The world I hear is completely different from yours.

More self-destructing golems met the giant hand, and the sound of explosions resounded throughout the heavens and earth!

Then, to the astonishment of the Third Kazekage, Sasori pulled out another scroll.

Crimson Secret Technique: Thousand Machine Manipulation!

This time, it was thousands of red-robed puppets filling the sky!

"This is the true purpose of the Celestial Puppet Saint Cloth. The chakra threads created by the human body are limited, so it's impossible to control too many puppets. But if we rely on magnetism to control the puppets, the number of puppets is not limited at all. Therefore, with the help of the Celestial Puppet Saint Cloth, I now possess limitless power!!!"

Then, in that instant, thousands of red-robed puppets descended from the sky, crashing into the giant arms on the ground like countless small meteorites. This was a clash between heaven and earth, a collision between meteors and the earth!

"Take this! Third Kazekage!" Sasori recited without hesitation the name of the self-destruct tactic engraved inside the Celestial Cloth: "Take this from Queen Zagara's Endless Torrent of Banelings!!"

The next second, the sky collapsed and the earth split open!!

.................

PS: This is the first update. I've almost made up for all the extra chapters I owe.

Please continue to add this to your favorites and recommend it; your encouragement is my motivation to keep updating.

Chapter Seven: Times Have Changed, Three Generations of Kazekage!

A dozen seconds after the deafening explosion, the echoes gradually faded away. The original desert battlefield had long since transformed into a scorching lava swamp, as if it were a volcano that had just erupted.

Under the bombardment of thousands of self-destructing golems, the numerous giant iron sand hands summoned by the Third Kazekage in the desert were reduced to mere limbs, standing helplessly on the ground, occasionally cracking and collapsing. The extreme heat from the explosions melted the sand and iron in the desert, forming vast swells of molten lava that flowed freely throughout the desert, eventually solidifying into chunks of black shale.

Where the Third Kazekage once stood, only a deep crater remained, with a cocoon of iron sand, more than two people tall, standing at the bottom of the crater, glowing red from the intense heat of the explosion.

Magnet Release: Iron Sand Defense!

"At the last moment of the explosion, you first used many giant iron sand hands to block the external puppet explosions, and then used thick iron sand to create a close-fitting iron sand cocoon that completely wrapped your body?" Sasori slowly walked towards the iron sand cocoon where the Third Kazekage was hiding, and said with a mocking tone, "Your reaction is quite fast, huh? You truly deserve to be called the 'Strongest Kazekage,' the Third Kazekage!"

Click!

The thick iron sand cocoon first split open from the middle, then turned back into large clumps of loose sand, revealing the panting Third Kazekage inside.

The Third Kazekage was clearly in very poor condition at this time.

Drip! Drip! A stream of blood gushed from one of the Third Kazekage's arms, then dripped one drop at a time into the iron sand.

Although the Third Kazekage realized the danger a moment before the explosion and summoned the Iron Sand Cocoon to protect himself, he still underestimated the power of the explosion. A fragment of a puppet accelerated by the explosion pierced his arm in the instant before the Iron Sand Cocoon could fully form.

However, this minor injury is nothing to a seasoned ninja like the Third Kazekage. It's just an arm, and it won't affect his fighting ability at all. For such a master, apart from his head, his other limbs are just decorations that can be discarded at any time!

The real problem is that those self-destructing golems released something else in addition to their self-destruction.

"These self-destructing puppets can even spray out poison gas!!" The Third Kazekage tried to move his completely immobile body, only to find that he could no longer extract chakra. He looked at Sasori with resentment: "Did you just concoct this poison gas? How can it still work in such a high-temperature environment?!"

"Didn't you hear the name of the attack I just shouted?" Scorpion replied expressionlessly, "I call these red-robed puppets 'Poison' Exploding Insects! So naturally they have to possess both poison and explosive properties!"

"Using self-destructing puppets in battle, that's not really your style. Didn't you decide to become a puppeteer because you loved eternal art? How come you've changed your mind so quickly?" the Third Kazekage asked jokingly.

The Third Kazekage knew in his heart that today was probably his death day. However, as the Kage of a village, he should naturally be prepared to die without fear of death, and when death was inevitable, he should accept it calmly! Ever since he ascended to the position of Kage and became the Third Kazekage, he had been prepared to die in battle at any time.

