"Don't worry..."
Akihara Kagura raised a finger.
A Chakra Black Rod slowly approached the cylindrical heart of the Red Sand Sasori, its sharp tip piercing deeply into the heart, yet strangely, no blood flowed!
"What is this!"
The Red Sand Sasori looked at his heart in disbelief.
He felt someone invading his consciousness, a technique similar to the Memory-Concealing Manipulative Sand Jutsu he often used on others; someone was trying to control him!
"This is a more powerful body..."
Akihara Kagura manipulated the visible part of the Yin Yang Release-crafted Black Rod to melt into a pool of black liquid, which slowly enveloped the body of the Red Sand Sasori.
This is another use of Yin Yang Release.
By implanting his Yin Yang Release into someone's body, he could control their movements, and the Red Sand Sasori turning his true body into a cylindrical heart had greatly assisted him...
Compared to crafting the Deva Path: Shisui, creating this Six Paths Puppet was much easier for Akihara Kagura, as it didn't even require extracting Sasori's soul to easily manipulate his will!
"Seems to be going smoothly."
Akihara Kagura's eyes gradually transformed into a pair of Rinnegan.
With the transformation of Akihara Kagura, the Human Puppet that Sasori was in also slowly changed to have Rinnegan, making this Human Puppet Sasori's body and Akihara Kagura's Asura Path!
"Rinnegan..."
"Who exactly are you..."
The Red Sand Sasori stared at Akihara Kagura's eyes in disbelief.
Wasn't the Rinnegan said to be the eyes of the Six Paths Sage, a power that only the leader of the Akatsuki had? Why did this kid from Konoha possess a pair of Rinnegan too!
"Don't you want to test your power?"
Akihara Kagura looked at the trembling heart of the Red Sand Sasori but ignored his confusion, merely manipulating Sasori to raise the Human Puppet's palm.
Click...
Click, click, click...
The palm of this Human Puppet continuously transformed until it became a sturdy gun barrel, from which countless Chakra bullets erupted!
Ratatatat!
Numerous bullet holes appeared on a wall!
With Akihara Kagura's conscious control, the gun barrel of the Human Puppet's hand rapidly retracted, transforming into a Chakra Cannon Barrel, firing a laser that instantly pierced the cave!
This is the marvel of the Yin Yang Release Chakra!
By utilizing the Yin Yang Release Chakra, internal machinery modifications can be realized, and even Akihara Kagura's true body could develop a modern weapon.
"This puppet..."
Red Sand Sasori was shocked as he looked at the weapon emerging from his body.
Was this still the puppet he had modified?
Why is this puppet so powerful? This puppet's exterior even resembles a living person's, and in this world, someone has surpassed his Puppet Master techniques!
"Who exactly... are you?"
The Red Sand Sasori looked once more at Akihara Kagura.
Even though Sasori had been conducting puppet experiments within the Akatsuki, he knew little of Akihara Kagura's background but understood that the young man before him was anything but ordinary!
"And... what is your relationship with Pain?"
Red Sand Sasori suspected a connection between Akihara Kagura and the Akatsuki's leader, Pain, given how conspicuous the Rinnegan was as a trait.
"A competitive one."
Akihara Kagura's eyes reverted to ordinary ones.
As Akihara Kagura changed, the Human Puppet's eyes also shifted to normal ones.
"You don't need to know too much now."
Akihara Kagura looked at Sasori and said gently, "You just need to know that I'm also a member of the Akatsuki. One day, I will stand beside you..."
"And before that day comes..."
Lowering his voice, Akihara Kagura whispered, "You will play my spy within the Akatsuki, acting on my will. You will remain as the Red Sand Sasori of the Akatsuki."
"Am I... a puppet?"
The Red Sand Sasori suddenly realized his situation.
The one who always liked turning others into Human Puppets finally realized that he seemed to have been made into a puppet, his voice tinged with slight resentment and anger.
