Desert outside Orochimaru's laboratory
Two men in black cloaks patterned with red clouds stood facing Orochimaru.
One of them had a hunched figure, almost as if he had no limbs, crawling close to the ground. A black cloth covered his face, and his wild hair stood out sharply. Behind him trailed a segmented, metallic scorpion tail that he could control at will.
Hiruko.
A creation of the Red Sand Sasori, and the Sasori himself was hiding inside.
As for the other man beside him, he appeared to be under twenty years old, with blonde hair and a strange device over his left eye.
"I thought Itachi would be the one to come after me," Orochimaru said with a chuckle. "Didn't expect you two instead. Akatsuki sent you to kill me, didn't they?"
Sasori's voice was cold.
"I won't hesitate to cut down a traitor like you."
Orochimaru had betrayed Akatsuki, and of course, they wouldn't let him get away. Once they confirmed he was hiding somewhere in the Land of Wind, they sent Sasori and the newly joined Deidara to eliminate him.
"Oh? You think you can do that?" Orochimaru smiled. "That boy with you... he used to be part of the Iwagakure Explosion Corps, didn't he? Quite young."
Orochimaru seemed intrigued by Deidara. Having been in Akatsuki before, he knew what kind of people the organization recruited. For someone so young to join... it meant his talent was undeniable.
"Don't treat me like some kid!"
Deidara huffed, forming a hand seal. With a bang, a pure white clay bird appeared at his side.
Sasori spoke.
"Take to the sky and keep your eyes on that snake. He's got plenty of tricks to keep himself alive—don't let him escape."
"What's this? Sasori-sama, you want to kill him yourself?"
"Of course. You've got no grudge with him. But I've had enough of this snake for a long time. Now's the perfect opportunity."
Sasori had disliked Orochimaru ever since they were partners. In contrast, he found Deidara relatively tolerable—despite their completely opposite views on art.
"If anything happens, just call me!"
Deidara didn't waste words. He mounted his clay bird and soared into the sky, keeping a sharp eye on the battlefield below.
"Well then, I'll handle things from here. The terrain's in my favor."
Sasori pulled out a scroll inscribed with the kanji for "Three." Pouring chakra into it, bang—a black-cloaked puppet appeared behind him. Threads of chakra connected them, lifting the puppet into the air.
"You don't need me to explain the power of the Third Kazekage. You already know, don't you?"
"Of course," Orochimaru chuckled. "When I see something I like, I just can't help but take it for myself. So I brought a little surprise of my own."
With a summoning jutsu, a coffin rose from the ground in a cloud of dust. The lid creaked open, and the Third Kazekage stepped out.
His eyes landed on Sasori—and behind him, the puppet made from his own corpse.
"You... Sasori... how dare you..."
That was the last thing the Kazekage expected. To be killed by one of his own subordinates—and worse, turned into a puppet.
He quickly realized his current state. It was the Edo Tensei, originally created by the Second Hokage. He had seen its power firsthand during the First Great Ninja War.
"What the hell is going on?!"
"Exactly what it looks like. The Third Kazekage you killed—revived by my forbidden jutsu."
"This time won't go like last time," the Kazekage said firmly.
If it meant fighting Sasori, he had no problem being controlled.
"Well then... shall we begin?"
Orochimaru pulled out a kunai etched with sealing scripts and stabbed it into the back of the Kazekage's head. The Kazekage's movements went rigid, transformed into a mindless fighter, a pawn with only battle instinct.
"Let's see whose creation is stronger—your puppet, or my forbidden jutsu."
The battle began.
The Third Kazekage launched attacks using his Iron Sand, a fearsome power befitting the strongest Kazekage. Sasori's puppet also wielded Iron Sand—and more. It was loaded with hidden weapons and mechanisms.
In just a few exchanges, the Kazekage's body was smashed to pieces. But that was the trick of the Edo Tensei—his body quickly regenerated, allowing him to fight on.
Iron Sand clashed with Iron Sand.
Just as Orochimaru thought the battle would drag on, the Kazekage abruptly turned his head.
"I'm the Third Kazekage. I'm no one's pawn!"
With those words, his body collapsed and turned to ash, disappearing completely.
In his place was the corpse of an unidentifiable Sunagakure shinobi, eyes wide open in death.
"Still some flaws in the technique, it seems," Orochimaru muttered, frowning.
The Kazekage's performance had disappointed him. Clearly, the jutsu needed refinement.
Suddenly, Orochimaru's legs turned into a long snake tail. Twisting his body, he turned and slithered into the stone cave behind him.
"Don't even think about running!"
Deidara descended, throwing down a wave of palm-sized clay birds into the cave. Just as he prepared to detonate them—
Sasori suddenly raised a wall of Iron Sand.
Fwoosh!
Flames erupted from both sides of the cave.
"Hey, what the hell? So hot! Since when was Orochimaru's Fire Style this powerful?" Deidara shouted.
"Orochimaru's chakra isn't enough to produce flames of this magnitude," Sasori replied coolly.
As the flames subsided, the ground around them—melted sand—bubbled and steamed.
"This is insane," Deidara muttered.
Sasori dismissed his Iron Sand barrier.
"There's only one person in the entire shinobi world capable of a Fire Style of this level."
A figure emerged from the cave—Kiyosuke.
He smiled.
"Yo. Long time no see, Sasori."
"Hmph. That little brat I once chased down... you've grown up into quite the specimen. A perfect candidate for my next puppet," Sasori sneered, dredging up old memories.
Deidara was stunned.
"Isn't that the strongest guy in Konoha?! What's he doing here? Helping Orochimaru?"
"He's Orochimaru's disciple," Sasori explained.
Only those who survived the Third Great Ninja War knew that Kiyosuke was once Orochimaru's student. The younger generation knew little about him.
Deidara, around fifteen or sixteen, maybe even younger, was only obsessed with explosions. He had no idea about Kiyosuke's past.
"I thought you were still with Konoha. What now? Planning to follow your teacher and defect?"
"Not quite. But I can't just let you blow up this place, either."
Kiyosuke smirked.
"I'm still in there, you know... little blondie."
Deidara, this kid—he could have inherited the Tsuchikage's office and played with Kurotsuchi... but no, he chose to run off and play with clay. Hopeless.
"Who're you calling little blondie?! Don't think just because you're the strongest in Konoha that I'm scared of you!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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