In this moment, Hagoromo felt lonely. He was disappointed in Sasori—deeply, utterly disappointed.
Well, he couldn't really expect Sasori to follow his lead and finish the joke. If Sasori had actually replied with "Your Grandpa's here joke!"... well, would they even still be fighting?
Regardless, Sasori took the loss in this exchange. He definitely hadn't expected to encounter someone outside the Hidden Sand who could use Magnet Style.
As for Hagoromo, he had acquired a new item. Original import, low-carbon, eco-friendly, waterproof, and non-sweat-absorbent. Authentic Third Kazekage Brand Iron Sand.
This is why intelligence is paramount in battle; you can't just throw your tools around blindly, or you'll end up "throwing a meat bun at a dog" (and losing the bun).
If the living Third Kazekage were standing here, Hagoromo estimated that even with his superior electromagnetic force, he wouldn't have been able to hijack the iron sand so easily.
But the Kazekage was dead; he was just a puppet. Essentially, the Magnet Style used by the puppet was just Sasori's chakra converted through a medium. The efficiency couldn't compare to the original user.
The "Strongest Puppet"? The "Magnet Style"? Dead is dead; he was just a medium now. This favorite toy of Sasori's happened to be perfectly hard-countered by Hagoromo.
Losing the iron sand was a problem. Sasori halted the puppet's next move. A Third Kazekage puppet that couldn't use Magnet Style was no different from any of Sasori's other wooden dolls.
Up in the tree, Hagoromo was just having a "chuunibyou" moment; he didn't actually expect losing the iron sand to stop Sasori. He loosened his grip, letting the gourd slide from his shoulder to his back. Two hand-width iron ribbons extended from the top and bottom of the gourd, meeting across Hagoromo's chest to secure it.
Yes, he was cosplaying. The future Gaara of the Sand would have a similar gourd, though his would be sand-colored.
The Kazekage puppet stood still. Sasori, missing an arm, stepped forward.
"I truly didn't expect there to be another Magnet Style ninja outside of the Sand..."
In just a few rounds, Hagoromo had delivered surprise after surprise. The way Sasori looked at him had changed. Fanaticism? Something like that.
More accurately, it was the look of a master sculptor discovering a perfect piece of raw material. Sasori considered himself an artist, and Hagoromo had officially become "prime material" in his eyes.
Hagoromo understood obsessives like Sasori, but understanding didn't make the gaze any more comfortable. Sasori was probably already mentally planning what kind of "play"—cough, dissection—he would perform.
Descending the trunk step by step, Hagoromo met him at ground level. It was rude to talk down to people, after all.
"If you want to call it Magnet Style... I suppose that works," Hagoromo said, sparks of electricity still dancing across his skin.
Technically, his power was Lightning Style; electromagnetism was just an application of the that. Since their fundamental theories were different, Hagoromo saw no reason to give Sasori a physics lecture.
He didn't even know the exact elemental composition of Magnet Style in this world—he knew Wood was Earth+Water and Ice was Wind+Water, but Magnet Style remained a mystery to him.
"It seems using this puppet against you was a poor choice."
Sasori didn't need Hagoromo to explain; he judged the attack based on his experience. He had killed a Magnet Style user before, so he assumed this was the same.
"But I'm in luck today. I'll soon have a second, identical puppet for my collection."
Sasori withdrew and resealed the Third Kazekage. Using a Magnet Style puppet against a Magnet Style ninja? He wasn't that stupid.
No matter how much knowledge a person has, they judge things based on experience. Sasori couldn't conceive of a power system outside the laws of his world, so to him, Hagoromo was a Magnet Style user.
Hagoromo remained silent. Even if Sasori killed him, he could never turn him into a puppet like the Third Kazekage. They weren't even using the same kind of chakra.
At that moment, the rain, which had paused for ten hours, began to fall again.
Hagoromo stopped in front of Sasori. The fight had to continue; he wasn't here to play a dramatic scene in the rain. Sasori finally pulled out the scroll labeled "Red."
Red Secret Technique: Performance of Fifty-Six Puppets!