"You want to make me a puppet?"
"Don't you also enjoy making others puppets?"
Akihara Kagura's retort left the Red Sand Sasori speechless.
"Don't worry, you have a lot of freedom."
"You can even retain your own will."
Akihara Kagura reassured his puppet and subordinate, then warned, "Most of the time, I won't make you do anything you dislike, so you'd better not do anything that upsets me..."
The Red Sand Sasori vaguely understood his predicament.
Akihara Kagura controlled Sasori's entire body, even held sway over his real heart, so resistance was futile.
"Moreover."
With a slight movement of his fingers, Akihara Kagura made Sasori slowly raise his arm under his control: "Now, you possess a power that you could never have achieved for yourself. You should have already witnessed the might of this puppet, right?"
"..."
The Red Sand Sasori could only nod.
Even if he didn't want to be someone's puppet, he couldn't help but be drawn to Akihara Kagura's puppet; he couldn't resist the urge to unravel this puppet's secrets!
It's a temptation no Puppet Master could forsake!
Even Red Sand Sasori couldn't reject the chance to explore this puppet's allure!
Especially since Kagura's Yin Yang Release controlled his heart, he had no other choice but to silently endure...
The Red Sand Sasori thought for a while, feeling both the immense allure and terrifying threat posed by society. It seemed impossible to alter Akihara Kagura's plans, so he accepted the arrangement for now.
"Alright, I agree with you."
"Congratulations, you made the right choice..."
Akihara Kagura raised his palm, speaking softly: "You may return to the Akatsuki, it'd be best to conceal your identity completely, never let Pain discover the Chakra Receiver I've hidden in you..."
Akihara Kagura continued listing the precautions for being a spy: "For your safety, I won't allow you to use the Rinnegan's power usually. If you're in danger, notify me in advance, I can authorize you to use my Chakra, or even summon you to my side..."
"Chakra Receiver..."
The Red Sand Sasori's eyes narrowed, suddenly realizing something: "Could the Akatsuki's leader Pain... also be your puppet?"
"Of course not."
Akihara Kagura shook his head, unbothered by revealing secrets about his Six Paths Puppet: "The Akatsuki's leader Pain is someone else's puppet, who could technically be considered my senior?"
"So... there are two pairs of Rinnegan in the Ninja World?"
The Red Sand Sasori was shocked by this and felt a jolt through his heart.
Because Sasori had witnessed the immense power of those Rinnegan firsthand.
The Konoha brat was a disciple of Pain's mastermind; both possessed Rinnegan...
The Red Sand Sasori speculated wildly about the relationship between Akihara Kagura and Pain, pondering whether something significant had occurred between them. Why else would this Konoha kid embed himself in the Akatsuki as a spy?
"Stop overthinking it."
Guessing Sasori's thoughts, Akihara Kagura said, "Like you, I'm also a member of Akatsuki, but it appears the Akatsuki's structure has some discrepancies. Wouldn't someone with my abilities be more than just a Konoha spy, right?"
"Yes..."
The Red Sand Sasori nodded instinctively, then questioned, "How could a disciple of one of the Sannin of Konoha, Jiraiya, merely be an ordinary Konoha spy?"
"Barely a Hokage candidate of Konoha..."
Akihara Kagura sighed, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied with his identity.
"..."
The Red Sand Sasori nodded, not finding anything odd about the spy.
After all, the Red Sand Sasori had once been a guard for the Third Kazekage, a candidate for Kazekage, with hopes of succeeding as Kazekage.
Yet Sasori ultimately murdered the Third Kazekage to become the strongest Puppet Master, opting to become a traitorous ninja.
"Then, let's hope we have a pleasant time working together in the future."
Akihara Kagura grasped his Asura Path Puppet, treating him as though he were still alive: "For now, you may need to continue using the Red Sand Sasori name, but in the future, more will remember your new name, Asura Path: Sasori!"