The countless paper spikes and spears, poised and ready, seemed to receive a command, transforming into torrents of white death, accurately and violently surging towards the overwhelming jungle of dark iron thorns!
The white Spears of Judgment and the black Thorns of Death were about to stage a collision of ultimate destruction in the skies above this desert!
Just at that critical moment—
"Whoosh—!"
A white shadow plunged down from high in the sky at an extremely fast speed! It was a small, white clay dragon, only the size of a single person!
Like a suicide attack, it precisely inserted itself directly into the center of the impending clash between Konan and Sasori's ultimate techniques!
This sudden turn of events caused both individuals, who had been fully focused on their duel, to suddenly freeze. In this brief moment of surprise—
A crisp shout echoed from above. "Hmph!"
"Boom—!!!"
A huge explosion suddenly erupted! The small clay dragon bravely self-destructed at the midpoint of their attacks! The violent shockwave and turbulent airflow it generated spread rapidly in all directions, forcibly halting the two individuals' poised ultimate attacks.
Konan's torrent of paper spears was slightly deflected by the blast's air current, and Sasori's Iron Sand World Method was also disrupted by this sudden explosion, causing countless sharp iron thorns to tremble in the air.
Their attacks were not directly dispersed by the explosion, but due to this unexpected interference and change, they both chose to temporarily halt—it was clear that a third party had intervened!
Konan's expression instantly became solemn, her paper wings, suspended in the air, slightly retracted, and her eyes scanned the direction from which the explosion came, a very ominous premonition rising in her heart.
At the same time, a shout, filled with the unique flamboyance and excitement of a youth, came from above.
"Hahaha! How was that! My Super Flat Art! Art is an Explosion!"
Along with this iconic slogan, a C2 clay giant dragon, dozens of times larger than the self-destructing small dragon from before, slowly lowered its altitude, casting a massive shadow on the sandy ground. Immediately after, several figures leaped down from the dragon's back, landing steadily on the desert.
It was Shisui and his group, who had rushed over at full speed after hearing the intense sounds of battle.
Deidara was at the forefront, a smile of unconcealed excitement and provocation on his face. He first glanced at Sasori's Third Kazekage puppet, then shouted to Shisui behind him.
"Hey! Senior! It really is a puppet! It seems our target has appeared! Hmm!"
Then, he immediately turned his head and shouted loudly at Konan, who was suspended in the air, without ceremony, his tone carrying the unique, fearless arrogance of a young man.
"Hey! Woman over there! Listen up! This guy who plays with puppets is a target our [Blaze] Organization set its sights on first! You can't just casually eliminate him! Hmm!"
Clearly, being still young, Deidara at this time was far from the… relatively calm individual he would become after joining the Akatsuki Organization in the future; his actions were more direct and… asking for a beating.
Konan's face completely darkened. The mysterious [Blaze] Organization, which had similar goals to the Akatsuki Organization but with vastly different methods, had actually appeared at this moment!
Previously, upon learning that Kakuzu, a bounty hunter famous for being "immortal," had completely vanished from the underground bounty market as if he had evaporated, no longer undertaking any bounty missions, Konan and Nagato had already understood—another force was secretly recruiting powerful yet unruly rogue ninjas.
This forced the Akatsuki Organization to accelerate its originally secretive recruitment process.
However, she had never expected that on the very first day they received intelligence about Sasori of the Red Sand appearing in the Land of Wind, or perhaps even just the initial intelligence, members of the [Blaze] Organization would appear here so quickly, like sharks sniffing out blood.
To be honest, Konan deep down did not want to openly antagonize the [Blaze] Organization. Just the Great Spiraling Ring, suspended above Konoha, capable of easily destroying a Village, was enough for her and Nagato to elevate their assessment of Menma, its leader's strength and danger, to the highest level.
To create such a terrifying enemy for Nagato merely for Sasori of the Red Sand, whom they had not yet recruited, was simply not worth it.
Just as Konan was contemplating retreat and weighing whether to temporarily abandon this mission—
On the other side, Shisui was greatly shocked! He stared intently at the red-haired figure and the puppet beside him, which emitted an ominous chakra fluctuation.
That red-haired young man… his face clearly looked to be the same age as him! Even if Sasori of the Red Sand was a genius and was young when he defected, after all these years, there's no way he could still look like a youth! What on earth was going on?
Of course, what shocked Shisui so much was not just Sasori's strangely youthful appearance.
More importantly—the exquisitely crafted human puppet beside Sasori! The face of that puppet… was clearly the Third Kazekage, who had been missing from Hidden Sand Village for a long time!
The sudden disappearance of the Third Kazekage, hailed as the "strongest Kazekage in history," had always been a major unsolved mystery shrouding the entire Ninja World, with far-reaching implications.
It was precisely because of the bizarre disappearance of this strongest leader that Hidden Sand Village plunged into immense panic and chaos. Their first suspicion was that other great nations—especially the most powerful Land of Fire—had orchestrated this assassination, intending to completely weaken the Land of Wind's military strength.
Suspicion, panic, and long-standing accumulated contradictions between nations and imbalances in resource allocation were ultimately ignited by this event!
The disappearance of the Third Kazekage became the most direct fuse that ignited the Third Great Ninja War!
That brutal war, which swept across the entire Ninja World, claimed countless lives and completely changed the destinies of many, including Shisui himself.
And now… Shisui had seen it clearly just now! The ability used by that puppet to manipulate black iron sand—that was the Third Kazekage's unique and powerful Magnet Release Bloodline Limit!
All the clues connected at this moment, pointing to a chilling truth.
The Third Kazekage did not disappear… but was killed!
Killed by this seemingly young Sasori of the Red Sand… and even made into a human puppet for him to control?!
The impact of this realization sent a shiver down the spine of even Uchiha Shisui, who had experienced countless battlefields.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 70 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
[patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"