Chapter 282: Jhin
Sasori transplanted his core into this specific puppet, looking down at the bewildered Chiyo.
"I have already achieved it—turning myself into eternal art. Lady Chiyo, along with this little girl, you shall both become part of my collection."
Click!
Chiyo's seasoned combat experience allowed her to suppress the emotional turmoil caused by Sakura's apparent death. She unfurled a scroll.
Poof!
Ten puppets were released.
"Sasori, it is your grandmother who failed you. To make amends for my sins, I will bury you here along with your puppets."
Chiyo glanced toward Sakura. Blood was flowing from the girl's chest, staining the earthen spike.
"Human puppets... a puppet capable of Earth Style? Sasori, you truly are a genius of the puppet arts, the likes of which is seen only once a century. But..."
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Under Chiyo's control, the ten puppets launched a fierce assault on Sasori. She showcased the height of the puppeteer's craft: hidden mechanisms, traps laced with sealing jutsu, and clouds of sprayed toxins.
"The Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu? Masterpieces of the genius puppeteer Monzaemon, perhaps. But his work is outdated."
Sasori let out a wild laugh. He pulled out a scroll and performed a Summoning Jutsu.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Over a hundred human puppets appeared in the air above him. Under his manipulation, they effortlessly repelled the attacks of the Chikamatsu ten.
Earth Style, Water Style, Ice Style, Swift Style, Dark Style...
A barrage of ninjutsu executed through Sasori's strings crushed the ten puppets. As Sasori said, puppets relying solely on mechanical traps and seals had long been surpassed.
Slash! Crash!
A puppet appeared beside Chiyo's defenders, its skin turning the color of hardened steel. With a single punch, it shattered one of her puppets. Another moved like a bolt of lightning, its modified blade slicing through another defender.
With Ice Style providing crowd control and other puppets acting as support, Chiyo's forces were decimated in a matter of moments.
"How is this possible?" Chiyo wasn't just stunned; she was horrified. Her intelligence network was vast, and among these hundred puppets, she recognized famous Kekkei Genkai users from various nations. These were once powerful, prominent ninjas who had vanished over the years.
"Nothing is impossible. This is my eternal art," Sasori introduced. "These puppets are the collection I have gathered since leaving the Sand. While the Third Kazekage is my most 'satisfying' piece, he is not my strongest asset. They are all ninjas who possessed secret arts or bloodline limits. Lady Chiyo, be proud of your grandson."
"Take your pride with you to the Pure Land. Ha!"
A female voice rang out.
Sakura, having somehow re-activated her Instant Release state, charged at Sasori with a punch.
Whoosh!
A puppet intercepted the blow for Sasori, shattering into pieces.
"Naive. Three-Day Barrier."
Following a Swift Style puppet's distraction, three identical puppets released a barrier, trapping Sakura. She punched the wall of the barrier; it rippled under her massive strength and eventually shattered, but she was met with a massive, reaching hand.
Sloop—
Sakura felt her chakra vanishing rapidly. Her black "exoskeleton" receded, revealing the exposed "succubus-like" seal markings beneath, which were also fading fast.
"I see. A combination of sealing and medical ninjutsu?"
Sasori deduced the mechanics instantly. Given that the girl had extracted his toxins earlier, her mastery of medical ninjutsu was no surprise. Despair flickered across Sakura's face. Chiyo tried a desperate final struggle with shuriken, but it was futile.
"Lightning Strike."
BOOM!
A bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking the Dark Style puppet that was draining Sakura's chakra. Sasori reacted instantly, making the Dark Style puppet release Sakura and raise its hands to absorb the electricity.
Bang!
The Dark Style puppet was struck directly, limbs flying everywhere.
"Who's there?"
Sasori didn't bother wondering why the Dark Style hadn't absorbed the jutsu; instead, he fixed his gaze on a figure appearing in the distance.
The newcomer wore a green cloak with yellow fur trim over a sharp, formal suit with leather shoes. Judging by his build, he was a burly young man with golden-blonde hair.
"Found you at last, Nation-Destroyer." Tonbo Tobitake rolled his neck. If he was going to play a part, he had to look the part. This was his Transformation Jutsu persona.
As he suspected, Sasori's hundred puppets were all specialized human puppets, not the "disposable trash" seen in the original story's records. The display in the original timeline wouldn't have been enough to topple a nation. Now, Sasori was showing his true colors. This was the strength Sasori needed to be confident in taking on someone like Orochimaru.
"Do we know each other?" Sasori asked expressionlessly, carefully sizing up the stranger.
"My name is Jhin. Does that ring a bell?" Tonbo said.
"Never heard of it," Sasori replied.
"Is that so? You forgot the nation you wiped out so quickly? It doesn't matter. Whether you remember or not, I'm here today to end you."
Tonbo tilted his head, his neck cracking. His hands blurred into seals.
"Lightning Style: Thundercloud Barrier."
A massive barrier rose, surrounding Sasori and all his puppets.
Zzzzt!
Countless bolts of electricity materialized, arcing toward every puppet.
"An interesting opponent. You shall be part of my collection." Sasori finally remembered—the Land of Cinder had the character for "Jhin" in its name.
"Rubber Style: Thunder Shield."
One of Sasori's puppets unleashed a massive jutsu, manifesting sheets of rubber to insulate and block the lightning.
"Wind Style: Depletion."
Another puppet released a blast of black wind that spread in all directions. The lightning it touched crumbled away like rotting wood.
"Sakura, let's go!"
Taking advantage of the opening, Chiyo grabbed the weakened Sakura and fled the range of the Wind Style. Judging by the effect, that wind likely dismantled chakra itself. Sasori ignored them, his focus entirely on the two men left in the arena.
"Sasori actually..." Chiyo was breathless. He had modified so many human puppets, all capable of using the jutsus they had in life.
Sakura, having lost too much chakra, watched the battle with wide, trembling eyes. So many bloodlines... how many people had he killed? And according to Sasori, this still wasn't enough to defeat Orochimaru.
Rumble!
"Thunder Pressure: Raging Waves!"
The man calling himself Jhin seemed to pull out his trump card. The sky filled with thunder as natural energy gathered, condensing into a devastating attack.
"Too interesting! Where did you crawl out from? The Land of Cinder had no one like you. No matter—you just need to become my masterpiece. Wave Style: No Entry."
Feeling the immense energy, Sasori let out a crazed laugh. He pushed one female puppet to its limit, exhausting all its chakra to release its specific bloodline limit.
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