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—Magnet Release: Iron Sand World Method!
BAM!
The iron sand exploded in the air, transforming into countless massive, elongated spikes that crisscrossed, weaving a deadly lattice. It was a technique of relentless pursuit, an absolute killing field that maximized attack range, restraint, and density simultaneously. This was the undisputed pinnacle of magnet release, a murderous art in its truest form.
It was the final moment. Drawing power from the White Cursed Seal to overcome the poison, Sasuke channeled the sublimated Wood Release energy within him. With a single seal, he unleashed it all in one furious burst…!
—Wood Release: Advent of a World of Trees!
Though he stood on water, the technique found its anchor. ROAR! From the silt and mud of the riverbed, a forest erupted. Trees, vines, and roots surged upward in unison, shattering the water's surface and rising into a towering canopy in an instant.
Sasori's face twisted with fury. "This Wood Release… he was hiding his strength before? No. His power surged in an instant. Not only did he overcome the poison, but he produced Wood Release capable of rivaling the Iron Sand World Method! Damn you, Orochimaru! What exactly have you done to him?!"
He drove the Iron Sand World Method to war against the forest.
But no matter how the iron sand twisted and stabbed, it could not pierce the layered wooden defenses. As the forest expanded, Sasori was even forced back from the core of the battlefield.
"Don't get ahead of yourself!"
Sasori snarled, his ten puppet strings dancing. The Third Kazekage flapped its iron sand wings, weaving effortlessly between the sand and the trees. CLICK! CLICK! From the puppet's left arm mechanism, a massive blade tipped with lethal poison snapped out, aimed squarely at Sasuke's head.
Sasuke sensed the intent and immediately commanded the surrounding trees to intercept.
Outside the forest, Sasori's ten fingers performed a ghostly ballet, the strings moving so fast they left afterimages.
Guided by the ten leaping chakra threads, the Third Kazekage became a whirlwind of blades. Splinters of wood flew everywhere in its unstoppable advance.
But the forest was boundless. For every tree felled, ten more surged forward.
CRACK! CRACK!
Pushing relentlessly, the tip of the poison blade finally snapped. Sasori paid it no mind. His fingers became a blur. The Third Kazekage's assault grew even more ferocious.
The sheer quality of the puppet's mechanisms and the unparalleled skill of its master allowed him to carve a path through the inner forest—one man, one blade.
The last blocking tree was severed, but the blade was now ground down to a stump.
SWISH!
Sasori brought his hands together. The Third Kazekage's Thousand-Arms mechanism activated once more. But this time, what shot from its arms wasn't poison mist—it was a sky-blotting hail of kunai.
Sasuke's eyes blazed.
The ribcage of the Susano'o stood tall once more, blocking every single kunai.
But this wasn't for defense. This was for attack.
SCREECH! Over the ribs, tendons wrapped and flesh formed. The Susano'o entered its second stage.
Kabuto, observing from the periphery: "That form of the Susano'o…!"
Orochimaru smiled, reminiscing. "Is it coming? The long-awaited—'Ame no Makakoyumi'!"
WHOOSH!
A longbow materialized in the Susano'o's right hand. An arrow grew in its left. It drew the bow, nocked the arrow. The target: the Third Kazekage puppet, twenty meters away.
"Damn it!"
Cursing under his breath outside the forest, Sasori saw it.
From the gaps in the now-stagnant outer trees, iron sand converged frantically, pouring without reserve into a massive defensive wall that unfolded before the Third Kazekage.
—Divine Weapon: Ame no Makakoyumi!
BOOM!
The Susano'o loosed its arrow. The iron sand wall, which had perfectly defended against a previous assault, was shattered in a single shot. The Third Kazekage had nowhere to hide.
"The iron sand's defense truly was formidable…"
Sasuke's gaze was distant.
"So then, what will you do about the second arrow?"
As he spoke, the Susano'o drew its bow once more.
BOOM! Before the scattered sand could reform its defense, the second arrow followed. Stripped of its iron sand protection, the Third Kazekage puppet shattered under the impact. Countless broken components scattered across the water's surface, beyond any repair.
Sasori's proudest masterpiece was ended. Just like that.
Splash… splash…
The forest sank into the depths. Sasuke advanced, cradled within his Susano'o.
On the other side, Sasori hung his head, murmuring. "I see. Sasuke Uchiha… I'll admit it. Of all the shinobi I've met in my life, at your age, with this level of power… you are the first."
His hand slowly rose to the collar of his Akatsuki cloak.
"To fight with my own body… for the first time since my battle to join the Akatsuki…"
SWISH! He tore off the cloak and flung it into the river.
Sasuke's footsteps jerked to a halt. Anyone… anyone who didn't already know Sasori's secret, seeing that body for the first time, would naturally have this reaction.
Sasuke was no exception.
"He actually… turned himself into a human puppet?"
Sasuke's Sharingan scanned the puppet body, instantly discerning its core secret.
"That flesh core in his chest… it has a living chakra signature distinct from the puppet body. I see. That must be the 'core' of the puppet form. I've seen similar technology in the cyborgs that Amado later created for Kara. To think Sasori's consciousness was so ahead of its time… no, perhaps Amado was inspired by him."
A new question arose.
"The cyborgs of Kara only implanted a mobile regenerative core inside a body that still required organs to function. But aside from that flesh core, Sasori has truly hollowed out his own organs, including his brain. Can that single core alone grant a puppet a living person's thoughts and mobility? Perhaps his puppet art holds another mystery…"
He naturally arrived at the only plausible explanation…
"His soul… or perhaps, some powerful conviction that allows his spirit to possess the puppet."
"That's an even greater achievement than a simple chakra flesh core."
"…Did Sakura of my past life really fight something like this?"
"In any case… that flesh core is the weakness of Sasori's puppet body, right?"
Click.
A steel cable, coiled like intestines within Sasori's abdomen, extended its sharp tip to rest on the water's surface. Sasori planted his feet on two bends of the cable. From his lower back, two spiral blades snapped out.
He assumed the same stance as when he faced Sakura and Chiyo in Sasuke's past life, but his mindset was utterly different now.
He acknowledged Sasuke as a true rival, a peer.
"My flesh core's weakness is laid bare before the Sharingan. His varied ninjutsu and attack methods give him an overwhelming advantage in close combat…"
"Hmph… it seems I can't fight by the usual rules."
"My key to victory is to drain his strength to the maximum, ensuring he can't use the Susano'o or Wood Release."
SWISH! A string from his fingertip hooked the third scroll on his back rack.
Orochimaru's expression shifted. "Oh? It seems Sasori isn't entirely inflexible. He intends to use that technique here. Well then, Sasuke… how will you respond?"
SHHHH——!!
From the unfurled scroll, countless black shadows shot into the sky, transforming into a sky-covering army of puppets.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "That number…!"
Sasori swept his bangs aside. "Feel honored, Sasuke Uchiha. This is the puppet army that once crushed a nation…"
—Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets!
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