is just one of many. My collection is vast. Do you know how I make human puppets? The process is delightful. First remove the internal organs, then strip the skin and wash the blood clean. After preservation treatments, install various devices and traps, and you have an excellent puppet. As it happens, I'm short two to complete my set of three hundred. Today, you and he will be mine."
Sasori's scorpion tail pointed at Shigeo drifting in the sky. Excitement colored his voice.
Shigeo frowned slightly and spoke softly. "You want to kill me? That depends on whether you have what it takes."
He shot forward. The wooden dragon reared, its massive claws raking down.
Hiruko spewed Katon (Fire Release). The wooden dragon caught flame. Suiton (Water Release) thrust like a spear and gouged its body. But the dragon felt no pain and kept charging.
Earlier, before she knew Shigeo's identity, Chiyo-baasama had been tense. Now, with someone to rely on, the tension bled away. She even believed that Sasori would lose miserably today.
"Left side!" Chiyo watched Sasori on the field and called a warning to Shigeo.
"Today I'll finish you with Mokuton." Shigeo was also experimenting. He obviously could have used other methods, but today he wanted to subdue Sasori with Mokuton alone.
Several enormous hidden weapons snapped out, hacking at the wooden dragon's waist. The dragon crashed to the ground and fell apart into timber.
Right then, a wooden spike nailed into Hiruko and detonated at once—Mokuton: Sashiki no Jutsu (Cutting Technique).
The wooden dragon hadn't fallen to Sasori at all. It had been a lure. Its task finished, the follow-up hit landed. Mokuton: Sashiki no Jutsu blew Hiruko open. Inside, Sasori stared back in shock. He had thought his taunts would stop the use of Magnet Release and boost his odds. He hadn't expected the opponent's Mokuton to be this overwhelming.
(End of Chapter)
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