Sasori of the Red Sand contentedly took the scroll and put it away, his attitude towards Uehara Naraku improved considerably, and he even showed some concern: "Rasa died in the Land of Rain, aren't you afraid of causing trouble for the Hidden Rain Village?"
"No."
Uehara Naraku suppressed his inner amusement and said, "Senior Sasori, you come from the Hidden Sand Village. Why don't you tell me, after Rasa's death, who's in charge of the Hidden Sand? I could just go and kill them too, couldn't I?"
"Hmph, that decaying village..."
Sasori snorted disdainfully, expressing dissatisfaction with his hometown. However, while thinking, an old figure suddenly appeared in his mind.
His grandmother, Chiyo.
The Hidden Sand Village had long since lacked successors, forcing them to choose from the older generation.
In terms of status, Chiyo was one of the founders of the Hidden Sand Village and consistently served as a senior advisor; she was also the First Kazekage's wife.
In terms of strength, Chiyo was perhaps the strongest ninja in the Hidden Sand now, and her Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets was something even he dared not underestimate.
No matter how one looked at it, Chiyo might stand up during the most dangerous times for the Hidden Sand.
Yet in the face of Uehara Naraku, who had the support of Pain and Konan, Chiyo's strength still seemed somewhat insufficient, and the likelihood of escaping assassination was very low.
Sasori pondered for a moment, then coldly snorted, "Hmph, you don't need to deal with this; I'll handle it for you! Being so far from the Land of Rain, won't your teacher be worried about you?"
"It's fine, I can handle it."
Uehara Naraku glanced at Hiruko and felt a bit amused. Really, who didn't want to come forward and compete with him for the title of Akatsuki's Oscar-winning actor?
Was that really to help him handle trouble?
Uehara didn't have the heart to expose Sasori's intentions!
Moreover, the relationship between Sasori and Granny Chiyo was that of grandmother and grandson; how could Uehara bear to see them fight?
Sasori picked another reason: "The Hidden Sand is, after all, one of the Five Great Countries' Ninja Villages. If they besiege you, it might be dangerous..."
"What danger could there be in a place like the Hidden Sand?"
Uehara Naraku chuckled lightly and shook his head. The Hidden Sand wasn't Konoha, and there wasn't a super Taijutsu ninja like Might Guy hidden there.
Uehara Naraku waved his hand to stop Sasori's words and pointed at the group opposite them, saying, "Alright, Senior Sasori, deal with them first!"
While they were talking, the Third Kazekage and Orochimaru had already reached an agreement.
The Third Kazekage would rely on his Reanimation Body's advantage of not being able to die, acting as the main combat force to hold off Sasori, Deidara, and Uehara Naraku.
Maki and Gaara would escape immediately.
Orochimaru and Yakushi Kabuto didn't really care; they had ways to escape, and Orochimaru also wanted to witness the combat advantages of the Reanimation Being firsthand.
"Reanimation Beings have infinite chakra, after all."
Orochimaru stretched out his hand to the Third Kazekage, chuckling, "Now, let's witness the power of the strongest Kazekage at his peak!"
"I understand."
The Third Kazekage nodded to Maki, signaling them to escape once the battle started. He then slowly raised his palm: "Iron Sand Order!"
Thanks to the support of infinite chakra in his body, the Third Kazekage unleashed his strongest ninjutsu without hesitation.
Sharp black iron sand spikes shot out!
Countless blades of iron sand spread towards the enemy, with speed far surpassing that of a thrown shuriken!
"Is he starting with the strongest killing move?"
Sasori manipulated the Third Kazekage Puppet to set up an Iron Sand Shield, coldly advising, "Deidara, Uehara, be careful. The Third Kazekage can move freely within the Iron Sand Barrier."
In an instant, a black Iron Sand Barrier was quickly set up.
Maki took advantage of the moment to sneak out of a gap in the Iron Sand Barrier with Gaara; once they were gone, another iron sand tendril closed the barrier shut.
Now, no one could pursue them.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Wings!"
The Third Kazekage swiftly flew to the top of the barrier, iron sand wings quickly forming around his body, shooting densely packed black feathers!
What's surprising is that these feathers circumvented Sasori's defenses, seemingly possessing tracking capabilities, and flew towards Uehara and his group!
Sasori could only hastily arrange an iron sand defense.
But the enemy's attack didn't end there.
A giant black trident began to form in the air.
The Third Kazekage glanced deeply at Sasori and the others, and suddenly swung his palm: "Magnet Release: Iron Sand Top!"
The trident spun rapidly as it fell!
Both in size and jutsu characteristics, it seemed highly likely to break through Sasori's iron sand defenses.
"This is relentless."
Sasori shot a subtle glance at Uehara Naraku and Deidara, coldly saying, "If it weren't for having to consider you two..."
Deidara instantly waved his right hand irritably: "Scorpion, hurry and dismiss the defense, let me blow him to pieces with art!"
"Let me handle this!"
Uehara Naraku quietly estimated the Third Kazekage's position and began to form hand seals slowly: "Is this how you form hand seals for Summoning Jutsu?"
Sasori: "..."
Deidara: "..."
What kind of disciples does Konan teach?
Why does it feel like Uehara Naraku isn't even familiar with the hand seals for Summoning Jutsu?
Orochimaru, at the edge of the Iron Sand Barrier, watched Uehara Naraku forming seals at a pace of one per second. This time, he wasn't panicked; rather, he was amused: "If you summon Pain, maybe I'll have a chance to get a pair of Rinnegan..."
"Ninpo: Summoning Jutsu!"
Uehara Naraku's palm slapped the ground!
But the ground was empty, not even a Summoning Seal appeared.
Deidara's face immediately darkened.
Sasori glanced at Uehara with some resignation: "Kid, how did you even manage to kill the Fourth Kazekage?"
"Don't rush..."
Just after Uehara Naraku spoke, a bizarre giant shark suddenly leapt from the ground beneath the Third Kazekage, its mouth aiming to bite him.
The iron sand quickly formed into defensive armor around the Third Kazekage, shielding him from the shark's massive teeth, and he didn't regard the shark as a threat.
Orochimaru's face lost its anticipation and tension, speaking nonchalantly: "I thought he would summon Pain, but he uses an ordinary shark against the Third Kazekage. A summoning beast of this level doesn't even qualify as a diversion..."
Throughout the ninja world, Konoha's Sannin were surely qualified to judge summoning beasts.
Their summoning beasts came from the Three Great Holy Lands, vastly superior to most beasts in the ninja world.
However, the next second, the shark astonishingly bit through the iron sand defense and swallowed the Reanimation Body of the Third Kazekage, then returned to the ground.
Thud!
A regular ninja's corpse dropped to the ground.
The Third Kazekage had vanished without a trace, the surrounding Iron Sand Barrier losing support from his Magnet Release Chakra, and it quickly disintegrated.
Orochimaru nervously raised his fingers, cold sweat dripping from his forehead: "Something's wrong, I've suddenly lost contact with the Third Kazekage; his soul has vanished! That shark was strange; it swallowed the Third Kazekage's soul!"
His painstakingly successful experiment with the Reanimation Jutsu had just appeared in the mortal world, only to find its nemesis?
Wasn't this a complete trap for him!