A dense crowd of red-cloaked puppets instantly surrounded Hagoromo. Sasori had finally tapped into his ultimate techniques. Since his "Core" wasn't complete and he was still mostly flesh, and because he only had this many puppets on hand, Hagoromo didn't see the legendary "Hundred Puppets" that could threaten a nation.
Still, being surrounded by fifty-six puppets was a heavy investment from Sasori. Chakra threads erupted from his shoulder stump, connecting to the puppets like neural links. Despite the numbers, Sasori controlled them as easily as his own fingers.
"I acknowledge you as a powerful ninja. I only hope you don't resist too much; if possible, I'd rather not cause too much damage to your body."
The tone was unsettling—like someone telling you to take care of their property.
Facing such numbers, Hagoromo made a precise judgment: This was no time to show off. When it's time to retreat, you retreat. He backed away slowly, facing Sasori.
Energy began to gather within him. Lightning illuminated the space and sliced through the downpour. The rain was timely; the weather favored Hagoromo. Perhaps he could call down a bolt of natural lightning soon. But he wasn't in a rush; ultimate moves shouldn't be wasted.
Iron sand drifted from the gourd, circling Hagoromo's body... offense and defense in one. He was already mimicking Gaara's combat style. He had to admit, when facing a crowd, this was incredibly practical.
Clack-clack-clack-clack.
The sound of the puppets was grating. On Sasori's command, the red-cloaked dolls lunged forward! It looked like a disorganized swarm, but under Sasori's mastery, the attacks were perfectly layered.
As expected of the world's greatest puppeteer.
And Hagoromo? He kept backing up.
The iron sand formed shields to block strikes.
The iron sand formed blades to counter-attack those who got too close.
The iron sand acted like a whip, occasionally bisecting a puppet attacking from a blind spot.
This iron sand was much better than the raw minerals he usually pulled from the ground. A "premium" product really does have its perks.
Puppets were knocked down only to rise again. The lightning flared and dimmed. The iron sand compressed and scattered.
Hagoromo fought as he retreated, leading Sasori from the Land of Rain all the way back into the Land of Fire. Sasori knew he was being lured, but he had to follow, or else give up on the kill. The puppets were hard to put down permanently; unless they were smashed to splinters, they just kept coming.
Spotting a moment where the puppets were tightly clustered, Hagoromo struck!
An orange-yellow flash pierced the rain!
The trajectory wasn't as clear as it would be on a sunny day. Friction, high heat, evaporation, and vaporization—a thick shroud of mist trailed the path of the Railgun!
"BOOM!"
It sounded like a single explosion, but it was actually several overlapping impacts. Multiple puppets were blown into dust.
The puppets stopped moving. Sasori was outside the effective range. If he stepped closer, Hagoromo wouldn't mind giving him another round. With this much noise already made, he no longer feared attracting other ninjas.
Sasori finally halted his pursuit.
"Your chakra reserves... are surprising. It seems my plan has failed. Half my puppets are destroyed, and I cannot venture deeper into the Land of Fire. I look forward to our next meeting."
Logically, after using so many high-chakra moves, Hagoromo should have been empty. Yet he still looked perfectly energized.
"My energy is beyond your imagination," Hagoromo bluffed. In truth, he was starting to feel the fatigue.
In a high-intensity chase like this, he wasn't sure how much longer he could last. Fortunately, his "fight-and-flight" strategy worked. Upon entering Fire Country, Sasori had no choice but to withdraw.
Sasori was decisive; the moment he decided to quit, he vanished into the rain.
Retracting the iron sand and the lightning, Hagoromo looked a mess. At that moment, he felt the true relief of someone who survived a near death experiece. Sasori's puppets were annoying, and his poison was terrifying—it had kept Hagoromo's nerves at a breaking point. If he didn't have a medic like Tsunade nearby, he couldn't afford a single mistake.
If Sasori had pushed for five more minutes, Hagoromo would have had to risk an all-out final move.
But he had endured. He felt like singing:
"It's a lonely sky... falling with sad rain..." Wait, wrong song.
"There are no tears in the Land of Rain... the heavy rain flies... you look so cold and weary..." Still not right.
Anyway, Sasori paid the price, and Hagoromo hadn't suffered much of a loss.
A truly"beautiful encounter" at an hectic border—Hagoromo had made a clean getaway. From every sense of the word, a crisis averted.
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