Inside the Kamui space.
"Obito! Obito!" As soon as the whirlpool-faced White Zetsu saw Obito enter the Kamui space, it immediately shouted, "Black Zetsu isn't responding anymore!"
Uchiha Obito was slightly stunned, then his expression darkened, his eyes carrying a trace of gloom. "So he didn't make it after all? It seems Uchiha Keizumi's eye technique not only makes one experience endless agony, but can also kill. From now on, we'll have to be even more cautious of his Mangekyō Sharingan."
"Huh?"
The whirlpool-faced White Zetsu froze for a moment, scratching at hair that didn't exist, and said, "That's not what I meant!"
A sudden voice slowly rose behind Obito.
The voice was filled with unprecedented exhaustion and weakness.
"Uchiha Keizumi's left-eye Mangekyō ability has ended. I didn't die, but I was nearly tortured to death… The pain is beyond anything words can currently describe. In short… I never want to experience his eye technique a second time…"
Obito immediately turned around and saw a pool of black liquid lying weakly on the ground, showing only a pair of eyes and a mouth.
He also saw Black Zetsu sticking out its tongue and rolling its eyes.
It was the first time he had ever seen Black Zetsu with such a ruined expression.
After a long while, Black Zetsu finally continued speaking weakly: "Obito… Uchiha Keizumi must be eliminated. He will become the greatest obstacle to our plan."
Obito gave a light cold snort and said, "I don't need your reminder—I've already done that. Right now, Akatsuki has made Uchiha Keizumi its top hunting target!"
Black Zetsu paused and said, "You made the right decision."
The subtext was—you finally used your brain; not bad.
But clearly, Obito didn't catch that, and even raised the corner of his mouth confidently at what he thought was praise.
…
On the other side.
"Sasori-sama, what about him?"
Pushing up the round frames on the bridge of his nose, the reflection on Yakushi Kabuto's lenses made it impossible for Sasori to see the expression in his eyes.
Sasori said indifferently, "If he doesn't get in the way, there's no need to bother with him; if he does, deal with him as well."
As his words fell—
Sasori manipulated Hiruko to take out two scrolls. As the scrolls were unfurled and thrown forward, two puffs of white smoke burst out, and two grotesque-looking puppets suddenly appeared before everyone.
Sasori's voice followed coldly: "That slimy, disgusting snake dreaming of obtaining Uchiha Keizumi's body—what a fool's delusion. The body of a shinobi possessing multiple kekkei genkai—who would hand it over to a man with no sense of artistry for him to experiment on?"
"After killing Uchiha Keizumi, I will use his body to craft a puppet that leans even closer to perfection. Hmph—let's use these two puppets to test his capabilities first."
Listening to Sasori's derisive complaints about Orochimaru, a faint, almost imperceptible expression flashed across Yakushi Kabuto's face.
'Tch… The one Orochimaru-sama truly doesn't take seriously—is you, Sasori of the Red Sand!'
'You've already been completely toyed with by that man, and yet you remain utterly unaware.'
'You're still too young.'
After Scorpion released two grotesque puppets from his scroll, countless barely visible chakra threads extended from them and linked precisely to the scarlet puppet Hiruko he controlled.
One puppet resembled a many-legged spider, its entire body covered with spikes and holes, and from each hole jutted a ninja blade—more than a dozen in total.
The other looked like an upright mantis; its arms had been replaced by massive steel sickles, and behind it trailed a long tail whose tip bore a smaller sickle.
Invisible to the naked eye, highly condensed chakra threads shot out from Hiruko and instantly connected to the key joints of the two puppets.
"Let me see why those few people in the organization are so wary of you."
Sasori's voice came through Hiruko: "I suggest you use your full strength right away. I don't want to wait around while you play tricks with me here."
"I don't like waiting for others, nor do I like others waiting for me. That's my principle of conduct—and one of my ninja ways."
As his confident voice fell, the two grotesque puppets, under his exquisite control, became killing machines as if imbued with an evil life of their own.
The joints of the puppets ground together with clattering sounds as they charged at Uchiha Keizumi's wooden clone and Biwa Jūzō at astonishing speed!
Seeing this scene, Biwa Jūzō's eyelids twitched violently, and his expression grew extremely grim.
Cold sweat instantly soaked his back.
'Damn it! Has that bastard 'Gyoku' completely taken me for an Akatsuki traitor? Didn't he see I was already about to turn around and leave!?'
'Sending out two puppets—one to deal with Uchiha Keizumi, and the other to clean me up, huh?!'
Biwa Jūzō cursed inwardly.
