"You're here?"
"I'm here."
A fine drizzle fell.
A child with glasses, smiling gently, faced a delicate-looking red-haired boy. A soft breeze carried the misting rain as it settled over them. The atmosphere was hushed.
After exchanging just six words, neither spoke again. They simply stood, quietly looking at each other.
The quiet atmosphere lasted for an unknown amount of time.
"A promising junior," said Sasori, finally breaking the silence. A faint smile curled his lips as he looked at the white-haired boy. "To possess such talent at your age… You're Kabuto, right? I acknowledge you."
"Magnet Release? That means... this is the Third Kazekage?" Kabuto adjusted his glasses as he looked at the puppet behind Sasori, manipulating iron sand. With a mild smile, he spoke slowly, "So the Third Kazekage's disappearance wasn't what everyone suspected. If Chiyo-sensei knew her beloved grandson had killed the Kazekage and dragged Sunagakure into the Third Great Ninja War… she'd be heartbroken."
"I didn't start the war," Sasori replied, shaking his head, his tone just as calm. "The seeds of chaos had already been sown. The outbreak was inevitable. As for the Third Kazekage… I had no intention of hiding anything. It's just that those fools couldn't see the truth."
"Then can you tell me how you managed to kill the Third Kazekage so quietly? And why?"
"A rather ordinary method—one we puppeteers often use."
"Poison, then? But why—"
Before Kabuto could finish, Sasori cut in.
"As for the reason, I'm not really in the mood to tell you." Sasori smiled at him without a trace of irritation. "I know what you're thinking. The legendary Rinnegan really existing surprised even me, and that Nagato Uzumaki is indeed very powerful…
But I doubt they've realized yet that you and I are already active in this area."
"A puppet?"
"Smart kid."
"But... how are you controlling it from such a distance?"
"I'm not controlling it. Perhaps it won't last long, but… I believe it can last until night."
"..."
"You don't seem nervous. Do you have more tricks up your sleeve? Black Ant? Crow? You do realize I made those, right~?"
"The renowned Sasori of the Red Sand," Kabuto said, his smile unchanging as he calmly regarded Sasori. "You're quite the legend among puppeteers."
"They're just a bunch of useless thing," Sasori scoffed with disdain. "So? How long are you planning to keep chatting with me through Black Ant?"
"Aww~ So you figured it out after all?"
"I knew on the first day. Pretty decent Transformation Jutsu though."
With that—
Bang!
The Kabuto standing before him suddenly turned into a hideous puppet with crimson demon horns and six grotesque arms.
And from behind that puppet... the real Kabuto emerged.
"Truly worthy of your title, Sasori of the Red Sand."
"Even after being exposed, you're not the least bit afraid? You're an amusing brat." Sasori looked at him, his smile unwavering. "What is it—are you working for Sunagakure? Or Amegakure? You do realize I smashed all your little toys to pieces, don't you~?"
"Yes, it broke my heart. Must've been hundreds of thousands in losses," Kabuto sighed, a pained look flickering in his eyes as he pushed up his glasses. "So~ tell me, how are you planning to compensate me?"
As a shinobi of the Sand, Kabuto prided himself on being straightforward in trade—never inflating prices, but never eating a loss either.
But the one standing before him was also from Sunagakure...
Guess it's going to be hard getting that money back~
But Sasori only sneered. "Just toys worth a few hundred thousand—that's all. No, to be precise, I'd say Sunagakure's puppets are nothing but toys without value or function."
He moved his fingers, controlling the Third Kazekage puppet behind him.
"This... is true puppetry. Eternal art."
"When I saw it, I figured it out. A long-abandoned forbidden jutsu..." Kabuto shrugged. "Human Puppetry. Seems the Third Kazekage didn't have an easy death!"
"Abandoned?" Sasori raised a brow, but didn't seem angry. "That's just because no one understood its brilliance. What I created isn't the simplistic human puppet technique written in forbidden scrolls. It represents unending life—an eternal future."
He smiled in appreciation.
"So? I truly admire your talent. Join me, and I'll teach you. The wars in the ninja world will never end. All life will perish, unless… it becomes a puppet, and we… remain ourselves!"
"..."
Kabuto appeared stunned for a moment. Then he slowly shook his head with a sigh, speaking in a tone of resignation.
"I heard Chiyo-sensei say her grandson was a genius... but I never imagined he'd turn out to be a lunatic."
"You don't accept me?"
"I just… can't accept that kind of logic~"
"...What, you're going to stop me?" Sasori looked intrigued. "With what? Black Ant? Crow? Or do you think you're already strong enough?"
"No, Sasori of the Red Sand. I know I'm not strong enough to stop you right now. But~" Kabuto pulled a scroll from his pouch, narrowing his eyes, a smile still on his face. "I've always been curious just how powerful the genius puppeteer of Sunagakure really is."
"...How interesting. So that old hag gave you the Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets?"
Sasori's eyes lit up with recognition as he looked at the scroll.
"But those won't be enough to stop me."
"It's worth testing, isn't it~?"
As he finished speaking, ten puppets clad in white robes appeared around Kabuto. Though humanoid in form, each had a strange, unique design.
No more words were wasted.
All ten puppets surged forward toward Sasori, each unleashing its own weapon. Sasori didn't attack right away. Instead, his eyes gleamed with curiosity as he maneuvered the Third Kazekage puppet into battle against the Chikamatsu puppets.
"Puppet Technique: Chakra Thread Impalement!"
Dozens of kunai launched from Kabuto's body.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Every single one was deflected by the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release.
"Looks like the old woman taught you quite a bit. You're a real genius. Unfortunately… you're still too young. And besides—" Sasori stood unmoving as he continued to control his puppet. "Everything you know… I already know."
"Puppet Technique: Chakra Thread Impalement!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Puppets clashed. But Kabuto was clearly on the losing end. Controlling all ten Chikamatsu puppets was exhausting. His young body couldn't keep up with Sasori's superior chakra and stamina. He even came close to being skewered by a blade.
No one knew how much time passed...
Panting heavily, Kabuto stared at Sasori, who was playing with him like a cat toying with a mouse. Then he looked down—and froze.
Dark blood stained his clothes.
"Poison?!"
"Ah, so you finally noticed. Shame. You're quite interesting, and still so young…" Sasori stood beside the Third Kazekage. "But I don't have time to keep playing puppet games with you. If we're discovered, things could get… problematic."
"Is that so?" Kabuto muttered in surprise, then recovered quickly. He sighed. "Should've expected that from a puppeteer."
"Oh? You're still not nervous? Got another trick hidden away?" Sasori looked him up and down with interest. "You really are something. I'm intrigued. All right—show me your final trump card."
"Really?"
"Of course. For a fellow puppeteer, I wouldn't normally offer this chance. But for the old hag's sake… don't disappoint me."
"Don't worry," Kabuto said with a mysterious smile. "You won't be disappointed."
He didn't attack right away.
Instead, he stood silently for a moment. When he was sure Sasori wasn't going to make a move, he took a deep breath—
"Lord Kazekage!"
He suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs.
"HELP!!"
"Kazekage?! The Fourth Kazekage?!"
Sasori's eyes went wide. Before he could react, a gleaming tide of gold surged toward him.
"Magnet Release?! Gold Dust?!"
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin