Revolution in the Ninja World

The Third Kazekage Puppet was one of Sasori of the Red Sand's trump cards. Bringing it out at this critical moment served two purposes: firstly, to showcase his combat strength, and secondly, to highlight another undeniable fact—now that Suna knew the truth about the Third Kazekage's death, would they still attempt to persuade him to return to that village?

Regardless, there was no longer a place for Sasori of the Red Sand there. If Suna could somehow overlook this, Sasori, while unchanged in his resolve, would have to genuinely regard them with a higher degree of respect.

But only a slightly higher degree. To the current Sasori, the village was merely shackles he had shed, a shell he had outgrown.

Given Sasori's stance, Zaemon Matsuyo indeed wore an expression of disbelief. Her gaze fixed intently on the Kazekage puppet, as if she could still glimpse the imposing figure of the Strongest Kazekage in his prime. Yet, the grotesque, desiccated appearance before her spoke an irrefutable truth… the Third Kazekage had died at Sasori's hands.

Zaemon's mind stalled for a moment before accepting this absurd reality. Her gaze then involuntarily shifted to Sasori, her expression growing even more complex.

For Sasori, producing the Kazekage puppet was simply a declaration of his irreversible decision and his contemptuous disregard for Suna's future. For Zaemon, however, she could only feel that Suna's once most celebrated genius had now completely let himself rot.

"Well, this is an unexpected bonus. A years-old mystery, solved just like that? Don't worry, though, this doesn't affect the mission ahead… How Suna deals with its former genius, now a missing-nin, is their business. It's irrelevant to the collaborative task we were assigned."

To Habara, talk of missing-nin was irrelevant. Right now, he only saw Sasori's "Orange Gear"—such a life-sized action figure, naturally, belongs to the virtuous.

"Perhaps I've been out of sight for too long…"

Sasori glanced at Habara but seemed to look right through him.

Habara's attitude towards Sasori seemed somewhat dismissive, and Sasori didn't think the problem lay with him… Surely no one actually thought 'Sasori of the Red Sand' was weak, right?

If someone was willing to express such an opinion with their life, well, who was Sasori to refuse?

Sasori wasted no more words. With a light wave of his arm and a flick of his fingers, the Third Kazekage puppet vibrated its iron wings and lifted into the air. Two massive curved blades extended from its arms as it shot directly towards Habara.

Its "Iron Sand Wings" drastically disturbed the air, propelling it forward at high speed. The sharp curved blades sliced effortlessly through everything in their path, seeming poised to cut Habara in half in the next instant.

Habara reacted by lunging forward. The fierce sound of rending air and a bone-chilling coldness zipped past, practically scraping his back. Immediately, he pushed off with his right heel, twisting halfway around in an exaggerated yet incredibly fluid motion, ending up facing upwards.

His right hand reached behind his back, grasped something, and then forcefully hurled it diagonally upwards.

The giant scythe, black-handled and silver-bladed, was pulled from the "sword casket" on his back. Its razor-sharp blade carved a perfect arc through the air, accurately striking towards the Kazekage puppet just as they were about to intersect.

Sasori's puppet control was impeccable. Before Habara's attack could land, a large amount of Iron Sand had already coalesced before the Kazekage puppet, forming a seemingly impenetrable iron shield.

Yet, it blocked nothing. The silver blade, thin as a cicada's wing, easily pierced through both the iron shield and the Kazekage puppet hiding behind it.

Puppets don't get injured, and while Habara's attack had run through the puppet's chest, it apparently hadn't damaged any critical components. The next moment, a dense shower of Iron Sand needles rained down towards Habara below.

For an ordinary ninja, such area-of-effect saturation attacks were practically impossible to deal with. A casual strike from the Third Kazekage could efficiently and swiftly reap lives, proving his title as the Strongest Kazekage in life was no mere fluke.

Habara flipped back onto his feet, flicked his right arm, and once again gripped a Mercury Longsword. He didn't charge the puppet in the air, nor did he attack Sasori directly… Instead, he sprinted towards Zaemon Matsuyo at his maximum speed, reaching her just before the attack descended.

He swung the Mercury Longsword with one hand, appearing to block the dense barrage raining down from mid-air. But in reality, as the Iron Sand needles neared him, they were already being repelled by an invisible force.

Habara hooked his foot under Zaemon's armpit, lifting her prone body off the ground unnervingly like a hanged ghost. Then, cleanly and without hesitation, he kicked her squarely in the lower abdomen.

The Suna kunoichi instantly curled up like a shrimp and shot backwards, skimming the ground like a cannonball. She tumbled violently for dozens of meters before finally crashing into a broken wall.

She left a long drag mark in the dirt. After stopping, various puppet parts and ninja tools lay scattered around her.

