As expected, this time Sasori hadn't brought along any powerful puppets or scrolls of forbidden techniques. In his hand he carried only a small vial.
Seeing Ryūnosuke's half-smiling, half-mocking expression, Sasori forced an unnaturally stiff "smile" of his own, then bowed deeply.
"About the last time I tried to assassinate you—I'm very sorry. Grandma has already given me a severe punishment. I came today to apologize. I was too immature. You've clearly done so much for Sunagakure, yet I thought of killing you. I'll never do something like that again.
Also, this is a special oil I've personally refined. It keeps puppet joints flexible, and for a short time can even make them move more smoothly and dexterously than human hands. I'd like to give it to you, as a token of my apology."
Hearing this, Ryūnosuke's smile widened. Of course, he thought, that's just how kids are. Give them one good thrashing and they'll come around. To him, Sasori clearly had realized his mistake.
Ryūnosuke didn't believe Sasori would try another assassination—or rather, he didn't care. For someone of his level, this boy, still barely developed physically, was a mere jōnin at best. With just a flick of his fingers and a trace of Iron Sand, he could paralyze Sasori instantly.
Still, caution was never wasted. With calm indifference, Ryūnosuke said:
"Just put it there. I'll look into your little invention when I have time."
But Sasori frowned slightly.
"Lord Ryūnosuke, do you still suspect I'd try to poison you? I told you, I won't attempt to kill you again. If you don't believe me, I can prove it."
As he spoke, Sasori uncorked the vial himself—and revealed his own puppet-modified arm.
Ryūnosuke was taken aback. He jumped to his feet.
"Sasori! Where are your real hands? Why have they become puppet arms?!"
Sasori replied with indifference:
"It's nothing. To reach greater heights in puppetry, such sacrifices are necessary. Human fingers can only move so far. No matter how much I train, I can at most manipulate ten puppets like Grandma Chiyo.
But I believe that shouldn't be my limit. One day I intend to command hundreds, even thousands of puppets at once. Human hands could never achieve that. So I chose to modify my arms."
Ryūnosuke felt a chill. For the first time, he realized he had never truly seen through this child.
To so casually speak of cutting off one's own hands—as if discarding useless trash… It made Ryūnosuke remember his disciple Rasa's private criticisms of Sasori. Perhaps there was truth to them.
"This is madness. You're still so young, and your hands were perfectly fine. Why mutilate yourself?"
Though Ryūnosuke was heartbroken, it was useless. Sasori's hands were already gone, and could never be reattached. His words were too late.
At that moment Sasori suddenly regained a childlike brightness, even a hint of pride in his voice:
"Now let me show you just how effective this oil is."
He first flexed his puppet fingers, displaying their maximum speed. Then he smeared the special oil over the joints.
As the lubricant seeped in, Sasori moved his fingers again—and this time the puppet arm's motions were visibly faster, fluid, and capable of movements far beyond any natural human limb.
For example, Sasori's fingers could twist completely 180 degrees, or coil around like twisted rope. Watching this, Ryūnosuke was utterly astonished.
Sasori truly is a genius in the art of puppetry… to have developed something like this?
As Sasori's fingers carved afterimages in the air, Ryūnosuke felt a sudden itch of envy. If this oil really could make his body more flexible, then perhaps his taijutsu could regain some of its former glory. Maybe he could even combine it with his Magnet Release to develop a new kind of puppet-style combat technique.
If the effect could be maintained long-term, perhaps his strength might even return to its original level.
After convincing himself there was nothing wrong with the oil, Ryūnosuke couldn't resist any longer—he grabbed the vial Sasori offered and smeared the oil onto his own hands.
No one knew his body better than he did; after four or five years of living in a puppet shell, he was intimately familiar with every movement. Instantly, he felt a flexibility in his hands that he had never experienced before.
Unable to resist, he began forming hand seals. Normally, limited by the stiffness of his puppet body, he could manage four seals per second at most. But now, under the oil's effect, he reached six seals per second.
His hands really had become more agile.
Excited, Ryūnosuke kept staring at his own hands—completely missing the fact that Sasori's expression was slowly shifting into one of unrestrained delight.
"Lord Ryūnosuke, are you satisfied?"
Without even looking up, Ryūnosuke replied,
"Satisfied. I'm more than satisfied. With this oil, my combat power might truly return to what it once was."
But in Sasori's eyes now gleamed naked greed. He looked Ryūnosuke up and down and said,
"I'm also quite satisfied with your body, Lord Ryūnosuke. A puppet body is truly a masterpiece of art. Don't you agree? Classic, eternal—an immortal beauty."
The increasingly strange tone made Ryūnosuke finally sense something wrong. He lifted his head—only to meet Sasori's eyes, filled with madness.
That fevered, dangerous gaze startled even the Third Kazekage himself. Instinctively, Ryūnosuke tried to use his Magnet Release to restrain Sasori—only to discover, with horror… he couldn't channel chakra at all.
Seeing Ryūnosuke finally realize the truth, Sasori calmly explained,
"Ah, I forgot to mention, Lord Ryūnosuke—this oil does have one flaw. After using it, a puppet body cannot conduct chakra for a short period of time."
Ryūnosuke's eyes went wide. He stared in disbelief.
"You… you dared poison me? You still intend to assassinate me?!"
Enraged, he swung his puppet arm, trying to grab Sasori by the collar—but his body no longer obeyed him.
At the same time, Sasori's leisurely voice rang out:
"It seems you truly lack any talent for controlling puppets. Take a look at your arms."
Ryūnosuke belatedly looked at his arms and saw several small puppet scorpions had, without his notice, already plunged their stingers into his arm joints.
Looking at the terrified expression on Ryūnosuke's face, Sasori gave a brilliant smile. "From today on, become my greatest puppet."
Author's Note:
(In the original story, the exact method by which Sasori defeated the Third Kazekage was never described. Considering his age at the time, I think the possibility of him using poison is the most likely.)