"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"
The sky above became completely filled with countless paper shuriken, pouring downward like a devastating rainstorm that seemed designed to cover every conceivable escape route around Tsunade's position.
Tsunade's eyebrows rose with a mixture of interest and mild irritation. As one of the legendary Sannin whose reputation had echoed throughout the ninja world for decades, extensive information about her fighting style and tactical preferences was apparently well-known to many potential opponents.
Therefore, from the very beginning of this confrontation, the woman before her had immediately taken to the air and begun attacking using long-range, large-scale techniques that would theoretically neutralize Tsunade's greatest advantages.
In this manner, no matter how devastating her legendary superhuman strength might be, she would be forced into a purely defensive position where she could only react to incoming attacks.
"WHOOSH!"
The descending paper shuriken had somehow acquired the hardness and cutting power of actual metal projectiles, their passage through the air creating sharp whistling sounds that spoke to their lethal potential.
Tsunade raised her head defiantly, her expression stern and utterly unimpressed by the aerial barrage.
If the woman floating above truly believed that such tactics could force one of the Sannin into a permanent defensive posture, she was severely underestimating her opponent!
While this confrontation was unfolding, the entirety of Konoha Village had become a sprawling network of active battlefields. At the same moment when Tsunade and Konan were engaging each other in their deadly dance, another equally significant encounter was taking place elsewhere in the village.
In the central districts, at the base of the towering Hokage Building that served as the symbol of the village's strength and continuity, two legendary figures were finally meeting face to face.
"HISS!"
Hatake Sakumo moved forward with deliberate, measured steps, the distinctive short blade in his hand gradually beginning to emit crackling bolts of electrical energy.
On the lightning-enhanced blade's polished surface, an unnaturally pale and handsome face was reflected with perfect clarity.
"Red Sand Sasori," Sakumo said with obvious recognition, though his voice carried undertones of genuine surprise.
Looking at the infamous puppet master standing before him, Sakumo couldn't help but feel startled by what he observed. The red-haired man's physical appearance had not changed even slightly compared to their encounters more than a decade ago.
During the original assault on Konoha eleven years past, when Sasori had participated alongside the masked man's organization, the puppet master had appeared to be only eighteen or nineteen years old. Now, after the passage of more than a decade, he should logically be approaching thirty years of age.
However, from all outward appearances, he still looked exactly like a boy of fifteen or sixteen, as if time itself had simply refused to touch him.
Nevertheless, Sakumo didn't allow himself to become too distracted by these unusual observations, instead focusing his attention on carefully analyzing their immediate surroundings and tactical situation.
Sasori was renowned throughout the ninja world for his mastery of incredibly potent poisons, which represented exactly the kind of threat that both Minato and Konoha's leadership most feared when facing this particular enemy.
Even though Tsunade possessed legendary detoxification abilities that could theoretically counter most known toxins, preventing exposure in the first place was always the preferable strategy.
As if he could read Sakumo's thoughts with perfect clarity, Sasori raised the corner of his mouth in a playful smile that suggested hidden knowledge and confident superiority.
In this particular operation, the Akatsuki organization had deliberately chosen not to rely heavily on poison-based tactics as they had during previous assaults.
Not only was Konoha's Tsunade exceptionally skilled at neutralizing toxins, but widespread poison deployment would require considerable time to affect the entire village effectively.
Such delays would contribute little to their current strategic objectives and timeline.
The last time they had achieved success with poison-based warfare was specifically because the Nine-Tails jinchūriki had been in the vulnerable state of childbirth, and Konoha's defenses had been caught completely off guard.
However, the same tactical approach could never succeed a second time against opponents who were now fully prepared and alert.
"BANG!"
After a brief moment of tense silence and mutual assessment, Sasori flicked his wrist within his concealing sleeve to activate a storage scroll, and the human puppet crafted from the Third Kazekage's remains immediately materialized beside him.
Swoosh!
Sakumo responded almost simultaneously to the puppet's appearance, his form transforming into a streak of white lightning as he launched himself forward with incredible velocity.
Sasori's reaction was instantaneous and precise, immediately leaping backward to create distance while maintaining perfect control over his puppet companion.
"He's become significantly stronger," Sakumo observed grimly, his eyes narrowing with professional concern.
He had fought against Sasori during their previous encounter a decade ago. Although the puppet master had already demonstrated considerable skill at that time and had proven capable of holding his own with the assistance of the Third Kazekage puppet, there had still been a noticeable gap between their respective capabilities.
However, Sasori's current reflexes and tactical awareness had genuinely reached the level expected of a top-tier ninja capable of standing among the world's elite.
In other words, even if he chose to abandon the Third Kazekage puppet entirely and fight using only his personal abilities, he would still represent an enemy that Sakumo would be compelled to take with absolute seriousness.
As Sasori continued his tactical retreat, his five fingers moved with subtle precision, extending nearly invisible azure chakra threads that connected directly to his puppet companion.
