At this moment, all Nagato wanted was to personally eliminate Sasori!
Hearing Nagato's reminder, Granny Chiyo also came to her senses. This really wasn't the time for a reunion.
"Let's go! We need to get Gaara back first!"
Granny Chiyo cast a deep glance at Sasori, then turned to look at the Suna ninja behind her, her voice heavy with gravity.
Just then!
A soft sound came from behind Sasori, and Zetsu slowly emerged from underground.
Hearing the noise from behind, Sasuke turned his head weakly toward the rear. When he saw it was Zetsu, a heavy weight finally lifted from his chest.
Right now, with Nagato and Granny Chiyo leading the Suna ninja in front, if enemies appeared from behind as well, they'd be in serious trouble.
After emerging from the ground, Zetsu clearly paused for a moment upon seeing Granny Chiyo's group suddenly present.
"Oh my, looks like we're interrupting."
Zetsu reached up and scratched his head, speaking in an apologetic tone.
"Zetsu!" Nagato's eyes flickered slightly, a bad premonition suddenly rising in his heart.
"It's done over there. We can retreat now."
Zetsu wore a playful grin as he reminded Sasori.
Sasori glanced slightly in the direction where Sasuke was and gave Zetsu a nod.
Zetsu understood instantly. Sasori clearly wanted him to take Sasuke away first.
"Looks like the Mangekyo Sharingan is quite a burden, huh."
Zetsu remarked almost teasingly as he looked at the thoroughly weakened Sasuke, while simultaneously appearing at Sasuke's side in a flash, preparing to take him away.
The moment Zetsu had spoken, Nagato had swiftly turned his head toward Granny Chiyo and the Suna ninja.
"Something must have happened to Gaara. You need to get over there right now!"
Granny Chiyo's expression changed instantly. Without a moment's hesitation, she surged past everyone, racing toward the valley on the other side.
The moment the Suna ninja departed, a terrifying aura erupted from Nagato as he glared at Zetsu, who was trying to take Sasuke away.
"Leave the Mangekyo Sharingan behind!"
Nagato's expression turned icy, his voice dripping with murderous intent. He manipulated the massive arm of his Susanoo, reaching out to grab Sasuke.
A scroll had somehow appeared in Sasori's hand. Having anticipated that Nagato would make a move, Sasori slapped the scroll directly, and with a burst of white smoke—
Puppet: Third Kazekage!
A humanoid puppet appeared before Sasori.
The moment the Third Kazekage puppet appeared, its hands rapidly formed hand seals before slamming violently against the ground.
With a deafening roar, iron sand surged forth like ocean waves. The sand iron quickly gathered in front of Sasuke and Zetsu, forming a massive wall made entirely of magnetized iron!
The enormous palm of the Susanoo slammed directly into the iron wall, causing it to cave in, but it successfully blocked Nagato's attack.
Taking advantage of this brief window, Zetsu immediately began retreating with Sasuke in tow.
"Leave Uchiha Sasuke behind!"
Nagato, still within the Susanoo, did not stop his assault. He simultaneously formed hand seals and slammed both hands onto the ground.
Earth Style: Earth Flow Rampart!
BOOM!
The entire ground trembled violently. The outer terrain rapidly bulged upward as a colossal circular earthen wall rose from underground, trapping everyone present inside.
Zetsu, trying to escape with Sasuke, was blocked by the circular earthen wall.
"How frightening."
Zetsu came to a halt, a trace of helplessness crossing his face.
His Mayfly technique allowed him to merge with the earth itself, so a jutsu like this naturally couldn't stop him. But Sasuke didn't know the Mayfly technique.
To take Sasuke and escape, they would have to break through the earthen wall before them.
"Magnet Release: Sand Iron Heavy Spear!"
A low shout rang out from Sasori's direction.
The sand wall that had been blocking the Susanoo's arm instantly dissolved into fine grains of sand iron, which then reconstituted into a massive number of sand iron spears.
Sasori extended his hand and swept it toward Nagato. The countless sand iron spears in the air let out piercing shrieks as they launched toward Nagato's Susanoo!
These sand iron spears relentlessly battered the Susanoo, forcibly halting its advance.
At the same time, under the incredibly dense assault, the Susanoo's body became riddled with pockmarks.
Sasori didn't stop moving. With his other hand, he gestured toward Sasuke and Zetsu.
The Third Kazekage puppet began forming hand seals once more, and massive amounts of sand iron condensed in the air again.
Magnet Release: Sand Iron Triangular Pyramid!
A colossal triangular pyramid formed entirely of sand iron appeared in the air, roaring toward Sasuke, Zetsu, and the others.
BOOM!!
With an earth-shaking crash, the massive earthen wall blocking Sasuke and Zetsu was blown open with a gaping hole.
Although a huge hole had been blasted through it, fueled by Nagato's chakra, the gap in the wall began to repair itself at a visible rate.
Unfortunately, it was a step too late!
Before the hole in the earthen wall could fully close, Zetsu had already leaped through with Sasuke in tow.
"My apologies, but Uchiha Sasuke must return safely no matter what. It seems you'll have to wait until next time if you want Uchiha Sasuke's Mangekyo Sharingan."
Sasori's chakra threads retracted slightly, and the Third Kazekage puppet that had been shielding him swiftly returned to his side.
Nagato's expression darkened. The plan had been flawless up until now.
The problem was the unexpected arrival of Sasori and Konoha's Kakashi and the others.
"Was it you who sent the intelligence to Konoha?"
Realizing this, Nagato spoke, his voice turning cold.
At the same time, the Mangekyo Sharingan in Nagato's eyes flickered, and his Susanoo began to slowly dissipate.
Sasuke had already been taken by Zetsu, so there was no need to continue fighting.
As for Sasori!
Nagato was confident he could defeat Sasori, but if Sasori was determined to flee, Nagato didn't think he could stop him.
Besides, Nagato wanted to get to the bottom of this matter!
"I didn't send the intelligence to Konoha. I only passed it along to Orochimaru."
Sasori spoke softly, making no attempt to hide the truth.
Surprise flickered across Nagato's face. He had expected Sasori to deny it outright or refuse to answer, but the man had actually admitted it directly.
Passing intelligence to Orochimaru was no different from passing it to Konoha.
"You can't hide this from Uchiha Madara. What is your goal?"
Nagato frowned slightly, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes.
If Sasori was doing this for Sunagakure, then Gaara would never have been taken away so easily by Uchiha Obito and the others.
If Sasori was doing this for himself, Nagato couldn't see how this benefited him in any way.
[
Dear Readers,
I am currently posting two chapters every day across two active fictions, along with bonus releases and extra chapters. The workload is steady, and I am putting in the effort to keep the schedule consistent for everyone.
Right now, my financial situation is not great. Patreon support is what keeps this translation work sustainable. If you have been following the stories and want to help, joining a tier makes a direct difference.
Here is what membership offers:
Adventurer — $3 per month
10 chapters in advance for all of my works
Warrior — $7 per month
20 chapters in advance for all of my works
Immortal — $10 per month (Highlighted Tier)
30 chapters in advance for all of my works
Access to character images
Important note: Subscribing through the Apple App adds an extra 30 percent fee (Apple/Patreon policy). Subscribe through your browser to avoid the extra charge. Apple also processes payments very late (2 to 3 months), which makes it much harder for me to receive money quickly after you subscribe.
If you can support, it would genuinely help me continue the daily releases and early access content. If you cannot, reading and sharing the work is also appreciated.
Thank you for your time.
Patreon: patreon.com/anish_44
Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/anish_44
]