Chapter 108: The Third Kazekage Puppet
As Sasori analyzed Nan's supposed weaknesses, Nan's keen eyes caught a telling detail—blood seeping from Sasori's lips, the aftermath of being struck by his phantoms.
So, he still bleeds. That means Sasori hasn't completely transformed himself into a puppet yet… or at least, not fully. Good. That means I only need to crush his body—no need to worry about some "core" hopping into another puppet to escape.
Without hesitation, Nan had Susanoo's massive black arm lash out like a thunderbolt.
Sasori controlled ten puppets at once, but that spread his focus thin. Two stood too close to the front—before he could pull them back, Susanoo's hand closed around them and pulverized them into splinters.
Sasori didn't so much as flinch. With a flick of his wrist, he unrolled another scroll and summoned two replacements.
His collection was vast—hundreds of puppets sealed within scrolls. Though he couldn't wield them all simultaneously, he could afford to throw them into battle without hesitation.
Meanwhile, the two puppets battling Nan's phantoms were beginning to falter. Phantoms, sustained by chakra, could repair themselves at the cost of energy. Puppets, however, could not self-heal. Slowly, the advantage tilted toward Nan.
Grimacing, Sasori sent two more puppets to reinforce them. He had already realized that against Susanoo, ordinary puppets were useless. Even surrounding Nan from all directions achieved nothing—his defenses were airtight.
"Looks like I'll need to use my newest masterpiece…" Sasori murmured.
The additional puppets helped stall the phantoms, but their movements were sluggish compared to Nan's creations, which fought with autonomous instinct. Instead of clashing head-on, the phantoms danced in and out, striking with speed and flexibility far beyond Sasori's constructs.
Nan, for his part, deliberately limited himself. He didn't want to reveal too much—only two phantoms, nothing more. If anyone investigated the battlefield afterward, they wouldn't glean the full extent of his abilities.
Sasori, controlling six puppets now, unleashed volleys of poisoned needles, hidden wires, and toxic smoke from his arsenal. But Susanoo's black armor turned all of it aside, while Nan moved effortlessly beyond the reach of sluggish gas.
Again and again, Sasori's creations were crushed. Though he had more, each puppet represented hours, days—years—of meticulous craftsmanship. Watching them destroyed in droves gnawed at him.
Finally, he sighed.
"It's time."
He unfurled a scroll unlike the others—ornate, gilded, radiating significance. Even at a distance, Nan's sharp eyes caught the bold kanji upon it: 'Three.'
A faint grin tugged at Nan's lips.
So, the Third Kazekage puppet finally makes its entrance. This one won't be so simple… looks like I'll have to show a little more of my hand as well.
Susanoo's black chakra deepened, hardening into layers of crimson muscle and armor. Its right hand formed a massive blade, broad as a door—the Eclipse.
Across from him, Sasori pressed his palm to the scroll. With a resonant bang, smoke exploded across the battlefield.
When it cleared, a figure cloaked in gray robes hovered at his back.
The missing Kazekage. The man whose mysterious death had sparked the Third Great Ninja War.
Now, he was nothing more than Sasori's prized human puppet.
His skin, treated with preservation techniques, was sickly blue-black. His eyes glowed an unnatural yellow, and his jaw had split grotesquely into three segments. His limbs were twisted, more weapon than flesh. Humanoid in outline, monstrous in reality.
Sasori spread his arms proudly, his voice edged with triumph:
"This—this is my greatest creation. The puppet forged from the body of the Third Kazekage, my most exceptional masterpiece.
Not only does it surpass all others in design and resilience, it retains every technique the Kazekage wielded in life.
I bring it out only against the most formidable of foes.
So take pride, Uchiha Han—forcing me to release him is your only achievement. Up until now, no one has ever seen this puppet… and lived to tell the tale."
"You'll die by my hand as well," Sasori declared coldly. "And when you do, you'll become part of my finest collection."
Nan only sneered.
"I've heard the Third Kazekage was hailed as the 'strongest Kazekage in history.' But if he were truly so mighty, how did you defeat him and turn him into a puppet? Clearly, his reputation was nothing but hot air.
A worthless man in life—how much strength could possibly remain after you gutted him and stuffed him with mechanisms?
If you think this toy of yours can defeat me, wielder of the divine Mangekyō, then you're more naïve than I thought."
Sasori's eyes narrowed. "If you don't believe me, then experience his power for yourself."
The Third Kazekage puppet was Sasori's magnum opus, the crowning jewel of his Human Puppet Technique. It represented not only his mastery of puppetry but also years of meticulous preparation.
He had relied on spies within Sunagakure for months to gather intel, painstakingly orchestrating a trap to lure the Kazekage away from his guards. With poison and ambush layered upon each other, Sasori had finally brought down the mightiest of the Sand—and preserved him as his prize.
There was no way Sasori would tolerate Nan mocking his masterpiece.
The puppet's jaw unhinged, vomiting forth a flood of black iron sand.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Drizzle!"
Under Sasori's control, the sand condensed into countless shuriken, a storm of blades shrieking through the air toward Nan.
Nan scoffed. "That won't work on me."
Susanoo raised its massive greatsword, Eclipse, in a sweeping arc. The black blade not only blocked the barrage but also revealed its secondary property—the ability to absorb chakra.
Every shuriken it touched unraveled into harmless grains of iron, clattering uselessly to the ground. The few that struck Susanoo's armor didn't even scratch it.
Sasori wasn't discouraged. He knew Iron Sand Drizzle wasn't meant to pierce Susanoo's defenses. Instead, he moved swiftly into his next technique.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Triangular Spikes!"
Dozens of massive, jet-black tetrahedrons took shape, faster and more precise than the drizzle. With Sasori's guidance, they veered midair, adjusting their trajectories—dodging was impossible.
But Nan stood unshaken. With one mighty swing of Eclipse, the spinning blade shattered the oncoming spikes, scattering their iron back to the ground.
Unfazed, Sasori commanded again. "Magnet Release: Iron Sand Giant Spear!"
The fragments that had formed the spikes' tails reassembled, condensing into long, brutal spears that lunged at Nan from every angle.
Nan's eyes gleamed. He remembered his recent insights from training the Rasengan.
"Perfect chance to try this out."
Susanoo raised Eclipse high above its head, then spun rapidly on the spot. The massive, door-wide blade became a whirling barrier, dispersing every spear that dared to approach.
"Secret Art: Spiral Shield!"
Sasori's brows furrowed. That hulking construct… spinning with such agility? He hadn't anticipated Susanoo could move so fluidly.
But the spears weren't his true killing strike. While Nan's focus was drawn skyward, Sasori secretly funneled fresh chakra into the iron sand already scattered across the battlefield.
The sand at Susanoo's feet began to stir again, creeping into position below its towering frame.
Right there… beneath his guard.