However, at least before his death, the Third Kazekage still wanted to ask one question: Why? As a recognized genius in the village, Sasori was also the apprentice of a powerful elder in the Sand Village and was selected by him to join the Kazekage's personal guard. Therefore, Sasori was definitely a promising rising star in the Sand Village. Why did he decide to kill all his personal guard comrades and even kill him, the Kazekage?

"I have never forgotten the eternal art, but art needs comparison. Without the fleeting moments of these poisonous insects, how can my own eternity be shown?" Sasori walked up to the Third Kazekage, looking at the man who was once his idol, worshipped by the whole village for his absolute strength, but now unable to move and without any ability to resist.

"Times have changed!!" After a long silence, Scorpion finally spoke, his voice as solemn as if Garrosh Hellscream had possessed him.

The next second, Sasori's kunai pierced the Third Kazekage's heart.

………………………………………………….

The meeting room in the Hokage's office building in Konoha Village.

The Third Hokage, Tensei, was preparing to convene a meeting with the elders and advisors.

However, before the meeting, Tianqing took advantage of her free time to chat with Elder Danzo.

Wearing a divine robe, Ame-no-kami addressed Shimura Danzo, who was sitting with his eyes closed, and asked, "Elder Danzo, how effective was the Heavenly Puppet Star Saint Cloth that I allocated to the Root Army?"

At the same time, Ame also activated her listening ability, preparing to wait for Danzo's headband to reveal some information.

Danzo Shimura opened his eyes: "Thank you for your concern, Third Hokage. We have already made good use of that Cloth."

Danzo's headband also spoke up: "What you gave to Root is mine, so why are you so concerned? Let me tell you, I've already given that Cloth to someone else, and he'll definitely be able to bring out its full potential!"

Danzo Shimura continued unhurriedly, "Although I cannot reveal his name due to Root's internal regulations, I believe that the user will certainly use that Cloth in a way that benefits Konoha."

Danzo's headband then translated unhurriedly: "Do you want to know who will wear the Cloth? I won't tell you. Anyway, that kid won't harm Konoha for a while after wearing the Cloth, so naturally he'll harm other countries. Isn't that beneficial to Konoha?"

Finally, Danzo Shimura concluded, "So, Third Hokage, please rest assured."

Danzo's headband then concluded, "So, I'm not going to tell you who I gave that Cloth to. The only thing I did was send a Root member to the Land of Sands with the Cloth on a mission. I don't know what happened to that member after that; he never came back. He was probably killed by someone named Sasori. As for the Cloth, I guess Sasori took it."

Tianqing nodded in satisfaction, "affirming" Danzo's contributions to Konoha: "With Elder Danzo's words, I can rest assured!"

"Thank you for the compliment, Third Hokage. It's what I should do," Danzo said calmly, then closed his eyes again to rest.

As expected of Shimura Danzo! His skill at blatantly lying is unparalleled!

..............

Chapter Eight: How can something that involves artists be called perverted?

After a "friendly" exchange with Danzo, Amehari saw that everyone attending the meeting had arrived, so he sat down in the main seat and said, "The Konoha Cabinet meeting shall now begin."

Shortly after Amehara became the Third Hokage, the first order she issued in her capacity as Hokage was to establish a department called the Konoha Cabinet.

Ameharu ordered the retired Second Hokage and several powerful figures from the village, such as Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, and Kagami Uchiha, to be invited into a department called the Konoha Cabinet. This department, similar to a national state government, wielded considerable power, and most Konoha affairs were handled internally by the Konoha Cabinet. As Hokage, Ameharu was only responsible for determining the general direction of Konoha's development; the specific orders and their execution remained the responsibility of the Konoha Cabinet.

The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, and others were both pleased and worried about Tensei's decision, which seemed to allow his subordinates to completely undermine his Hokage authority.

Although Tobirama Senju had decided to retire, he still hoped to contribute to Konoha in any way he could. Now, Amemori had invited him back to participate in deciding Konoha's affairs, citing his recent appointment and unfamiliarity with government affairs. This way, he wouldn't have to manage as many things as when he was Hokage, and he could still contribute his remaining energy to some extent. Naturally, Tobirama was very happy about this.

However, Tobirama Senju also had concerns. He himself was fine, but Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, Kagami Uchiha, and others who had entered the Konoha Cabinet at the same time were all strong and healthy young men. If they were given such great power now, then as time went on, this power might breed ambition in some of them, causing them to take actions that would be detrimental to Konoha and have a negative impact on the future Hokage and Konoha.

