"It's reckless, it's better to wait until Kakashi is alone to make a move, it would be more prudent."
If it were only Kakashi alone, no matter how formidable Kakashi's Ninja Beast might be, Sasori was confident he could kill Kakashi.
Having no other choice, Sasori controlled the Third Kazekage's puppet to defend against the attacks of Nohara Rin and the others, and then threw out a Scroll containing nine puppets.
Controlling ten machines simultaneously didn't allow for the Third Kazekage's special abilities, but under the current circumstances, controlling ten puppets at the same time was slightly better.
After all, he could use more puppets to offset the numerical advantage of the opposition.
However, things developed beyond Sasori's expectations.
Even though he manipulated the Third Kazekage to restrain the trickiest Flying Summoning Beast, the situation still moved in an unfavorable direction.
Milotic stubbornly used Aqua Tail, enduring the puppet's attack, shattering a puppet.
Kakashi and Obito remained vigilant, refining enough Chakra to release Ninjutsu for support.
Lycanroc was incredibly fast and loved to attack from behind, forcing Sasori to have three puppets guard him.
Sasori began to develop the notion of retreat.
He wanted revenge, no doubt, but it was evident that success was unlikely, and he risked being caught himself.
The final straw extinguishing Sasori's plan to kill Kakashi on the spot was his nearby setup being triggered; someone was approaching.
Blazing Sun Mokgetsu was, after all, Kakashi's teacher, and visiting Kakashi during his cultivation was normal, so before making a move, Sasori had set up some arrangements in the surrounding area.
Sasori unleashed his Chakra, pushing all the puppets to attack wildly, temporarily forcing Nohara Rin and the others to retreat a certain distance.
Immediately after, Sasori abandoned the other puppets and connected all his Chakra Lines to the Third Kazekage, using his remaining Chakra to release a massive-scale sand iron attack.
Because he paid special attention to Charizard, even Charizard had to retreat to a distant place, and the others exerted themselves, using Ninjutsu to block.
At this moment, Sasori pulled out the Chakra Core of the Third Kazekage with the Chakra Lines, then threw out several dozen Explosive Tags without looking back, retreating rapidly with the sound of explosions.
The core of a Human Puppet is the Chakra Core; as long as he had the Chakra Core, he could recreate an equally powerful Third Kazekage Human Puppet.
As for the other Human Puppets, Sasori was too lazy to recover them; apart from the Third Kazekage, the others were mere consumables.
When the sound of iron sand faded, the Lycanroc leaped onto the wall, its nose twitching, attempting a chase by scent.
"Don't pursue a cornered foe." Kakashi stopped the Lycanroc.
Although if they pursued, they were likely to kill Sasori, it was uncertain whether other unforeseen events might occur.
Currently, both he and Obito had mostly lost the ability to fight, Milotic was severely poisoned, and Nohara Rin had expended a lot of Chakra.
The only one in better condition on their side was probably Lycanroc.
Kakashi estimated that Charizard was not in the best shape either, as he had researched Charmeleon for some time; when Charmeleon was unwell, the flame on its tail burned even more fiercely than usual.
Rather than killing the enemy, Kakashi preferred there to be no casualties on their side.
The obedient Lycanroc turned back, returning to Kakashi's side.
Kakashi nodded internally, it seemed that Charizard's rebelliousness was just an exception, evolution wouldn't affect camaraderie.
"Let's head back right away and report this to Teacher Mokgetsu," Kakashi promptly said.
Nohara Rin nodded in agreement and said seriously, "I need to get back quickly to help Little Mei prepare an antidote, or else there could be danger."
Charizard looked worried upon hearing Nohara Rin's words, quickly running next to Milotic, showing concern and even offering to let Nohara Rin ride it back for faster travel.
Obito: ...
Though he couldn't fully understand Charizard's speech like Zorua could, Charizard's intentions were clear as it nudged its head against Nohara Rin.
"I've never even ridden it myself," Obito thought to himself, feeling somewhat annoyed by Charizard's eagerness.
If it weren't Nohara Rin who was riding, he might have voiced his thoughts.
Then the group quickly rushed back to Six Paths City.
Fortunately for Nohara Rin, Milotic's vitality was strong, and with Mokgetsu's assistance, they eventually resolved Milotic's poisoning peacefully.
...
On the other side, Sasori erupted with Chakra for a swift escape, frequently glancing back to check if Charizard was following.
Once Sasori reached a certain distance and didn't see any sign of Charizard, he breathed a sigh of relief internally.
"I must perfect the Human Puppet technique swiftly; if I were in the form of a Human Puppet, even if that Uchiha Shisui were present, no one would escape death," Sasori uncharacteristically thirsted for strength.
In truth, Sasori didn't care much for ninja strength; his research into Human Puppets wasn't to increase strength but for his eternal art.
Though nobody pursued him, Sasori didn't slow down; he planned to leave Six Paths City first.
Since now his strongest puppet only had the Chakra Core, significantly reducing his combat power, remaining here to kill Kakashi would be difficult; it would be better to recover his strength and wait for an opportunity.
After all, once he transformed himself, he would have eternal life, and there would always be opportunities for revenge; there was no rush for a few days.
"Heavenly Attraction!"
As Sasori plotted his future path of revenge, a powerful suction burst forth, pulling Sasori's body over.
"Nagato? Why is he here!" Sasori was filled with confusion.
"Nagato, I'm Sunagani, we have no enmity, why are you attacking me?" Sasori tried to use words to make Nagato stop.
Now without the Third Kazekage and almost depleted of Chakra, he really couldn't engage Nagato.
Yet Nagato seemed unaffected, as if he didn't hear, and as soon as Sasori was pulled over, he unleashed Almighty Push, slamming Sasori towards the ground.
Boom!
The powerful repulsive force struck Sasori, creating a large pit in the ground.
Exhausted, Sasori fainted from the heavy blow.
PS: This chapter is 5k, the total word count for two chapters is 11k.
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