Snowy suddenly appeared in front of Ryou and said, "Ryou, the town ahead is being attacked by rogue ninja."
Ryou shrugged. "Let them suffer! I'm not a savior."
Ninjas are actually quite insidious.
Sometimes, Ninja Villages intentionally release these rogue ninja to cause destruction.
The countries or forces threatened by these rogue ninja have no choice but to hire Ninjas to deal with them.
In this way, where there is demand and commissions, there is an economy.
If there are commissions, take them; if there are none, create them to take.
Ninjas live by killing; it is the last profession that should talk about peace.
Snowy nodded and prepared to scout other areas.
Ryou then asked curiously, "What do those rogue ninja look like? Why are they attacking the town?"
Snowy said, "A group of puppets is attacking the town. I couldn't find the main body; they should be puppet masters from the Sunagakure rogue ninja."
"Oh!"
Ryou became interested, having already made a judgment in his heart... Sasori is not a homicidal maniac; his target is a Ninja family in this mountain town.
The greatest feature of a human puppet is that it retains all the Ninjutsu and Kekkei Genkai the person had in life.
Sasori has no desire to kill ordinary people, because human puppets made from them are of no use at all.
Sasori's targets are Ninjas, especially those with Kekkei Genkai or powerful Secret Techniques.
Relying on Hiruko, Sasori easily broke through the town and began hunting the Ninjas within.
"Damn it, why are you attacking us?"
A Jonin in his 30s released a Wind Release, which transformed into wind blades and slashed toward Sasori's Hiruko.
Unexpectedly, Sasori's Hiruko easily blocked the Jonin's Ninjutsu.
Hiruko possesses powerful defensive capabilities; it is a human puppet Sasori made using a powerful Earth Release Ninja.
Sasori usually hides inside this puppet. Inside, there is a tricycle he can pedal; when he's normally walking, he stands up inside and pedals.
"Hehe... it seems you are the strongest Ninja in this town. Although you're a bit weak, just obediently become my puppet!"
Sasori let out a raspy laugh, and then a scorpion-like steel tail stinger extended from the back of Hiruko, striking fiercely toward the Jonin like a venomous snake emerging from its hole.
The Wind Release Jonin was very fast and escaped the tail stinger attack.
But then, Hiruko's head opened up, releasing a series of poison needles.
Kuroari: Eight Waves of Needles!
Sasori released the poison needles with extreme speed; right after the tail stinger attack, he released the needles.
The launching speed of those poison needles was too fast to see clearly.
The Wind Release Jonin also reacted quickly, spitting out Wind Release to blow away Sasori's poison needles as soon as he landed.
Unfortunately, one poison needle still pierced the Wind Release Jonin's foot.
The Wind Release Jonin thought he had only been hit by a single needle and didn't care much.
But in the next second, his entire body collapsed in pain, twitching and foaming at the mouth.
"W-What kind of poison is this?"
Sasori chuckled. "Even the old hag Chiyo cannot neutralize my poison. I expect only that Saint of Medical Ninjutsu, Princess Tsunade, could solve it."
In the original work, Kankuro was left on the brink of death by Sasori's poison. Even the top poison master who could neutralize Salamander toxins—Chiyo—could not neutralize Sasori's poison.
Because all of Sasori's poison techniques were inherited from Chiyo; they were master and apprentice, and she couldn't counter his moves.
The student had surpassed the master, and Sasori had developed toxins that exceeded Chiyo's.
The Wind Release Jonin was shocked upon hearing this and pointed weakly at Sasori. "You... who on earth are you?"
A poison that only Princess Tsunade could neutralize—could such a person be an ordinary rogue ninja?
Sasori walked over slowly, approaching the Wind Release Jonin who was about to die from the poison.
"Sasori of the Red Sand!"
The Wind Release Jonin's eyes couldn't help but widen. "...The genius Marionettist of Sunagakure!!"
This town was near the Land of Wind, and the Ninjas in the town had all heard of the great name of Sasori of the Red Sand.
He was the most talented Marionettist in the history of the Sunagakure, but he had defected from the Village for some reason, taking his puppet-making talent into the world of rogue ninjas.
The Wind Release Jonin's eyes closed. Sasori used his tail to hook up the Wind Release Jonin's corpse and prepared to leave the town.
Before leaving, Sasori glanced at the terrified gazes in the shadows.
They were all gazes hoping Sasori would leave after killing his target and not continue the slaughter.
Sasori took out a scroll labeled "Hundred," intending to wipe out the town.
After all, he was now a Sunagakure rogue ninja, and Chiyo was constantly looking for him; Sasori didn't want his whereabouts to be exposed.
But just as he took out the scroll, a hand pressed down on Hiruko's head. "That's enough! People aren't leeks; do you think if you cut one crop, another will just grow back?"
Who? To get this close to me without being detected!
Sasori was greatly shocked and quickly controlled Hiruko to retreat several body lengths.
Puppet masters generally fight at long range and absolutely avoid close-quarters combat.
Although Sasori's Hiruko was capable of both offense and defense, and close combat was also his strength.
But being approached so defenselessly was a first for Sasori.
Sasori looked at the newcomer.
He had neat black hair, distinct bangs, and wore a black short-sleeved stand-up collar zip-up shirt.
He looked extremely handsome.
Two Ninja Cats stood on his shoulders, and behind him was a fierce white cat as huge as a tiger.
This person clearly was no ordinary man.
The most peculiar thing was his eyes.
The scarlet pupils were like molten blood, with three ink-colored Tomoe arranged in a swirling pattern, their edges sharp and flowing with a soul-stealing dark light.
One extra look and it felt like one would explode.
"Sharingan?!"
Inside Hiruko, Sasori's expression grew solemn.
Sasori was once an elite of Sunagakure, a child of high-ranking officials; it was impossible for him not to know the Uchiha Clan's famous Sharingan.
A recognized unspoken rule in the Ninja World: if you encounter a Sharingan one-on-one, don't hesitate—leave quickly!
Sasori didn't leave; instead, he became excited.
"I didn't expect to see the famous Sharingan. Excellent, I just happen to be lacking a human puppet from the Uchiha Clan."
Ryou didn't pay any attention to Sasori at all; instead, he frowned as he looked at the people Sasori had killed.
Sasori's target was the Jonin in this town, but for that one person, he had left a floor full of bodies.
In the original work, Sasori had even used the Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets to destroy a small country.
The worst thing Ryou had ever done was dismembering Hiruko and throwing him into a toilet; afterward, he even dreamed that Hiruko came to take his life that night.
He had been fearful for several days.
Although Ryou also killed people, he didn't treat human life with complete disregard like Sasori.
These are S-rank rogue ninjas; every single one of them is a top-tier homicidal maniac who doesn't care about anything.
Compared to them, Ryou felt like he was pure and innocent.
Ryou then noticed a young girl who had been killed; she was quite pretty and had withered away at such a flower-like age.
What a waste!
"Sasori, you have found your way to death!"