Chapter 173: Mutual Ruin — The First Move
Under the blazing sun of the boundless desert, a fierce battle erupted.
On one side stood the Third Kazekage. With a lift of his hands, the desert itself seemed to boil—countless grains of sand churned as streams of iron sand separated out and gathered rapidly around him.
On the other side was the rogue ninja Sasori—along with his ten prized creations: human puppets.
---
With a flick of his fingers, five puppets lunged forward instantly. From their mouths, hands, and even chests, countless senbon and kunai shot toward the Kazekage.
The remaining five stayed back, unleashing a barrage of ninjutsu—wind blades, fireballs, lightning nets, water arrows, earth spears…
A dazzling storm of attacks.
Yet to the Third Kazekage—
It was nothing.
He had come alone to meet Sasori precisely because he trusted his own strength.
His Magnet Release naturally countered puppetry.
And in this desert environment—
He held absolute advantage.
---
With a sweeping motion of his arm, the iron sand around him condensed and hardened, forming a massive metallic wall that gleamed with cold light.
Clang! Crash! Boom!
Weapons shattered, explosions roared, lightning crackled—
Yet every attack was blocked.
Wind blades and earth spears barely left scratches before dissipating entirely.
"Futile," the Kazekage snorted.
---
He swung his arm forward again.
The iron wall instantly collapsed—only to transform into thousands of razor-sharp black spears, tearing through the air like a torrential storm as they rained down upon Sasori and his puppets.
For the first time, Sasori's expression changed.
His fingers twitched rapidly, and the puppet formation shifted.
Five melee puppets leapt forward, fearlessly attempting to block the incoming barrage, while the other five retreated, erecting layers of earth walls.
---
The screech of iron sand slicing through the air was enough to make one's scalp tingle.
Two puppets at the front transformed their arms into shields, merging them together as blue chakra reinforced the surface.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
They barely took two steps forward—
Before cracks spread across the shields.
Within a single second, they shattered.
The iron spears pierced straight through the puppets and continued onward.
---
The remaining three tried to deflect the spears with their weapons—
But their movements slowed.
Tiny particles of iron sand had already infiltrated their joints and seams.
The magnetized sand disrupted their mechanisms completely.
Moments later—
They too were riddled with spears, reduced to lifeless husks.
---
Compared to them, the five ninjutsu-type puppets fared better, managing to defend while occasionally counterattacking.
"Tch… just as expected," Sasori muttered.
Without hesitation, he threw out three more scrolls.
This time—
Ten ordinary puppets and five additional human puppets appeared.
None of them were melee-focused. The moment they emerged, they spread out, surrounding the Kazekage and bombarding him with relentless ninjutsu.
---
Yet the Kazekage stood unmoved.
His gaze remained fixed on Sasori.
Iron sand shifted constantly around him—forming blocks, shields, barriers—intercepting every incoming attack with perfect precision.
Meanwhile—
Behind him, more iron sand surged like a black tide, rising higher and higher.
Gradually, it condensed into massive conical spikes, each larger than the last.
Their tips—
All pointed directly at Sasori.
---
"Puppets are nothing but tools," the Kazekage said coldly.
"Before absolute power, even the finest craftsmanship is meaningless."
---
But Sasori showed no fear.
Instead, his eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Kazekage-sama… such power."
"If I turn you into a human puppet… wouldn't that power become mine?"
"And it would last forever—no aging, no decay."
He trembled slightly, almost intoxicated.
"Just thinking about it excites me… Human puppets… this is true art—eternal art!"
---
"You're completely insane," the Kazekage said.
He stopped speaking after that, focusing entirely on the battle.
Above him—
The giant iron-sand spikes were nearly complete.
---
In the distance, Sasori's forehead glistened with sweat.
As expected of the strongest Kazekage in history—
Even he had to admit:
He couldn't win head-on.
If the Kazekage truly went all out, defeating him would only take a few more techniques.
But—
No matter how powerful—
He was still flesh and blood.
---
A kilometer away, Taichi observed everything through his perception.
