He glanced back.
Sasori had put Hiruko away and leaped onto the back of the Third Kazekage puppet, using it as a flying mount to pursue relentlessly.
"Byakuya, what is that thing? How can it fly?"
"The Third Kazekage's Magnet Style. That's Sasori of the Red Sand, Chiyo's grandson."
"I think I've heard of him."
Tagorihime slithered across the desert with lightning speed, bypassing the Village of Sand Trees.
Although she was extremely fast, the Kazekage puppet was faster.
"Oh no, I'm still young, I can't outrun him! What do we do?"
Byakuya frowned and made a snap decision. "Go northwest."
"Is there help there?"
"That's the direction of the Sand Village."
"Huh? But you're a Leaf ninja. Going to the Sand Village is walking into a trap!"
"I'm an envoy representing Danzo Shimura to express goodwill. Sasori killed the Third Kazekage; he's a missing-nin."
"I get it now. Comparatively, when Sand ninja see the Third Kazekage's human puppet, they'll definitely help us."
"..." Byakuya kept frowning and shook his head slowly. "I don't know."
"We're two against one. Why not fight him? It's hard to say who would win or lose."
"No. Tagorihime, listen to me."
"Alright."
Sasori of the Red Sand was a ruthless character who eventually died to plot armor.
Moreover, in their brief exchange, Sasori had only shown the Kazekage puppet and Hiruko; he hadn't used any other puppet techniques. His main body was also extremely difficult to deal with, its only weakness being the regenerative core in his left chest that produced chakra.
To kill Sasori, one had to destroy his regenerative core. But how easy could that be?
At any rate, Byakuya didn't think he had the strength to do it right now.
Even Chiyo's White Secret Technique: Ten Puppets Collection wasn't a match for Sasori, and Chiyo had conquered a castle with that secret technique.
Byakuya turned around, facing Sasori who was also wearing a black cloak, and formed seals. "Storm Style: Thousand Blades."
Sasori watched the blinding beams flying towards him.
"Magnet Style: Iron Sand Wall."
Iron sand drifted from the Kazekage puppet's mouth, creating a wide, long wall.
Thousand Blades bombarded it, causing deafening explosions.
Byakuya used Thousand Blades to hinder Sasori's pursuit speed.
The goal was achieved.
The Iron Sand Wall dispersed back into iron sand. Although Sasori's expression remained unchanged, he was slightly surprised inwardly.
This Leaf ninja sent by Danzo displayed mature combat wisdom, possessed a Kekkei Genkai with unbelievably fast jutsu speed, and had a summoning beast with massive chakra.
Looking at his build, he wasn't old. Given time, the Leaf would produce another powerhouse who would shake the ninja world, like Minato Namikaze.
"Leaf brat, the space-time ninjutsu you used outside the Town of Sasori was the Flying Thunder God, wasn't it?"
"Senior Sasori, I already understand your desire to cooperate with Lord Danzo. Once I return to the Leaf, I will definitely report it to him. You don't need to see me off anymore."
"I'm not chasing you. I want to know the intelligence you carry!" Sasori made no effort to hide his killing intent. "I intended to cripple your arms and spare your life, but it seems I'll have to kill you and interrogate your soul instead."
This was the cruelty of the ninja world. Even in death, there was no peace; the soul held value.
Every ninja village had means to interrogate souls, with the Leaf's Yamanaka clan's secret technique of reading memories from the dead being the most famous.
The iron sand that hadn't returned to the Kazekage puppet formed a triangular pyramid.
It flew towards Byakuya at speeds hard to track with the naked eye.
No wonder the Third Kazekage was called the strongest Kazekage in history; his Magnet Style Kekkei Genkai was unreasonably powerful.
Byakuya frantically refined chakra, practically overdrawing his body.
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!!!"
He formed the seals.
Spewing out far more water than before, he protected not only himself but also part of Tagorihime's body.
The triangular pyramid slammed heavily into the Water Formation Wall.
Byakuya's eyes widened in disbelief as part of the pyramid actually penetrated the water wall.
It stopped about thirty centimeters in front of his forehead before being swept away by the rotating water current and falling into the desert.
"You even know Tobirama Senju's Water Formation Wall. The Leaf's young talents emerge endlessly. First Minato Namikaze, now you... Your Leaf Village really deserves to die!"
Sasori's hatred was palpable.
Byakuya said, "Senior's killing intent toward me isn't just because of intelligence, is it?"
"It was your Leaf ninja who killed my parents. Whenever I see Leaf people, regardless of age or gender, I want to kill them! I wish I could exterminate the entire Leaf Village!" Sasori gritted his teeth. "My life was ruined by your Leaf. I will make you taste pain too."
Byakuya sighed helplessly.
In the face of such hatred, all words were pale and powerless.
He wondered how he would face Chiyo and Ebizo once he reached the Sand Village.
But if he didn't go to the Sand Village, how could he shake off this maddened Sasori?
"Senior wants to cooperate with Lord Danzo to take revenge on the Leaf?"
"Kid, you're smart. Why ask when you already know?"
The iron sand triangular pyramid flew towards him again.
Byakuya panted heavily, making a decision in his heart.
Storm Style: Thousand Blades had a second stage of shape transformation.
But he had only developed a prototype; it wasn't perfected yet. Whether this shape transformation should still be called "Thousand Blades" was debatable.
But things had come to this. Sasori was pressing hard, so Byakuya had to force himself to try.
"Byakuya, don't die," Tagorihime suddenly said.
"I won't die. Don't worry."
He formed seals.
A thought flashed through his mind.
The limitations of the Flying Thunder God Jutsu were still too obvious. In a terrain like the desert, and in a sudden encounter, it was equivalent to being down one ultimate move.
Byakuya formed over a dozen hand seals this time.
His cheeks puffed out.
Storm chakra, compressed to the limit of his current ability, was suddenly spat out.
A beam of light as thick as an index finger abruptly pierced through the iron sand triangular pyramid.
And punched through Sasori's chest.
Sasori looked back blankly as the beam disappeared into the desert. A moment later, the sea of sand surged like waves.
He looked down again.
The beam had nearly pierced his regenerative core in his left chest, missing by only half a finger's width.
What the hell kind of jutsu is this?
Why was it so fast? So fast I couldn't react at all?!
Sasori fixed his gaze on the masked Leaf brat.
The brat was bent over, gasping for air, staring back at him.
The iron sand pyramid between them slowly dissipated, the sand falling powerlessly to the desert floor. Sasori knew that when the beam pierced the pyramid, it had also annihilated the chakra controlling it.
"Tobirama Senju's Water Style: Water Severing Wave?" Sasori murmured to himself. "No. The descriptions I've heard of Water Severing Wave don't quite match the shape transformation of this jutsu. Did this kid reference the principles of Water Severing Wave to develop this?"
Tagorihime was frantic. She sensed Byakuya's stamina hitting rock bottom, and his life force slowly draining.
"Byakuya Senkaku, stop overdrawing your body! You'll die!"
"Don't worry... I... I... I absolutely... won't die," Byakuya said with difficulty.
The successful execution of this Storm Style jutsu was thanks to his Spirit Enhancement. Sufficient spiritual energy allowed his chakra control to reach a higher level.