Watching the spider-like puppet crawl toward him with terrifying speed like a true venomous spider—
Biwa Jūzō no longer cared whether this puppet was rushing at Uchiha Keizumi or at himself. Gritting his teeth hard, the muscles on his face twitched as the ferocity of a rogue Kiri ninja erupted from him!
"Don't underestimate a Bloody Mist ninja, bastard!!"
He let out a furious roar, hefting his massive Kubikiribōchō with both hands, the swing tearing through the air with a heavy, howling gust.
Carrying force enough to split mountains and shatter stones, it came crashing down upon the spider puppet.
[CLANG—!!!]
A harsh metallic screech resounded, sparks flying in every direction!
That powerful slash from Biwa Jūzō did indeed sever one of the dozen ninja blades protruding from the spider puppet's body.
However, the remaining blades, more than ten in number, formed a steel thicket that locked the heavy Kubikiribōchō firmly in place.
"Hmph!"
Not far away, Sasori let out a disdainful snort. His indifferent voice came through Hiruko: "So you intend to meddle in things that don't concern you. In that case, I'll just eliminate you along with him."
The next instant, a dense mechanical whirring sounded from within the spider puppet's body.
The part struck by the Kubikiribōchō suddenly contracted, while the rest began spinning wildly like high-speed saw wheels.
More than a dozen razor-sharp ninja blades fused into a whirlwind of death, slicing through the air with shrill, ear-piercing howls, as they lunged to tear Biwa Jūzō to pieces at point-blank range.
Biwa Jūzō's pupils shrank sharply to pinpoints.
The intense premonition of death sent his adrenaline surging. Without the slightest hesitation, he abandoned the deadlock, forcefully stomping against the ground and retreating backward in a disheveled rush!
[Slash—!]
Although his reaction was lightning fast, the edge of the spinning blades still grazed dangerously close to his abdomen, slicing through his clothing.
The sturdy ninja uniform was torn open like thin paper, leaving a long gash.
The cold wind from the blades made the skin on his abdomen sting sharply.
Biwa Jūzō landed in shock, glancing down at his torn clothing as cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
'Damn it!'
If he had retreated even a tenth of a second later, he would have been disemboweled on the spot!
That bastard was serious!
He gripped the Kubikiribōchō tightly, his gaze growing heavier and fiercer as he fixed his eyes on the spider puppet, which was readjusting its stance, coiled like a venomous snake ready to strike.
…
Meanwhile, the other mantis-scythe puppet under Sasori's control ignored Biwa Jūzō and continued to charge at incredible speed toward Uchiha Keizumi's wooden clone, which still stood motionless in place.
Its two massive steel scythes, gleaming coldly, dragged behind it—
Carving two deep furrows into the sandy ground.
[Swish!!!]
[Swish!!!]
As it neared the wooden clone, the mantis puppet suddenly crossed its arms in a sweeping motion.
The two enormous scythes slashed through the air with a tearing shriek, drawing two deadly silver arcs that crisscrossed toward the clone's neck and waist.
The wooden clone's expression remained calm.
Just as the scythes were about to strike, it lightly pressed off the ground with its feet, leaping backward weightlessly—
Perfectly evading the intersecting strikes that could have shattered solid stone.
At the same time, its right sleeve began to writhe.
A scroll emerged from its forearm as if alive, firmly caught in the wooden clone's hand.
Then, under Sasori's astonished gaze transmitted through Hiruko, this "Uchiha Keizumi" completely ignored the mantis puppet behind him, which was raising its scythes again for a second assault.
Next, it performed an exceedingly bold—indeed, almost insane—action: it dropped all defense and exposed its entire back to the powerful scythe puppet,
Rushing madly straight toward Sasori's true body!
"To ignore my artwork… and try to capture the master? How naive!"
Sasori snorted coldly, feeling that his opponent's tactic was nothing short of an insult to his puppet art.
Meanwhile, the mantis puppet behind the wooden clone immediately closed in like a ghost.
Its massive scythes once again rose high, gathering terrifying kinetic force before slashing down violently across the wooden clone's back and waist!
[Slash!]
[Slash!]
This time, the wooden clone did not dodge.
The two enormous scythes embedded themselves deep into its body almost without resistance, carving two ferocious wounds across its back that nearly cleaved it in half.
If it had been a normal human body of flesh and blood, such wounds would have been instantly fatal—the spine and internal organs completely destroyed!
However…
"Hm?!"
Sasori immediately sensed something was off!
Through the feedback from the chakra threads, there was no sensation of cutting through flesh or bone—rather, it felt like slicing into a tough, fibrous wooden structure!
And moreover—there was no blood!