Tobirama Senju had secretly warned Tenharu about this, but seeing Tenharu feigning ignorance and pretending not to understand the Second Hokage's concerns, he could only let her be. After all, even the Second Hokage couldn't just point at someone in the Konoha Cabinet and say, "Judging from your appearance, you're destined to be an ambitious schemer, so get out of the Cabinet right now!"

At least at that time, the young people who had just entered the cabinet were elites with a strong desire to benefit Konoha and enjoyed considerable prestige in the village.

Even though more than a decade has passed and the young people of yesteryear have become middle-aged or elderly, they still believe that everything they have done was for the sake of Konoha. However, over the long years, some of them have become extremely extreme in their methods, to the point that they have distorted their original goals.

For example, Elder Danzo Shimura, who controlled the Root Organization.

In the original story, Danzo Shimura always believed that everything he did was for Konoha. For Konoha's sake, he believed he needed immense power, so he began cooperating with Orochimaru, first transplanting the First Hokage's cells, and then conducting large-scale human experiments. Orochimaru ultimately took the blame. For Konoha's sake, Danzo also considered the Uchiha clan an unstable element, so he forced Itachi Uchiha to exterminate his entire clan, and incidentally installed all the Sharingan he had collected on himself. He never considered the principle of a united front of "winning over the majority and eliminating a small group of enemies."

Still for the sake of Konoha, Danzo believed that Hiruzen Sarutobi was too old and weak, so he himself should become Hokage. Therefore, when Naruto's birth broke the seal, leading to the release of the Nine-Tails, Danzo did not appear, even when the massive Nine-Tails was wreaking havoc throughout Konoha. While the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was battling the Black Organization, and the retired Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was personally leading the Anbu to stop the Nine-Tails, Danzo chose to hide with the Root organization to preserve their strength, so that he could rely on Root's power to ascend to the Hokage position after the war.

Again, it was all for Konoha. When Pain invaded Konoha with his unparalleled strength and was about to raze the entire village to the ground, the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, as a healer, did not hide in the back, but instead led the Anbu to fight on the front line. Meanwhile, Danzo continued to hide with the Root organization, still in order to maintain his and the Root organization's strength.

How could such actions convince the entire village of Konoha? Therefore, in the original story, Danzo did not dare to initiate a vote of trust among the village's Jonin after the war. Instead, he hoped to become Hokage through an appointment by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

Over a long period of time, distorted by his own ambition, Danzo, who held great power, began to disguise his personal desires with a cloak of righteousness in protecting Konoha, in order to deceive others and himself. After all, who would want to admit that they have changed from a passionate young man into a shameless and ambitious schemer?

However, everyone has their use, and ambitious people are no exception.

That's why Tianqing decided to hand over the newly developed Heavenly Puppet Star Saint Cloth to Danzo.

As the originator of Konoha's puppetry, Amehara knew everything about the ninjas in Konoha who had become puppeteers. Therefore, she knew that Danzo's Root organization did not have any puppeteers and could not unleash the true power of the Heavenly Puppet Star Cloth. In this world, besides Konoha, only the Land of Wind possessed puppeteers.

And Tianqing happened to know about Danzo's Root organization, which, as an organization that does dirty work for Konoha, has always had some kind of connection with the Land of Sand in secret.

Originally, Ame-no-Kage only intended to use this opportunity to let the people of the Land of Wind experience Konoha's new products in advance, thus promoting the future mass production of the Saint Cloths, expanding sales, and creating another product line to generate foreign exchange for Konoha. Unexpectedly, Danzo was more straightforward, directly giving the Saint Cloth to Sasori. Given Sasori's treacherous nature, once he obtains such powerful strength, he'll probably immediately target the Third Kazekage!

.............................

In a cave in the desert of the Land of Wind, Sasori squatted on the ground, his hands trembling with excitement as he unbuttoned the Third Kazekage's clothes. His eyes gleamed as he looked at the Third Kazekage's corpse: "Ah!! These muscles! The feel of this skin! And this unique way of using blood chakra!! Third Kazekage, you will surely become my most perfect work of art!!"

"Hey Scorpion, have you noticed how you've been getting more and more perverted lately? You're actually getting horny over a naked male corpse." A woman's voice came from behind.

