"Whew... whew..."
It sounded easy enough in theory, but Sasori of the Hundred Puppets was truly a powerhouse at the Super Kage level.
Even though Aoi Ren had known exactly what to expect and had pulled out every single trick in his arsenal, he had still only won by the narrowest of margins.
"As expected... every single member of Akatsuki possesses strength far beyond that of an ordinary Kage!"
But still...
It had all been worth it!
Aoi Ren stored Sasori's core and the remaining intact puppet body into his system space. Then, he picked up one of the puppet blades and walked slowly over to where Sakura lay.
Deadly purple poison glistened on its edge. Aoi Ren raised the knife high into the air...
Am I going to die?
Sakura's eyes widened in sheer terror. Despair washed over her completely, but she couldn't even scream—she could only shout in her mind: Naruto... where are you?!
Aoi Ren twisted the handle slightly, and the sharp blade came crashing down...
Thwack!
Blood sprayed out in all directions. Sakura stared in shock and confusion—she wasn't dead. The poisoned blade had not pierced her; it had gone straight through Aoi Ren's own body!
Bright red blood mixed with the virulent purple poison flowed down, yet even in this state, Aoi Ren wore a calm and peaceful smile...
Why?
She couldn't understand why he would do such a thing. She had never met anyone this insane in her entire life.
The more unknowns there were, the more terrifying it became.
"Sakura Haruno... I hope you are important enough to this world."
Aoi Ren smiled and struck the back of her neck, knocking her out cold. Having set everything up, he leaned against the stone pillar beside her and closed his eyes with a smile.
Time passed slowly, and finally, footsteps approached. Returning to the cave were none other than Naruto and Kakashi, who had been chasing Deidara.
As expected, they had failed to capture him.
"Sakura?!"
Seeing her lying there, gravely injured and on the verge of death, Naruto froze completely. His mind went blank, and he stood there swaying, unable to move or think.
"What happened here?!" Kakashi quickly lifted Aoi Ren up and pulled out bandages to wrap his wound.
"Don't worry about me!" As soon as Aoi Ren came to, he scrambled over to Sakura's side.
"I didn't realize that member of Akatsuki was actually Sasori of the Red Sand from Sunagakure... he was unbelievably strong!"
"He transformed his own body into a puppet," Aoi Ren explained through gritted teeth, sounding emotional and exhausted.
"With his Hundred Puppet Technique, I... I couldn't protect the medical ninja in time." He lifted Sakura's unconscious body gently.
"She has lost too much blood. We need to perform a blood transfusion immediately!"
Hearing the words "blood transfusion," Kakashi immediately offered his arm. "You can take mine..."
"No!" Aoi Ren shook his head firmly. "Sensei Kakashi, your blood doesn't have regenerative properties. We have to use Naruto's blood... only that can save her!"
"My blood can save Sakura?!"
Hearing this, Naruto snapped back to reality instantly. He thrust his arm forward eagerly. "Take it! Take my blood right now and save her!"
Naruto-kun... you truly are the most loyal guy in the world, Aoi Ren thought to himself with approval.
Kakashi, however, frowned deeply. He knew Naruto possessed immense life force and recovery abilities, but was transferring it through blood transfusion actually possible?
Yet when he looked at Aoi Ren—with a poisoned sword run straight through his vital organs, clearly on death's door—any doubts he had died in his throat. Did it really matter if he questioned a dying man?
Seeing his hesitation, Aoi Ren forced a smile and pulled out a special syringe designed to extract Kekkei Genkai.
"Naruto... trust me. As long as we use your blood, we will definitely be able to save her."
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