Chapter 240: Here's Your Antidote
Shing!
Just as the Third Kazekage was about to lose control of the poison coursing through his body and go all out in a final desperate battle, a sharp slash wave swept in from the distance, slicing across the oasis and carving a deep trench into the earth.
Both Sasori and the Third Kazekage were stunned.
Sasori's pupils contracted, and a wary look crossed his face. He immediately turned and fled.
Meanwhile, the Third Kazekage's face lit up with joy. That slash technique—only that kid, Kazekaze, could perform it.
He had arrived—and with him, hope.
Though the Third Kazekage was unwilling to accept a civilian-born shinobi like Kazekaze as his successor, the boy had always provided him with a strong sense of security.
No puppet could withstand the lethal Wind Release: Slash.
In fact, nothing could.
It was the very reason Kazekaze had surpassed Sasori as the top candidate for the next Kazekage—just like how the Third himself had once outshone the puppet corps.
What a pity. If only Kazekaze were born into one of the three great clans, the Third would've gladly passed the mantle to him.
Shing!
Another razor-sharp slash tore through the air.
Sasori's fleeing figure froze in place. In front of him, a bottomless rift stretched across the ground. He stopped immediately.
At this point in time, he hadn't developed human puppets yet.
Facing a slash that could sever anything, his puppets were no better than scrap metal.
As for using poison—well, that only mattered if it hit. Obvious tactics like poison gas were useless against someone like Kazekaze, who was already on par with a Kage.
"Good… I made it in time."
A figure arrived instantly behind Sasori, facing the Third Kazekage with visible relief.
"Kazekaze! Kill Sasori immediately and give me the antidote—he's betrayed the village!"
The Third's command came instantly and without hesitation upon seeing Li Yao's Wind Release clone.
But this was no ordinary Kazekaze—it was Li Yao's clone, operating under Li Yao's own will.
"Don't worry, I'll get the antidote to you in a moment."
Li Yao's clone smiled calmly, ignoring the Third's command and turning to look at Sasori.
Originally, he had been returning to Sunagakure. But on the way, his spiritual perception detected both Sasori and the Kazekage's souls, so he rushed over.
Luckily, he hadn't hesitated. Had he waited any longer, Sasori might've already succeeded in the assassination.
Li Yao wanted to kill each of the Five Kage who once surrounded him personally. He couldn't let Sasori steal one.
"Here."
Sasori turned and retrieved a vial from a scroll, tossing it to Li Yao's clone before stepping aside, staying to watch with curious eyes.
From the conversation he had just overheard between Li Yao's clone and the Third Kazekage, Sasori had a feeling this genius shinobi wasn't here to save the Kage.
Whoosh!
Li Yao threw the antidote vial twenty meters across to the Third Kazekage.
He caught it but didn't drink immediately.
Looking at Kazekaze, he suddenly felt… unfamiliar. This wasn't the same shinobi he knew.
"Kazekaze, I order you—kill Sasori now!"
His voice carried the full weight of the Kazekage's authority.
"Go ahead and drink it. It's real."
Li Yao's clone didn't respond to the order. He glanced at Sasori and smiled at the Kazekage.
"If it weren't, Sasori would already be dead. I said it—not even the Sage of Six Paths could stop me."
Power.
Unmatched power.
Sasori had no doubt the clone was telling the truth.
He'd heard of this boy nicknamed "The Wind Walker," whose unique Wind Release: Slash was rumored to be the one jutsu powerful enough to defeat "Sakumo " and avenge his parents.
Now, feeling it firsthand, he understood those legends were true.
Just standing near Kazekaze, Sasori felt like his body was being diced into a thousand pieces. His skin prickled in phantom pain, like he was being continuously sliced on a cellular level.
That oppressive sensation made him stay still—and not dare to flee.
"You… you're turning on Sunagakure too?"
The Third Kazekage's face darkened as he stared at the impassive Kazekaze. It was clear now—this boy was here to kill him too.
Why?
Had the elders made their move?
Even if they had, Kazekaze shouldn't be the one to do this.
Did he think that killing the Kazekage would make him the next in line?
If that's what he believed… he was vastly underestimating the elders.
The Kazekage position had always been tightly controlled by the three great clans.
"If you're not going to drink it, I'll just kill you now."
Li Yao's clone finally lost patience. Offering the antidote was just part of his twisted fun—he wanted to kill the Third at full strength. But he would kill him either way.
"You'll regret this," the Kazekage said gravely.
Li Yao chuckled.
"I am the Fourth Kazekage."
The Third's expression stiffened. Without another word, he popped open the vial and drank the antidote.
Enough talk. If it was real, he'd survive and prove why he was the strongest Kazekage in history.
A moment later—yes, it was real.
He could feel the poison rapidly breaking down in his system. The chakra suppression was no longer needed.
He took out a high-grade ration pill, crushed it between his teeth, and swallowed it to restore chakra.
"You—"
Sasori was growing nervous. Li Yao's clone wasn't reacting to the Kazekage recovering his strength.
Kazekaze's Wind Slash was powerful—but the Third's Iron Sand control was just as terrifying.
Poof! Poof!
Two clouds of white smoke erupted from the ground, revealing two shell-like puppets—one large, one small.
Sasori immediately jumped into the smaller one and had it climb into the larger. Then the whole contraption burrowed into the sand.
Li Yao's clone didn't stop him.
In fact, if things got dangerous, he planned to protect Sasori.
Li Yao's main body was still researching how to split chakra back into its mental and physical components. Sasori's future human puppets might offer a new path of insight.
That idea had only just occurred to him on the way over.
So Sasori couldn't die—not yet.
Soon, the Third Kazekage's poison was completely gone, and his chakra was more than halfway restored.
Plenty for killing both Kazekaze and Sasori.
"You will regret this."
He spoke again. Li Yao only smiled in response. No need to waste words.
The Kazekage quickly formed hand seals.
"Magnet Release – Iron Sand Sea!"
"AAAH—!"
With a roar, black iron sand surged up from deep underground within a three-kilometer radius, pulled by magnetic force toward the sky.
Above Li Yao and the Kazekage, the sun disappeared behind a rising sea of iron.
It hung a hundred meters above them, covering two full kilometers like an enormous black cloud.
A suffocating weight blanketed the battlefield.
(END CHAPTER)
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