For four or five seconds, Zaemon lay motionless like a corpse, before finally gasping violently for air… Alright, Habara hit even harder than Sasori.

It was hard to say whether Habara was saving her or delivering a finishing blow. Witnessing this scene, it was easy for the thought "Classic you…" to surface in one's mind. Often, the wounds inflicted by allies cut deeper than those from enemies; enemy attacks are merely physical, while allies often inflict psychological damage alongside it.

Habara's rescue technique momentarily stunned even Sasori across from him. Regardless, Habara had successfully moved Zaemon from the battle's focal point faster than an emergency ambulance.

Sasori cared little for Zaemon's fate. Seeing his dense needle attack fail, he immediately switched tactics. A giant, iron triangular pyramid materialized before the Kazekage puppet and slammed down towards Habara.

BOOM!

The massive spike plunged into the ground, sending dust billowing outwards. But such a heavy attack didn't harm Habara. The next moment, his figure dashed out from the dust cloud.

With his hands held naturally at his sides, he sprinted up the slanted face of the pyramid, moving with the agility of a fish in water, easily flipping onto its peak.

"I see. You're a Magnet Release ninja," Sasori stated. Through the exchange just now, he had finally figured something out.

At this point, Sasori was on the left, Habara in the center, and the Kazekage puppet was to the upper right—a standard sandwich situation.

"Ninja differ from one another, and Magnet Release users differ even more so," Habara said calmly, completely unfazed by the situation.

"I think I know who you are now. 'Atomic Annie' must be a pseudonym. You're the Konoha ninja who assassinated Sunagakure's Fourth Kazekage at the end of the Great War…"

Sasori's intelligence gathering wasn't his strongest suit, but he wouldn't completely ignore a major event like the Fourth Kazekage's death. If he had investigated, he would have eventually picked up some clues.

"I didn't, it wasn't me, don't spread rumors… The Fourth Kazekage clearly died at the hands of Kakashi of the Sharingan," Habara immediately corrected him. As the saying goes, every injustice has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor; you have to target the right person for revenge. Such matters couldn't be confused.

"Kakashi of the Sharingan? Isn't that your companion?"

Sasori grew more alert. Killing a village Kage spoke volumes about Habara's strength, and Habara's identity as a "Magnet Release ninja" gave him a rough idea why his puppet might be malfunctioning.

"Right, I almost forgot… I don't think he can last much longer, so we need to hurry things up over here." To prevent Kakashi from suffering an untimely demise, Habara decided to quickly "collect" Sasori.

Sasori, however, moved faster. He thrust his arm forward, fingers spread wide then clenched into a fist. The Iron Sand beneath Habara's feet instantly softened. Just as his feet and calves sank in, it hardened like concrete.

Yet, such a move wasn't enough to immobilize Habara. He didn't even need to struggle; his feet simply "floated" out of the Iron Sand.

Immediately after, he leaped down, instantly reaching his maximum speed and charging unhesitatingly towards Sasori.

Sasori flicked his arm, and the Kazekage puppet followed suit, pressing towards Habara.

As they say, running isn't as fast as flying. The problem was, Habara was practically "flying close to the ground." The Kazekage puppet pursued relentlessly but seemed unable to catch up.

Just as Habara's longsword was about to strike Sasori, the Kazekage puppet suddenly accelerated, and in a flash of lightning speed, drove a slender iron spike straight through Habara's chest.

The sudden, seemingly fatal piercing wound robbed Habara's assault of its power. He stumbled forward, staggering. Sasori merely sidestepped lightly, and the two passed each other.

"How could a Puppet Master possibly allow an enemy to get close so easily? That wasn't a weakness being exposed; it was a weakness being deliberately exposed," Sasori commented to Habara's back.

But what happened next took Sasori somewhat by surprise.

Habara, who had been in the process of face-planting, suddenly stopped. He turned his head, a smile on his face, and said to Sasori, "I don't really understand Puppet Masters, much like you don't understand Magicians."

As he spoke, he lifted his left hand and wiggled his fingers, showing Sasori what he held.

It looked familiar to Sasori. Then, his gaze shifted downwards, and he discovered his own right arm was missing—although Sasori hadn't yet undergone his ultimate evolution, his "mechanical ascension," he had already begun modifying his own body during this period.

It had to be said, this was truly performance art. A Puppet Master was already at a distinct disadvantage against Habara, let alone one who had turned their own body into a puppet.

Sasori of the Red Sand's strength was certainly not to be underestimated, but for Habara, dismantling him limb by limb was merely a commonplace affair.

While speaking, Habara turned back around. The iron spike that had seemingly pierced his body clattered to the ground, dissolving into a pile of iron sand… There was no piercing wound on his chest at all; he had simply stuck iron rods to his front and back earlier.

He had genuinely just performed a little magic trick.

