After Hiruko was shattered into pieces, Sasori's true body emerged from the broken puppet.
He still looked like a youth—short red hair, delicate features, fair skin, dressed in a black bodysuit and the Akatsuki's black cloak with red clouds, the hem gently swaying in the wind. He was undeniably one of the most handsome men in the Shinobi World.
Looking at that face alone, who could guess he was a forty-year-old man?
But his eyes were indifferent, his expression blank as he looked at the two before him—clearly having turned his own body into a puppet as well.
[The battle between Chiyo and Sasori stands as the pinnacle of puppet masters in the Shinobi World. For example, Chiyo's White Secret Technique: Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu—though only ten puppets, each one possessed at least Jōnin-level strength. And with their individual weapons, tools, attack methods, and coordinated Jutsu, their combined power can easily reach Kage-level.]
[And Sasori's Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets was even more exaggerated. Before him, controlling ten puppets simultaneously was considered the peak; he singlehandedly raised the limit tenfold and could even conquer a nation with this technique.]
[However, in the Shinobi World, fighting solely with puppets had major limitations—you could at most reach Kage-level, and it was extremely difficult to go beyond that.]
[As for the biggest debate surrounding this battle—whether Sasori held back or not—]
[In reality, Sasori didn't intentionally hold back. It was his emotional wavering that led to combat errors, which Chiyo ultimately seized to defeat him.]
[The main evidence is that he used his strongest techniques without reservation—the puppet of the Third Kazekage and the Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets. And the two unused scrolls weren't intentionally held back; they were sealed to the wall by Chiyo's "Sealing Technique: Lion Closing Roar" after she interrupted his control, rendering them unusable.]
[The only point of contention is the final moment when Sasori was killed by the Father and Mother puppets—he could have dodged but chose to accept death. This also supports the claim of emotional wavering: his inner desire for familial affection made him unable to resist the attack that symbolized a "parents' embrace."]
[On the other hand, Chiyo's holding back was even more evident. Before departing, she only brought the "Parent" scroll—not to rescue Gaara, but to see Sasori specifically, intending to use the forbidden technique "Life Rebirth" to revive his parents at the cost of her own life.]
[And during the battle, she repeatedly told Sakura to leave, deliberately creating opportunities to be alone with Sasori—showing that her true goal was emotional connection, not a life-or-death fight.]
[Moreover, Chiyo didn't use the White Secret Technique: Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu until the very end, fighting with ordinary puppets early on, only resorting to it when she had no other choice.]
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Land of Wind, Sunagakure]
As the Sky Screen's narration continued, the expression on Rasa's face shifted unpredictably.
He knew it; Chiyo still couldn't let go of her grandson.
All that talk about 'ending it with my own hands' was just for show.
But he only glanced at Chiyo and didn't revoke his earlier decision to send her after Sasori.
Sigh~
Back then, he was able to take over as the Fourth Kazekage partly because of Chiyo's support. Not to mention, she had also redeemed him from Konoha. He owed her such a huge debt of gratitude that he felt embarrassed to turn hostile.
Forget it, if the elderly woman wanted to see her grandson, let her go. After all, Chiyo still knew where to draw the line.
Besides, if she could actually convince Sasori to return, the Village would benefit from having another Kage-level powerhouse.
But others in the Shinobi World were more shocked by the forbidden technique Life Rebirth.
At the cost of one's own life, you could revive at least two people? That seemed like a good deal.
Sure, the user would die—but if you were going to die anyway, using this technique to bring two people back was clearly worth it.
---
[Konoha, Year 50. Hokage Office]
Minato let out a long sigh of relief.
Good!
Finally, the existence of a Forbidden Jutsu that could "actually" revive the dead was now known. He just wondered if the current Chiyo had created this Jutsu yet. And if she had, would she be willing to trade it?
Meanwhile, on the screen, as the narration continued, Sasori summoned the puppet of the Third Kazekage.
A scroll slid from his sleeve and hit the ground, exploding into a cloud of white smoke with a bang. As the smoke cleared, a puppet with a pale face, hollow eyes, and the appearance of a middle-aged man appeared, radiating an eerie aura.
"That's... the Third Kazekage!" Chiyo on the screen gasped in shock.
"Alright then, let's get started." Sasori seemed pleased by Chiyo's reaction and a smile appeared on his face.
He manipulated the Third Kazekage's puppet, sending it straight toward Sakura—the puppet's arm had been modified with a row of blades.
But the puppet's attack was effortlessly evaded by Sakura, who was also being controlled by Chiyo's chakra threads.
Chiyo then summoned the Father and Mother puppets, manipulating them to engage the Third Kazekage in close combat, while hidden weapons and tools clashed repeatedly with dull thuds.
[Speaking of which, the reason this battle was so brilliant is that it was Sakura, a non-puppeteer, who repeatedly broke the stalemates.]
[Although the main forces in this battle were the two puppeteers, Sasori and Chiyo, the fact that both sides essentially exhausted their trump cards by the end was due to Sakura's involvement in the battle.]
[In the battle against Sasori, Sakura truly proved her worth as Tsunade's disciple. She neutralized Sasori's poison, took advantage of his carelessness, and destroyed the Third Kazekage's puppet—something even Chiyo had struggled with. And in the mass puppet battle between the two Secret Techniques, she acted as the decisive factor. She also took a blow meant for Chiyo, creating the opening for Chiyo's final counterattack.]
[It could be said that Sakura's performance in this battle was even more impressive than her later feats after unlocking the Strength of a Hundred Seal.]
[And of course, the most absurd thing was that Sasori, who only had that tiny piece of flesh—yet he still had more chakra than Kakashi.]
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Tazuna's house]
Kakashi was a bit speechless.
How did the conversation turn to him?
And his chakra reserves weren't exactly small—it was just that his Sharingan couldn't be deactivated and constantly drained his chakra every second.
As the narration continued, the screen quickly flashed through clips of the battle.
Sakura punched and shattered the Third Kazekage's puppet, fragments flying everywhere.
Chiyo manipulated ten puppets against Sasori's hundred—dense swarms of puppets clashing midair like two clouds of bees fighting.
Sakura took a fatal blow meant for Chiyo, blood dripping from her arm. While, Chiyo seized the moment, manipulating the Chakra threads in her hands as the Father and Mother puppets lying in wait rushed out from both sides of Sasori.
Squelch!X2
Following the two dull sounds, Sasori's pupils suddenly constricted.
When the scene shifted a frontal view, he was caught between the Father and Mother puppets. Two long swords had pierced through his abdomen—or rather, his energy core—from below.
Sasori's body leaned forward slightly, sandwiched between the two puppets, like a child being embraced by his parents.
"You lowered your guard at the end, Sasori."
The screen froze there.
*****
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