Chiyo consulted with the Elder Council; since both sides had a conflict, they decided to let them fight it out!
Both sides agreed.
Ninjas would use Ninja rules to resolve their conflict—a physical bout rather than a verbal one.
The crowd cleared a large open space.
On the left was Ryou.
Behind him were Chiyo, Ebizo, and their disciples, along with Sasori's former subordinates, the Puppeteer group, and some kunoichi who lusted after Sasori's good looks.
Behind Pakura were Maki, the former subordinates of the Third Kazekage, Pakura's own subordinates, and some civilian Ninjas in the Village who supported her.
In terms of numbers, Sasori had the upper hand; although his family wasn't nobility, his elders were high-ranking officials.
Rasa, Baki, and Yashamaru belonged to the Kazekage faction; they stood in the middle with the Elder Council, helping neither side.
It seemed Sunagakure had split into three groups.
Pakura crossed her arms and shouted coldly at Ryou, "You damn brat! Sasori, today I'll show you my Scorch Release!"
Ryou stroked his chin, wondering how to deal with Pakura using Sasori's style.
Sasori's style was puppets.
But none of Sasori's puppets could be used.
Sasori's Hiruko had been smashed by Ryou's Susanoo, his main puppet body had been broken by the Wooden Golem, and his hundreds of red-robed puppets had been wiped out in the previous battle.
All Sasori had left was a human puppet of the Third Kazekage.
But the Third Kazekage human puppet couldn't be used; taking it out would be telling everyone that he was the murderer of the Third Kazekage.
After thinking it through...
Ryou realized he really couldn't beat Pakura this way.
Inside Ryou's body, Sasori gloated a bit, "Let's see how you handle this mess now."
"Shut up!"
After a brief standoff, Pakura was somewhat puzzled. "Sasori, why haven't you taken out your puppets yet? Are you looking down on me?"
A Puppeteer's primary means is their puppets; Ryou standing there in the distance—he was just a lone soldier!
Please, you're a Puppeteer; your method of combat is puppets.
Ryou snorted. "Dealing with someone like you doesn't require me to use puppets!"
It wasn't that Ryou didn't have puppets; he was afraid that taking them out would scare Pakura to death.
Chiyo could tell. "Sasori has no puppets!"
Ebizo analyzed, "Most likely. Sasori has been wandering for three years and is so hungry he hasn't even grown taller; where would he get the money to make and maintain puppets?"
"He's really suffered!"
Puppeteer is a profession for the wealthy; it's very resource-heavy. If you don't have the funds, don't play a Puppeteer—go be a tank and soak up damage for others.
Chiyo narrowed her eyes, looking at Ryou.
Was it that he had none, or was he afraid that bringing them out would be too gruesome and terrifying, scaring everyone?
The person who knew Sasori best was Chiyo.
The concept of human puppets existed in Sunagakure; the ultimate taboo of the Puppet Technique was turning living people into puppets to retain their Chakra and Ninjutsu from when they were alive.
After Sasori defected, Chiyo was quite certain, based on some of Sasori's past traces, that he was touching that taboo.
Perhaps the Third Kazekage had already been made into a human puppet by Sasori.
But with no evidence, Chiyo could only think the best of Sasori.
For instance, maybe Sasori's 'little sparrow' had been cut off and he was being controlled by someone... Without puppets, Ryou would create puppets out of thin air.
"Pakura, just watch if I control you or not, and that'll be the end of it."
Ryou extended both hands, and white Chakra Threads shot out from his ten fingers. Because it was night, the Chakra Threads couldn't be hidden very well.
After all, Chakra can emit light.
But Ryou's Chakra Threads were released very quickly, reaching Pakura in the blink of an eye.
"Insignificant tricks! How dare you show off before a master!"
Pakura had Kage-level Ninja stats. Ryou's little tricks might work on average Ninjas, but against her, the Scorch Release user Pakura?
It was simply looking down on her.
