"Tailed Beast Curse Art — Horn of the Savage Bull!"
Moxi shot up from beneath the water, driving two massive horns formed from condensed Cursed Energy straight toward Sasori.
He had done his best to dodge, but the water was pitch‑black — he couldn't get completely clear.
BOOM!
Sasori was sent flying like a snapped kite.
Even though his body was built from countless rare and precious materials, the impact was so violent that pieces and parts were scattered everywhere.
Knowing the battleground was working against him, Sasori seized the momentum and leaped onto the sand‑iron disc created by the Third Kazekage puppet, quickly stabilizing his position to minimize further damage.
From now on, he would control the air and launch a new offensive.
But Moxi had other plans!
Oh, so it's aerial combat now? You think I'm scared of you?!
She burst out of the water and shot into the sky. Her second face shifted into that of a beetle, while six transparent, insect‑like wings sprouted from her back.
BUZZ~
In a flash, Moxi appeared directly behind Sasori.
In terms of speed and maneuverability in the air, she completely outclassed his puppets!
Sasori was thrown into chaos. Even with the Third Kazekage and the Hundred Puppets blocking her assaults and trying to counterattack, once Moxi accelerated, his only real means of defense and offense was the Magnet Release of the Kazekage puppet.
They were locked in a fierce stalemate, neither side revealing their ultimate trump cards — each waiting for the other to make the first fatal move.
While they fought, Deidara had fled, leaving Shinji free to intervene.
CLAP!
Shinji clapped his hands softly.
Instantly, Sasori vanished from where he stood, only to reappear abruptly right in front of Shinji.
Where Sasori had been standing on the sand‑iron disc, a small hexagonal blood crystal now lay in his place.
"Did I just swap his entire body over?"
Shinji's eyes narrowed slightly. Originally, he had intended to swap only Sasori's Regenerative Core — but clearly, that hadn't worked.
The chakra flowing from the core permeated the entire puppet body, treating it as a single, complete entity.
But it didn't matter. Grabbing Sasori's whole body was just as good.
Black Flash!
Spiral Slash!
Sasori didn't panic the moment he was teleported. He immediately counterattacked with the two fan‑shaped blades mounted on his back.
Although he had been fully engaged in the fight, he had been watching Shinji's battle with Deidara closely — and had seen that strange ability in action.
CLAP!
BOOM!
Deprived of its controller, the Third Kazekage puppet took a full punch from Shinji and went crashing down toward the water.
Shinji's Black Flash at the very beginning had merely been a distraction — tricking Sasori into prioritizing self‑defense and counterattack, rather than maintaining control over his puppets.
That was the opening Shinji needed!
He clapped again, swapping places with the blood crystal he had left behind — instantly appearing next to the Kazekage puppet and delivering a crushing blow.
Meanwhile, Sasori's Spiral Slash hit nothing but empty air… shattering a useless blood crystal instead.
"MOXI!"
"GOT IT!"
BUZZ~
Moxi flapped her wings once more and hovered directly above Sasori.
"Tailed Beast Curse Art — Scale Flash!"
A cloud of glowing scales exploded outward. Moxi herself seemed to turn into a beam of light, piercing straight through Sasori's body.
But in that split second, the scene froze.
Completely unaffected by the scales, Sasori had ensnared Moxi with steel cables from within his body — cables coated in deadly poison.
The more she struggled, the tighter and deeper the cables bit into her.
Moxi possessed immense resistance to poison. She twisted her head again, revealing a feline face, and her entire body erupted in blazing blue flames.
Both combatants were instantly swallowed by the raging blue fire!
Moments later, a charred figure was blasted backward — it was Sasori!
Shinji saw his chance and struck immediately.
"Blood Manipulation Art — Meteor Rain!"
Sasori threw up a defense instantly — exactly what Shinji was waiting for.
CLAP!
With a single clap, Shinji swapped places with the raining blood crystals.
At the same time, he unleashed a fully prepared Cursed Word with all his strength.
"「BIND!」"
Creaking and grinding sounds echoed from Sasori's body, but under the effect of the curse, he was completely paralyzed, unable to move a muscle.
Helpless, he watched as Shinji reached past his defensive arms… and grabbed hold of his Regenerative Core!
SPLURTCH!
Somehow, the Third Kazekage puppet — which had fallen into the lake earlier — had been reconnected to Sasori's control.
It appeared behind Shinji and drove a blade straight through his chest.
But Shinji didn't even flinch. He tore the Regenerative Core right out of Sasori's body!
Just then, Moxi rushed over. She punched the Kazekage puppet flying, then roughly yanked the blade out of Shinji's back.
"Couldn't you have been gentler?" Shinji muttered casually, as fresh blood poured from the wound.
The blade had been coated in poison. Though it couldn't kill him, he didn't want to suffer the effects — so he simply forced the blood and toxins out of his body.
"What happened to him? Why isn't he moving?"
Moxi raised her fist, ready to smash Sasori's head in — but Shinji stopped her quickly.
"This is just an empty shell. The real enemy is right here."
Shinji held up the glowing Regenerative Core.
"What's that thing?" Moxi stared at it curiously — she had never seen anything like it.
Shinji gave her a brief explanation. "Think of it as a sealed container that holds a person's soul and life force, all condensed into one. As long as this remains undamaged, he can swap his body for any puppet he wants. In a way… it's a form of immortality."
"So basically… he gave up being human and turned himself into a puppet instead."
Moxi summed it up perfectly — short and sharp.
Shinji couldn't help but smile. "Yeah… exactly."
"Tch~"
Moxi rolled her eyes and walked over toward the Three‑Tails, which was still floating belly‑up.
She could feel it — that big guy was starting to wake up.
Shinji had no intention of dealing with the Three‑Tails. He sealed the Regenerative Core securely and waited. He was waiting for Deidara.
Logically, Deidara would never abandon Sasori and run away alone.
But so much time had passed… where was he?
At that very moment, Deidara was being blocked by a mysterious figure.
If this stranger hadn't been wearing the Empty Ring and claiming to be a member of Akatsuki, Deidara would have already served him a full serving of "Art is an Explosion".
"What do you think you're doing stopping me?!"
"Nothing you do now will change anything. Just come with me and leave."
"Huh? You got a death wish or what?!"
"Forget it… I'll let Pain explain it to you."
Deidara sneered. He didn't believe this man's identity, and he certainly didn't believe their leader would order him to abandon Sasori.
But reality was cruel.
In that instant, Deidara received a transmission directly from Pain.
The message was clear: Trust the mysterious man standing before you. Abandon the mission to capture the Three‑Tails. Withdraw immediately.
"But what about Sasori‑san?!"
"Someone else will take care of rescuing him. This is no longer your concern."
"WHY?!"
"Because I am the Leader of Akatsuki. Obey orders!"
____________________
For more advance chapters visit my patreon
patreon.com/kane45
Tier: 10$ Casual Reader - +20 Advance Chapter
20$ Intermediate Reader - +40 Advance Chapter
40$ Expert Reader - +80 Advance Chapter
Update: "Monday to Friday - Update 3 Chapters a Day"
"Saturday and Sunday - Off"