In the Land of Wind, within that remote desert, puppet parts were scattered everywhere.
Sasori of the Red Sand lay sprawled across the yellow dunes, struggling to lift his head as he looked toward the Third Kazekage slowly approaching in the distance.
"As expected of the strongest Kazekage… your Iron Sand Technique is truly powerful."
Sasori sat cross-legged, quietly watching the Third Kazekage.
The Kazekage's clothes were already torn with more than a dozen cuts. He stopped as well, silently gazing back at Sasori.
For a moment, time itself seemed to freeze. Two generations of the Sand Village—one old, one young—stared at each other.
After a while, the Third Kazekage finally spoke.
"Sasori, come back. I can pretend none of this ever happened."
Though this would be unfair to the Sand shinobi who had died, he truly couldn't bear to kill such a talented and young prodigy. This boy could very well become the pillar of the Sand Village in the coming years.
"Heh… Third Kazekage-sama, if you were avenging those people, I might respect you a bit more. But right now… you're just disgusting."
Sasori spoke with deep disdain.
A man who doesn't treat his subordinates as human—no wonder you deliberately sent my parents to their deaths.
"…Sigh. Since you've made up your mind, I'll grant you a quick end. As for your grandmother Chiyo, I'll explain it to her myself."
The Third Kazekage sighed as he looked at Sasori, who showed no trace of regret.
He raised his left hand.
Endless Iron Sand gathered in the air, solidifying and gradually forming a dense forest of iron.
"Sasori of the Red Sand… in your next life, don't make the same mistakes again."
"Iron Sand World Method."
Countless iron spikes engulfed Sasori.
In an instant, his body shattered into pieces, blood splattering everywhere. One drop seemed almost alive as it landed on the Third Kazekage's cheek.
Perhaps because he had personally killed his old friend's grandson, the Kazekage didn't notice this small detail.
Looking at the pile of fragments and Sasori's severed head, he felt a wave of sorrow.
"Chiyo… my old friend, how am I supposed to explain this to you…"
"…Sigh."
He turned to leave.
One step. Two steps.
With a loud thud, the Third Kazekage suddenly collapsed to the ground.
He sensed that his body was no longer under his control, disbelief filling his face.
"How is this possible…? There's still an enemy lurking in the shadows, and I didn't even notice?"
Suddenly, within his field of vision, a small cylindrical object extended several chakra threads. It manipulated a severed puppet arm to open a sealing scroll.
A humanoid puppet appeared, and the cylinder immediately rushed over, embedding itself into a circular slot in the puppet's chest.
Creak… creak…
The puppet moved toward the Third Kazekage.
Seeing the familiar face, his eyes widened.
"How… how is this possible? Sasori… I clearly already—"
"That puppet was modified from my original body. To fool you, I even preserved part of the flesh and tissue. Judging by the result, it worked quite well."
As Sasori spoke, he drove black wooden spikes deep into the Kazekage's body.
"Pff—"
The Third Kazekage spat out blood.
Yet he still couldn't understand why Sasori hated him so much. They had only met a few times.
"Sasori… why? Why do you harbor such deep hatred toward me?"
"You caused my parents' deaths. That's all."
"…I see. That does sound like a sufficient reason. But I never intended to harm them—they were heroes who sacrificed themselves for the village."
Sasori drove more wooden spikes into the Kazekage's limbs, pinning both his hands and feet.
"I know. But what does that change? They still died because of your decision."
"…Is that so? From your perspective… I suppose I do deserve death."
"I don't like waiting. Third Kazekage-sama, go and atone to my parents… and Hatake Sakumo won't escape either."
The final wooden spike pierced through the Kazekage's throat.
His consciousness began to fade.
His final thoughts were—
I'm sorry, sensei… in the end, I failed to lead the Sand Village to prosperity.
I'm sorry, Rasa… it seems I've left you with quite a mess to clean up.
I'm sorry, Chiyo… I ultimately couldn't bring your grandson back to the right path.
Sasori sealed the Third Kazekage's corpse into a scroll.
"Next… Hatake Sakumo."
The yellow sand swept across the land, erasing all traces. It was as if nothing had ever happened.
...
In the Land of Lightning, the Third Raikage had already led his forces to the border. One more step and they would enter the Land of Fire.
As for why they hadn't advanced—
"Raikage-sama, we absolutely must not push further. Konoha is no ordinary opponent. Recklessly entering their territory could lead to unnecessary casualties."
Dodai did his best to hold back the Cloud Village forces, who were eager for battle.
"Dodai, then how should we attack the Land of Fire?"
The Third Raikage asked seriously.
When it came to fighting, they were all straightforward brutes—but strategy had to be left to people like Dodai.
"Raikage-sama, I carefully analyzed Konoha's previous flawless victory against the Hidden Rain, as well as our own battle with them. Konoha's greatest advantage is their attack range. Over the years, we've constructed hundreds of large-scale catapults. Compared to Konoha's Akimichi giants, they are absolutely no weaker. As long as we enter a standoff, our firepower will surpass theirs—and last longer."
"Once that happens, we can strike Konoha with an initial heavy blow to crush their momentum. After that, we can steadily advance into the Land of Fire. Most importantly, this approach will greatly reduce our losses."
Dodai spoke with confidence.
When reviewing past battles, he had been astonished by Konoha's ingenious tactics—especially the Akimichi clan's ultra-long-range attacks. It perfectly utilized their immense strength while avoiding the weakness of being large targets.
It was truly the most suitable combat method for the Akimichi.
While the Cloud Village didn't have talents like the Akimichi clan, as the saying goes—if you lack talent, make up for it with machines.
The Cloud Village's manufacturing capabilities were exceptional.
A simple machine designed to throw stones farther was easily produced.
Konoha… this time, we'll make you taste the power of our long-range bombardment.
The Third Raikage looked at Dodai's confident expression and nodded.
"Dodai, we'll proceed according to your plan. Everyone will cooperate with you."
Truthfully, the Raikage felt that no strategy was as effective as personally charging into the enemy camp—but he still agreed.
"Thank you, Raikage-sama. I've already ordered the village to transport the catapults here."
"We just need you to assign some men to gather large stones."
"Very well. I'll have A lead the team."
"Thank you for your support, Raikage-sama."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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