Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 398 A Give and Take

The spiral shuriken completely widened the distance between the two sides, and the rescue team, which had been pressed forward step by step, finally retreated to a relatively safe position, giving them a chance to sort out the situation.

"What happened with that attack?" The first to ask was Captain Kakashi. He couldn't forget the puppet that had saved his life but then stopped working. In the midst of the chaos, Chiyo had somehow managed to pull the puppet ashore and prevent it from sinking into the water.

Chiyo glanced at her puppet, then at the riverbed after the smoke and dust had cleared. The cave entrance, piled with rubble, was now filled with a dense mass of black, metallic-looking substance. The strange-looking thing was slowly dispersing, revealing its true form, which had been protected by layers of secrecy.

“That’s Iron Sand Rain,” Chiyo’s voice was incredibly heavy. “It’s one of the Third Kazekage’s secret techniques.”

"The Third Kazekage?" Sakura was somewhat shocked. She had taken her history classes very seriously, so she naturally knew that the Third Kazekage had mysteriously disappeared decades ago.

“Scorpion can create a special kind of puppet. They are made from living people, imbued with their chakra, and can even retain their ninjutsu, including bloodline limits. This is what is called a human puppet.” Now that things had come to this, Chiyo could no longer hide the information and frankly explained the situation, “I never expected that the Third Kazekage was actually turned into a human puppet by him.”

This strange manufacturing method gave the two Konoha people goosebumps. They were likely to be fighting a corpse next, which was not good news.

"Magnet Release: Iron Sand..." Kakashi frowned. He had also seen the overwhelming "black cloud" spreading from the cave entrance. Naruto was indeed better at dealing with this kind of large-scale attack. However, if they let Deidara, this aerial unit, cause trouble overhead, it would be even more difficult for them to launch an effective attack. Naruto's clones' decision to suppress him together was the right choice.

Moreover, they don't necessarily have to rely on Naruto; he can already see Sasori.

"Hey, you kid from the White Fang family, what was that attack all about? Was it that blond brat who did it?" After answering the questions, it was Chiyo's turn to ask one. That's the trouble with teammates who aren't familiar with each other.

"Yes, that was Naruto's clone's long-range support, which consumed a lot of chakra. One of the clones has already disappeared."

"What about the little devil?"

"They should have already taken the Kazekage to Konoha to seek treatment from the Hokage."

Chiyo was taken aback, but immediately understood their tactics. It was extremely risky, but if they caught the opponent off guard, the success rate was very high. Therefore, Konoha truly was an enviable treasure land.

"So, we're going to stall until he gets back, right?"

"Hmm." Kakashi nodded in agreement, then added, "Perhaps it's not particularly necessary. If you can keep Sasori still for a while and prevent him from affecting me, I should be able to take him down in one fell swoop."

Chiyo's brow twitched slightly. "A puppeteer generally won't act rashly unless they feel threatened, but to prevent them from interfering with you..."

The three looked up and saw that the dark cloud seemed to have grown even larger. It gathered in the air at a moderate height, while also gathering a massive amount of chakra. Sasori of the Red Sand was still the same short and stocky figure, standing openly on the rubble, with a puppet with black wings floating beside him.

"We definitely need to avoid this," Sakura said, echoing everyone's thoughts. The three of them turned and ran without hesitation, trying their best to get away from the dark cloud.

"Hmph, too late."

The dark clouds suddenly exploded, forming an irregular net like lightning bolts falling from the sky. Although not as fast as lightning, it engulfed the area where the three were trying to escape in a very short time. Kakashi, the fastest of them all, narrowly avoided the attack, but his teammates were not so lucky. Chiyo and Sakura were both within the attack's range; one had her arm pinned down by a rock, and the other, though she managed to emerge from the ground, was covered in cuts and scratches.

However, Scorpion had already achieved his goal. Not only were his weapons poisoned, but even the pile of iron sand had been soaked in venom. Even the slightest scratch would cause excruciating pain and spasms throughout the body, rendering the victim incapacitated.

Sure enough, not long after Sakura crawled out of the mound of dirt, she collapsed face down, her body convulsing uncontrollably, clearly indicating that she had been poisoned.

"If left unchecked, they might survive for another three days, but I have no intention of doing so." Sasori looked confident, taking down one by one as he could, since he was going to kill them all anyway. As for the missing Deidara? He wasn't too concerned; that kid was smart enough that he didn't need to worry about him. The only troublesome ones were when they were stubborn, but the one who could make them stubborn was standing in the cave.

The Third Kazekage puppet, wielding a blade, charged towards the incapacitated Sakura. Chiyo was pinned down by a rock and temporarily unable to move. Kakashi rushed back into the Iron Sand Forest, a unwise choice, as fine iron needles quickly sprouted from the iron sand pillars, relentlessly piercing him. The Sharingan's dynamic tracking ability might save his life, but it also slowed down the rescue efforts.

The Third Kazekage's puppet arrived, and the purple-glowing blade was about to pierce Sakura's back. However, in that instant when her vision was obstructed, Sakura suddenly stood up smoothly and smashed the puppet to pieces with a single punch!

The Iron Sand Forest was melting, and the iron needles stopped attacking. Kakashi used Earth Release to slightly slow down the falling iron sand, allowing Sakura to rescue Chiyo, and the three of them successfully reached a safe place.

Sasori, standing on the opposite bank of the river, was somewhat surprised. He almost immediately realized a possibility. His poison had been neutralized; the other side had brought the antidote! He had been far too careless. He should have attacked directly with the iron sand. He had gotten so used to using other puppets that he had forgotten this one had ranged capabilities. He remembered when he was blocking Kakashi, but how could he forget when he was finishing him off?

That's a bloodline limit unique in the ninja world! I wonder if the core is damaged, and if it can be repaired... No, he has to deal with the guy in front of him first, otherwise it would be a waste of such a huge loss!

Before he could even make a move, Itachi, who hadn't moved at all, suddenly said, "I suggest you move your position."

"What?" Scorpion didn't hear the whole thing; he was completely focused on figuring out how many puppets he would use to take down the other side.

"Kakashi is very close to you, and his eyes are filled with a large amount of chakra."

Before Itachi could finish speaking, a sudden change occurred. Sasori's small body actually deformed! That was the incredibly sturdy Hiruko, yet it inexplicably changed shape. Sasori tried to escape with the puppet, but found himself unable to move an inch. A strange suction force emanated from the twisted part, forcefully pulling him back.

Now, there was no other way but to abandon the puppet, unless he wanted to make a hole in its chest. As a puppeteer, his decision was swift and decisive; he immediately opened Fei Liu Hu's back and jumped out.