Sasori looked at the wooden trunks around him that had been pierced by Magnetic Release spikes and let out a breath of relief.
He was safe.
The wooden trunks, skewered by the iron spikes, struggled to move or grow. They writhed like worms pinned to the ground.
Yet moments later, Sasori felt pain well up inside him again.
His puppet technique was inferior to Wood Release.
It was inferior to Magnet Release.
The shattered fragments of his puppets lay scattered, pierced by the same iron spikes.
The truth was unavoidable.
His techniques were simply too weak.
Yako's eyes gleamed when he saw the Third Kazekage.
So this was where this month's chakra harvest would come from.
The Third Kazekage stared coldly at the ANBU shinobi standing on the wooden bridge.
"Konoha's Copper Fox," he said. "Were you the one who sent spies to investigate Sasori?"
Yako thought silently.
So that was it.
The spies had investigated Sasori and exposed themselves in the process. That must have been how the Third Kazekage arrived so quickly.
"Your disciple stole Advisor Homura's Five Ninja Blades," Yako said calmly.
"I was ordered to retrieve them."
"Homura's Five Ninja Blades?" the Third Kazekage scoffed.
"Those were originally the First Hokage's weapons."
"They only ended up in Homura's hands later—and he couldn't even protect them."
"Should I explain how they ended up in his possession?"
"If Konoha doesn't value them, then perhaps they would be better placed in the hands of Sunagakure's puppet masters."
Negotiations collapsed instantly.
Yako began forming hand seals.
But the Kazekage was faster.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Drizzle!"
Iron sand transformed into countless needles.
They locked onto Copper Fox and shot forward like a storm.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
A massive tree suddenly grew from the wooden bridge beneath Yako's feet, blocking every iron needle.
But as Yako prepared to counterattack—
the iron needles shattered into powder upon impact.
The dust fell beneath the tree, reformed, and reshaped itself into new needles.
This time, they slipped through the gaps and continued toward Yako.
Yet these were still purely physical attacks.
They could not break through the absolute defense of Copper Light.
After a flurry of metallic clangs, Yako remained completely unharmed.
Only his clothes were riddled with holes.
The Third Kazekage frowned.
If even Sasori struggled against this opponent…
then even he found this enemy troublesome.
Needle attacks were useless.
He would have to change tactics.
The Third Kazekage formed seals again.
A massive cylinder of iron sand formed before him.
It was ten meters long and three meters thick.
A monstrous pillar of metal.
Heavy enough that even grazing it could cripple someone—being struck directly meant death.
The iron pillar smashed toward Yako.
Yako clapped his hands.
More than a dozen thick tree trunks burst upward before him.
The iron pillar shattered through all of them.
The impact force was terrifying.
Yako poured chakra into the wooden bridge beneath his feet.
A dragon claw erupted from the maple bridge.
It was the claw of the Wood Dragon.
The massive claw caught the iron pillar.
On the ground, Sasori stared in shock.
The dragon claw lifted the iron pillar—
and threw it back.
What kind of strength was that?
The Wood Release trees that Sasori couldn't even damage had been crushed one after another by his teacher's iron sand.
Yet the Kazekage's unstoppable Magnet Release had just been caught by a wooden dragon claw and hurled away.
Was this the level of the shinobi world's strongest?
Why was the gap between him and them so enormous?
Sasori calculated desperately.
Even if he perfected his puppets…
they would never defeat monsters like these.
Was Copper Fox right?
Was puppet art truly worthless?
If puppets were weaker than shinobi…
then what if…
a shinobi were turned into a puppet?
Meanwhile, Yako and the Third Kazekage exchanged attack after attack.
Yako soon realized he had no easy way to defeat him.
In the original timeline, the Third Kazekage's power had dropped significantly after Sasori turned him into a puppet.
But in life, his strength fully deserved the title of the strongest Kazekage.
After learning nothing new from the battle, Yako deliberately allowed himself to be struck by the iron pillar.
The impact killed him instantly.
Darkness swallowed his vision.
Then the world shifted.
Yako reappeared more than ten days earlier.
He was standing inside Chisa's bedroom in the capital of the Land of Rivers.
Before him was Chisa—her figure fuller after childbirth.
White waves rolled before his eyes.
Thank the system.
Beautiful memories were always worth reliving.
Arc of the Waning Moon activated.
The host has one resurrection opportunity per month.
Upon death, resurrection occurs on the previous full moon night.
Reward: One draw.
1 — Magnet Release Bloodline (Upper-Mid Tier)
2 — Kage-Level Chakra Quantity (Stackable)
3 — Sealing Technique: Binding Cloth Technique
Yako didn't lack offensive or defensive methods right now.
Magnet Release wasn't particularly useful to him.
Sunagakure's sealing techniques were interesting—but they couldn't compare to the Uzumaki clan's.
He chose chakra quantity.
His chakra surged instantly.
From 3.3 times Kage-level…
to 4.3 times Kage-level chakra.
Chakra quantity wasn't everything.
But when crushing weaker opponents, every increase mattered.
Yet Yako faintly felt that his body might be approaching its limit.
Seeing Chisa collapsed weakly over the desk, Yako lifted her gently and held her in his arms.
"Chisa," he said softly, "I'm going to the Land of Wind to warn Sunagakure not to send anyone into the Land of Rivers again."
Sitting on his lap, Chisa asked between breaths,
"Will it be dangerous?"
"Right now Konoha's White Fang is patrolling between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Grass. You don't need to take the risk."
"Sakumo is dealing with Uchiha Madara and the other rogue shinobi," Yako replied.
