Chapter 336: The New-Style Puppet Master Sasori Appears
Naruto made up his mind, he was going to save Kakashi.
It was just like when he had resolved to save Sasuke.
Sasuke had gone willingly too, but Naruto had still been ready to break all four of his limbs just to bring him back. Now, with Kakashi-sensei, it was the same.
"I'd rather break all five of Kakashi-sensei's limbs than fail to bring him back to Konoha!"
Naruto made a grand declaration.
…Well, he adjusted it a bit, something he picked up from Sasuke.
And it made perfect sense. If all five limbs were broken, there'd be no need to worry about Kakashi-sensei being defiled by Granny Chiyo.
"You don't seriously think breaking five limbs would guarantee Kakashi's 'purity', do you?"
Ajisai mercilessly shattered Naruto's passionate resolve with cold facts.
"You should know, Granny Chiyo is a puppet master. Forget five broken limbs, even if Kakashi was a vegetable, she could still control him with chakra threads."
Naruto calmed down and turned to look at Team 8.
"Kiba, Shino, Hinata, this mission is too dangerous. I can't take you with me."
"We weren't planning to go anyway."
Kiba rolled his eyes.
Shino's expression was hidden behind his sunglasses.
As for Hinata… well, she had the Byakugan.
"Alright."
Naruto nodded, preparing to depart.
"Wait. Let us help you."
Ajisai stopped him.
Letting him travel all the way to the Sunagakure Village on his own would be a complete waste of time.
They could just use the Flying Thunder God Formation to send him there instantly.
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The Sunagakure Village was a good place. After the Dragon Vein had been removed, the land began to recover, centering around where it once was. However, the process was slow, and vast desert regions still remained.
These deserts were ideal for testing large-scale destructive ninjutsu and for ninja battles.
After all, the Land of Rain was a small country. Its territory was so limited that a single Tailed Beast Bomb could potentially travel from one end to the other.
After bringing Naruto to a boundless desert, Ajisai and the others immediately left, not giving him the slightest chance to reconsider.
"Hm?"
Naruto noticed two people sitting across from him. One of them, he recognized.
"Shiromo-nii, you…"
"No need to ask, Naruto," Shiromo interrupted. "I'm the officiant for Chiyo and Kakashi's wedding. I'm the one who sent Kakashi photos of Granny Chiyo in a swimsuit and convinced him to marry into her family."
"…Damn it! Even if it's you, Shiromo-nii, I'm still going to save Kakashi-sensei! I'm not the same as before!"
Clearly, after mastering Sage Mode and the Nine-Tails' power, Naruto's confidence had reached an all-time high.
Even though he hadn't yet developed the Rasenshuriken or any true offensive ninjutsu techniques.
"Of course, I can fight you," Shiromo said, "But before that, you'll have to defeat him."
As he finished speaking, the red-haired Sasori of the Red Sand slowly stood up, dusted off his pants, and stepped forward.
Sasori said nothing. He simply stared at Naruto with an expressionless face.
Sasori's emotions had been restored, but only to the extent necessary for functionality. That didn't mean he suddenly became expressive.
"Who is he?"
"He's from the bride's side."
"…?"
Naruto couldn't quite process what "from the bride's side" meant.
"He's Granny Chiyo's grandson."
Shiromo knew Naruto's limited knowledge often required extra explanation.
"Hey, Red-Haired guy, are you really willing to let Kakashi-sensei have a baby with your grandma, just so you can end up with a 'baby step-dad'?
After understanding, Naruto immediately tried to persuade Sasori.
"Don't try talk-no-jutsu on me. It won't work. Defeat me first, then you might have a chance to stop this."
Sasori remained expressionless.
With a simple wave of his hand, countless puppets rose from the sand.
Some were made of steel, others of wood.
But wooden didn't mean weaker.
On the contrary, wooden puppets were more advanced.
These were crafted from remnants of the Divine Tree.
Compared to ordinary wooden puppets from the past, their durability was on an entirely different level.
Naruto had barely encountered puppet masters before. The only one he knew was Kankuro, and he had never really paid attention to Kankuro's fights.
If someone knowledgeable about puppet masters were standing here, they would immediately notice a major issue.
Where were the chakra threads?
Puppet masters relied on chakra threads to control their puppets. These threads had extremely high chakra density, comparable to a ninja's chakra output during combat, making them visibly blue.
But now, every puppet Sasori had "pulled" from the sand had nothing behind it, completely clean.
This was one of Sasori's innovations.
Chakra threads were a major weakness for puppet masters.
If the threads existed, they could be cut, temporarily severing control over the puppets, a fatal flaw in battle.
The solution was simple: don't use chakra threads at all.
But then how would the puppets be controlled?
The answer was equally simple, and it also solved another major problem.
Even after turning himself into a human puppet, Sasori still faced a limitation. His strongest technique, the "Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets", could only control one hundred puppets, and even then, only for basic attacks. Fine, precise control was impossible.
At one point, after seeing computers, Sasori had considered using them to assist with control.
But he quickly discovered a simpler method, one that even preserved emotional functionality.
The Multi Shadow Clone Technique.
By placing a shadow clone inside each puppet, he could eliminate the need for chakra threads, solve the energy consumption and control issues, and achieve precise simultaneous manipulation.
As for how to place shadow clones, while shadow clones could replicate clothing, items, even Naruto's cup, it was also possible to reduce chakra usage and omit certain details during replication.
This made sense. Otherwise, if one touched the ground while forming hand seals, would they end up duplicating the entire planet?
After obtaining training methods from the Second Hokage, Sasori implemented this idea.
His true body consisted of only a single heart.
So the most efficient method was to replicate just that, a heart.
Then, using summoning scrolls embedded within each puppet, he transferred the heart into them.
"So many puppets, let's go, Kurama!"
After a brief moment of surprise, Naruto clapped his hands excitedly and immediately entered Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
In Naruto's eyes, his true opponent was Shiromo. Sasori was just a side obstacle.
Seeing Naruto go all-out right from the start, both Shiromo and Sasori were momentarily speechless.
Technically, there was nothing wrong with it. When a lion hunts a rabbit, it uses its full strength. Using one's strongest move to instantly defeat one's opponent is the smartest strategy.
But Naruto clearly wasn't doing it out of calculated wisdom.
He had simply gotten used to relying on overwhelming power, skipping Sage Mode entirely and going straight into "easy mode."
"In that case…"
Sasori made a pulling motion. Instantly, all the puppets shattered, transforming into countless parts that gathered around him.
"This is the super-large puppet I created based on Kinkaku and Ginkaku of the Kumogakure Village, who once consumed the Nine-Tails' flesh, Steel Horn."
For some reason, upon hearing that name, Naruto felt a faint ache in his backside.
(End of this chapter)