Chapter 259: The End of Sasori of the Red Sand
The Sasori Confrontation (Conclusion).
Sasori, fleeing in desperation, poured every ounce of available chakra into the Wind Release jets embedded in his puppet body. His goal was simple: survive. Escape the terrifying, god-like entity behind him.
Behind him, the colossal, purplish-blue Perfect Susanoo, overshadowing the sky and the entire desert landscape, flapped its ethereal wings once. The movement was deceptively simple, but it instantly crossed a vast distance! The Susanoo was already within striking distance!
Sasori was scared out of his wits, his youthful face twisted in a snarl of pure terror. The chakra in his body surged out frantically, overloading the mechanisms, desperate to gain an edge.
The Wind Release jets beneath his feet had turned crimson from operating under an impossible overload!
However, it was utterly meaningless.
A colossal shadow instantly enveloped Sasori completely, blotting out the harsh desert sun.
"Damn it! Damn it, Uchiha!"
This was his ultimate masterpiece—a human puppet combining his genius, his humanity, and deadly ninjutsu!
But now... he couldn't win in a fight. He couldn't even stand his ground. Even escaping, his only luxury, had become a desperate, doomed flight.
This made Sasori incredibly, fundamentally frustrated. His entire existence was being dismissed by speed and brute force.
Uchiha Akira did not deliver a killing blow immediately.
He controlled the massive Susanoo, slowly lowering its speed, casually maintaining position directly behind the frantically fleeing Sasori. He was toying with him.
"Bastard! You won't mock me!" Sasori let out a hysterical roar of defiance.
Boom—!
The jet streams beneath Sasori's feet suddenly surged one last time. His speed increased by another notch! He was pushing his body past the mechanical breaking point!
Just a little faster! Sasori thought, his core raging. I need to break line of sight! I'll be able to escape the other party's vision!
Uchiha Akira watched Sasori frantically fleeing ahead, his eyes cold. The end of his endurance.
He controlled the Susanoo to raise its massive right hand. The palm faced upward.
Buzz—
A sphere of dark, volatile energy rapidly condensed and formed in the Susanoo's palm. The air warped around it. It was cold, pure destruction.
Susanoo Tailed Beast Bomb!
[Inorin's Note: The Tailed Beast Bomb (Bijūdama) is the ultimate attack of a Tailed Beast, made here of pure chakra, an ability Madara's Susanoo could perform using the Nine-Tails' chakra.]
"It's over." Akira's voice was flat, echoing from the Susanoo's core.
The Susanoo flipped its wrist. With a gentle, dismissive push of its thumb, it launched the terrifying Susanoo Tailed Beast Bomb in the direction Sasori was fleeing.
Sasori was still desperately pushing his potential to the absolute limit. He felt as if he had managed to put a little distance between himself and the terrifying Susanoo behind him!
Almost there! Just a little faster!
Just then.
A terrifying, silent energy fluctuation washed over him! It was so immense it distorted the air and the light.
The cold shadow of absolute death instantly enveloped Sasori's entire consciousness!
"No—!!!"
Sasori only managed to let out a single, desperate, mechanical roar of denial.
The next second.
The Susanoo Tailed Beast Bomb struck Sasori's body. Not a direct hit, but the instantaneous impact and expansion of the core energy.
A blinding, earth-shattering white light suddenly erupted from the point of contact!
Immediately after, a gigantic, terrifying black sphere silently expanded in the sky! It was the force of the detonation!
It frantically, violently devoured everything around it—light, air, sand, and the mechanical debris of Sasori's own body.
Boom, rumble, rumble—!!!
The terrifying roar of the explosion, delayed by several seconds due to the sheer force of the energy, finally spread out, ripping across the desert!
A massive, ugly mushroom cloud, a monument to the terrifying power unleashed, slowly rose over the desert, soaring into the highest sky!
The violent energy shockwave formed a visible white air current that swept outwards in all directions, flattening dunes for miles!
The entire desert trembled violently before this absolute, annihilating power!
As for Sasori of the Red Sand...
Under this irresistible, overwhelming might, he was completely vaporized. Nothing remained. Not even a speck of red sand, not a single piece of human-puppet dust.
He was utterly, definitively erased from this world. The self-proclaimed perfection of eternal art had been brutally, instantaneously destroyed.
The Oasis Fortress.
Above the vast, now-smoking crater.
The colossal Susanoo slowly dissipated, turning into countless specks of purplish-blue light that drifted away on the wind.
Uchiha Akira's figure reappeared, completely unharmed, floating calmly above the desert.
He put his arm around Tsunade's waist. She had Hiraishin-ed to him instantly, drawn to the massive chakra surge. With a light touch, they descended gently onto a small, elevated patch of untouched sandy ground.
Just as her feet touched the earth, Tsunade's face paled suddenly, and her body swayed weakly in his embrace.
"Hmm?"
Uchiha Akira immediately tightened his supporting arm around her, his brows slightly furrowed with concern.
"What's wrong, Tsunade?"
"Nothing." Tsunade shook her head, forcing down a cough. She took a deep, steadying breath, forcibly calming herself.
She raised her arm, pointing to a faint, now-fading bruise mark on her forearm.
"I wasn't careful earlier, back when I fought Sasori in the village. I took a glancing blow. Got poisoned."
Tsunade's voice was a bit weak, slightly strained.
"But I've temporarily suppressed it; the neurotoxin is confined. It hasn't spread beyond the limb."
She explained that while her Creation Rebirth and Strength of a Hundred Sealings could instantly heal any external wounds, its effect on potent, fast-acting neurotoxins that permeate the blood and cells was not ideal.
