This puppeteer is a bit... well...

Chapter 3 Sasori of the Red Sand

"They can't be that strong!"

Ryuji seemed to know what Yekura was thinking and couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Although Gin can act on her own, it's just an action program etched into her mind. She doesn't have her own consciousness and can't refine chakra. She needs me, as a puppeteer, to supply it."

Upon hearing this, Ye Cang breathed a sigh of relief.

Even so, it was still powerful, but at least it wasn't as terrifying as she had imagined, giving her a suffocating sense of oppression just by thinking about it.

"Even so, it's terrifying enough." Yecang was shocked inside, but his face remained calm. "If the effects of your secret techniques were to spread, it would definitely shake the entire ninja world."

"The ninja world being shaken is an exaggeration; it's more like the puppeteer's circle."

Even so, it's still shocking enough.

As the two exchanged words, the smoke and dust in front of them dissipated, revealing a dark cave entrance.

"It's quite secluded to have a cave in a place like this!" Yecang was slightly surprised.

As ninjas from Sunagakure, they frequently passed through this desolate Gobi Desert.

But they never discovered that there was a cave here.

In other words, if even the Sand Village ninjas who frequently passed through this area couldn't find the cave entrance, then the person who knew this place must be someone who was more familiar with it than they were.

If the Third Kazekage is indeed in this cave, then the culprit must also be from Sunagakure.

"There are many traps here. Let me force them out." Long Er raised his right hand and pointed forward.

Countless puppet scarabs emerged from the sand and headed into the cave.

These insects have markings for Earth Release stealth and Fire Release bursting techniques engraved on their carapaces, and they are also equipped with chakra storage scrolls.

It can move freely underground and can spew flames from its mouthparts, possessing excellent reconnaissance capabilities and decent combat abilities.

Soon after, firelight and explosions were heard from inside the cave.

The constant roar made the entire Gobi Desert tremble, and sand and gravel would fall from it from time to time.

Suddenly, the noise stopped.

The two men stared intently at the cave entrance, their faces grave.

A gust of wind blew out from inside, and countless pebbles and gravel, carrying the damaged scarabs, flew out.

Yin stepped forward and blocked Long Er's path, forming a hand seal.

[Earth Escape·Earth Flow Wall! 】

A wall rose from the ground with a rumbling sound, shielding everyone from the wind and sand.

boom!

The wall shattered, and a huge, sharp weapon burst through it.

Silver gripped the sharp weapon tightly with both hands, trying to block it.

Even with her superhuman strength, and her legs firmly planted on the ground, she was pushed towards the Gobi Desert behind her, leaving trails on the ground like she was tilling the land.

Ye Cang's expression changed abruptly. He leaped up and stood against the wall, forming hand seals. [Scorching Release: Over-Steam Kill!]

A fireball as intense as the sun rose, rapidly heating and distorting the surrounding air.

With a wave of his hand, Yecang threw the fireball into the cave as if it were a ball.

In an instant, dazzling light burst forth, and an unparalleled shockwave, accompanied by terrifying heat, erupted, melting everything in its path.

boom!

The earth is shaking and the mountains are shaking.

The Gobi Desert, twenty or thirty meters high, collapsed layer by layer from the inside, then melted by the high temperature. The terrifying energy fluctuations spread out and transformed into a huge ball of light, rising like the sun.

The hero of Sunagakure—Scorching Release: Pakura!

Although she has only been promoted to Jonin for less than half a year, her strength is still incomparable to what it will be when she achieves great success later on.

But in terms of the power of ninjutsu alone, there are already signs of what that achievement will be in the future.

Moments later, the smoke and dust settled.

The Gobi Desert has disappeared, leaving only a deep pit with a diameter of twenty or thirty meters.

In the center of the deep pit is a black sphere made of iron sand.

Seemingly affected by the explosion, the iron sand sphere could not remain intact and kept falling off.

Ye Cang watched this scene with a solemn expression.

Ryuji, who was hiding behind the wall and saw this scene through the hole, sighed deeply.

Although I knew this was how it was, seeing it with my own eyes still made me feel a little sad.

It's incredibly ironic that the Third Kazekage, the strongest Kazekage in Sunagakure's history, was assassinated by a rising star who was still a boy in his own village.

In fact, Ryuji's initial intention was to prevent the assassination.

Unfortunately, Sasori of the Red Sand is no ordinary creature.

The puppets he sends out are hard to hide from detection, and it's impossible for him to keep an eye on them 24 hours a day.

Ultimately, the event that led to the decline of Sunagakure did occur.

All the iron sand fell to the ground, revealing the people inside.

He was a boy who bore a resemblance to Ryuji.

He has short, reddish-brown hair, a delicate face, and is about fifteen years old. He is dressed in a black ninja outfit.

Behind him was a puppet.

His appearance and clothing bear some resemblance to the strongest Third Kazekage. Although there are obvious signs of assembly, it gives people a sense of incongruity that he is a real person.

This sense of incongruity made Yekura frown.

Sasori is a renowned puppeteer genius from Sunagakure, and there has never been any mention of him possessing the Magnet Release bloodline limit.

Now that the Third Kazekage has disappeared, he has produced a puppet that resembles the Third Kazekage and feels like a real person, and he has also used the Third Kazekage's Iron Sand Technique.

This is undeniably suspicious.

Looking at the girl, Scorpion's lips curled into a faint smile. "I didn't expect to be found so quickly. It seems the guys in the village aren't all useless!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Cang frowned even more deeply.

After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "...Scorpion, why are you here?"

"You've already come all this way and attacked without hesitation, and you still want to ask this kind of question?" Scorpion sneered. "Stop pretending, call the other guy out!"

"So the disappearance of the Third Kazekage is indeed related to you." Yekura's face darkened.

Although Ryuji mentioned that there were clues about the Third Kazekage here, and that Sasori's appearance here was suspicious, she only had doubts and was unwilling to believe it.

After all, Sasori was the grandson of Chiyo, the elder of Sunagakure, and one of the most talented puppeteers in Sunagakure's history, making many outstanding contributions to the village.

She simply couldn't connect the disappearance of the Third Kazekage with this guy.

But now he has admitted it himself, without any intention of hiding it.

"The Third Kazekage..." Sasori couldn't help but sneer, "With such a piece of trash as the leader, this village is destined to have no future."

Ye Cang stared intently at him, a murderous aura emanating from his brows.

"I was just telling the truth, and you're already angry?" Sasori couldn't help but chuckle. "Perfect, I wasn't planning on letting you leave alive anyway. A scorching ninja would be good material."

"What did you do to Lord Kazekage?"

"Isn't he right here?"

"Here?"

Ye Cang was stunned, then looked around, searching for Kazekage's whereabouts.

But the moment her gaze shifted away, Scorpion formed a hand seal.

[Ninja Art: Iron Sand Rain!]

The iron sand that had fallen to the ground flew up and turned into tiny particles that shot out like bullets.

(End of this chapter)