"Iron Sand Shower!" Sasori declared, his mental command causing black iron sand to rapidly condense and pour from the mouth of the Third Kazekage puppet.
The metallic particles immediately transformed into high-velocity projectiles that shot toward Sakumo with the speed and impact force of rifle bullets!
Facing such an intensive barrage of attacks, Sakumo made the tactical decision not to dodge or evade. Instead, he held his blade horizontally across his body as lightning chakra erupted outward with tremendous intensity.
As the electrical energy flickered and danced around the weapon, it seemed to form the distinctive shape of a predator's fangs, crackling with barely contained destructive potential.
"He can actually condense Lightning Release chakra to such an extraordinary degree," Sasori observed with genuine shock and grudging admiration.
Sakumo's application of Lightning Release techniques was fundamentally similar to the methods employed by the Raikage of the Hidden Cloud Village, who used electrical chakra to form protective armor across their entire body surface.
However, compared to the Raikage defensive applications, Sakumo's approach was obviously far more advanced and sophisticated. He completely externalized his chakra and shaped it into weapon forms through pure mental discipline and control.
Therefore, while Sakumo's techniques might not provide the same level of comprehensive protection as Lightning Release armor, they were vastly superior in terms of concentrated destructive power and offensive capability.
"HISS!"
As predicted, when Sasori's iron sand bullets made contact with the lightning fangs that Sakumo had created, they seemed to dissolve and disperse harmlessly, offering no meaningful resistance to the electrical energy.
"Does he intend to end this battle quickly?" Sasori wondered internally, analyzing his opponent's aggressive tactical approach.
The personal hatred between himself and Hatake Sakumo was absolutely irreconcilable, stemming from events that could never be forgiven or forgotten. The White Fang's current attack demonstrated that he was committed to using his full strength from the very beginning.
Recognizing this reality, a gradual madness began to emerge within Sasori's normally beautiful and composed eyes.
On this particular point, his intentions were identical to those of Hatake Sakumo!
"Iron Sand Binding Attack!" Sasori commanded with cold determination.
The iron sand projectiles that had been rushing toward Sakumo suddenly paused in mid-flight, then began gathering and condensing together to form a massive cone-shaped weapon of incredible density and hardness.
The previous bullet-form attacks had possessed insufficient lethality and structural integrity. Although their wide-area coverage had been impressive, they lacked the concentrated force necessary to meaningfully affect an opponent of Sakumo's caliber. Therefore, Sasori had immediately adapted his strategy to focus on more devastating single-target techniques.
The speed at which the iron sand consolidated into its new configuration genuinely surprised Sakumo, who had expected a longer transition period.
Of course, this change in attack methodology came with obvious trade-offs. While the destructive power and penetrating force were dramatically enhanced, the technique's speed and area of effect were significantly reduced.
Naturally, Sasori had already considered and planned for these tactical limitations.
"ROAR!"
A razor-sharp cone of compressed iron sand formed directly in front of Sakumo's position. Simultaneously, an even larger volume of black iron sand began pouring from the Third Kazekage puppet's mouth, creating various offensive configurations under Sasori's precise control.
A massive cube of iron sand materialized and hovered menacingly in the air directly above Sasori's head, ready to be deployed at a moment's notice.
"To be able to utilize power that doesn't originally belong to you to such an impressive extent truly represents the pinnacle of puppetry mastery!" Sakumo exclaimed with genuine professional respect.
Sasori possessed the rare ability to create human puppets that retained the specific techniques and abilities that the deceased had possessed during their lifetime. In terms of advanced puppetry, this represented nothing less than a miraculous achievement that pushed the boundaries of what was considered theoretically possible.
The fact that he could bring a dead person's capabilities to such an extraordinary level of effectiveness was remarkable beyond measure. Although Sakumo had never personally fought against the Third Kazekage during that leader's lifetime, he suspected that even if the Kazekage were still alive, the power he could exert might not exceed what Sasori was currently demonstrating.
When Sasori had first encountered Minato during their initial confrontation, the Fourth Hokage had once observed that the greatest weakness of human puppetry lay in the absence of the original person's will, experience, and battle-tested instincts.
However, Sasori had used his extraordinary talents and dedication to completely eliminate all of these traditionally limiting factors.
There was absolutely no question that he represented the most outstanding genius in the entire history of the Land of Wind. If not for the devastating ninja wars that had altered the trajectory of his life through the tragic death of his parents, the Hidden Sand Village today would certainly not be experiencing the weakness and decline that currently characterized their military strength.
In terms of pure natural talent alone, apart from Minato himself, Sasori was quite possibly the most gifted ninja that Sakumo had ever encountered.
"BOOM!"
The lightning blade collided with the iron sand cone in a spectacular display of competing forces. Although the metallic construct's structural integrity had been significantly enhanced, it was still gradually collapsing under the sustained electrical assault.
However, Sasori had no intention of limiting himself to purely defensive tactics. With a subtle tremor of his ten fingers, weapons formed from iron sand in various offensive configurations began raining down toward Sakumo's position with deadly precision!