Naruto: Reborn as Yagura Karatachi

"Surround him!"

The Konoha shinobi seized their chance when Sasori's iron cable failed to retract in time, briefly limiting his movement.

Two ninja precisely drove their blades into the chain, pinning it firmly to the ground.

But Sasori's body was forged from only the finest materials, and this iron cable—one of his lethal weapons—was no exception.

Standard-issue ninja swords could only hold it in place through brute force. They couldn't pierce it.

"Lend a hand over here!"

Hearing the cry for support and seeing the cable still retracting at a frightening speed, the surrounding Konoha shinobi rushed in to assist.

Some slammed blades down to pin it tighter, others sealed it off with Earth Release, and a few even grabbed it with their bare hands.

This cable, which Sasori of the Red Sand had used to kill their comrades, could now be turned into the very thing that held him down!

...

At the other end of the cable—

Sasori calmly shifted his gaze from the entangled iron chain back to the rest of the Konoha ninja who had surrounded him.

After just bursting out from the crevice of the canyon, he'd landed on the open desert plains—giving the enemy a brief window of opportunity.

"Fire Style!"

The Konoha shinobi formed hand seals, launching waves of flame from mid-to-long range toward Sasori at the center.

They knew the puppet mechanisms embedded in his body were unpredictable and deadly. Without a guaranteed fatal strike, getting close would only mean death.

It was a sound tactical judgment.

Suddenly, a looming black shadow descended from above.

The hundred Puppets that Sasori had sent into the sky earlier came plummeting down under his control, diving straight into the Konoha encirclement!

Each puppet crashed down like a missile, scattering the formation of shinobi.

"What a waste... using my masterpieces like this."

The fire hadn't damaged him in the slightest—Sasori's body was resistant to both extreme heat and cold.

A massive cloud of sand and dust was kicked up by the chaos, partially obscuring vision on both sides.

Still, the Konoha shinobi managed to regroup in a single straight line.

"No matter... I'll just replenish my stock using your bodies."

Suddenly, the tension in the cable snapped.

Before the shinobi could react—

Sasori had already disengaged the joint mechanism connecting his body to the iron chain.

Now free, the cable became a guiding line—pointing him directly toward his enemies like a blazing spear.

The weapon on his palm rotated, transforming into a cannon barrel. Behind him, the first scroll activated and disintegrated.

A direct blast of fire surged down the length of the cable—engulfing the Konoha shinobi in flames.

...

"Now's our chance!"

Kakashi Hatake had been hiding among the Konoha troops, waiting patiently for this exact moment.

The enemy's tactical misstep and his allies' sacrifice had fully captured Sasori's attention. Now, his guard was down more than ever.

Bursting out from the dust cloud, Kakashi leapt high into the air. Lightning crackled in his hand as he thrust a blade of pure chakra straight at Sasori's head!

Sasori had noticed the attack coming from behind, but—

"Shadow Possession Jutsu."

The swirling sand gave just enough cover for a shadow to creep up.

A Nara clan ninja, protected in the middle of the Konoha ranks, poured every ounce of chakra he had into restraining Sasori's body.

Sweat poured down his face as he desperately locked Sasori in place.

"Raikiri!"

Kakashi's Lightning Blade pierced clean through Sasori's skull.

Seeing an opening, an Akimichi clan ninja followed up immediately, partially expanding his arm with the Multi-Size Technique.

"Take this!"

Boom!

A massive fist slammed into Sasori's torso.

Without the opportunity created by the Nara and Kakashi, the Akimichi wouldn't have dared attack.

Their enlarged bodies were practically made to be targeted by poisoned puppet weapons—giant bullseyes in the battlefield.

But now, it was finally their turn to strike.

Cutting off the head might not be enough to kill him.

The Yamanaka's Mind Transfer Jutsu had no effect on him.

And judging from what they could see with the naked eye, this enemy probably didn't even qualify as "human."

They couldn't rely on the usual ways to take him down.

With his head destroyed and body crushed by that enormous strike, Sasori's form was finally torn apart—limbs scattering across the sand.

Kakashi and the Akimichi ninja quickly retreated.

The Sarutobi shinobi followed up with a volley of Fire Release—scorching what remained of the puppet body.

"Is it over...?"

But the look of triumph on their faces quickly turned into panic.

The Puppets hadn't stopped moving.

Even without their master, they were still fully functional.

That could only mean one thing.

Amid the flames, Sasori's broken body began to reassemble itself—each scattered component crawling back together.

None of the Konoha ninja moved to interrupt him.

