Just as Orochimaru finished casting Edo Tensei, Deidara and Sasori arrived at the location Kabuto had provided.
Emerging side by side from a lush forest, they came upon a vast, gray-green canyon blanketed in thick mist.
Standing at the canyon's edge, Deidara adjusted the mini-scope on his left eye.
"Hey hey hey, Sasori-senpai… I can't see a damn thing. Is this base of yours gonna be empty again? Hmm?"
Sasori, hidden within Hiruko, didn't respond right away. He carefully scanned the canyon cliffs before speaking.
"This time… it should be real. I can already smell that snake's stench."
Deidara's expression shifted slightly. He took a few steps back into an open area and reached into his hip pouch. After a few squelching sounds, he pulled out a tiny clay bird and tossed it.
Poof!
In a puff of smoke, the mini bird expanded into a massive two-meter-winged clay beast.
Deidara grinned with excitement and leapt onto its back.
"Sasori-senpai, you don't even have a sense of smell anymore, do you? Hmm."
Hiruko's tail flicked out menacingly from behind in response.
"Whoa, chill—Sasori-senpai…"
Deidara chuckled awkwardly, but before he could say more, Sasori suddenly launched Hiruko like a flea to the side. His scorpion-like tail extended several times in length and thrust deep into the fog.
Deidara's pupils contracted. His clay bird flapped its wings hard and shot into the sky just in time. From above, his left-eye scope clearly caught several massive fireballs streaking toward the spot they had just been standing on.
The fireballs swirled and fused midair, rapidly growing in size.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The explosion blasted through the mist. While Deidara couldn't spot Sasori through the haze, his scope showed the fused fireball had swelled to five meters across before detonating violently.
"Heh… this guy knows real art. Hmm!"
Grinning, Deidara formed two small clay birds, one in each hand—ready to show the enemy some true art as soon as Sasori gave the signal.
Down in the canyon, Sasori had already emerged from Hiruko and summoned his Third Kazekage puppet. A wall of Iron Sand formed around him for defense.
But Sasori remained unusually tense.
That fire release technique…
No—Scorch Release.
That's Yakura's kekkei genkai…
But she's been dead for years.
Troubled by the thought, Sasori launched into the air with his puppet, floating upward as a cloud of Iron Sand began to gather around him.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Drizzle!"
The swirling Iron Sand transformed into a storm of sharp black needles that rained down toward where the fireballs had originated.
At the same time, the Third Kazekage puppet's black wings expanded dramatically. Sasori flicked his finger, sending it soaring forward. With a powerful flap of its wings, the mist began to clear.
Moments later, two hazy silhouettes walked forward from within the fog.
As the mist fully dispersed, Sasori finally saw them clearly.
"What the hell?! That really is Yakura—and the other one is the real Third Kazekage?!"
Stunned, Sasori immediately recalled his puppet.
From the air, Deidara also spotted them and blinked in confusion.
"Wait… isn't the Third Kazekage supposed to be your puppet, Sasori-senpai?"
Yakura and the Third Kazekage stopped once they reached a certain distance.
Yakura looked up at the sky, her lips curling into a sinister grin that didn't match her usual demeanor at all.
"I thought you two were just bait."
Sasori narrowed his eyes.
"That voice... you snake! What the hell is going on?!"
'Yakura' smirked.
"Guess I was wrong. Seems no one else is coming."
The Third Kazekage stepped forward, his expression twisted with rage.
"Sasori! You dare—!"
Without a word, Sasori snapped his fingers. The puppet shot forward, dragging a spinning blade from its sleeve as it raced low across the ground toward the Third Kazekage.
'Yakura' stood still, the same smirk on her face. The Third Kazekage jumped lightly into the air—but Sasori's puppet leapt after him. From its other sleeve, dozens of mechanical arms shot out, slamming into him midair.
In just two seconds, the Third Kazekage exploded into a cloud of shredded debris.