The Kazekage's overwhelming Magnet Release…
Sasori's sinister and intricate puppet techniques…
It was an eye-opening spectacle.
He couldn't help but wonder—
If I were facing them… what would the outcome be?
After a moment, he scratched his head and chuckled.
He might not necessarily win—
But he certainly wouldn't lose.
After all…
His abilities seemed to counter both of them.
---
And then—
The situation suddenly changed.
The once-dominant Kazekage staggered.
His body swayed, as if he could barely stand.
Above him, the nearly formed iron-sand spikes began to crumble, grains falling away.
"You… poisoned me!" he growled, clutching his chest as blood seeped from his lips. "Despicable!"
---
Sasori smirked.
"Poison? Isn't that standard for puppet masters? Or has Sunagakure's puppet corps suddenly grown soft?"
Gone was his earlier tension—only confidence remained.
He glanced up at the collapsing iron spikes, his worries easing completely.
Moments ago, he had nearly considered fleeing.
That crushing pressure had been too much.
---
Meanwhile, the Kazekage struggled to fight back while retrieving an antidote pill from his robes.
His hand trembled as he swallowed it.
Moments later—
His expression changed drastically.
The poison wasn't alleviated at all.
Refusing to believe it, he swallowed more.
Still—
Nothing.
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
The hunter… had become the prey.
---
Pain surged through his organs.
He knew—
He wouldn't leave this battlefield alive.
But if he had to die—
He would take this traitor with him.
---
His focus sharpened.
The chakra that had been suppressing the poison surged back into battle.
Above him, the iron spikes reformed rapidly.
Around him, iron sand transformed into a deadly storm—Iron Sand Rain—piercing through the puppets and striking toward Sasori himself.
---
Sasori had been ready to mock him—
To laugh at Sunagakure's outdated antidotes.
After all, his poisons were innovative—far beyond their understanding.
He even recalled hearing that one of his earlier poisons had been countered by a Konoha child in just one day.
Interesting…
Perhaps one day, he would turn that child into a puppet as well.
---
A kilometer away—
Taichi suddenly sneezed.
He frowned, glancing around.
Strange… someone thinking about me?
Back on the battlefield—
Sasori's expression shifted sharply.
A chilling sense of danger snapped him out of his thoughts.
The Kazekage—
Though bleeding, though poisoned—
Was fighting even more fiercely than before.
This was desperation.
A fight to the death.
---
Under the relentless barrage of iron sand, Sasori was forced to divide his attention between controlling puppets and evading attacks.
Soon, his body was covered in wounds.
And then—
The first massive iron spike descended.
The sheer pressure of it left him no choice but to flee.
BOOM!
The ground shook violently.
Sand exploded skyward before raining back down.
Then—
A second spike.
A third.
A fourth.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Even the distant oasis could feel the tremors.
As the dust slowly settled, the battlefield came back into view.
The sky cleared.
And the puppets—
Once fighting fiercely—
Now lay scattered across the ground.
Motionless.
Only their garments fluttered faintly in the desert wind.
Meanwhile, the once-invincible Third Kazekage now stood motionless.
All the brilliance had faded from his eyes.
Only his upright, unyielding body proved that he had fought until his very last breath.
At that moment—
Beneath one of the massive iron-sand spikes, the compacted sand suddenly stirred.
A hand burst out from beneath it.
Gripping the الرمال, it struggled, clawing its way upward bit by bit.
After a long, arduous effort, the figure finally dragged itself free—
It was Sasori.
Half of his body was covered in wounds.
His left arm hung twisted at an unnatural angle.
And yet—
There was no trace of pain on his face.
Only madness… and the exhilaration of victory.
For a moment earlier, he had truly believed he would die.
But at the critical instant, he had used a puppet as a shield, barely surviving the impact of the iron spike.
Now—
It was time to reap the spoils.
Struggling to his feet, Sasori staggered toward the Kazekage's corpse.
The closer he got—
The wider his smile became.
"Human puppets… eternal art…"
"Soon… all of this will belong to me…"
He extended his still-functional right hand, reaching toward that perfect material.
And then—
Just before his fingers could touch it—
He froze.
