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On Sasori's side, after summoning the Third Kazekage, he was pressing Zabuza hard, poised to defeat him before long.
But just then, an intensely potent sense of danger washed over him. Before he could react, his Hiruko puppet was cleanly sliced in two. Even Sasori's true body, hidden inside Hiruko, had its head split down the middle.
The hunched, masked old man Sasori typically presented to the world was actually a puppet named Hiruko. Sasori's true form was a red-haired, youthful-looking boy, not a masked, hunchbacked elder.
Normally, his true body resided within Hiruko. This time, both the puppet and the body inside were cleaved apart by Kagaya's strike.
Sasori's luck seemed worse than Deidara's. Kagaya had missed Deidara twice, but with Sasori, his first strike hit true.
Fortunately, Sasori survived, thanks to his unique modifications. He had long since converted his body into a puppet. His true essence was his heart. As long as his heart remained intact, Sasori could never truly die!
Kagaya, of course, knew this. But at such a distance, aiming for a person was difficult enough; aiming for a specific point like the heart was far harder. Kagaya had done his best. Missing the heart was, frankly, not surprising.
If the first strike missed, he would try again!
The Susano'o raised its sword once more.
"Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough!"
The coughing of blood intensified.
Sasori watched the distant Susano'o raise its sword again. This was the first time since arriving here that Sasori experienced the visceral feeling of staring death in the face!
That little brat he had always looked down upon was now holding a sword, intent on killing him! The crucial point was—he seemed genuinely capable of it!
'How is he doing this?! The distance is so vast! So vast!'
Sasori still couldn't comprehend it. He had zero intelligence on this technique of Kagaya's. Therefore, even after witnessing Deidara being struck down, the lack of information had prevented true fear from taking root.
Only now, only when that ruined sword struck him, cleaving Hiruko and splitting his own head, did Sasori feel genuine, unadulterated terror!
'Damn it! Damn it all!'
Sasori pursued eternal art. He had no intention of dying here. While he wouldn't die as long as his heart remained unharmed, that sword of Kagaya's was too bizarre, capable of striking him from such a distance. If Sasori stubbornly stayed and Kagaya accidentally struck his heart?
How many people would gamble with their lives like that? Sasori didn't know. But at the very least, he neither dared nor wanted to. He could follow the Akatsuki's orders and carry out missions. But to die for the Akatsuki? That was out of the question.
Thus, Sasori fled.
Kagaya sensed Sasori's retreat and halted the Susano'o's next strike.
Sasori's heart was too small, an incredibly difficult target. He might strike ten times without hitting it. And in his current physical state, did Kagaya even have the strength for ten more strikes?
Almost certainly not.
The Susano'o slowly turned. Since Sasori had fled, there was no need for a desperate pursuit. The next targets were Konan and Deidara.
His Susano'o's attacks seemed ineffective against Konan, but that was fine. He would first eliminate the still-living Deidara, then have Haku engage Konan while he figured out a way to deal with her.
However, before Kagaya could act, Konan, having grown wings, began to slowly depart, carrying Deidra with her.
Leaving?
Kagaya was slightly surprised. He didn't understand why Konan would leave when he seemingly couldn't harm her.
But from Konan's perspective, it was perfectly understandable. While Kagaya couldn't harm her, could she harm Kagaya?
Konan believed her offensive power was inferior to Deidara's C3. If even C3 couldn't breach that golden warrior-god, she had no hope of breaking through.
She could stay and stall Kagaya indefinitely. But if she did that, while she might be fine, Deidara would certainly die.
Every combatant in the Akatsuki was valuable. Sacrificing a member like Deidara to eliminate a single deserter—was that a worthwhile trade?
No, it was not advantageous at all. The Akatsuki had just lost Kagaya. Losing Deidara now would be a genuine setback. To achieve the Akatsuki's goals, Deidara could not die.
As for Kagaya, while the Akatsuki pursued deserters, their stance wasn't absolute. Just look at Orochimaru. The organization maintained the pursuit, but the attitude was essentially "kill if possible, drop it if not." It wasn't a major issue.
The same applied to Kagaya. If eliminating him required little effort, Konan would gladly stay and stall. But if it meant sacrificing Deidara, Konan would not stay under any circumstances.
Therefore, Konan decisively took Deidara and left.
Kagaya gasped for breath, panting heavily. Konan's departure was, of course, a positive development. But he couldn't let his guard down. What if they were only feigning a retreat? That would be disastrous.
Kagaya's current condition was one of sheer willpower. If he released the Susano'o now, reactivating it in the short term would be utterly impossible.
Thus, even with Konan gone, Kagaya dared not be careless. He maintained the Susano'o, not relaxing for a single second.
Several minutes passed with no movement.
Kagaya turned to look at Karin. "Karin, sense the area again. This time, remember to cover everywhere—the sky, underground, anywhere your senses can reach. Leave no place unchecked."
Karin nodded.
"Alright."
She closed her eyes and began to sense.
A short while later, she opened them and shook her head. "Kagaya, I don't sense anyone else."
Kagaya spoke expressionlessly.
"Sense again!"
Karin was taken aback but complied, closing her eyes once more.
The result was the same.
"Still no one."
"Sense."
Karin closed her eyes and performed a third sweep.
Kagaya wasn't distrusting Karin. It was that his current state could not afford an ambush. He had to be absolutely certain Konan and the others were truly gone!
After another moment, Karin spoke again.
"Kagaya, still no one."
Only then did Kagaya allow a faint smile. The golden Susano'o dissipated. He collapsed to the ground, his eyes glazed, on the verge of unconsciousness.
Karin hurriedly supported him, once again offering her arm.
With Kagaya, as Konan's group retreated, the battle seemed to have concluded. However, what Kagaya didn't anticipate was that just a few minutes after Karin's sensing ended...
Following the Akatsuki, another group pursuing him had made landfall.
Guy looked at Kakashi beside him.
"Kakashi, he was your student once. You won't hold back, will you?"
Though phrased as a question, the tone held certainty.
Kakashi remained silent for a moment before replying.
"He invaded Konoha. I won't hold back."
Guy grinned.
"Good."
With that, the two began moving towards the location of the recent massive explosion. In their view, the only person capable of causing such a disturbance in the Land of Waves was Kagaya.