Kimimaro, impaled by the needle, crumbled into a block of wood.
More precisely—a Wood Clone.
The dummy immediately morphed into thick wooden branches, coiling tightly around Hiruko's body.
"Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique."
Before Hiruko could react, countless white bone spears erupted from the ground, piercing through the puppet's frame.
"Come out, Sasori. Stop pretending. I know that's not your real body," Kimimaro said coldly, his golden eyes narrowing.
A beat passed in silence.
"…You know quite a lot."
The voice that followed was no longer the grating mechanical drawl of Hiruko, but a calm, youthful tenor.
From the cracked shell of Hiruko's back, a red-haired young man emerged—a striking figure with a cold, emotionless gaze.
Sasori of the Red Sand.
Kimimaro, however, was not deceived by his appearance.
Despite his youthful look, Sasori was a man well over thirty, having transformed his original body into a puppet long ago. His eternal youth was just another of his many artificial creations—mechanical immortality through human puppetry.
"You've mastered Wood Release," Sasori said, intrigued. "That makes your body even more perfect. I might have to take you apart piece by piece."
It didn't surprise Kimimaro.
Sasori's intelligence network was outdated. Kimimaro had used Wood Release only sparingly—and only in the presence of Orochimaru or other inner-circle subordinates. Anyone else who had witnessed it hadn't lived to tell the tale.
Against Sasori, Shikotsumyaku would be less effective due to the puppet's non-biological nature.
Ice Release required favorable environmental conditions, and his newly-acquired Crystal Release wasn't stable enough for combat.
That left only Wood Release—the strongest and most refined of his abilities.
Sasori unsealed a scroll with a flick of his hand. A bold kanji glowed on its surface:
"Third."
Kimimaro's expression grew serious.
The Third Kazekage—Sasori's most powerful human puppet.
Known as the strongest Kazekage in Suna's history, his signature ability was Magnet Release, which controlled Iron Sand with overwhelming force.
Kimimaro had once considered the value of Magnet Release—Ranmaru even suggested integrating such a bloodline. But now, instead of a theory, the real threat was before him.
Sasori's fingers twitched.
The Third Kazekage puppet surged to life, expelling a wave of black Iron Sand from its mouth.
A spell formation on its arm activated, launching a swarm of chakra-embedded kunai. At the same time, dozens of segmented puppet arms snaked out like hydras, filling the air.
"Thousand Hands Manipulation Technique."
Kimimaro dodged swiftly, evading the barrage with fluid precision.
"Wood Release: Nativity of a Sea of Trees!"
Thick wooden trunks and vines erupted from the ground, layer upon layer shielding Kimimaro as they intercepted the barrage of kunai and puppet arms.
But the battle was far from over.
A poisonous mist began to leak from the puppet's limbs, quickly spreading across the field.
Above them, the Iron Sand formed into a massive triangular pyramid—a deadly construct that could crush anything beneath it.
Kimimaro scowled.
The most dangerous element is that poison...
Using Wind Release to disperse the mist would only dilute it temporarily—Sasori could simply produce more.
Besides, he couldn't risk Sasori adapting to his Wind techniques.
"There's no choice…"
Kimimaro pressed his fingers together and activated the Cursed Seal of Earth.
His skin darkened with jagged black markings, his chakra swelling explosively.
Having inherited both the Senju and Uzumaki bloodlines, the Cursed Seal only amplified his natural energy absorption and physical endurance. His chakra levels surged far beyond that of a typical shinobi.
Fearing the opponent's poison, Kimimaro avoided getting too close. As his massive bone dragon tail smashed the Third Kazekage puppet aside, he flicked his wrist—his bone whip coiled around the puppet's legs with a snapping twist. Razor-sharp bone blades extended from the whip's segments.
"Come here!"
With a violent pull, he wrenched the puppet's legs clean off.
Sasori narrowed his eyes. "You can actually do something like this… It seems I've underestimated you."
Reaching behind his back, Sasori unfurled another summoning scroll.
"In that case, I no longer care about keeping your body intact."
Kimimaro narrowed his eyes. The One Hundred Puppet Performance… so he's going all out.
While the Third Kazekage puppet was Sasori's strongest individual weapon—infamous for its Iron Sand—it was just one among many. The true terror lay in the overwhelming numbers.
"You're welcome to try," Kimimaro said coolly. "This entire forest was grown with my Wood Release. Let's see if your puppets can survive it."
"Heh… Destroy them all? You might be underestimating how many puppets I can control."
Sasori swept his arm forward.
Dozens, then hundreds of human-shaped figures burst into existence, suspended in the air before crashing into the trees below. Each puppet bore the mark of having once been human—a shinobi turned into a weapon. Their chakra threads glowed like spider silk around Sasori's fingers.
"Kimimaro, you should feel honored. Very few live long enough to witness my Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets! Your Wood Release is impressive, but let's see if it's enough to make you one of my masterpieces."
To Sasori, destruction didn't matter. His puppets were eternal—repairable so long as he lived.
But a voice interrupted his thoughts.
"How gaudy, Sasori. Resorting to your grand finale just to handle a child?"
Sasori's face twisted. "Orochimaru… where are you?"
Kimimaro staggered slightly, clutching his ribs. A strange pressure built within him—then something burst out.
From the mark of the Cursed Seal on his chest, a serpentine head emerged.
Orochimaru's face.
A long white serpent followed, slithering out and unraveling into a humanoid form. Orochimaru, though likely just a clone, now stood beside Kimimaro, his tongue flicking out with amusement.
"Kimimaro-kun… I could feel your pain."
Kimimaro's voice was cold. "You only sent a clone, Orochimaru-sama. I'm not sure what help that will be."
Orochimaru smirked. "This body is linked through your Cursed Seal. If I desire, I can project my true self here… though it would consume a considerable amount of chakra. And compensation, of course."
His golden eyes gleamed. "What you gave me last time was quite interesting. And now, I sense something even more… evolved."
Kimimaro's stomach tightened. This snake… he's too perceptive. I need to remove the Cursed Seal—soon.
But for now, Orochimaru's presence was an opportunity.
"If you're willing to join forces against Sasori of the Red Sand, then let's cooperate."
Orochimaru gave a chuckle. "Oh, I've long wanted to see that man's puppet body smashed to pieces. He and I… never did get along."
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