Sasori rapidly retreated several steps. He tried again to activate the Kazekage puppet, only to find that no matter how he manipulated the chakra threads, his most prized puppet remained completely unresponsive.

"Don't waste your effort. Ever heard of 'Ninja Art: Grand Confiscation Jutsu'?" Habara asked.

To put it bluntly, in their current engagement, Sasori was like an elementary school student, and Habara was the homeroom teacher. And when it came to a student's toys, couldn't the teacher confiscate them whenever they pleased?

Without any visible manipulation from Habara, almost as if by will alone, he took control of the Kazekage puppet. The puppet reached up, pulled the giant scythe from its own chest, and tossed it to Habara.

Habara caught the long-handled weapon. Now wielding a sword in one hand and a scythe in the other, he looked incredibly aggressive.

The Kazekage puppet stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him. In an instant, the situation was reversed. Habara went from being the one ganged up on to being part of the gang-up. Next, he and the Kazekage puppet could perform a two-person show; the only question was whether Sasori wanted to watch.

Forced back by his own artistic masterpiece, Sasori retreated while pulling out another scroll, this one marked with the character for "Red" (赤).

"Secret Red Technique: Performance of a Hundred Machines!"

As the seal was released, a large number of puppets were summoned. Numerous chakra threads extended from the shoulder where Sasori's right arm used to be, bringing all the puppets under his control.

Sasori, not yet having completed his "mechanical ascension," naturally hadn't finished creating his body's core—the "regeneration core." Therefore, his puppet control capacity wasn't as exaggerated as it would later become. His strength hadn't peaked yet, so the so-called "Performance of a Hundred Machines" was just an approximation; the number of puppets he could control was still somewhat short of a hundred.

Specifically…

He was currently short by more than seventy.

Habara and the Kazekage puppet he controlled charged into Sasori's puppet swarm. The current battle wasn't difficult; each of them just needed to fulfill the "I can take ten!" objective.

Kakashi stared at the sea of fire before him. Forced back by the intense heatwave, he couldn't help but retreat further.

The jutsu's power is beyond imagination. Currently, it seems to have only two drawbacks… No, considering the power, the excessive chakra consumption can't really be called a drawback. So, it only has one problem—the name.

Regardless, Kakashi felt it was best to avoid using this jutsu if possible.

However, while some things certain people could never learn, other things most people could pick up just by watching once, like…

Flash-roasting large creatures, for instance.

Habara had roasted a Tailed Beast just before, and now Kakashi was roasting the giant Eight-Headed Serpent. It was a perfect example of the 'True Fragrance Law'—where you end up loving what you initially dismissed.

For a fleeting moment, Kakashi actually had the illusion that he could really burn Orochimaru to death this way. Although Orochimaru possessed extraordinarily exaggerated survival abilities, and Kakashi had even witnessed the legendary ninja's bizarre "shedding skin to regenerate" act, there was surely a difference between trauma and incineration.

If he just burned Orochimaru to ash, incinerating every single letter of his DNA, wouldn't that kill him?

It could only be said that Kakashi was still too young. To finish off Orochimaru, burning DNA wasn't enough; you'd probably have to completely eradicate the very concept of "chakra" as well.

Kakashi wasn't worried about his attack hitting Habara. Habara wouldn't die from his own original ninjutsu. Given the technique's special nature, Habara had a certain degree of control over it; burning him to death was definitely not possible.

All in all, Kakashi was doing quite a bit of thinking at the moment: hoping to kill someone, yet maybe not wanting to kill someone else? It showed he was being a tad optimistic.

In the next instant, he had no time for further thought.

A slender, sharp blade extended rapidly from within the flames. It sliced through the heatwave and fire, broke through layer upon layer of obstruction, and stabbed accurately towards Kakashi.

It was Orochimaru's Kusanagi Sword.

Being over a hundred meters from the fire's center, Kakashi spotted the attack early. Although the Kusanagi extended incredibly fast, Kakashi wasn't blind.

Therefore, just as he was about to be impaled, Kakashi leaped aside to dodge. Just as it seemed he had evaded the straightforward attack, the tip of the Kusanagi Sword unexpectedly turned, following his body's movement, and then stabbed directly into his shoulder!

The cold edge cut through skin, embedding itself in flesh and bone, piercing through Kakashi's torso in the blink of an eye.

What the—?!

A sword extending to extreme lengths was one thing, but how could it turn? That was just dirty fighting, like bringing high-tech weaponry to a sword fight.

An instantaneous muscle contraction nearly clamped Kakashi's wound shut around the invading blade. The blatant force of impact and the overwhelming pain made him stumble backwards uncontrollably. Just as he felt his back hit a wall, the Kusanagi's blade pierced through that thick wall as well.