They didn't know where his vital point was. Even if they managed to destroy him a second time, it would be pointless if they hadn't hit the core.

Thinking it through logically, Kakashi immediately lifted the forehead protector over his left eye—unleashing the Sharingan to analyze the battlefield.

Among the countless puppet mechanisms and twisted parts—

One thing stood out: a small, throbbing lump of living tissue, pulsing like a heart.

Kakashi didn't hesitate.

He hurled a kunai straight at the core—

The kunai struck—but was blocked by a mechanism panel.

Various parts of the puppet's body reassembled with a series of mechanical clicks.

That biological core—the fleshy heart Kakashi had noticed earlier—was now embedded deep within the puppet's inner structure, hidden from view.

Sasori's amber eyes, devoid of emotion, swept across the Konoha shinobi before locking onto Kakashi. He'd remembered this one—the Leaf ninja who had demonstrated formidable analytical skill and combat prowess in their earlier exchange.

That heart.

When Sasori was first created, the biological core had been placed conspicuously on the puppet's exterior.

But after Yagura mocked both Sasori and Orochimaru and conducted a Version 2 upgrade, the core was relocated into the puppet's body. Just like a human heart, it wasn't meant to be exposed to open air.

Leaving such a critical weakness out in the open? What purpose would that serve beyond inviting a fatal strike? The pursuit of eternal art would've ended with an early death. Sasori had taken the Mizukage's words to heart—they made sense.

But if his body were shattered in battle and the heart exposed... well, there wasn't much to be done then.

This masked Konoha ninja was sharp. He'd pinpointed Sasori's weakness and quickly relayed the information to the other Leaf forces.

Next time they attacked Sasori, they'd aim for the human heart location—and they'd try to pierce that fleshy core.

The thought drew a cold chuckle from Sasori deep within.

Of course, he wasn't about to kindly inform the Leaf that his heart wasn't fixed in one spot. He could shift it to different positions within his body—or even transfer it into one of the Puppets and control his current form remotely if he wanted.

Still, this puppet body was comfortable. He hadn't reached the point where he needed to abandon ship just yet. Not for opponents of this caliber.

BOOM!!

A massive explosion thundered from a nearby battlefield, pulling Sasori's and the Konoha ninjas' attention momentarily.

Steam erupted into the sky, condensing into a thick cloud.

A twisted demonic face took shape within the mist—grinning menacingly.

Zabuza swung his blade, deflecting Inuzuka Hana's wild Wolf Fang Over Fang attack. Her relentless, self-sacrificing fighting style was starting to wear on his nerves.

Hana retreated toward Aburame Shibi, her body marred with cuts and embedded metal shards. None of them were fatal—mostly on her abdomen, arms, and legs.

But she showed no sign of pain or hesitation. In fact, she was using the enemy's "gifts"—those shards—like weapons of her own, continuing to launch fierce assaults with Wolf Fang Over Fang and making life difficult for Zabuza.

She glanced at Shibi, who was currently dealing with Hōzuki Mangetsu.

But Mangetsu was nowhere to be seen now.

That ominous cloud in the sky—it couldn't have appeared out of nowhere.

"What's going on?" Hana asked.

"Not sure yet," Shibi replied.

He had just used Aburame clan insects to restrain Mangetsu, completely confident that not a single drop of water had escaped the swarm.

But then an explosion had erupted from within the bugs, annihilating the entire hive.

Cold, solid particles began falling from above.

Shibi caught one in his palm. "Hail?"

Hail. Explosions. Steam. And Hōzuki...

A senior Chūnin approached, sweating profusely.

"This might be that jutsu the Second Mizukage was famous for—'Steaming Danger Tyranny.'"

The chilled steam cloud began to swirl and condense into a humanoid form.

A small, ball-shaped version of Mangetsu materialized in front of Shibi and the other Konoha shinobi.

Zabuza raised an eyebrow. "So you had this up your sleeve. When did you learn that technique?"

Hana had been fighting him with reckless abandon for quite some time. Though she was badly injured now and no longer a serious threat.

And her clan's techniques were all physical in nature. Ineffective against Mangetsu.

Aburame Shibi's bugs didn't work too well on him either—his chakra reserves were massive.

Zabuza turned, trusting Mangetsu to handle things here, and headed off to deal with other Konoha shinobi.

"Damn you, Zabuza..." Mangetsu muttered.

When using Steaming Danger Tyranny, attacks came from the clone, while the real body suffered a temporary weakened state. Mangetsu gritted his teeth as Zabuza walked away.

Some teammate you are. Not even going to give me a hand? Truly the best of friends...