"Shut up! You foolish woman, what do you know about art! Look closely at the outstanding works of art throughout history, which one isn't depicted naked? That's the beauty of the human body!" Scorpion wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and scolded the foolish mortal.

...............

P.S. Bonus chapter! I've almost finished making up for the chapters I owed. O(∩_∩)O

The interlude appears in the reborn person of Sand Village—the Scorch Release ninja, Pakura.

In XX year of the Sand Village, Pakura, a scorching ninja known as the "Hero of the Sand Village," received a secret mission from the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, requiring her to leave the Sand Village alone as an envoy to negotiate with the Hidden Mist Village.

As a ninja loyal to the village, Pakura naturally accepted the mission without hesitation. After one last training session with her disciple named "Maki," Pakura secretly packed all her equipment and set off for Kirigakure.

The mission proceeded smoothly afterward. Thanks to Yekura's rich combat and infiltration experience, she passed through the various countries between the Land of Wind and the Land of Water unharmed, entered the Land of Water, and made contact with the Mist Ninja who were responsible for making contact.

However, after Yekura followed the Kirigakure ninja into Kirigakure, what awaited her was not the Mizukage, but a large number of kunai that were secretly thrust at her.

"You despicable Mist Ninja!!!" Yekura swayed, leaning weakly against the wall, glaring fiercely at the Mist Ninja who were grinning as they approached. Those who had just led her into the Mist Ninja Village as "friendly forces" were now holding kunai, ready to deliver the final blow.

"Are these Mist Ninja planning to sabotage the negotiations between the Land of Wind and the Land of Water? Or is this all a trap set by the Land of Water to deceive the Land of Wind? These damned Mist Ninja, as expected, no outsider can be trusted!!"

Even in his final moments, Yekura was still contemplating his mission, hoping that his failure would not jeopardize the safety of Sunagakure.

Then there was darkness.

"Ninja Art: Impure World Reincarnation!!!"

This was the first thing Yekura heard after opening her eyes.

Standing in front of Yekura was a bespectacled man with horns on his head and his body covered in snake scales.

The bespectacled man spoke in a hissing, snake-like tone: "Nice to meet you, Hero of the Sand Village, Ms. Yekura. Perhaps you don't know who I am, or understand the current situation, but that's not important. What's important is, if you were given a second chance at life, what would you want to do first?"

Yekura looked at the strange man in front of her and said, "By the way, why are you wearing glasses? Do snakes need glasses to correct their vision? Don't snakes rely on their tongues to distinguish enemies?"

Upon hearing Yekura's question, the bespectacled man's expression froze for a moment: "Don't you want to take revenge on those Mist Ninja? Or perhaps you should just go after the Sand Village for revenge?"

"Revenge?" Ye Cang chewed on these two blood-soaked words, and couldn't help but recall the scenes before his death, clenching his fists involuntarily.

"According to the records of the Land of Wind, don't you believe that the determination to take revenge on other villages is the powerful driving force for gaining power?" the bespectacled man continued, as expected of a snake-type monster, he possessed a very profound ability to lure others, just like a snake.

Tap! Tap!

Ye Cang stepped out of the coffin where he had awakened, picked up the weapon on the table, and casually brandished it: "It seems you know me quite well. So, you must also know the cause of my death back then? Could you tell me about it? By the way, young man, you seem to know quite a lot. Could you briefly tell me about the current situation?"

“Of course, it’s my honor,” said the snake-like monster wearing glasses. “First of all, I’m not a snake-like monster wearing glasses, my name is Kabuto Yakushi.”

"Huh?" Yekura was taken aback. "How did you know I called you the snake-like monster with glasses?"

“Miss Yekura, snakes have hearing too,” Kabuto Yakushi said, pointing to his ear. “You were speaking so loudly, how could I not hear you? Do you think I’m deaf?”

"Huh?" Yekura was taken aback. "Did I just say what was on my mind?"

Looking at the Sand Village hero named Yekura whom he had just resurrected using the Impure World Reincarnation technique, Kabuto Yakushi suddenly felt a little unsure about his technique. Was his Impure World Reincarnation technique not yet proficient enough, and had he made some mistakes during the execution, resulting in the summoned ninjas becoming somewhat comical?

Kabuto then formed new hand seals: "Ninja Art: Impure World Reincarnation!!!"