Then, Kakashi felt the pressure on his shoulder lessen slightly, and a cold light glinted along the blade again.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. He realized the Kusanagi was no longer extending but was now retracting towards its tip, pulling itself towards him. In an instant, as the impossibly long blade contracted, a shadow trailing its hilt flew towards him.

This rapidly approaching figure was none other than Orochimaru. The compound, secret-technique level fire jutsu was still burning the remains of the serpent created by the Eight Branches Technique, yet Orochimaru himself seemed almost unaffected by the wide-range ninjutsu. He had merely lost a considerable amount of chakra.

"Impressive, for the Fourth Hokage's student. Kakashi, I previously thought you couldn't compare to the Yellow Flash, but it seems I underestimated you," Orochimaru said, arriving directly in front of Kakashi.

Given that Kakashi's performance had exceeded Orochimaru's expectations, he offered rare praise. Due to various reasons, certain stimuli, and unusual interferences, the current Kakashi was far stronger than he arguably should have been. Orochimaru's remark was thus understandable.

If one considered Kakashi's original life trajectory, at twenty-six or twenty-seven, he was barely comparable to a sixteen or seventeen-year-old Kabuto Yakushi.

Now, Kakashi, with less than twenty years of "skill," could actually hold his own against the Sannin Orochimaru, naturally commanding respect.

Of course, comparing skill at the same age, Kakashi was still inferior to Minato Namikaze; after all, at this age, the Fourth Hokage was already executing battlefield-penetrating strategies.

Different ninja shine in different ways. It had to be admitted, some people just seemed to shine exceptionally bright.

"Compared to Minato-sensei? I'm not that arrogant," Kakashi had never held himself in such high regard.

Orochimaru ignored Kakashi's remark, simply continuing his own train of thought, "The question is, where did Habara go?"

At this moment, Kakuzu arrived behind Orochimaru. "Finished? Took some effort, didn't it? Stop wasting time; don't forget our mission."

That was just his outward statement. Inwardly, Kakuzu was also grumbling, Why isn't he dead after even that?

"Don't be hasty. Kakashi is certainly a skilled young ninja, however, the truly troublesome one is the other…" Orochimaru replied, offering his explanation without even glancing at Kakuzu.

Orochimaru wasn't concerned about Kakashi because he understood Kakashi well—from his personality and methods to the likely types of ninjutsu he could use and the level of strength he could exert. Kakashi, he figured, operated within a conventional framework. But Habara? Orochimaru still couldn't see through Habara. To him, Habara was neither friend nor foe, but someone he was extremely wary of.

However, even though Orochimaru couldn't fathom Habara, he knew Habara definitely wouldn't allow Kakashi to die here. So, he had tossed out bait without any psychological burden.

But here, Orochimaru had miscalculated again. Simply put, he still wasn't giving Kakashi enough credit, assuming the current Kakashi was already securely hooked. But what was the reality?

Orochimaru pulled the Kusanagi Sword from Kakashi's shoulder. Immediately, Kakashi felt his body seeming to stiffen, losing control.

"Binding Snake Glare Spell…"

Kakashi instantly knew what was happening to him. The ability to flexibly use various ninjutsu—this was precisely what made ninja like Orochimaru so terrifying.

Kakuzu stepped forward. Considering the mission his top priority, he paid no heed to Orochimaru's considerations. He felt they shouldn't hold back, otherwise, it would inevitably lead to future problems… What was the vanished Habara doing? Did they even need to ask? There were no blind, deaf, or mentally challenged people here.

Habara was currently fighting the "mission target." That was another reason Kakuzu didn't want to waste time. Thus, he disagreed with Orochimaru's approach and prepared to step up and deliver a finishing blow to Kakashi.

"Surely you're not still holding onto sentimental feelings for your former village?" Kakuzu said, already drawing a kunai from his ninja pouch.

A dangerous light flickered in Orochimaru's eyes, but ultimately, he didn't stop Kakuzu.

Killing someone, delivering a finishing blow—it was nothing to Kakuzu. So, the next moment, the sharp tip of the kunai magnified infinitely in Kakashi's pupils.

Stab through the eye socket, then scramble the brain—a finishing method that could be called clean and hygienic.

Kakashi's body was immobilized by the binding jutsu; dodging was impossible. Just as he was about to crash and burn, his three-tomoe Sharingan appeared, the tomoe instantly connecting and swirling together, forming the unique Mangekyō pattern.

Kakashi's figure vanished from the spot.

Thus, Kakuzu's kunai struck empty air, assassinating nothing but loneliness. Not only did his attack miss, but he was left frozen on the spot, looking completely bewildered about what had just happened.

"What the—?"

Compared to the ignorant Kakuzu, Orochimaru's eyes narrowed even further at that moment, becoming significantly more dangerous.