Chapter 354: Bone Extraction Jutsu
Masahiko's expression was very heavy.
After asking that sentence just now, he had confused himself. Right now, he was counting on his fingers.
"The people who want me dead... the number one is definitely Madara. Oh, not necessarily, Six Paths might also want me dead... Then there's that guy with the Rinnegan. And does Orochimaru want me dead? Has Hiruzen ever thought about it? And the Fourth Raikage, hmm..."
Sitting on Sasori's left shoulder, Masahiko fell into deep thought.
Sasori tilted his head and looked at him indifferently for a while before ignoring him, proceeding to pack up the four Optimus Prime puppets on his own.
"Your current strength should almost, probably, maybe rank around tenth place. Do your best. Bang bang bang..." Masahiko finally snapped back to reality, patting Sasori's shoulder repeatedly.
"Boring." Sasori didn't know what else to say, but these two words were never wrong. After saying these two words, his giant puppet body slowly tipped over, vanishing with a "poof" sound.
Masahiko fluttered to the ground. The Sasori in front of him had already reverted to his original size.
"You packed them all away just like that? Don't you want to make me into your collection? If you could succeed, I would definitely be the most precious and oldest piece in your collection."
Sasori was completely unwilling to pay attention to him. "Granny, let's not waste time anymore."
Chiyo had been silent the whole time. Hearing Sasori's words, she finally let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry, Senior, for disturbing your rest."
Masahiko was stunned. "Chiyo, you're not giving up, are you? Do you need my help to just knock Sasori out and find a way to convert him back into a body of flesh and blood?"
Sasori's puppet body stiffened, and he said indifferently, "Boring."
But the accelerated pace of his departure proved that he was panicked inwardly. Although he could be modified back, transforming a body of flesh and blood into a puppet was very painful...
Chiyo smiled bitterly. "There's no need, Senior. I will find a way to make him restore himself willingly."
"Boring," Sasori's voice drifted over from a distance.
Masahiko laughed. "Your grandson is really awkward. He only knows how to use those two words to cover up his inner feelings. Then do your best, Chiyo. If it doesn't work, come find me. I'm very willing to help you with this."
Sasori's departing steps grew even faster...
Watching Sasori and Chiyo walk away, Masahiko turned and walked back to the four children.
Deidara was unexpectedly calm. He didn't try to prove his explosive art and just watched from the sidelines until now, knowing that the current gap between him and Sasori was huge.
Seeing Masahiko return, he mimicked Sasori's way of speaking: "One day, I will prove to him... and to you, that only a momentary explosion is true art. Un!"
"Then you do your best too." Masahiko responded perfunctorily and yawned. "The good show is over. Everyone go back to sleep. I have something to tell you tomorrow."
"We're all so wide awake now, how can we sleep," Karin complained softly.
"That's even better, train until dawn!"
After saying this, only the straightforward Kimimaro was instantly left standing beside Masahiko.
...
The next day, early morning.
Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi came together, only to hear the 'bad news' from Masahiko.
"Eh?! Senior, you're leaving already?" Kurotsuchi's face was full of disappointment.
Kimimaro and the other two also looked bewildered; they had just heard this news as well.
"It's time to go. If we don't leave soon, Ohnoki's precious granddaughter will turn into a chubby girl, and he'll probably come fight me for his life," Masahiko joked.
"The old man wouldn't do that..." Kurotsuchi's disappointment came and went quickly. She smiled and said, "Then Senior, can you leave in the afternoon? There's no need to rush right this moment."
Masahiko was speechless. "No, we're leaving right away. Figure out your own lunch."
Karin also felt a bit disappointed on the side. Over these past few days, she and Kurotsuchi had gone from fighting to getting to know each other, and they got along quite well. After all, both girls had relatively outgoing... carefree personalities.
Deidara, however, rolled his eyes. During this period under Masahiko's supervision, he had no chance to get far away from the Hidden Stone Village to pursue his solitary path of art, but he hadn't given up in his heart. Now that Masahiko said he was leaving, he brought up this idea again.
Kimimaro was somewhat unwilling. He hadn't defeated Deidara and Akatsuchi yet, but since God ordered them to leave, he couldn't object.
Haku revealed a faint look of curiosity. "Great Elder, where are we going next?"
Karin hurriedly interjected, "This time we should finally go to the Land of Wind to see the sand, right?"
Masahiko glanced at her, smiled, and shook his head. "We're not going to see sand; we're going to see snow."
Karin pouted. "What's so good about snow? Winter is coming soon, and we can see it when we go back to the Land of Whirlpools."
"It hasn't snowed much in the Land of Whirlpools. What's so good about those tiny snowflakes." Masahiko's gaze swept over the children in front of him, finally resting on Kurotsuchi. "Kurotsuchi-kun, next time we meet, I hope you have the strength to kick Ohnoki off his Tsuchikage position."
Kurotsuchi clenched her small fists, her smile bright. "Un!"
"Then we'll be taking our leave. See you in the future."
Kurotsuchi watched Masahiko and his group walk away, turning her head to say, "Senior is gone, I have to go tell the old man."
Deidara turned around. "You two go. I can't be bothered to see that old geezer. Un!"
Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi headed back, while Deidara walked briskly back to his own house. "Great opportunity! That old guy is gone, and the guard Kakkou isn't here either... Eh?"
"Bastards! Where did my clay go?!"
...
Masahiko led the three children gradually further away from the Hidden Stone Village.
Karin suddenly remembered something. "Great Elder, before leaving the Land of Earth, I need to prepare more clay. It probably won't be easy to restock clay in a country that snows, right?"
Masahiko shook his head and laughed. "I already prepared it for you. It's enough to last you a year."
Karin was stunned but didn't think much of it. "Then Great Elder, where exactly are we going now?"
Masahiko turned his head. Seeing that the other two children also showed curious expressions, he explained, "We are going to that legendary country that only has samurai, the Land of Iron."
"The Land of Iron... I think I've heard of it..." Only Karin muttered softly. The other two children had never heard of it at all.
"Mm. The main purpose of this trip is to use the cold weather there to assist Haku's Ice Release training, and then find someone to teach Kimimaro some sword techniques. Right now, he only relies on instinct to use his bone blades, unable to exert his maximum power."
Actually, speaking of sword techniques, returning to Konoha to learn from Sakumo would also work. But the Hatake clan's sword techniques lean more towards locking onto the target, and many moves require the integration of Lightning-attribute chakra, which isn't very suitable for Kimimaro.
Masahiko felt that in the Land of Iron, there was a samurai inheritance particularly suitable for Kimimaro: Iaijutsu, commonly known as sword-drawing arts.
Other people only have one sword; after drawing it, they have to sheathe it to use the move again. Kimimaro was different. He had plenty of bones. Swish, he draws one bone; swish, he draws another. As long as his Kekkei Genkai illness didn't flare up, he could draw his swords until his opponent was dizzy.
"Beautiful..." Imagining this scene, Masahiko narrowed his eyes slightly.
☆☆☆
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