"There! That's the real one!" shouted Hana.

Thanks to the Chūnin's intel on the technique, Hana sniffed out Mangetsu's real body and pointed toward the 10 o'clock direction.

"Trying to catch me?" Mangetsu smirked.

Using the timing delay, he slipped into the protection of nearby Mist ninja and stuck out his tongue at them from afar.

"Bleeehh! Too slow! Ba~ka~~"

He even raised his brows to warn them—"Better watch out."

The small Mangetsu clone leapt high into the air. With its small, nimble form, it zipped through the Konoha ranks at shocking speed.

The spherical body bounced and rolled as its blade, fused seamlessly into its frame, sliced through flesh like butter.

As it moved, heat built up inside.

Water within the clone's body evaporated, becoming pressurized steam. The small clone swelled—just like a balloon reaching critical mass.

BOOM!

A devastating explosion rocked the battlefield, forcing Hana and Shibi to retreat.

Dozens of Konoha and Kumogakure ninja—some too slow to react, others fast but not fast enough—were caught in the blast and killed instantly.

"Why did it explode?!" Hana shouted, rounding on the senior Chūnin.

This wasn't what he'd said earlier—the clone hadn't even reached full expansion!

"Calm down, Hana," Shibi interjected, signaling the Chūnin to step back.

That veteran had survived since the Second Great Ninja War and had done his part by supplying them with valuable information. No need for him to get dragged into the current battle and die pointlessly.

"That explosion just now wasn't from the clone expanding," Shibi explained.

The Mangetsu clone hadn't even charged in their direction—it had been lured away by one of Shibi's insect clones, giving him time to gather intel.

BOOM!

Another explosion—again before the clone had fully expanded.

His clone and several other shinobi were vaporized in the blast.

"It's the Explosive Blade," Shibi said grimly.

He'd seen it clearly—the clone was wielding that particular blade.

The last two explosions had been triggered by the Explosive Blade, not the steam technique itself.

Steaming Danger Tyranny was known as an infinite explosion technique—but now it had been combined with a ninja blade that also detonated.

This type of large-scale, rapid-fire detonation was the bane of Aburame-style insect jutsu.

Shibi couldn't think of a way to break the deadlock.

On the Kumogakure front, their forces were deadlocked with the group led by Hoshigaki Kisame and Ameyuri Ringo. No reinforcements were coming.

Just when Shibi thought it couldn't get worse—reality proved him wrong.

In the brief moment he spent strategizing, the Mangetsu clone had already ballooned to enormous size.

Now, it was roughly on par with an Akimichi's partial expansion jutsu. Its massive body and imminent explosion generated overwhelming pressure.

How could it be expanding this fast?

Faster than any calculations had predicted—faster than what would be expected from simple motion-based heat buildup.

Then Shibi realized the difference: "It's the Explosive Blade's explosion!"

The blasts weren't just attacking—they were accelerating the steam technique's charge rate.

The explosions shortened the cooldown time between expansions.

A brilliant white light from the blast washed over the battlefield, blinding everyone watching that section of the front.

...

"Aiya, aiya," Mangetsu muttered.

He was being carried away from the hazard zone by his Mist allies, all of whom treated him with exaggerated reverence.

"No need to admire me so much, really. I understand."

The Mist ninja politely averted their eyes.

(We weren't. We don't. Please stop.)

Shibi and Hana managed to escape.

Judging from the scale of the last explosion, they realized they were no match for Hōzuki Mangetsu.

They needed reinforcements.

But the Ino-Shika-Chō trio wasn't doing any better—Sasori was completely dominating their side of the fight.

The tide of battle was clear now.

The strongest units from each group withdrew temporarily for a quick discussion.

"We need to pull back."

"We rushed in without proper preparation. Fighting a battle we can't win will just lead to needless casualties."

"Our numbers are smaller, and we don't have enough elite ninja to stand up to the Seven Ninja Swordsmen."

...

Less than ten seconds later, they'd all voted unanimously to retreat.

Kakashi, ever considerate, remembered one last thing. "I'll inform the Cloud nin."

But when he went to tell them, he discovered Kumogakure had already begun retreating—long before them.

They'd secretly withdrawn, leaving Konoha behind as a convenient distraction.

When they saw Kakashi, the jig was up.

The Cloud rearguard didn't even bother making excuses. They turned and ran too—didn't even give Kakashi a nod.

...

After two days of fierce fighting, with both Konoha and Kumogakure fully withdrawing from the Land of Wind, the battle at Sunagakure's Heavenly Line was over.

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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