Pakura used a quick Body Flicker to dodge Ryou's Chakra Threads and then released a Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.
A gale blew from her mouth, pushing away all of Ryou's Chakra Threads.
Then her hands quickly formed seals. Her hand seals were quite fast, four per second—clearly the result of a lot of grinding.
"Fire Release: Flaming Whirlwind!"
A mass of Fire Release flames spat from Pakura's mouth, quickly spinning to form a fire tornado that swept toward Ryou.
With a bang, the fire tornado struck Ryou.
"Lord Sasori!"
Some Puppeteers grew anxious upon seeing this.
But Chiyo and Ebizo weren't worried, believing that such a Ninjutsu couldn't defeat Sasori so easily.
Sure enough, what Pakura hit was only a Sand Clone.
Sasori was a puppet-style Ninja, but that didn't mean he didn't know Ninjutsu!
Sasori's Chakra natures weren't officially given, but they could be analyzed from actual combat.
He could use Sand Clone, so he had Earth.
His main puppet body had Water and Fire nature Ninjutsu scrolls on its back, all of which Sasori made himself.
This proved his Chakra natures also included Water and Fire.
Since he was from Sunagakure in the Land of Wind, Wind nature was a given.
As for Yin? Sasori spent all his time hiding inside Hiruko 'pedaling a tricycle,' covered in poison—wasn't that 'shady' enough?
Since the regeneration core was a life-based Secret Technique, he also possessed Yang Release.
Therefore, Sasori's Chakra natures were Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Yin, and Yang.
He was only missing Lightning to have all natures.
He wasn't 'shocking' enough yet; Ryou had to give him a good jolt.
Ryou activated an Earth Release technique and appeared beneath Pakura's feet, holding a Kunai coated in poison.
If Ryou touched her even once, Pakura would be finished.
Pakura clearly knew how terrifying Sasori's poison was, and she instantly activated her Kekkei Genkai Secret Technique—Scorch Release.
"Scorch Release: Incinerating Flare!"
A fireball resembling a small sun condensed in Pakura's hand, radiating extreme heat that caused the surrounding air to instantly rise.
Desert nights are very cold, but as soon as Pakura's Scorch Release appeared, everyone felt like they were burning.
Pakura slammed the Scorch Release into the ground; there was no explosion, only a blast of intense hot air forced into the earth.
Snowy and Candy, who were using Earth Release underground, couldn't stand the high temperature and hurriedly tunneled deeper.
Ryou couldn't stand it either.
Although the Uchiha Clan was a Fire-natured clan with higher fire resistance than average Ninjas...
...the heat of Pakura's Scorch Release was countless times higher than that of regular flames.
Unable to endure staying underground, Ryou jumped back up.
"Fine, fine, Pakura. So that's how you want to play?"
"If I can't control you, can't I control your subordinates?"
Ryou's fingers released Chakra Threads, which shot rapidly toward the subordinates behind Pakura.
A Puppeteer's Chakra Threads can be used to control enemies.
In the original work, when Sasori was reincarnated via Edo Tensei and had no puppets, he used his Chakra Threads to control Ninjas and use them as puppets.
Compared to puppets, Ninjas require more Chakra Threads to control, as they have thoughts and will resist.
Besides, can an inanimate toy compare to a real person?
However, Ryou could control a Ninja with just a single Chakra Thread because he had infused the energy of Sharingan Genjutsu into them.
As soon as the Chakra Threads touched a person, they would release Genjutsu energy to disrupt the target's Chakra, thereby allowing him to manipulate them.
The Chunin Maki was instantly controlled, becoming a 'useless Maki'.
Nine other Ninjas, including three Jonin, were also controlled by Ryou's Chakra Threads.
These Ninjas all leaped into the battlefield, and Ryou brought them all in front of him for protection.
The top-tier Puppeteer doesn't need puppets, because he can turn others into his puppets.
Ten Chakra Threads, controlling ten Chunin and Jonin—this was what a peak Puppeteer looked like.