Sasori sneered.
"You snake... you're next. After I scrap these two fakes, I'll track you down."
'Yakura' tilted her head, expression unreadable.
"Is that so? Then go ahead, show me whether your soulless puppets are better—or if my forbidden jutsu is stronger. Just a heads-up: this one's immortal. And once you're both dead, I'll—huh?"
Before she could finish, a swarm of white spiders with glowing red eyes rained down from above.
"That brat with the Explosion Release..."
"Hah!"
Deidara's voice echoed—and then came the explosion.
BOOM!
A massive black cloud engulfed the area.
Deidara flew down beside Sasori on his clay bird.
"Sasori-senpai, how was that? Pretty artistic, right? That snake's done for, hmm."
But Sasori didn't look pleased. He was staring at the remains of the Third Kazekage, which were already regenerating from the lower half up.
Deidara's grin faded.
"What's going on? That guy's healing! And so is the woman!"
Sasori pulled his puppet close.
"It's not the Third's ability… I don't know what this is."
Deidara's eyes lit up.
"In that case, lemme try out that new technique I developed on the road—C4: Karura, hmm!"
Sasori hopped onto the clay bird with his puppet.
"Then let's do it. That damn snake said this was an immortal jutsu—I don't buy it. Everyone's got a weakness."
The giant clay bird soared high above. As it reached a certain altitude, Deidara's expression turned manic. He pulled out a massive chunk of clay and began to swallow it whole.
Meanwhile, the Third Kazekage had fully regenerated, and Yakura was nearly restored, missing only her head.
The Kazekage began gathering Iron Sand, forming dense black wings behind him.
But before he could attack, a massive foot came crashing down from above.
BOOM!
As the dust cleared, a 30-meter-tall giant—identical in appearance to Deidara—stood in front of them.
Yakura, now fully restored, looked up at it calmly.
"That's… a hell of a bomb."
The giant began to inflate rapidly. But Yakura didn't seem worried about dying. She just glanced up at the sky.
"That kid's Explosion Release is kinda fun."
Pfft—
"Hmm? Don't tell me it's a fake?"
"Hah!"
A moment later, another detonation rocked the canyon.
Half of Yakura's body vanished instantly.
"Ah… I see. No wonder Ryūchi Cave got involved."
Half an hour later, Deidara launched another C4: Karura and retreated with Sasori without looking back.
They had confirmed it: the people revived by Orochimaru's forbidden jutsu truly couldn't die.
Back at the scene, Orochimaru—controlling 'Yakura'—watched them depart with a satisfied smile.
"Akatsuki won't be bothering me again anytime soon."
"And Edo Tensei really is the perfect technique. As long as it's not sealed, it's practically limitless."
Beside him, the Third Kazekage turned with a scowl.
"I am the Third Kazekage!"
'Yakura' sneered coldly.
"You, a puppet toyed with by Sasori, should be used to being a pawn. Besides, I gave you a shot at revenge—what's so bad about that?"
Cracks suddenly appeared on the Kazekage's face.
"I! Am not your pawn!"
'Yakura's' expression turned serious—but before she could respond, the Kazekage's body began to crumble into dust.
When the dust settled, only the sacrificial body used for the summoning remained.
'Yakura' stepped forward—and a coffin appeared before her.
Creak—
The lid opened like a door.
She walked inside. The lid slammed shut—and vanished.
Elsewhere
At another base, Orochimaru once again retrieved the DNA sample of the Third Kazekage.
After bringing in another live test subject, he performed Edo Tensei again.
A moment later, all that remained was a corpse surrounded by dense summoning formulas.
The reincarnation failed.
Orochimaru frowned, then headed to the prisoner cells.
Anything involving souls was always fascinating.
He continued experimenting late into the night. Dozens of test subjects were sacrificed.
Eventually, Orochimaru confirmed it:
The Third Kazekage's soul could no longer be reincarnated.
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