All she could do was continuously use a massive amount of healing chakra to repair the body tissues immediately damaged by the toxin, while forcibly confining the poison's main body in one place, delaying its spread.
It only treated the symptoms, not the root cause.
"To completely resolve it, an antitoxin needs to be rapidly synthesized." Tsunade commented, her tone impressed despite the danger.
"This guy's poison is indeed incredibly troublesome. A potent, refined mix of neuro- and hemotoxins."
As expected of an S-rank rogue ninja who could conquer a city on his own, she thought. His mastery of poison had reached the pinnacle of the Ninja World.
Any ordinary Jōnin, even if they had just a minor scratch from that puppet tail, would probably be a corpse by now.
Only she, relying on the immense reserves of the Strength of a Hundred Sealings Technique and her profound medical ninjutsu expertise, could possibly endure until now.
Uchiha Akira's eyes flashed with a hint of coldness upon hearing this. He had allowed Sasori to live a few seconds longer than necessary, and it had nearly cost him a high-level medical ninja. Unacceptable risk.
"Can you handle it yourself, Tsunade?" Akira asked, his voice low.
"Of course." Tsunade glared at him, a spark of her old defiance returning, as if saying, "Who are you looking down on?"
She was one of the Legendary Sannin, the Ninja World's top Medical Ninja! How could a mere potent toxin trouble her for long?
Tsunade took out a small, specialized sealing scroll from her ninja tool pouch.
"Fortunately, I came prepared before this trip. I brought the necessary compounds, anticipating dealing with Suna's defenses or potential enemy poisoning attempts."
Tsunade unrolled the scroll, which released various rare medicinal herbs, vials of base solutions, and specialized medical instruments.
"It was originally packed to create complex antidotes for Elder Chiyo of the Hidden Sand Village, but I didn't expect to be the test subject."
As Tsunade spoke, she worked with astonishing speed and skill. She meticulously selected and combined several herbs and solutions.
In just a few minutes, working in the open air, a tube of clear, light blue medicine appeared in her steady hand.
Making the antidote on the spot!
This level of instantaneous understanding of pharmacology, chemistry, and advanced medical ninjutsu was enough to make ninety-nine percent of Medical Ninja in the Ninja World kneel down and worship her on the spot.
Tsunade injected the antidote into her arm without a second of hesitation.
Soon, Sasori's terrifying toxin was completely neutralized and cleared by the superior, rapidly synthesized antidote.
Tsunade let out a long sigh of immense relief.
"Alright, all done."
With the crisis finally resolved, Tsunade completely relaxed. The mental exhaustion hit her instantly.
The continuous high-intensity battle, coupled with the immense chakra drain of suppressing the potent toxin for so long, had taken a huge toll on her.
She instinctively, weakly, leaned back against the strong, comforting presence of Uchiha Akira beside her.
Uchiha Akira said nothing. He merely extended his strong arm and naturally, possessively pulled her tired body fully into his embrace.
Tsunade's body trembled slightly as she settled in.
Her nostrils were instantly filled with his clear, dominant, masculine scent.
Her nerves, which had been taut from the intense battle and the fear of death by poison, involuntarily, completely relaxed in his arms.
Tsunade leaned her head against Akira's chest, clearly hearing his steady, powerful, and utterly reassuring heartbeat.
Uchiha Akira looked down at the beautiful Sannin, her vulnerability visible now that the fight was over. His heart stirred slightly.
Without saying more, he slowly tightened his arm, holding her securely in his embrace.
Then, Uchiha Akira lowered his head.
Before Tsunade could fully react, he directly, firmly kissed her.
"Mmph!"
Tsunade's eyes suddenly widened. Her mind went blank, a soft "buzz" and an instantaneous, delightful chaos.
The kiss was dominant, yet direct. Possessive, yet comforting.
Tsunade instinctively tried to struggle, her hands pressing weakly against Uchiha Akira's chest, pushing against his solid muscle. But her limbs felt soft and heavy; she couldn't exert any strength.
All resistance completely dissolved in the demanding, deep kiss.
She didn't know how much time had passed. She was so lost in the sensation that she felt like she was about to suffocate when Uchiha Akira finally, slowly, released her lips.
"Don't... don't here..." Tsunade whispered, breathless, her voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
Her protest lacked all real conviction. Rather than protesting, it sounded far more like a breathless, teasing plea.
Uchiha Akira looked at Tsunade's flushed cheeks and her stunningly shy, annoyed expression.
"Oh?" he teased, his voice low and amused.
"So you mean... in a proper bed..."
"At home... it's fine?"
Tsunade's cheeks instantly turned an even deeper, desperate red.
"I... I didn't mean that! You bastard!" she stammered, pulling back slightly to smack his chest.
Seeing Tsunade's delightful mix of shyness and annoyance, Uchiha Akira couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.
He stopped teasing Tsunade for the moment. He merely embraced her again, gently patted her back, and rested his chin on the top of her golden head.
"You worked hard, Tsunade."
Three simple, honest words.
They instantly smoothed away all of her fatigue, all of her frustration, all of her recent anger.
Tsunade stopped struggling completely, letting her head rest against his shoulder, quietly leaning in Uchiha Akira's secure embrace.
After a long, restorative while.
Uchiha Akira held Tsunade close, then gently floated them both into the air.
He set his position, taking a mental fix on the hidden fortress in the Land of Fire, and activated his space-time ninjutsu.
Amenominaka.
There was still an arrogant artist waiting for Uchiha Akira to deal with. Deidara was next.
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