When Teizawa's figure arrived at the other battlefield, he happened to catch the most hair-raising moment…
Chiyo was controlling the two puppets that had once belonged to Sasori: "Father" and "Mother."
The blades in their hands were only a hair's breadth from Sasori's chest.
That was Sasori's only weakness.
After he'd turned himself into a human puppet, the only flesh-and-blood core he had left was hidden inside the regeneration core in his chest.
If that spot was pierced…
The most gifted puppeteer in Sunagakure's history would be finished for good.
And Sasori…
Didn't dodge.
He simply stood there.
He let those two puppets, shaped in the image of his parents, stab straight toward him.
The eyes visible through the seams of his puppet body were calm as a dead pond.
As if this was the moment he'd been waiting for all along.
"What a bunch of lunatics…"
Seeing it, Teizawa couldn't help muttering.
A perfectly good Kage-level fighting asset.
Just thrown away like trash?
Because of some obsession with "art" and "eternity"?
Because he'd lost hope in the world?
Because he thought living was meaningless?
Teizawa shook his head.
He genuinely couldn't understand how the native shinobi of this world thought.
Isn't being alive good?
What's so impossible to live with?
Right then—
Ding…
A long-awaited mechanical voice suddenly exploded in his head.
Teizawa's movements paused for a fraction.
The System?
What now?
[A puppetry genius born in Sunagakure. Sasori of the Red Sand is at death's door. Please make your choice:]
[1. Stand by and watch him die. Reward: Shiro Higi: Chikamatsu Jūmonshū (White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu's Ten Puppets), Elder Chiyo's ultimate puppetry art. Allows simultaneous control of ten puppets.]
[2. Save him and subjugate him for your own use. Reward: Aka Higi: Hyakki no Sōen (Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets), Sasori's ultimate puppetry art. Allows simultaneous control of hundreds of puppets.]
Teizawa narrowed his eyes slightly.
It really picked its moment.
He complained silently.
Too early, too late, it never shows up.
But the second Sasori's about to die, it suddenly appears.
This System's timing was practically an art form.
Still…
His gaze flicked between the deadly scene in front of him and the two options in his head.
Chikamatsu's Ten Puppets?
Chiyo's ultimate technique really was strong.
Ten puppets working together, offense and defense as one.
In a puppeteer's world, it was already legend-tier.
But…
Performance of a Hundred Puppets.
That was the ultimate art Sasori had poured his entire life into.
Hundreds of puppets controlled at once.
Each one capable of independent combat. One man, one army.
More importantly…
Teizawa's eyes settled on Sasori.
This guy was Sunagakure's genius.
A genius puppeteer who was born here and raised here.
His understanding of Sunagakure, his mastery of puppetry, his research into poisons…
All of it was priceless.
What did Sunagakure lack right now?
Money?
He had billions in hand. For the time being, money wasn't the problem.
Water?
The desalination proposal had already passed. Solving it was a matter of time.
Food?
With money and water, food could be bought from neighboring countries.
What they truly lacked…
Was top-tier combat power.
In this shinobi world where strength ruled everything, without enough force, any amount of money was just savings for someone else to steal.
The Third Raikage was strong, right?
He could fight ten thousand alone. In the end, wasn't he still worn down and killed?
Sunagakure needed more powerhouses who could stand at the top of the pyramid.
Chiyo and Ebizo counted, sure, but those two old fossils were already close to the grave.
Gaara barely counted as half, for now.
Teizawa himself was one.
And if he could add Sasori…
A sharp gleam flashed in Teizawa's eyes.
A Kage-level fighter was worth far more than any "Chikamatsu's Ten Puppets" reward.
As for "subjugate"…
A hint of amusement curved at Teizawa's mouth.
Someone like Sasori was untamed and arrogant.
Deep-minded, hopeless about the world, pathologically obsessed with "eternity."
You didn't win him over with a few benefits.
But…
There was a thread of something buried very deep, something even Sasori hadn't noticed.
Unwillingness.
Unwilling to die like this.
Unwilling for his art to end like this.
Teizawa's thoughts moved in a blink.
Not far ahead, the "Father" and "Mother" puppets under Chiyo's control were only a few inches from Sasori's chest.
The blades were about to sink in.
Sasori's eyes waited calmly for the end.
Then…
From far away, Teizawa raised his hand.
His five fingers curled, forming a grabbing motion in midair.
His ability activated.
"Hnnng…"
An invisible magnetic field spread outward in an instant.
Chiyo's movements seized up.
Her eyes went wide as she stared at her own hands in disbelief…
The chakra threads were still there. The puppets were still there.
But no matter what she did, she couldn't make those two puppets advance even an inch more.
The blades stopped in front of Sasori's chest, a hair's breadth from the surface.
Perfectly still.
"What?"
Chiyo cried out.
A flash of disbelief passed through Sasori's eyes.
He lowered his head, staring at the puppets in the form of his parents, so close he could almost feel them.
Staring at the blade that was a hair's breadth from his heart…
Then he slowly raised his head and looked into the distance.
On top of the ruins, a figure in gold stood there.
His hand still held in that invisible grip.
Those eyes watched this way in calm silence.
Sasori's pupils tightened.
It was him.
The new Kazekage.
The man who had made Deidara unable to fly.
The man who…
Why save him?
"Teizawa?"
Chiyo's voice trembled with anger and disbelief.
"What are you doing? He's a traitor to Sunagakure. He deserves to die!"
"Chiyo, he's your grandson, and you can really bring yourself to do it?"
Teizawa snapped back, annoyed.
Then he only looked at Sasori.
The corner of his mouth lifted slowly.
That smile held admiration, amusement, and something else…
Something Sasori couldn't read.
"You…" Chiyo choked for a beat, wary now. "What are you trying to do this time?"
"Elder Chiyo."
Teizawa finally spoke, voice not loud, yet it carried clearly to everyone.
"He does deserve to be killed."
He paused.
"But not now."
Chiyo froze.
A faint light flickered in Sasori's eyes.
Teizawa lowered his hand and began walking toward them.
His steps were unhurried, his robe dragging a long trail through the broken ground.
He looked like a blade drawn from its sheath, sharp and unmistakable.
"Sasori."
He stopped ten paces away, looking straight into those eyes peering through the puppet seams.
"You want to die?"
Sasori stayed silent.
"Dying is easy," Teizawa continued, tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather.
"But what about your art?"
A ripple passed through Sasori's eyes.
"You spent your entire life chasing eternity, and you're just throwing it away?"
"The Aka Higi: Hyakki no Sōen (Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets) you created. You're letting it die with you?"
Teizawa spoke each word like a hammer striking Sasori's chest.
"Are you satisfied?"
Sasori was silent for a long time.
Long enough that Chiyo couldn't stand it and almost spoke.
Long enough that Kankuro's palms were sweating with tension.
Long enough that Sakura had no idea what was even happening anymore…
Then Sasori finally spoke.
His voice was hoarse, but it no longer carried that cold, distant rejection.
Teizawa smiled.
"Simple," he said, eyes fixed on Sasori.
"Live. Work for me. Work for Sunagakure. Pay for your sins."
"Then after that, you can choose death however you like."
Wind swept through the ruins, lifting dry leaves into the air.
In Sasori's eyes, the light flickered in and out.
Then he let out a cold laugh.
"And why do you think you have the right to make me choose?"
(End of Chapter)
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