Just then, right as the tail needle was halfway through its strike, no one knew when it happened, but Jinin Akebino had already appeared in front of the tail needle, carrying his massive hammer, and smashed it down hard, sending the tail needle flying.
After that, he looked at Sasori, as if he'd figured something out.
"So, you're a puppet master, huh? Heh, my favorite thing to do—" he said with a grin, "—is smashing a puppet to bits, piece by piece. Just like I did last time… to that puppet master from Sunagakure."
Those words didn't just anger Sasori, they infuriated Pakura as well.
"Jinin Akebino!", she shouted, "It was you who led the Kirigakure troops in that surprise attack against our Sunagakure rear lines! I haven't even settled that score with you yet."
As she spoke, Pakura formed a massive fireball in her hands and hurled it straight toward Jinin Akebino.
But before it reached him—
Whoosh!
Shadow Twelve appeared in front of the fireball, gripping his flat blade, and with a single slash, cut the fireball cleanly in two.
Then, with an indifferent tone, he said, "Pakura, you're no longer a ninja of Sunagakure. Or rather, Sunagakure has already sold your life to us."
"I only regret letting you escape back then. Otherwise, you never would've joined the Akatsuki and become our great enemy."
"So today, I'm going to correct that mistake, by erasing you from the ninja world completely!"
Pakura's face twisted with rage, "So the one who plotted against me back then… was you?"
Shadow Twelve replied calmly, "The order came from Lord Mizukage. But as for the details, yes, I was the one who planned it. So, Pakura… do you like the gift I gave you?"
Pakura's fury erupted. She began forming fireballs one after another, throwing them endlessly toward Shadow Twelve.
At that same moment, Kuriarare Kushimaru wasn't sitting idle either.
He unleashed the wires hidden inside his long sword, sending them shooting toward Yahiko.
Among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Kushimaru was one of the more strategic ones.
Earlier, when Munashi Jinpachi had challenged them, Yahiko had been the first to step forward to face him.
That kind of instinct usually belonged only to leaders.
So Kushimaru chose him as his target. After all, if you want to catch a bandit, you capture the leader first.
But just as his wires flew halfway through the air—
A voice came from his side, "Fire Style: Headburn!"
A massive wave of fire surged toward him instantly. Luckily, he hadn't focused all his attention on Yahiko. He reacted in time, dodging the flames by a hair's breadth.
Then, turning his head, he saw beside Kakuzu… a grotesque ghostly mask, its mouth still smoldering, the firewave had just come out of it.
Kakuzu stopped his Earth Grudge Fear's fire mask from spewing further flames and slowly walked toward Kushimaru.
As he approached, he said, "So, you're a tailor too? What a coincidence. I'm also a tailor. How about we compare our craft?"
Kushimaru's expression hardened.
Just from that single ninjutsu, he could already tell, Kakuzu's strength was overwhelming. Incredibly overwhelming.
He ignored Yahiko now, raised his long needle-blade, and replied,
"Fine. Let's have a good match."
As for Kurotsuchi Raiga, he didn't wait for a turn.
Since Kushimaru couldn't handle Yahiko, Raiga naturally took over and went for him instead.
He crossed his twin swords, pointing them toward the sky. At once, lightning chakra surged upward, gathering in the clouds.
Then, a blinding bolt of lightning crashed down toward Yahiko.
"Lightning Style: Thunder Strike!"
Yahiko had already prepared for battle back when Kushimaru attacked. When he saw Raiga's lightning gathering, his hands flew into seals.
He used a classic Water Style technique, Water Formation Wall.
Thus, as the lightning came crashing down, a wall of water rose up from the ground, stretching from beneath Yahiko's feet to the sky above.
It's true, lightning beats water.
But that also means the reverse:
If the water isn't pure, it conducts electricity extremely well, and can divert it safely into the ground.
Yahiko might have been the weakest among the Akatsuki members present, but that didn't mean he was a useless decoration.
As one of the founders of Akatsuki, his power was at least at the jonin level, perhaps even beyond that.
For a while, the battlefield turned into utter chaos.
Explosions, crashes, and battle cries echoed one after another.
Ironically, the ones who had been the most tense before, Mei Terumi and Kakashi, were now the only ones with nothing to do.
Kakashi seemed quite relaxed.
After all, once the Akatsuki showed up, he knew that both he and Mei were safe.
Mei, however, remained on edge.
Because she had spotted that mysterious masked man, the one who had traded words with Elder Genji earlier.
She couldn't tell what his intentions were in saving her. So, she held back, waiting quietly to see what would happen.
Kakashi noticed and tried to reassure her, "No need to be so tense. Having help is better than facing those seven alone."
But Mei shook her head, "Kakashi, you're far too trusting."
"There's no such thing as help without reason. If someone is willing to risk everything, even their life, to save us, it's because they want something from us in return."
"And besides, forget me, just think about you. Isn't there still a huge conflict between Konoha and Akatsuki?"
Kakashi almost laughed.
'Conflict between Konoha and Akatsuki?'
Was she talking about the fact that Obito, Konoha's own, was Akatsuki's biggest backer?
Besides, all those so-called "conflicts" were just smokescreens Obito had thrown up on purpose.
Now… maybe even Obito himself didn't care about any of that anymore.
After all… his power had grown beyond comprehension.
Kakashi slowly said, "You're not wrong. Every bit of help has a price. But maybe the price isn't that big."
"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen are deadly to us, but to Akatsuki, they're nothing special. And since they're nothing special, helping us deal with them… is just a small favor."
Mei frowned and gave Kakashi a suspicious look, "They're still the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Aside from the Mizukage and Elder Genji, they're the strongest people in our village. You really think no one will die if they fight Akatsuki?"
Kakashi shook his head, "Maybe… someone will die."
Mei snorted, "Then that's exactly my point."
But Kakashi added, "I meant that maybe… someone from the Seven Ninja Swordsmen will die."
Mei was left speechless.
"If you're not lying," she said finally, "then Akatsuki's strength is terrifying."
"But if you're telling the truth, then you seem to know a lot about Akatsuki. Where exactly did you get that information from? Don't tell me… Akatsuki once contacted Konoha in secret and made some kind of deal?"
Kakashi thought for a moment, then gave her a vague answer, "You could say that."
Mei's eyes narrowed, "Akatsuki's ambition really is vast, huh?
Reaching out to the leaders of every Great Village… are they planning to make the entire ninja world their own?"