The one who attacked Uzumaki Village was Orochimaru, a ninja powerhouse whose fame and strength were comparable to the Five Kage.
Jiraiya, who managed to stop Orochimaru's assault and force him to retreat, had to be at least a ninja of the same level. Just thinking about it made Zabuza's scalp tingle.
But under Naruto's pressure, Zabuza could only bite the bullet and say with a straight face:
"Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, was pushed back by you… yet you claim to be just a Chunin from some tiny ninja village? That identity doesn't really match, does it?"
After being seen through by Zabuza, Jiraiya simply smiled.
"I also don't believe that one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist came all the way to the Land of Whirlpools just for tourism. There aren't exactly any scenic attractions here."
Zabuza stopped looking at Jiraiya and fell silent.
After a moment, Jiraiya said meaningfully:
"Since everyone here clearly has a mission, there's no need to expose each other. It's better to keep our identities hidden and quietly finish our work."
After speaking, Jiraiya rushed toward Shisui Uchiha. He wanted to figure out the identity of that puppet master.
After Jiraiya left, Zabuza looked at Naruto again.
Naruto said calmly, "The threat is temporarily gone. Let's see what this uninvited guest is planning."
Zabuza nodded again, secretly regretting that he had agreed to come to the Land of Whirlpools in the first place.
This place wasn't a battlefield.
It was a damn fight between gods.
As time passed, the battle between Shisui and Sasori of the Red Sand reached a fever pitch.
Both of them had already used their secret techniques, yet neither could gain the upper hand. They could only search for flaws in each other's defenses, waiting for the moment to land a decisive blow.
Clang!
Using the Sharingan's dynamic vision, Shisui narrowly avoided the puppet's attack.
Unlike ordinary metal puppets, human puppets were made from the corpses of ninjas and could even use the ninjutsu those ninjas had in life. Shisui had only heard rumors about such puppets before—he never expected to actually encounter one.
After cutting a chakra thread, Shisui stared closely at Hiruko, watching the severed thread reconnect itself.
And there was nothing he could do about it.
For a ninja who relied on speed and genjutsu, this opponent was a nightmare. The puppet wasn't just resistant to slashing—it was also immune to illusions.
It was basically the perfect counter.
Fortunately, he wasn't fighting alone.
Besides his fellow clan members supporting him, there were also powerful Uzumaki allies backing them up.
Although that Uzumaki powerhouse had never appeared in front of him, Shisui could clearly sense the presence of that chakra. If he had to guess, it was probably Master Menma's hidden safeguard for the village.
Thinking of this, Shisui gradually abandoned his cautious fighting style and began attacking aggressively.
As long as he could locate the opponent's real body, even using Izanagi once would be worth it.
The clan needed a victory.
Otherwise, even if Menma never mentioned it, the Uchiha clan would still feel indebted and would never truly integrate into this new ninja village.
And the consequences of failing to integrate…
The Uchiha had already experienced that once.
Step by step, they had been pushed out of the center of power until they couldn't even protect their own clan district—reduced to nothing more than wandering survivors.
Shisui took a deep breath. His abdomen expanded as he gathered chakra, which then burst from his mouth.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Flames roared across the battlefield.
Using the blazing fire as cover, Shisui rushed forward. His figure split into more than a dozen afterimages as he continuously attacked Hiruko's weak points until he finally severed its joints.
Bang!
Hiruko shattered into countless pieces, revealing the true body of Sasori.
Sasori's real body appeared to be that of a beautiful red-haired boy.
But after seeing it, Shisui couldn't hide his shock.
He never expected that the opponent had actually transformed his own body into a puppet.
That level of madness was beyond normal comprehension.
After being forced to reveal himself, Sasori's expression also became extremely ugly.
Except for a battle with Konan many years ago, he had never exposed his true body to anyone.
Shisui was the first.
If he could turn this Uchiha prodigy into a puppet, it would definitely become one of the finest pieces in his collection.
With a flick of his fingers, ten chakra threads shot out from Sasori's hands, controlling more than a dozen puppets that attacked Shisui simultaneously.
At that moment—
Jiraiya suddenly dashed across the battlefield and attacked Sasori from behind.
A rapidly spinning Rasengan slammed directly into Sasori's body, instantly blowing it apart.
The sudden change came too quickly for Sasori to react.
But as long as puppets still existed, a puppet master was never truly defeated.
Guided by the puppet core, Sasori's body quickly reassembled itself. A sharp blade shot out and stabbed toward Jiraiya's back—
But it stopped halfway.
Jiraiya's hair had hardened like steel, completely blocking the attack.
After the strike failed, Sasori immediately pulled back.
Looking around and realizing that Orochimaru had already disappeared, Sasori frowned. Then he placed several puppets in front of him as protection and took out a summoning scroll.
With a puff of smoke, the most special human puppet appeared.
The Third Kazekage.
"Magnet Release: Sand Iron Wings!"
Jumping onto the Kazekage puppet, Sasori manipulated it in midair, launching waves of sand-iron feathers at Jiraiya on the ground.
Jiraiya's hardened hair blocked them all.
But the moment Magnet Release appeared, Jiraiya and Shisui both realized something strange.
Magnet Release wasn't an ordinary kekkei genkai. Ninjas capable of using it were usually the strongest figures in Sunagakure, often becoming Kazekage.
Wait…
Jiraiya suddenly remembered something.
The Third Shinobi World War had been triggered partly by the mysterious disappearance of the Third Kazekage.
He was known for using Magnet Release, yet even his corpse had never been found.
Could it be…
That the disappearance of the Third Kazekage was the work of the puppet master in front of him?
At the same time Jiraiya recognized the puppet, Sasori also recognized Jiraiya.
Internally, he cursed Orochimaru for running away and immediately considered retreating.
In the current situation, even if he and Orochimaru fought together, victory wouldn't be guaranteed.
Besides, both he and Orochimaru would rather capture each other and turn the other into an experimental subject.
Working together was impossible.
After making his decision, Sasori controlled the Kazekage puppet to soar into the sky, quickly turning into a tiny black dot.
But just before he disappeared completely—
A hurricane suddenly erupted from the ground.
The violent wind shot straight into the sky, swallowing the puppet inside. The sand-iron wings shattered, and the puppet tumbled uncontrollably back toward the forest below.
Life or death… unknown.
After seeing the hurricane, Shisui smiled slightly.
He immediately knew who had returned.
Master Menma.
Jiraiya, however, frowned.
The hurricane felt strange—both its appearance and its movement seemed too precise, almost as if someone were deliberately controlling it.
But to manipulate the weather like that…
Just how much chakra would a ninja need to do such a ridiculous thing?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can visit my Patreon page:
Patreon.com/PhoeniXcel
I upload 2 chapters daily on Patreon!
There are 100+ advanced chapters available for you to read.
Your support would be greatly appreciated.
📢 Check out my new Naruto fanfic!
[One Piece: Pirate Chat Group]