Visitors from beyond the sky, the Otsutsuki threat on the moon, laboratory preparations, the Iwagakure peace talks, money laundering, the various exchanges of interests for the Fourth Hokage election, and a supposedly aggrieved fiancée waiting to be comforted in the village...
A multitude of affairs piled up in his mind like the rising tiers of a pagoda, built up layer by layer, carrying a crushing weight.
But Hyuga Yu was neither overly nervous nor excessively anxious about it all. His eyes remained peaceful and calm.
After isolating the influence of the giant Tenseigan, he had rediscovered himself, granting him more leeway to truly enjoy this tumultuous ninja career that had once only existed in his dreams.
Just like at this moment—
The wind swept across the Gobi Desert, leaving the heavier grains behind while blowing the finer sand into the sky. As far as the eye could see, the dunes blazed brilliantly under the intense sunlight, shimmering with mottled hues of ochre, off-white, and yellowish-brown. Amidst these frozen waves of sand, Hyuga Yu, with Kakuzu in tow, marched with clear purpose in a specific direction. Soon, they reached the edge of a vast, desolate desert and encountered a red-haired figure who seemed to have been waiting there for quite some time.
"Hoh~"
"So you are... Konoha's Tianren, aren't you?"
The beautiful red-haired youth licked his lips, an undisguised gleam of greed in his eyes. His face was filled with utter determination as he spoke to the two who had slowly approached and stopped before him. "You've really kept me waiting..."
"Kept you waiting?" Hyuga Yu paused his steps, halting before the coarse landscape of the Gobi. He looked across at Sasori of the Red Sand standing in the desert and said flatly, "Before this, I don't believe I've ever met you, Sasori of the Red Sand."
Sasori raised an eyebrow, glancing at Hyuga Yu. "You know my name?"
"Then you must know why I am here—"
Hyuga Yu shook his head and calmly stated, "I don't know."
"But, I do have something to ask you."
Sasori sneered, the corners of his mouth curling into a disdainful smirk. "Are you going to ask where that rat hiding here scurried off to?"
"No." Hyuga Yu shook his head. He slowly raised a hand, his thumb outstretched in a handshake gesture toward Sasori, a serious look appearing on his face. "As long as Hiruko is still alive in this world, I will capture him with my own hands!"
"As for you, you are an unexpected delight, saving me an extra trip."
"Listen up—"
Hyuga Yu stared calmly at the red-haired youth before him, his gaze lingering briefly on his pretty, almost feminine face. He spoke solemnly: "Sasori of the Red Sand, I would like to invite you to join Root!"
"Root?" Hearing this, a look of surprise flashed across Sasori's face. He then scowled, interpreting the words as a thinly veiled threat from the Tianren.
It was common knowledge that Root was an organization similar to Kirigakure's Hunter-nin. Their attitude toward enemy ninja had always been one of ruthless persecution. For Hyuga Yu to invite him to join Root now... could he mean he was inviting his corpse to join the organization?
Sasori's expression darkened. He glared coldly at Hyuga Yu and scoffed, "Konoha's Root is actually inviting a missing-nin from Sunagakure like me to join?"
"Did I hear that wrong, or are you just trying to make me laugh?"
Hyuga Yu paid no mind to Sasori's tone, which sounded as if he'd swallowed a powder keg. Ignoring his "I've had enough of this red tape, let's just fight already!" expression, he instead explained with extraordinary patience and absolute seriousness, "You didn't hear wrong, Sasori of the Red Sand."
"Root is a special division affiliated with Konoha's Anbu, yet it stands above the Anbu. It has a total of fourteen official seats in Konoha's registry."
"Once the matters in the Land of Rivers are handled, I will return to Konoha to inherit Root from my teacher, Danzō. Under the codename 'Tianren,' I will become the actual ruler of this organization."
"To accomplish my massive upcoming plans, I need to recruit thirteen talents from across the ninja world to fill the 'Thirteen Seats' of Root—seats with the power to change the world. Regardless of race or nationality. And you, Sasori of the Red Sand, are one of my target candidates."
Sasori's expression stiffened slightly. Listening to Hyuga Yu's earnest introduction, his eyes flickered. For a moment, he genuinely couldn't figure out what this Tianren—a man with a terrifying combat record—was actually trying to do.
Having briefly introduced Root's general situation, Hyuga Yu continued with a serious expression, "Sasori of the Red Sand—"
"Our future operations will require your power. So, come lend me a hand!"
However, Hyuga Yu's sincere invitation fell on Sasori's ears as a unilateral declaration of his future. It sounded as though he believed Sasori could never escape Root's control. Furthermore, Sasori had defected from Sunagakure precisely because he was sick of red tape, finally setting off on a path to pursue his artistic ideals.
How could he possibly willingly accept Hyuga Yu's invitation, re-register as a member of another ninja village, and bind his own hands within a rotten shinobi system?
