After the storm passed, Pakura suddenly appeared in front of Ryou's Susanoo, pressing one hand against the sand and releasing a large amount of Scorch Release chakra into it.
"Scorch Release: Incinerating Flare Burial!"
Suddenly, a swirling vortex of flames appeared beneath the Susanoo, and a searing hot wind exploded from beneath the sand.
The air was violently distorted by the high temperature, blurring the vision, and the sand was baked so hot that it melted directly into glass.
The hot wind attacked Ryou's feet, instantly evaporating one of his legs.
The first three forms of Susanoo have a weakness: they cannot defend the area beneath the feet. In the original work, when Madara activated the half-body Susanoo, Gaara used sand to pull him out from under the Susanoo's feet.
Therefore, the area beneath the feet of the first three forms of Susanoo is a defensive blind spot.
Pakura noticed the weakness of Ryou's Susanoo after only her second attack, proving she possessed high combat intelligence.
After hitting Ryou with a large-scale Scorch Release attack, Pakura retreated a dozen meters. The rising hot wind from the Scorch Release kicked up flying sand and stones.
It was somewhat difficult to see Ryou's condition inside the Susanoo.
Pakura did not relax just because she had landed an attack on Ryou.
She was as cold as tempered ice, her gaze locked onto the commotion opposite her without blinking, her every movement filled with caution.
She did not believe Ryou would be dealt with so easily.
This was, after all, an S-rank rogue ninja who had even defeated the Sannin Jiraiya.
As the purgatory-like hot wind of the Scorch Release blew past, Ryou had already deactivated his Susanoo. At this moment, both of his legs had been evaporated by the hot wind until only bone remained.
A triumphant smile appeared on Pakura's lips, and she couldn't help but puff out her chest: "Uchiha Ryou, this is the consequence of opposing me, Pakura."
Pakura walked slowly toward Ryou's direction. The battle was decided, the outcome was set; she was the victor.
Sasori crawled to Ryou's chest, looking at Ryou's skeletal feet, shocked by the immense power of the Scorch Release.
If Ryou hadn't grabbed it to his chest just now and protected it with chakra, it would have been evaporated directly by the hot wind of the Scorch Release.
Ryou looked at his gruesome injuries and smiled: "Interesting, Scorch Release is truly interesting!"
"Pakura, I now understand why Kirigakure wants to kill you so badly?"
Pakura paused, her eyes widening as she looked at Ryou, who didn't show a hint of distress on his face.
Could it be?
In the next second, the top-tier Yang Release power within Ryou's body activated, and flesh and blood rapidly regenerated on his feet.
In just the blink of an eye, Ryou's legs were as good as new.
Pakura was shocked: "You—"
Ryou looked at Pakura with a smile: "Pakura, don't you know I have Wood Release? Don't you know about the First Hokage's healing without seals?"
Pakura, of course, didn't know. She only knew that Wood Release was immensely powerful and the best weapon for suppressing Tailed Beasts.
It was a Kekkei Genkai that made even Chiyo and Ebizo tremble with fear when they mentioned it.
But there was a simple logic: fire can burn wood, right?
Especially the ultra-high-temperature Scorch Release.
Pakura felt that her Scorch Release could still go head-to-head with Ryou's Wood Release.
But Wood Release was not just about the power of the techniques; it also granted the host a recovery ability far beyond that of ordinary people.
This kind of recovery wasn't just healing; it was regeneration.
Sasori said to Ryou: "Let me deal with her! Puppets without moisture are the best weapons against Scorch Release."
Seeing Sasori's eagerness to fight, Ryou didn't want to spoil its fun and called out to Candy from a distance: "Candy, throw the Third Kazekage puppet over here!"
"The Third Kazekage?!"
Pakura's eyes widened suddenly, her gaze filled with bewilderment.
Immediately after, a black figure flew in from the distance, with deep purple spiky hair that stood up like steel needles.
Obvious puppet joints were visible at the neck and arms, giving off a cold, mechanical feeling.
This was the Third Kazekage, whom Sasori had turned into a Human Puppet.
Pakura stared at the Third Kazekage's Human Puppet in disbelief, her mind reeling, before it all turned into cold killing intent.
"Sasori, how dare you insult the Third Kazekage like this?"
Killing someone is one thing, but to kill them and then continue to toy with the deceased's body was crossing the line.
Not to mention it was the Third Kazekage, evaluated by Sunagakure as the strongest Kazekage in history and a hero of the Sunagakure.
This was killing first and then building him into a puppet; even when it's foul, he still builds it. Only a pervert would do such a thing.
Pakura's killing intent toward Sasori had now reached its peak.
Sasori used its regeneration core to release chakra threads and control the Third Kazekage.
With the Third Kazekage's Human Puppet in hand, Sasori was no longer powerless, but even with the Third Kazekage, Sasori didn't dare to resist Ryou in the slightest.
Even if it turned all four generations of Kazekage into Human Puppets, it wouldn't be able to defeat the Wood Golem, which seemed like a god or demon incarnate.
The Wood Golem Technique that Ryou had displayed that day had already crushed all of Sasori's pride.
Sasori looked at Pakura with a cold sneer and said, "Pakura, I wonder if you can withstand the Magnet Release of the strongest Kazekage in history?"
Pakura shouted, "Sasori, you beast! I will kill you and evaporate you into a dried scorpion."
"Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder!"
Pakura condensed a Scorch Release fireball in her palm and threw it toward the location of Ryou and Sasori.
Sasori's chakra threads danced, controlling the Third Kazekage to release a Magnet Release Ninjutsu, creating an iron sand wall to block Pakura's Scorch Release fireball.
The Scorch Release exploded against the iron sand wall, and a massive wave of hot wind swept toward Ryou and Sasori.
Wind is formless; when it encounters an obstacle, part of it bounces back, while most of the rest bypasses and flows around it.
This was also why Scorch Release was so troublesome; it was ultra-high-temperature hot wind.
Humans are made of water, and without a Ninjutsu of absolute defense, there was simply no way to defend against Pakura's Scorch Release.
To be touched by it was to be crippled; to be hit by it was to die.
Ryou once again summoned Susanoo, using it to defend against Pakura's Scorch Release.
Sasori was also inside the Susanoo. Within the absolute defense, Sasori could better control the Third Kazekage to attack Pakura.
"My turn!"
Sasori controlled the Third Kazekage to release Magnet Release.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Drizzle!"
A large amount of iron sand spewed from the Third Kazekage's mouth, forming countless fine needles that attacked Pakura, covering an area of dozens of meters around her.
Pakura was shocked when she saw the Ninjutsu released by the Third Kazekage.
She was, after all, not a Puppeteer and didn't understand the concept of a Human Puppet.
How could the deceased body of the Third Kazekage still perform Ninjutsu?
This kind of puppet technology had broken all ethical boundaries.
Imagine if this technique were to spread; the Ninja World would likely be filled with Puppeteers hunting down powerful Ninjas everywhere.
Sasori was truly devoid of any ethics.
As the Third Kazekage's iron sand approached, Pakura had no spare thoughts for Sasori's lack of scruples and refined her chakra to deal with the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release.
Facing the strongest Kazekage in history, Pakura couldn't afford to be careless at all.
"Wind Release: Flowing Wind Wall!"
Pakura formed hand seals, and a high-speed rotating vortex of wind suddenly swirled around her, the azure wind wall churning layer by layer to form a solid barrier of airflow.
The iron sand needles released by the Third Kazekage struck the vortex and were immediately torn apart, shredded, and deflected by the frantic wind blades.
The Magnet Release needles were all blocked by Pakura's wall, unable to get even an inch closer.