Although he said his hands were itchy, Sasori wasn't someone who enjoyed meaningless battles. He actually wanted to use the fight with Furina to gauge Orochimaru's current condition more accurately.
After all, he still had an old score to settle with Orochimaru and that traitor as well. If he could confirm that Orochimaru was indeed weakened now, then... hmph.
As for the previous intelligence from White Zetsu? It existed, sure, but hearsay could never compare to testing it personally.
What Sasori didn't know was that a cheat character couldn't be judged by normal standards. The current Furina was already far stronger not just a little bit compared to when she fought Orochimaru earlier.
Trying to use her as a reference point to assess Orochimaru's strength was destined to yield only an inaccurate result.
"Looks like we have no choice but to fight."
Furina also knew Sasori wasn't the "fight for the thrill" type. For a guy obsessed with puppets to choose to fight her, there had to be a reason.
But so what? Furina was already tired of thinking about the reasons. She had already conceded so much, yet he still refused to let it go. Did he really think she was made of clay? Even a clay Bodhisattva has three parts fire.
She hadn't wanted to fight earlier only because she was worried about dragging Uchiha Hikari into it that didn't mean she was afraid.
Forget just Sasori even if Deidara joined him, so what? With Sage Mode, she now felt terrifyingly strong.
Obito's abilities had been special earlier Kamui was one of the most troublesome techniques out there, and she really hadn't been able to perform at her best. But the others didn't come with that same concern.
"No matter what happens next, don't get involved in the fight. Otherwise, I'll really get upset."
Before starting, Furina didn't forget to remind her silly friend one more time. She also signaled Tachi to protect them once the battle began, she wouldn't have much attention to spare for anything else.
"Finished talking?"
Though it sounded like a question, Sasori had already begun his attack while speaking. Countless senbon poured out from the crimson stream tiger, and given Sasori's status as a poison master, it went without saying these senbon were not to be touched even slightly.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Tornado"
Though Sasori's sneak attack was stealthy, Furina still reacted immediately. She had never let her guard down against him, so there was no way such a move would catch her off guard.
After using the surrounding water tornadoes to block all the senbon, Furina as usual converted them into water dragons and launched a counterattack at Sasori.
"A defensive ninjutsu that can still be repurposed for offense what an artistic technique. Oh, right besides water dragons, can you change them into other forms too?"
"Of course I can."
As if responding to Deidara's question, several other water-formed shapes appeared right behind the water dragon: a water tiger, water butterflies, a water bird identical to the one Deidara was riding, and even... a water-version crimson stream tiger.
"Wow, even Sasori big bro's crimson stream tiger is there and it looks so realistic. A Water Release mastery at this level really deserves to be called art."
"You're too kind. But I can tell you truly love art."
"That's right. One day, I'll make the entire ninja world acknowledge my ninjutsu."
Originally, Sasori hadn't paid much attention to Furina's attacks, but he never expected Deidara who was hovering overhead to start exchanging commercial compliments with Furina. It made Sasori somewhat irritated.
"Shut your mouth."
As he spoke, Sasori had the crimson stream tiger raise its arm and fire several cannonball-like projectiles at the foremost water dragon. They exploded on contact, scattering the water dragon instantly.
The subsequent water tiger, water butterflies, and water bird were also blasted apart one after another by the crimson stream tiger's cannon fire. After destroying the final water crimson stream tiger, the figures of Furina and the others had somehow already vanished from their previous position.
"Sasori big bro, looks like you scared them off they're starting to run away."
Deidara clearly hadn't taken Sasori's scolding to heart. Pointing at the gradually receding figures of Furina and the others, he grinned widely. Anyone who didn't know better might think Deidara was on their side.
"Didn't I tell you? I can see. Could you stop stating the obvious? Are you seriously not afraid I'll kill you?"
Sasori could naturally hear the teasing in Deidara's words, but right now he couldn't be bothered to lecture him further. He simply stared in the direction Furina and the others had gone, pondering whether to pursue.
He knew they weren't fleeing out of fear. Rather, because her specialty Water Release had a wide range, fighting here would inevitably harm others. That's why she chose to withdraw outside the city.
And if they chased them outside the city, Furina would be able to fight without any reservations. Though he still had plenty of trump cards unused, the flashy display she had just shown was clearly only the tip of the iceberg.
In that case, the outcome really wasn't certain. Even if he could win, his puppets would likely suffer heavy losses...
After weighing the pros and cons in his mind, Sasori ultimately gave up on the idea of pursuing. From their brief exchange, he had already formed a rough estimate of Furina's strength.
Fighting her to the end might make the winner unclear, but she was definitely on the same level as him. His original goal had been to use her to confirm Orochimaru's condition.
Now that the goal was more or less achieved, there was no need to continue a meaningless fight. As for Orochimaru and that traitor...
Let them live a little longer.
...
After leaving the city, Furina noticed that Sasori and Deidara hadn't followed. Though it left her with a frustrating sense of being edged getting hyped up only for them to stop she figured fine, if they weren't fighting, at least the outcome was good.
After all, even though she now had Sage Mode and felt terrifyingly strong, there still wasn't a qualitative gap between her and Sasori plus Deidara. She was confident she wouldn't lose one-on-one against either.
But if both attacked together, it would be different. Even with Tachi's help, protecting the others would be very difficult. So their decision to back off was the best possible result.
The only one feeling uncomfortable was Furina. One moment fighting, the next not were they treating her like some kind of Japanese punchline? Damn it!
"I am truly grateful for your assistance this time. Without you holding off those two rogue ninja, the princess and the young lord would likely have met a grim fate."
"You don't need to say all that. If you really want to thank me, just give me something tangible. After all, you know we got dragged into this because of you guys."
"Uh..." Hearing this, Tachi was clearly taken aback. He hadn't expected Furina to be so direct. Shouldn't people her age care a lot about face?