Even if Root's operational style was notoriously "open-minded"...
A grim look quickly took over Sasori's face. He curled his lips into a cold smile. "Heh... based on that tone of yours, you're looking down on people quite a bit."
Hyuga Yu shook his head and replied, "You can treat Root as a sanctuary for people like you who have betrayed their ninja villages."
"Right now, only I—only Root—can withstand the pressure of the entire ninja world and take in your kind."
"At the same time, as the leader, I deeply respect the artistic pursuits of all my members."
"As long as you smoothly complete the scientific research tasks I assign, no one will care what you do."
Of course, this was a lie—
With time already running tight for the ninja world, Hyuga Yu, unwilling to squeeze his own schedule, would simply cram the daily routines of these geniuses full of scientific research tasks. It was the best way to keep them from acting out and causing him unnecessary trouble...
At that moment, Sasori stared at Hyuga Yu and frowned. "So, about Hiruko. You came here for him as well?"
"Naturally." Hyuga Yu nodded. "Hiruko's technology is one of the things I need. In fact, at this current stage, he is even more important than the mechanical engineering techniques you hold."
Sasori's eyes shifted as he pressed on, "Even though he launched an assassination attempt against you and almost cost you your life, you are still willing to forgive him?"
Hyuga Yu said mildly, "As long as he works hard, I can let bygones be bygones."
Hearing this, Sasori felt slightly moved. He confirmed that Hyuga Yu truly seemed to have come to recruit talent for Root. As for the conditions Hyuga Yu promised, especially the last bit about respecting the artistic pursuits of his members, Sasori found it somewhat tempting.
But...
Sasori looked at Hyuga Yu, chuckled, and said, "I see. It doesn't sound bad."
"However, even though it doesn't sound bad—"
"..."
At this point, Sasori's gaze turned icy. Reaching back, he grabbed the second of the three scrolls on his back. Crouching down, he snapped it open. Written boldly on the scroll was a massive kanji for "Three" (三).
"I must decline!"
"Tianren, Hyuga Yu. After all, I am exceedingly interested in that body of yours, which rivals even that of the Fourth Raikage, A!"
Seeing this, Hyuga Yu realized it would be impossible to subdue Sasori without a fight. He couldn't help but sigh. "Why must you do this?"
"If I break you, won't you just come to me later asking for funding and medical expenses..."
"Shameless boasting!"
Sasori sneered, his gaze turning cold. His ten fingers immediately hooked, dancing to control his puppets!
With a loud poof, a large cloud of white smoke erupted from the unfurled scroll on the ground—
From the smoke flew a puppet wearing a brownish-grey cloak with dark blue hair. Its vacant, sluggish eyes twitched slightly as it locked directly onto Kakuzu, who stood behind Hyuga Yu!
Kakuzu, who had been silently standing behind Hyuga Yu the whole time, felt his heart skip a beat. "This is... the Third Kazekage who disappeared right before the Third Shinobi World War. So he died at the hands of this brat. But, damn it, if you're trying to deal with this kid, why are your moves aimed at me!?"
Following the summoning of the Third Kazekage puppet, wisps of iron sand slowly floated up from beneath the ground where the Gobi and the desert met.
It gradually spread out, encircling the entire battlefield.
Hyuga Yu watched Sasori's movements and raised an eyebrow. During this period, Sasori, who hadn't yet turned himself into a human puppet, shouldn't have completed his Secret Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets. "So, you're using the Third Kazekage puppet to tie down Kakuzu. Then, how do you plan to deal with me?"
"Planning to rely on Hiruko?"
"You've gathered quite comprehensive intel on me..." Hearing this, Sasori coldly glared at Hyuga Yu, who stood motionless in place. He directly pulled out the first scroll on his back and summoned Hiruko right there.
"But did you think this was the end?"
Immediately after, Sasori reached out and grabbed the third scroll on his back. As he unfurled it, kicking up a large cloud of white smoke, his murderous intent was fully exposed!
The seemingly clunky Hiruko began sprinting around Hyuga Yu at a speed far exceeding the mobility of an ordinary ninja!
Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!
The distinct mechanical unfolding sounds of the human puppet instantly spread through the smoke. In the very next split second—
"Hiruko: Shin Happa!" "Hiruko: Heavy Blade Box!" "Hiruko: Prosthetic Arm Senbon!"
Hiruko detached its left hand to reveal a massive machine-gun-like mechanism on its left arm. The cannon was loaded with cylindrical canisters capable of firing a massive amount of poison needles. As it ran, canister after canister was fired, burying into the ground and triggering simultaneously!