His hand stopped midair.
Slowly, he looked down.
A short blade had pierced through his back—straight through his chest… and his heart.
He didn't even have the strength to turn around.
Memories flashed before his eyes.
Human puppets… eternal art…
All of it faded away.
In the end, only one image remained—
His parents… at the moment of their death.
A blade.
Just like this one.
Was this… fate?
Behind him stood the one who had delivered the fatal strike—
Taichi.
He had been watching from afar.
But when he saw both the Third Kazekage and Sasori end up gravely weakened—
He seized the opportunity.
Using Earth Release, he had silently tunneled beneath the sand, waiting beside the Kazekage's corpse.
And when Sasori approached—at his most relaxed, most triumphant—
Taichi struck.
One clean blow.
The simplicity of it all almost felt unreal.
But reality was often more absurd than fiction.
There was no time to linger.
The commotion would undoubtedly alert the Sunagakure forces at the oasis.
Time was running out.
Taichi swiftly pulled out a sealing scroll.
In one motion, he sealed away both the Kazekage's and Sasori's bodies—along with several human puppets.
They might prove useful later.
Then, without hesitation, he dove back underground using Subterranean Voyage, fleeing rapidly toward the Land of Earth.
After covering two kilometers beneath the sand, he resurfaced and continued running.
An hour later, he changed direction, circling toward the Land of Rivers.
The Third Kazekage was dead.
Even if Taichi hadn't killed him himself—
The body was now in his possession.
This had to be reported to Jiraiya immediately.
The village needed time to prepare.
After all—
In the original course of events, Sunagakure had used the Kazekage's disappearance as a pretext to attack Konoha.
---
Less than ten minutes after Taichi left—
A large number of Sunagakure shinobi arrived at the scene.
A single glance was enough.
The leading shinobi immediately understood—
The Kazekage had fought here.
The scattered iron sand, the massive spikes still standing—
All pointed to a desperate battle.
But—
Who was the enemy?
"My lord! Come look at this!" a chūnin called out urgently.
The leader flashed over in an instant.
What he saw—
Was a humanoid figure resembling a puppet.
His pupils shrank.
As a high-ranking shinobi, he knew exactly what it was.
And he knew—
Only one person in Sunagakure could create such things.
A man who was now a rogue ninja.
---
"Seal off this area immediately!" he ordered sharply.
"No one is to speak a word of what they've seen here. Anyone who does will be treated as a traitor."
The others were stunned—but quickly complied.
This was clearly no ordinary matter.
Better not get involved.
Meanwhile—
After two days of travel, Chiyo and her group finally arrived at the frontline camp in the Land of Rivers under ANBU escort.
With an official order from the Hokage, even Jiraiya could no longer ignore the situation.
---
Inside the central command tent, Jiraiya received Chiyo's group.
Also present were Shikaku Nara and two newly arrived advisors.
When Jiraiya took the prisoner-release order from Chiyo—
He could hardly believe it.
What kind of situation would force Konoha's leadership to make such a humiliating decision?
Was this not disregarding the lives of the frontline shinobi?
They fought and bled for those prisoners—
And now, with a single command, everything was to be given up?
---
Taking a deep breath, Jiraiya forced himself to calm down.
He turned his gaze toward the accompanying ANBU operative.
The man simply gave a slight nod.
The order—
Was genuine.
---
"Elder Chiyo," Jiraiya said, steadying his tone, "the release process will take some time. You've come all this way without rest—you must be exhausted. Please, get some rest. I'll notify you once everything is ready."
Without waiting for her reply, he called out:
"Someone! Escort our four guests from Sunagakure to their quarters. Make sure they are well taken care of."
Chiyo looked at him deeply as the Konoha shinobi approached her.
"Then I'll trouble you to act quickly, Jiraiya," she said meaningfully. "Those children… have been away from home for far too long."
"Of course," he replied.
Once she left—
Before Jiraiya could speak, Shikaku was the first to break the silence.
"Lord Jiraiya… what's going on?" he asked.
"Why are we releasing the Sunagakure prisoners? Did they pay a ransom?"