Hanekawa arrived at the ANBU base to find Samui waiting on the sofa. She stood immediately, a subtle smile crossing her face.
"Good morning," Hanekawa said, pulling her into his arms.
Samui settled onto his lap, her expression brightening. "Did you find the Sasori?"
"Found him. He was in the Land of Earth." Hanekawa's hand moved to her thigh, feeling the firm muscle beneath her clothing. "Anything else I should know?"
"The ANBU monitoring Kakuzu reports he's heading toward the Dragon Vein." Samui's breathing quickened slightly as his fingers traced higher. "He's moving fast."
Hanekawa considered this. Kakuzu wouldn't break Minato's seal quickly—those seals took time to unravel. Still, he'd left a Flying Thunder God mark on the man just in case. I can visit when I have a free moment.
"You've worked hard," Hanekawa said, patting her head. "You deserve a reward."
Samui's response was immediate and eager.
An hour later, Hanekawa stood in the Land of Earth, having used his Sage Mode sensory abilities to locate his target. The black market district was crowded, but one figure stood out—a hooded man in a windbreaker, just exiting a gold exchange.
The Sasori.
Hanekawa appeared directly in front of him.
The Sasori's body went rigid. His first instinct was to flee, but he suppressed it immediately. The gap between them was too vast. Flight would only be humiliating.
"Sasori," Hanekawa said calmly.
The red-haired boy turned, his expression carefully neutral. "I'm not interested in joining Konoha."
"Have you heard of the Impure World Reincarnation?" Hanekawa asked.
Confusion flickered across the Sasori's face. "No. What is it?"
Hanekawa explained the technique methodically—how it could resurrect the dead, the mechanics, the costs. He watched understanding dawn in the Sasori's eyes, followed by something deeper. Hunger.
The Sasori had pursued eternal beauty through puppetry. His parents' deaths had driven him to create human puppets. This technique... this was everything he'd been searching for.
"You can use it," Hanekawa continued, "but the price is joining Konoha or becoming my subordinate."
The Sasori fell silent for a long moment. Then: "I accept."
"Good. First, I need to assess your abilities." Hanekawa gestured toward the desert. "Fight me."
---
They moved to an empty stretch of sand. The Sasori emerged from his puppet body, revealing his true form—a young man with red hair and pale skin. He withdrew a scroll.
White smoke erupted.
The Third Kazekage materialized before them, his presence immediately oppressive.
"Please," Hanekawa said.
Iron sand erupted into the sky, condensing into thousands of needles that blanketed the area. Simultaneously, flames burst from the Sasori's palms, creating a wall of fire that advanced alongside the metal projectiles.
Hanekawa clapped his hands. A wall of water rose between them, intercepting both attacks. The iron needles sank into the liquid barrier while the flames met resistance, producing clouds of steam.
The Sasori increased his output. The water wall wavered.
The Third Kazekage's hands blurred through seals. Iron sand stretched and reformed into massive spears that shot through the dissipating mist.
Hanekawa exhaled a burst of superheated vapor. The Boiling Release melted the spears on contact, the temperature spiking dangerously.
The Third Kazekage sprouted iron sand wings and took flight, rising above the scalding fog.
Hanekawa formed seals. A water dragon erupted from the ground, massive and roaring. It collided with the Sasori's flames in a spectacular explosion of steam and fire.
The Sasori retreated. The Third Kazekage's hands moved again—iron sand feathers fell like rain, moving faster than the eye could follow.
Hanekawa drew the Thunderfire Sword. Lightning crackled along the blade as he moved, each slash deflecting dozens of projectiles. The sand fell harmlessly around him.
The Sasori's expression hardened. He'd held nothing back, and it wasn't enough.
"Sasori Secret Technique: Hundred Machines Exercise!"
Puppets emerged from scrolls—dozens, then dozens more. They surrounded Hanekawa in a suffocating circle, each one a masterwork of engineering and lethality.
Hanekawa clapped his hands.
"Wood Style: Tree Realm Birth!"
The ground exploded. Trees erupted from the earth, their branches and vines growing with impossible speed, entangling puppets and crushing them beneath wooden coils. More than half the Sasori's army was immobilized in seconds.
The Third Kazekage responded, iron sand forming a barrier of razor-sharp thorns that pierced the advancing vegetation. But it was a temporary reprieve.
Hanekawa's hands moved through seals with deliberate slowness.
"Wood Style: Wood Dragon Technique!"
A seed sprouted at his feet. It grew into a massive wooden dragon that coiled upward with terrifying speed. It crashed into the Third Kazekage, wrapping around both puppet and barrier, constricting with inexorable force.
The Sasori watched his most powerful creation subdued in moments.
"I surrender," he said quietly.
Hanekawa dispersed the technique. Three lines of text appeared before him:
[A-Rank Talent Entry: Puppet Master]
[Trigger Condition: Defeat the Sasori of the Red Sand]
[Effect: Puppeteer talent increased by 200% of original basis]
Interesting. Hanekawa filed the entry away for later consideration. Puppets had limited utility for someone at his level, but the Sasori's transformation into a human puppet had granted him near-immortality. That was worth exploring eventually.
"Let's go," Hanekawa said. "I'll take you to Konoha."
The Sasori nodded, collecting his puppets with practiced efficiency.
The Flying Thunder God Technique activated. In an instant, both of them vanished from the desert, reappearing in the ANBU base.
Samui looked up from her desk, unsurprised. She'd expected nothing less.
The Sasori glanced around the base, taking in the organized chaos of Konoha's intelligence network. He'd made his choice. Now came the hard part—learning to live in a village instead of the shadows.
But first, he would see his parents again.
That made everything else bearable.