"I'm just going to warn Sunagakure not to think they can profit while Konoha is fighting rebels."
After saying goodbye to Chisa, Yako led the Leaf Monkey squad into the Land of Wind.
This time, he did not contact any spies.
In his previous life, the spy who investigated Sasori had been exposed and likely purged by Sunagakure.
Spies were among the most respectable shinobi in Konoha.
If possible, he would rather they live longer.
For Chisa's sake, this battle had to be earth-shaking.
So Yako intercepted Sasori not far from Sunagakure.
He needed both to reclaim the Five Ninja Blades…
and to send a warning to the Sand shinobi.
Standing on the wooden bridge, Yako looked down at Sasori.
He carefully considered the coming battle.
He had already died once at the hands of the Third Kazekage.
He couldn't die again.
But killing the Third Kazekage here might trigger the Third Shinobi War.
It was currently Konoha Year 42.
In the original timeline, the Third Shinobi War began around Year 45.
Rather than killing the Kazekage now…
it would be better to wait.
Eventually Sasori would kill the Third Kazekage and turn him into a puppet.
At that time, Yako could draw rewards from Sasori.
So the coming battle only needed spectacle.
Killing the Kazekage was unnecessary.
Looking down at Sasori, Yako spoke coldly.
"What a disappointment."
"This is Sunagakure's genius?"
"If the genius is this weak, then the rest of your village must be even worse."
"The era of puppet art ended when your parents died."
"Puppetry is nothing more than broken wood and scrap iron."
Facing the Deep Forest Emergence technique, Sasori summoned his four strongest puppets—masterpieces built using Homura's weapon armory as a foundation.
This time Yako did not destroy them instantly.
Instead, he toyed with Sasori.
One puppet at a time.
Crushing them slowly.
Reclaiming each blade.
Until—
a powerful presence appeared in the distance.
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand World Method!"
Endless iron spikes erupted like thorn vines.
They pierced every Wood Release trunk and vine.
Sasori was saved.
Yako turned to face the Third Kazekage, who had arrived just in time.
"Was it you who ordered Sasori to poison the Land of Rivers' daimyo?" Yako asked.
"Of course not," the Kazekage replied cautiously.
"Sunagakure does want the mission contracts of the Land of Rivers."
"But the massacre of Homura's family was clearly an act of personal vengeance."
"Perhaps it was simply Konoha's internal conflict spilling over."
Yako paused.
Konoha's reputation for internal strife made that argument difficult to refute.
Half the rogue shinobi in the world seemed to come from Konoha.
Perhaps the Third Hokage truly had management problems.
"Third Kazekage," Yako said firmly, "consider this a warning."
"Even if Uchiha Madara and the rogue shinobi are rampaging…"
"Konoha is not a village that Sunagakure can challenge."
"Do not touch the nobles of the Land of Rivers again."
"If Konoha can't defeat Madara, do you really think we can't defeat a single Sunagakure?"
Being reprimanded by a mere ANBU filled the Kazekage with fury.
Iron sand turned into a rain of steel needles.
They shot toward Copper Fox.
Yako didn't move.
He simply allowed the needles to strike him.
The air rang with metallic clanging.
The Kazekage's expression darkened.
His iron needles could not pierce Copper Fox's defense at all.
Just as rumored.
The absolute defense technique.
Aside from shredded clothing, Yako had taken no damage.
He was demonstrating something.
Your attacks are meaningless.
The Kazekage immediately switched tactics.
A massive iron cylinder formed before him.
Ten meters long.
Three meters thick.
It screamed through the air toward Yako.
Blunt force could still threaten him.
A dragon claw burst from the wooden bridge.
The Wood Dragon Technique was Yako's strongest Wood Release ability.
If he couldn't summon the Wood Golem capable of catching a Tailed Beast Bomb—
then he would strengthen the Wood Dragon.
With his current chakra reserves, the Wood Dragon was terrifying enough.
The dragon claw grabbed the iron pillar.
Yako tried to crush it—
and failed.
His attempt at showing off collapsed silently.
Fortunately, no one realized.
He simply hurled the pillar back.
Standing atop the Wood Dragon's head, Yako drove the dragon toward the Third Kazekage.
The returning pillar slowed as the Kazekage's magnetic chakra took control.
It stopped before him.
The Kazekage formed new seals.
The iron cylinder reshaped into a triangular prism—sharper, deadlier, harder for the dragon to grab.
At the same time, iron sand formed wings behind him.
He rose into the sky.
On the ground, Sasori climbed out of the maple forest and stared upward.
In the sky, the Wood Dragon and the Kazekage clashed with massive scale.
The triangular prism was seized by the dragon claw.
The chakra within it was drained by the Wood Dragon, causing it to collapse back into iron sand.
The sand reformed again.
Another prism slammed into the dragon, breaking it in half.
Both Wood Release and Magnet Release displayed terrifying flexibility and power.
The battle continued for half an hour.
Copper Fox's chakra seemed endless.
The Third Kazekage was forced back repeatedly.
Sasori circled hundreds of meters away, watching from a safe distance.
Eventually, large numbers of Sand shinobi arrived.
Chiyo and reinforcements appeared in the distance.
Only then did Copper Fox withdraw.
Standing atop the Wood Dragon's head, Yako delivered his final warning.
"Do not touch the nobles of the Land of Rivers again."
"Next time…"
"The battlefield will be inside Sunagakure."
"And you will not be able to protect it."
The Third Kazekage looked at the massive maple forest stretching for hundreds of meters.
He wanted to say something.
But in the end—
he remained silent.
And allowed Konoha's Copper Fox to leave.