Moxi's acid was essentially the bane of sand iron. No matter what shape or form it took, it could be corroded effortlessly.
Having found the perfect counter to her enemy, Moxi stopped holding back. She had an immense reserve of Cursed Energy and wasn't worried about wasting it.
Sasori's face remained expressionless, but deep down, he was growing anxious.
Every puppet he controlled could be melted down into scrap metal in seconds by her acid.
Just now, he had been forced to deploy dozens of his prized creations just to protect himself — and all of them had been destroyed.
In total, he possessed 298 human puppets, each a unique, irreplaceable masterpiece that could never be restored once broken.
While he wouldn't go so far as to say he felt sad, being ground down pointlessly like this was certainly not how Sasori wanted to fight.
"Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets!"
Now pushed to the limit, Sasori pulled out a large scroll and summoned hundreds of puppets, all clad in crimson robes, to join the battle.
Ever since he had remodeled his own body into a living puppet, his control had far surpassed the limits of any human puppeteer.
Chakra threads extended from his regenerative core, connecting to every single puppet. He controlled them purely through his will.
In essence, these hundreds of puppets were simply extensions of his own limbs — moving as naturally and instantly as his own body.
Sasori had long stood at the absolute peak of his art, unmatched by anyone.
With a single thought, the hundreds of puppets hovering in the air swarmed Moxi from every direction.
At the same time, Sasori himself joined the assault. Using a fire‑style scroll, he unleashed intense flames from the pipes in his palms — heat powerful enough to melt steel and rock into liquid in an instant.
Sasori's sudden outburst caught Moxi completely off guard. She sprayed wave after wave of terrifying acid, but the range, height, and speed of the spray were limited.
She managed to dissolve only a small portion of the puppets before she could not fire anymore.
Scorching heat washed over her face, while all around her, the red‑robed puppets closed in, swinging massive cleavers toward her body.
With no other choice, Moxi shifted her face once more. The back of her head transformed into that of a turtle.
She channeled her Cursed Energy and fired a thick, high‑pressure water jet straight into the oncoming fire, creating a massive collision between the two elements.
Against the blades slashing at her from all sides, she relied entirely on her natural armor for defense.
Fire and water clashed violently, generating clouds of steam that rose high into the air. A thick white mist obscured much of the view.
Under Sasori's command, the Third Kazekage puppet quietly rose into the air, positioning itself directly above Moxi, hidden perfectly behind the dense formation of red puppets.
The Sand Iron Barrier was set up silently.
The red puppets, unable to cut through Moxi's turtle shell armor at all, suddenly scattered in all directions.
Confused by the sudden retreat, Moxi looked up — just in time to see the Third Kazekage puppet spread its arms wide.
"Magnet Release: Sand Iron Law!"
Countless sharp, needle‑like formations of sand iron condensed in mid‑air, forming a massive, spiked barrier that pierced downward, engulfing Moxi in an instant.
Under Sasori's relentless, all‑out assault, Moxi's defenses finally crumbled. Her body was instantly covered in fresh blood.
Next, from the sleeve of the Third Kazekage puppet's right arm, a giant blade emerged — its edge coated in deadly poison.
This weapon had been forged by Sasori using rare, precious ores; it was incredibly sharp and virtually indestructible. He intended to use it to strike off Moxi's head in one blow.
But Moxi was a Special‑Grade Cursed Spirit born from humanity's primal fear of Tailed Beasts. How could she be killed so easily?!
BOOM!
A massive burst of steam erupted from within Moxi's body. The heat was so intense that the water beneath her began to boil violently, and every solid piece of sand iron embedded in her instantly softened and melted.
Even the Third Kazekage puppet — Sasori's greatest pride — began to show signs of melting simply from being near her.
A low, rumbling sound, like a steam whistle, echoed through the air.
Just as the puppet swung its blade down, it was sent flying sideways by a powerful, unstoppable force!
Without losing momentum, Moxi charged across the water's surface in a strange, unnatural gait, heading straight for Sasori himself.
As she sprinted, the wounds covering her body healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
This wasn't the result of a Reverse Cursed Technique — it was a natural ability she was born with: Superhuman durability and rapid regeneration.
Originally, she also possessed an almost limitless supply of Cursed Energy. But ever since she had fused with Shinji, that particular trait had faded, leaving only her resilience intact.
Otherwise, Shinji — acting as a living battery — would have been completely drained dry long ago.
Sasori retreated rapidly while commanding his red‑robed puppets to intercept her.
But Moxi was like a steam train at full throttle — nothing ordinary could stop her!
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Every puppet foolish enough to stand in her path was smashed into pieces, shattered beyond repair.
Every step she took on the water exploded upward in a massive geyser.
Seeing this, Sasori swiftly swapped to another scroll.
He raised both arms toward her.
"Scroll: Freezing Breath!"
An icy blast erupted, instantly freezing the entire surface of the lake in front of him.
Sasori hadn't targeted Moxi — he had frozen the water itself!
A second later, Moxi stepped onto the ice… and nothing happened.
Was it a mistake?
No. The intense heat radiating from her body began melting the ice immediately, making it unstable and slippery. Her footing faltered, breaking her rhythm.
Previously, she had been able to run freely on water not by using chakra to stand on the surface, but by generating enough heat to turn the water into steam.
The upward force from the rising vapor allowed her to run without sinking.
Sasori had seen exactly how she moved — and had frozen the lake to counter it.
Now, if she wanted to keep moving the same way, she would have to raise her temperature even higher to melt the ice first, then generate enough steam again.
Alternatively, if she tried to move across the ice directly, she would have to lower her body heat, or she would just melt it again.
Without the heat, there would be no steam — and her speed would drop drastically. His tactic had completely neutralized her movement!
Sasori's style was just like himself: precise, calculated, and elegant.
Trapped between two bad choices, Moxi suddenly lifted her head. She chose a third option.
The back of her head transformed into the face of an ox. She stamped her foot, shattering the ice, and dove straight into the lake.
In her Ox‑Demon form, she could move underwater as freely as on land.
The moment she submerged, she spat out a massive cloud of ink, turning the water around her pitch black.
Above the surface, Sasori stared down into the dark, murky depths, realizing that the real trouble was only just beginning.
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