When Rei Kaguya, far away in Kirigakure, was observing Orochimaru's cultivation experiment and casually took Sasori of the Red Sand's regeneration core from the mouth of one of the large summoning snakes he had distributed to several key subordinates for communication, he was honestly a little confused.
What was going on?
Why had someone suddenly sent him what looked like a heart without any context?
However, after seeing the character "Sasori" on the regeneration core, as well as the intelligence scroll delivered by another large summoning snake, Rei finally understood the full sequence of events.
"Not bad, that kid Shisui… He actually touched the threshold of senjutsu himself while under the restraint of the Cursed Seal of Heaven. Good, good. No wonder he had the ability to solo-kill Sasori of the Red Sand. I originally thought we would have to wait until Nagato met up with him before following the clues the other side deliberately exposed and knocking on their doors one by one."
Orochimaru, who was examining the growth progress of the new experimental subject, naturally stopped what he was doing after hearing Sasori of the Red Sand's name.
His gaze shifted to the strange-looking regeneration core in Rei's hand, and his long, narrow eyes slowly narrowed into slits.
"Sasori of the Red Sand? That rogue puppeteer from Sunagakure?"
"That's right. Sasori of the Red Sand."
Rei casually tossed and caught Sasori's regeneration core, looking at Orochimaru, whose expression was like a venomous snake discovering prey, with great interest.
"What? Do you have some conflict or grudge with him?"
"We clashed twice when I was still serving Konoha, that is all."
Orochimaru very naturally revealed the only connection between himself and Sasori while curiously observing the slowly beating regeneration core.
"I heard he possesses a unique secret technique for making puppets. Is this the product of that technique?"
"It should count, I suppose?"
Rei shook his head.
"According to Shisui, Sasori mastered a technique that can turn living people into puppets while completely preserving their Kekkei Genkai and the ninjutsu they possessed in life. The missing Aoba Yuki was turned into a human puppet by him, then damaged during the battle between Shisui and Sasori."
"Oh? That truly is remarkable technology…"
Orochimaru nodded with keen interest.
"A puppet capable of preserving Kekkei Genkai and the ninjutsu of its living body? It certainly sounds like the ultimate technique pursued by Sunagakure's puppeteers…"
"But Sasori is not merely obsessed in the ordinary sense. Not only did he transform himself into a human puppet, he also turned the Third Kazekage into one while he was at it…"
Rei shook his head and began thinking about how to deal with this S-rank rogue ninja who had killed a Kirigakure jonin and carried countless blood debts on his hands.
Meanwhile, after hearing the Third Kazekage's name, Orochimaru licked his lips and said thoughtfully, "Oh? So the Third Kazekage's corpse was in Sasori's hands? No wonder Sunagakure searched with all its might back then and still failed to find any trace of him…"
"I remember the beginning of the Third Shinobi World War was the disappearance of the Third Kazekage, which forced Sunagakure to shift its internal conflicts outward, right?"
Rei curled his lip.
"In a certain sense, Sasori of the Red Sand was the fuse that ignited the Third Shinobi World War."
"Then how do you plan to handle him, Rei-kun?"
Orochimaru looked at Sasori's regeneration core with ill intent.
"This heart-like piece of flesh should be the special organ he uses to generate chakra and maintain puppet movement after transforming himself into a human puppet, yes?"
"Sharp eye, Orochimaru."
Rei was not surprised Orochimaru could deduce that from the information he had revealed.
After all, Orochimaru had fought puppeteers from Sunagakure before. He knew very well that puppets were tools that relied on the puppeteer's chakra supply to move.
No matter how absurd and ahead of its time Sasori's human puppet technique was, it still could not escape the core issue of needing a chakra supply for the puppet.
"But this thing is not just an organ that generates chakra. According to Shisui, this thing is somewhat similar to your Cursed Seal of Heaven. Both are special existences that entrust one's chakra and memories to something else. You can be reborn from the Cursed Seal of Heaven through the body of a subordinate you planted it on, along with part of your own flesh. As for Sasori, he can parasitize any puppet he comes into contact with and directly transform the eroded puppet back into Sasori of the Red Sand."
Rei paused, looking at Orochimaru, whose expression had not changed much, as if he had long since known that Rei knew about this matter.
"Do all of you people doing scientific research in the shinobi world enjoy messing around with immortality-related things?"
"After witnessing the cruelty of war and the fragility of life, who would not want to possess an ageless, undying, perfect body?"
Orochimaru spread his hands. His always gloomy and deep pale face actually showed a rare trace of sincerity and frankness.
"Only those whose bellies are full have leisure to study etiquette. Those who master etiquette and the right to speak will naturally long for power. And those who obtain power will eventually surrender to the temptation of eternal life… Do not tell me you have never considered becoming the eternal and sole ruler of the shinobi world after unifying it, Rei-kun."
"I truly have not."
Rei shook his head and rubbed his brow.
"To be honest, I am already beginning to feel tired of daily government affairs and reforms that must be steered by me. If not for the fact that this is a story I started myself, I might have already thrown everything aside and gone off to be a lone wolf living freely. You want me to become the eternal babysitter of the entire shinobi world? Spare me."
"Heh, heh, heh. Chatting with you is always so interesting, Rei-kun…"
Orochimaru smiled faintly and refocused his gaze on Sasori of the Red Sand's regeneration core.
"But from the look of you, you do not plan to destroy Sasori of the Red Sand?"
"I need to interrogate him for the information he knows first."
Rei shrugged.
"As for how to deal with Sasori of the Red Sand afterward, and the technology he possesses, I have not thought it through yet… After all, with this kind of novel chakra technology, without the founder himself participating, we might not necessarily be able to make it work. Besides, when it comes to puppets and chakra power sources, I have another guess I want him to verify."
"Hey, hey, is Kirigakure going to turn into a rogue ninja shelter, Rei-kun?"
Orochimaru leaned backward in an exaggerated motion.
"Let us set aside me and Anko for the moment. If Shisui Uchiha's true situation is exposed, he will definitely become an S-rank rogue ninja wanted by Konoha. Now you want to add another S-rank rogue scorpion like Sasori of the Red Sand, who has just formed a direct grudge with Kirigakure? Can a Kirigakure like that still become the light of the shinobi world you outlined in your blueprint?"
"Kirigakure is not Konoha. There is no glorious and righteous Will of Water that needs to be inherited."
Rei's mood did not fluctuate at all. He even felt like laughing.
He touched his smooth chin and narrowed his eyes with a faint smile.
"Besides, what can truly make a shinobi village become the light of the shinobi world has never been ideology, peace, or justice. It is productive power higher than that of other nations and shinobi villages, along with a matching relationship of production and distribution.
"If keeping Sasori of the Red Sand alive truly allows us to complete the upgrade and transformation of production relations faster, as I suspect… then you may think he would have been better off dying here today, Orochimaru."
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