Somewhere in Rain Village.
Sasori rode on Deidara's clay bird. When he saw the explosion in the distance, he immediately complained: "Are we really supposed to intervene in a battle at that level?"
Behind Sasori stood the darkened Deidara with a dull expression and a metallic sheen all over his body.
Deidara had died and was made into a puppet by Sasori.
That's right!
Deidara was killed by Naruto, and Sasori was sealed by Naruto.
In order to prevent the battle from spreading to Sunagakure, Naruto lured Itachi and Kisame away.
During this period, Rasa did not kill Sasori directly.
The reason was because Sasori was once a shinobi of Sunagakure and a master puppeteer.
So Rasa wanted to obtain more advanced puppet techniques from Sasori.
But…
He was tricked by Sasori with just a few words and escaped.
Sasori used his modified body to perform secret techniques, and Rasa couldn't stop him. He could only watch as Sasori left with Deidara's body.
Sasori then made Deidara's corpse into a puppet.
At this moment, Puppet Deidara stared blankly at the explosion ahead.
The aftermath lifted his cloak slightly, but he could no longer appreciate it.
Sasori glanced at Deidara with a faint sense of guilt and sneered: "If you were still alive and saw this, you'd probably be so excited you'd pass out, right?"
"But this just proves that only eternal puppets are true art."
Sasori mocked Deidara's art.
But Deidara could no longer open his mouth to argue.
And below, Uchiha Itachi followed.
Itachi saw Sasori stop and asked him, "Why aren't you leaving?"
Sasori chuckled: "A battle at that level isn't something I can interfere with."
"If you think you can help, go ahead."
Konan, flying with her white paper wings, heard Sasori's words and asked, "Are you saying you're leaving the Akatsuki?"
Sasori sneered: "Does the Akatsuki even still exist?"
Kisame is dead, Deidara is gone.
What's left of the Akatsuki?
The Six Paths of Pain?
Gone.
Konan?
Just a caretaker.
Uchiha Itachi?
Who knows if he even counts as a member anymore.
Kakuzu and Hidan are out on a mission.
Orochimaru defected and ran away.
Now, excluding those who aren't here, the only combat power the Akatsuki has left is Nagato, Sasori, and Itachi.
And Sasori wasn't sure Itachi was even loyal to Akatsuki anymore.
Plus, Nagato was here but no longer nearby, so Sasori decided to run.
The farce caused by the Akatsuki was over.
Sasori removed the ring "Jade" that represented his Akatsuki membership and took out Deidara's "Blue" ring from his pocket.
He tossed both rings toward Konan.
Then he took Deidara's puppet body and fled from the explosion while riding a clay bird.
Konan caught the rings and silently looked toward Uchiha Itachi on the ground.
She didn't want Nagato to fight alone. Konan's originally calm voice finally wavered.
Konan's voice trembled slightly as she said, "Itachi…"
Uchiha Itachi looked up at Konan and said, "I have a question for Uzumaki Naruto."
Konan: "…"
Although she didn't know Itachi's intentions, from his attitude, it seemed like he also wanted to leave the Akatsuki.
The two hurried forward in silence.
They soon arrived at the explosion site and saw the scene.
Naruto was gone.
Nagato was lying on the ground, uncertain if he was alive or dead.
Konan's expression froze, and she quickly flew over to help Nagato up.
But Nagato was clearly unconscious. No matter how Konan called to him, he didn't respond.
Uchiha Itachi didn't care about this scene and instead looked around.
He now had many questions he needed to ask Naruto.
On the other side.
Sasori and Deidara hadn't gotten far before Naruto caught up with them.
Naruto, glowing with golden light, blocked Sasori's path.
Naruto casually greeted him: "Hey! Turning your own teammates into puppets — don't you have nightmares at night?"
Sasori stopped the bird, and his heart sank the moment he saw Naruto.
Sasori asked, "Why aren't you chasing Konan and Itachi?"
Naruto shook his head slightly. "Because they're looking for me. And you're trying to escape."
"But I don't want you to escape."
"Uzumaki Naruto, I've already left the Akatsuki," Sasori said. "You and I hold no personal grudges. Why must you kill everyone?"
Naruto thought about it and found it reasonable.
However, Sasori killed the Third Kazekage.
And the Third Kazekage was the teacher of the Fourth Kazekage.
The Fourth Kazekage was Rasa — Temari's father.
Although Temari didn't have the best relationship with her father…
Naruto was still Rasa's son-in-law.
Thinking of it that way, Naruto and the Third Kazekage were somewhat connected.
So Naruto said to Sasori, "Alright, I'll give you a chance to live."
Sasori laughed when he heard this but didn't answer.
He wasn't convinced by Naruto's tone or reasoning, but surviving was indeed only possible if Naruto allowed it.
Naruto raised his hand to form a seal, then made the Mind Transfer Technique gesture and aimed it at Sasori.
Sasori frowned, instinctively sensing something was wrong.
Soon—
A shadow appeared beside Naruto.
The shadow grew solid, and finally…
It actually took the form of Sasori?
And—
This Sasori also rode a bird and controlled puppet Deidara!
Sasori was stunned by the scene in front of him, his head ringing.
But Naruto didn't stop.
He pulled out a kunai.
This kunai had cursed seals on it.
The cursed seals were used to bind Koyuki Kazahana's soul.
Naruto said to the phantom: "Hey, don't you want reincarnation? Defeat the guy riding the big bird in front of you, and I'll replace his soul with yours. You'll be free."
Koyuki's soul immediately communicated with Naruto: "Quick! I accept! I accept your terms! Let me kill him!"
Naruto smiled and placed the kunai on the summoned Sasori's heart.
The seal unlocked, and Koyuki's soul was drawn into the body, invading Sasori's real core.
After that, Koyuki realized she could control Sasori's true heart.
She sneered at the real Sasori in front of her: "I have your abilities and your combat experience. You figure out how to beat me."
Naruto: "?"
Sasori: "?"
Good grief!
Why reveal all your abilities the moment the fight starts?!
Well…
She really was a subordinate trained by that half-baked shinobi, Doto Kazahana.
She truly had no ninja discipline at all.
At this moment, Uchiha Itachi was still searching for Naruto, and Naruto had no time to stay and watch the fight between Koyuki and Sasori.
After all, Naruto could observe everything with Kagura's Mind's Eye~
Naruto found the right direction and flew toward Uchiha Itachi and Uzumaki Nagato…
This time, he intended to completely destroy the entire Akatsuki organization.
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