Two massive concealed weapon mechanisms, resembling radiators, protruded from Hiruko's black cloak, spinning to launch countless hidden weapons from within. At the same time, Hiruko violently opened its large mouth, and the countless poison needle senbon summoned by the paper tags inside shot toward Hyuga Yu from multiple directions all at once!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
For a moment, all sorts of hidden weapons rained down on Hyuga Yu in waves from every direction. Relying on Sunagakure's puppet technology, it was as if Sasori was simultaneously commanding ten Tentens to throw weapons at Hyuga Yu.
However, Hyuga Yu merely let out a soft sigh. The hand he had extended toward Sasori in a handshake gesture was slowly raised at this moment, all five fingers spread wide. Being surrounded and attacked from all sides, he felt no anger toward Sasori's rebelliousness, nor any regret at being rejected and given the "nice guy" card. He only felt a sense of... wanting to laugh.
Sasori of the Red Sand, the murderer of the Third Kazekage, Sunagakure's greatest puppet prodigy to date, the demon who slaughtered villages all the way from the Land of Wind just to find suitable materials...
A pile of resounding titles rested upon Sasori's shoulders, yet they couldn't conceal the truth—Sasori was nothing more than a traditional, backward, and even primitive ninja.
And now, standing before Sasori, Hyuga Yu, through round after round of "scientific" metamorphosis, had evolved from an "underworld ninja" into an existence that ordinary ninja couldn't comprehend—
A "Trisolaran"!
Hyuga Yu merely lifted his palm slightly, spreading his five fingers!
"Wind Style: Shinra Tensei!"
A pale green membrane of repulsive force rose around his body. Clink, clank, clatter...
Countless rapidly fired poisoned senbon, Hiruko's tail stinger, broadswords, kunai, axes, and burning explosive tags... all simultaneously ground to a halt three meters away from Hyuga Yu in that instant. Then—
—BOOM!
A massive flash of fire erupted alongside the pungent smell of gunpowder smoke. But in the very next moment, a storm rose out of thin air, encircling Hyuga Yu. It swept indiscriminately in all directions, pushing everything violently backward for eight hundred meters. The swirling sand and wind expanded into what almost looked like a giant tornado!
The sky suddenly darkened, blotted out by the dust and sand tornado birthed by the combined force of the wind and the repulsion!
With just one move, all the hidden weapons, ninja tools, and senbon were bent, crushed, and shattered by the repulsive force, violently thrown eight hundred meters away like swept garbage!
Even Hiruko, which Sasori relied on so heavily, was instantly crushed by the immense pressure of Hyuga Yu into countless parts and fragments, scattering uselessly in front of Sasori just as he was opening his third scroll.
Witnessing this scene, Sasori raised his arm to cover his face, struggling to withstand the storm. His pupils constricted violently. His eyes uncontrollably revealed a sliver of heartache, a sliver of horror, a sliver of shock, a sliver of dread, a sliver of fear, and a remaining ninety-five parts of complete bewilderment. His heart skipped a beat, and even his hand movements slowed down by more than just a fraction.
He abruptly raised his head and saw Hyuga Yu stepping out of the smoke completely unharmed. Not a single speck of dust had clung to him. He had expended less than a tenth of his chakra and hadn't even bothered to activate his Byakugan. Crunching over the fragments of Hiruko, Hyuga Yu walked toward Sasori and shook his head. As if merely stating a fact, he spoke slowly, "Your taijutsu is unrefined, your punches and kicks are weak, and your technology is completely outdated. You're still using such primitive crossbow launching mechanisms to this day. As a master of engineering, you don't even have a good grasp on the convenience of modern weaponry..."
"How could someone like you possibly pose the slightest threat to me?"
Hyuga Yu, whose style of existence was already entirely distinct from a normal ninja, offered a kind word of advice, "Sasori of the Red Sand, you'd be better off facing reality..."
"Are you kidding me!!?"
However, the response he received was a sound Sasori made after a moment of stunned silence, shocked into speechlessness...
A low, furious roar suppressing endless bewilderment, sounding as if he was on the verge of a breakdown!
"Even if that's the case..."
"I still have a way to kill you!"
"For that, even using this is perfectly acceptable..."
"Hiruko!"
Intimidated by the Tianren's terrifying display of power, Sasori forcibly raised his trembling hand, unfurled the scroll, crouched on the ground, bit his finger, and slammed it down!
He unleashed the killing move he had prepared in advance to hunt down this Tianren!
"Living Puppet Jutsu: Dark Magnetic Storm Poison Execution Formation!"
Poof!
White smoke exploded!
After the billowing white smoke cleared, a petite figure with white hair suddenly appeared on the battlefield! His face was full of terror, practically wishing he could carve the words "I want to surrender" onto his forehead!
Hyuga Yu was first surprised... and then, his pupils shrank slightly, an immense sense of joy welling up in his heart.
"This... this..."
"Is this your bargaining chip to negotiate your employment package at Root? Sasori of the Red Sand... you bastard!"
————
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