"Damn rogue ninja, watch how I finish you off!"
A young Sand ninja, looking incredibly incensed, charged directly at Sasori.
"Wait!"
Yuki reached out to stop him, but he was already too late.
Watching the vigorous young ninja, Sasori gave a faint smile and manipulated his puppets to launch an attack.
"Fire Style: Floral Flare!"
Under Sasori's control, one puppet suddenly opened its mouth, and chakra quickly condensed into a ball of scorching flames that surged forth.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
Another puppet opened its mouth as well, exhaling a powerful blast of air that merged into the flames released by the first puppet.
Consequently, the power of the flames was amplified several times over, rushing toward the enemy like a sea of fire.
The hotheaded young ninja clearly hadn't expected the power of this move to be so immense; he couldn't hold out for more than a few seconds before being swallowed by the fire.
Seeing this, Yuki clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "Damn it, the rumors that Sasori of the Red Sand can turn people into puppets while preserving their living abilities are actually true!"
The other ninjas, hearing this and seeing their brutally killed comrade, also looked grim.
Fortunately, another Jonin stepped forward and said, "Even if he can control ten puppets, there are still seventeen of us. As long as we work together, we can definitely defeat that guy!"
"That's right!"
The Sand ninjas' confidence rallied. They used their respective ninjutsu and puppets to launch a coordinated assault on Sasori.
However, no matter how they attacked, the young Sasori easily manipulated his ten puppets, using various ninjutsu to intercept their strikes with ease.
In Sasori's hands, these puppets showed none of the clunkiness of dead objects. They were like real people—specifically, real people who coordinated perfectly and shared a single mind!
The cooperation between them was absolutely flawless.
"Destroy his puppets first!"
Yuki narrowed his eyes. Sasori's manipulation was too exquisite; the puppets were like his own limbs.
Nevertheless, the Sand ninjas held the numerical advantage. They could slowly pick off the puppets before attacking the main body.
"I'll pin down that puppet."
Another Hidden Sand Jonin stepped out. At the moment one of Sasori's puppets landed, he used Earth Style ninjutsu to turn the sand into a swamp, trapping it.
Yuki then closed in immediately, his short sword enveloped in Wind Style chakra, and thrust it into the puppet before him.
Looking at the once-familiar face, Yuki hissed through gritted teeth, "Old friend, I'm sending you back!"
The Wind Style chakra suddenly erupting from the short sword instantly sliced the puppet into fragments.
While Sasori's puppets worked closely together, the Sand ninjas ultimately possessed superior numbers. Under the weight of those numbers, they actually managed to suppress Sasori's collection of ten.
Aside from the puppet Yuki destroyed, another was crushed through the Sand ninjas' teamwork.
Watching his dwindling number of puppets, Sasori did not panic in the least. He raised his hands and slowly formed a seal.
Suddenly, a formula appeared on the shattered puppet fragments.
"Exploding Flame Formation."
As Sasori finished the seal, a horrific explosion instantly engulfed the two Sand ninjas near the puppet.
Once the smoke cleared, the two ninjas had been turned to charcoal.
Having lost two puppets, Sasori simply pulled out another scroll and summoned two replacements.
The collection of ten was once again complete.
This sight caused the Sand ninjas' hearts to sink into an abyss.
Their own numbers were decreasing as they fought, while the opponent's stayed the same. How were they supposed to win?
Seeing this, Yuki had no choice but to change strategies.
"He can only control ten puppets at the same time. You guys hold those puppets back; I'm going to take out his main body!"
"Understood."
The Sand ninjas launched a fierce assault on the puppets. Meanwhile, Yuki took the opportunity to burst forward at his maximum speed toward Sasori.
"Wind Style: Gale Blade!"
High-velocity air currents attached to the short sword in Yuki's hand, greatly enhancing the power of the slash.
Facing the incoming Yuki, Sasori's face remained devoid of panic.
With a flick of his palm, he actually abandoned control over his puppets.
The chakra threads connected to five of the puppets snapped instantly. Like whipping lashes, they redirected toward Yuki, who was rushing at the main body.
"Oh no!"
A very bad thought flashed through Yuki's mind.
Sure enough, those five chakra threads landed precisely on his body.
Immediately afterward, an incredibly powerful force emerged from the threads, forcing his body to twist violently.
"Get away!"
Yuki shouted to the ninjas beside him.
Unfortunately, it was too late. As he suddenly spun around, a heavily charged slash was unleashed under Sasori's control. The surging air currents pierced through his nearby teammate like a fierce dragon!
A clean cut!
Yuki had killed his own teammate with his own hands.
The scene suddenly fell into a dead silence.
"Everyone, stay away from me! My body is being controlled by the enemy!" Yuki shouted tensely.
Even for Sand ninjas, who were traditionally skilled in puppetry, none had imagined that Sasori's mastery in this field had reached such a level that he could use chakra threads to control a living person's body.
However, while Sasori had taken control of Yuki, he had paid a price.
For instance, the other five puppets had quietly collapsed after losing the control of Sasori's chakra threads.
As expected, controlling puppets with a human body has great limits.
Sasori let out a sigh.
There was no way around it; as a human, he only had ten fingers. Even if he could use one chakra thread to control one puppet, he could only manage ten at most.
This was already the limit of a puppeteer.
If he wanted to transcend this limit, he would either need to grow more fingers or change the method of controlling puppets altogether...
Regardless, those were not things he should be thinking about right now.
Sasori turned to look at Hidan and Simu. If he couldn't resolve these pursuers beautifully, Senior Simu would likely be disappointed.
In order not to let Simu, a senior worthy of his respect, down, Sasori prepared to reveal his true strength.
He voluntarily gave up control over the other five puppets and instead connected to a puppet that had been hidden behind him all along.
With the appearance of that black-haired puppet, every Sand ninja present fell into shock once again.
Because that figure was the Third Kazekage, a person they knew all too well!
This was the strongest Kazekage in the history of their Hidden Sand Village. Had he truly been turned into a Human Puppet by this guy Sasori?
Wait—if that was the case, didn't that mean Sasori could use the Third Kazekage's Magnet Style?
While Yuki's face was filled with terror, countless iron sands had already surged up. A terrifying wave of iron sand, blotting out the sun, came crashing down upon them!