"Any news yet?"
"I'm sorry, Kazekage-sama. Nothing so far."
Sunagakure — Kazekage's Office.
Rasa stood with a dark expression, staring at the group of shinobi before him. His mood was terrible.
Several days had passed, yet Pakura was still neither alive nor dead—no body, no trace. Worse still, Kirigakure remained stubbornly insistent, seemingly determined to have that woman no matter the cost.
Meanwhile, Iwagakure's movements were growing more aggressive by the day. If this continued, the situation would only spiral further out of control.
"This is really…"
Rasa felt utterly exhausted. The word "useless" nearly slipped from his mouth.
Fortunately, he restrained himself. Taking a breath, he spoke with forced calm.
"Continue the search with maximum effort. But we must also pull part of our forces northward. We can't afford to keep pouring manpower into this."
"We understand."
The Sand shinobi responded, their faces filled with unwillingness and frustration.
But there was nothing they could do. The game between hidden villages was cruel—every scrap of benefit had to be contested down to the last grain of sand.
"Kazekage-sama!"
Suddenly, a voice rang out from outside the office, followed by urgent knocking.
"Come in."
Rasa frowned. The interruption was improper, but this was hardly the time to dwell on etiquette.
The door flew open. A shinobi rushed in, panting heavily. He bowed hastily before speaking.
"Kazekage-sama, an urgent report!"
"News about Pakura?"
"Not exactly. This may be… even more frightening. And more important."
Disappointment flickered across Rasa's face. Pakura's fate was what concerned him most. Still, he kept his patience.
"Go on."
"According to reports, a large-scale battle has erupted in the central desert. And one of the combatants—"
The shinobi hesitated, his voice trembling.
"—is using puppet techniques comparable to Elder Chiyo's. More than that… the black iron sand of the Third Kazekage has been sighted."
The moment those words fell, every face in the office changed.
The next instant, they all rushed out.
"Damn it…"
Sasori glanced at the Sand shinobi rapidly closing in, then at the two brats in front of him. His expression grew darker by the second.
These two were far more troublesome than he had expected.
The moment the first signal flare went up, he'd already planned to retreat.
But these two had forcibly pinned him down.
Their speed was outrageous, and their attack methods never stopped coming.
Especially that brat—the one who had fired the first signal flare, now standing atop a massive stone construct—Sasori wanted nothing more than to tear him apart.
Because of him, the situation had deteriorated completely. Because of him and the other brat working together, escape had become nearly impossible.
If he didn't attack to suppress them, the endless harassment—Fire Release, Earth Release, and more—left him no room to move.
But once he attacked, retreat was no longer an option.
And the Sand shinobi were getting closer.
Which meant—
"Die!"
Fury boiling over, Sasori manipulated a massive number of puppets, sending them surging toward Ren.
Clack—clack—clack.
The puppets shuddered midair, then swarmed forward.
Some wielded blades, others hurled weapons from afar—a saturation assault.
"Should've invested in more Fire Release…"
Seeing the dense mass of black shadows, Ren felt his scalp tingle as he cursed inwardly.
Fire Release wasn't great at killing, but it excelled at destruction and battlefield control.
Unfortunately, his free points were limited, most of them already sunk into overall physical enhancement.
Though he'd been tempted to dump everything into raw stats, Ren knew better. Ninja combat wasn't like a swordsman's duel—pure physicality wasn't enough. Even Might Guy relied on chakra.
Without sufficient ninjutsu investment and chakra reserves to match his physique, he couldn't sustain battles like this.
"But close combat? That's another story."
Ren swiftly rotated the massive stone dragon beneath him, wrapping himself inside it.
Clang—clang—clang!
A barrage of impacts rang across the stone surface.
The moment it ended, Ren burst out from the construct, grabbing a fallen ninja blade mid-motion.
"Konoha Style — Hazy Moon!"
Blade shadows flickered. Several puppets shattered instantly.
As others hit the ground, Ren raised one hand sharply.
Rumble—!
Jagged earth spikes erupted from the stone dragon's body, obliterating countless puppets in an instant.
Ren didn't slow down.
He kept Sasori locked with sensory perception, denying him any chance to escape, while also tracking Sand's movements.
His blade danced relentlessly. The puppets simply couldn't withstand him.
Shattered parts littered the stone dragon's surface.
"…This won't last."
After destroying another puppet, Ren assessed his condition and shook his head.
With only Level 3 Curse Mark and Yin Release, prolonged combat wasn't an option.
He himself was fine—but his chakra supply wasn't.
Even with careful usage, it was draining too fast.
"In that case…"
Ren turned his gaze toward the approaching Sand forces.
They were barely a hundred meters from the battlefield, spreading out—clearly attempting to encircle all three of them.
Which gave Ren exactly the opening he needed.
"You've enjoyed the show long enough. Time to contribute, don't you think?"
With another slash, Ren split a puppet in half and decisively seized control of the stone dragon.
"Roar!"
The massive construct let out a thunderous bellow and charged straight toward the Sand unit.
"What?!"
The Sand shinobi reacted too late.
"Move! Get out of the way!"
Panicked shouts rang out, but it was useless.
The stone dragon slammed down.
BOOM—!
A deafening explosion tore through the desert.
Dust clouds billowed, shockwaves rippled outward, and stone shards flew everywhere.
The sky turned gray. Sandstorms erupted.
Many who survived the initial impact were crushed by flying debris moments later.
Screams echoed endlessly.
"…Hm?"
As Ren monitored the chaos, his brows lifted slightly.
Several powerful chakra signatures were rapidly approaching.
He narrowed his eyes—and then smiled.
"Die!"
At that moment, Sasori charged in, controlling the Third Kazekage and countless puppets.
The pressure was overwhelming.
This time, Ren didn't dodge.
His hands flashed through seals.
"Sage Art · Yin Release · Earth Piercing Spear!"
In an instant, countless earth spikes burst from the ground.
The coverage was enormous—within moments, the entire dune transformed into a forest of jagged stone.
Puppets were annihilated by the dozens.
Even Sasori's expression shifted as he hastily ordered the Third Kazekage to defend.
And then—
Ren dashed in.
Stopping at Sasori's side, unconcerned by the iron sand shielding him, Ren smiled faintly.
"Lord Sasori… I'll leave the rest to you."
"Your grandfather—Ebizo—is here."
"…!"
Sasori's gaze turned ice-cold.
"You know who I am?"
"As one of Danzo-sama's subordinates, of course I do."
Ren nodded calmly.
"It seems escape won't be easy. So let this be a farewell."
"And one last thing."
"Danzo-sama asked me to give you his regards."
"Farewell."
With that, Ren turned and ran without looking back.
Sand ANBU closed in at that very moment.
Meanwhile, outside the Kazekage Tower—
A bespectacled youth watched as Rasa led his forces out of the village.
He then turned toward the now-quiet building.
After a brief pause, he stepped forward.
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