At that moment, only one thought remained in Hyuga Kagami’s mind:
He was really screwed this time.
Against a veteran powerhouse of Sasori’s caliber, once the element of surprise was lost, landing another sneak attack would be next to impossible.
And when fighting Sasori, even the most insignificant scratch could leave someone incapacitated by poison.
But against an opponent as powerful as Sasori, how could anyone possibly come out completely unscathed?
Therefore, as far as Hyuga Kagami was concerned, the failure of this sneak attack meant that the outcome of the battle had already been decided.
In the blink of an eye, the Third Kazekage human puppet, which had been pulled toward him by the Wheel of Will, reached Hyuga Kagami.
He immediately grabbed it by the throat and held it aloft.
With the puppet’s Magnet Release no longer controlling them, the iron spears suspended in midair collapsed one after another, dissolving into black iron sand that poured down with a rustling clatter, scattering all over the ground.
From a distance, Sasori stared at the Third Kazekage human puppet dangling from Hyuga Kagami’s hand.
His expression was exceptionally ugly.
At this moment, he was both shocked and suspicious, with even a trace of exasperation mixed in.
Although Hyuga Kagami was already panicking internally, his face remained completely impassive, revealing not the slightest hint of emotion.
And so, with both men wary of the other, they fell into a silent standoff amid the wind and swirling sand.
The longer the standoff continued, the more nervous Hyuga Kagami became.
He knew full well that he lacked the strength to back up his current appearance.
But just then, he discovered something that took him completely by surprise.
The chakra within his body was continuously surging toward the Third Kazekage human puppet he was holding in his hand.
The sudden change caught Hyuga Kagami completely off guard, but he did not dare let the slightest hint of it show on his face.
He continued staring coldly at Sasori across from him.
As he felt more and more of the chakra within his body pouring into the Third Kazekage human puppet, Hyuga Kagami’s confidence dwindled by the second.
The thought that he had only just managed to obtain the Tenseigan, only to lose his life in his very first battle, filled his heart with bitterness and unwillingness.
Clack, clack, clack…
After roughly two-thirds of the chakra in his body had poured into the Third Kazekage human puppet, the puppet dangling from Hyuga Kagami’s hand suddenly began twitching erratically.
As the human puppet twitched, the iron sand that had previously fallen across the ground after losing control began floating into the air once more.
Sasori was startled by the sight and shouted, “Damn it!
You actually know Puppet Technique?
Just who the hell are you?
Why were you supposed to meet the village’s assassination squad here?”
“Sunagakure’s assassination squad!?”
Hyuga Kagami’s heart tightened at Sasori’s words.
So the corpses he had seen lying beside Sasori earlier had actually belonged to Sunagakure’s assassination squad.
That undoubtedly meant that Sunagakure was also involved in Konoha’s purge operation.
At the same time, it meant that every member of Konoha’s upper leadership had tacitly approved of this purge.
After his initial confusion, he now understood why the Third Kazekage human puppet had suddenly been activated by him.
According to his vague memories from his previous life, the Tenseigan, much like the Rinnegan, possessed another major ability— the ability to control puppets.
The Rinnegan’s method of controlling puppets was through black rods.
The Six Paths of Pain were, in essence, puppets controlled by Nagato’s Rinnegan.
The Tenseigan, on the other hand, controlled puppets by infusing them with Tenseigan chakra.
Once enough Tenseigan chakra was injected into a puppet, it could even awaken a soul within it, granting it a certain degree of intelligence and independent consciousness.
As Hyuga Kagami vaguely remembered, Otsutsuki Toneri had relied on precisely these kinds of puppets.
Without even appearing in person, he had easily defeated Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuga Clan whose strength was approaching Kage-level, then infiltrated the village as if no one could stop him and abducted Hyuga Hanabi.
Once he understood this, Hyuga Kagami willed it with a thought.
There was no need for chakra threads.
Responding directly to Hyuga Kagami’s will, the Third Kazekage human puppet slowly floated into the air.
It moved in front of him protectively before assuming an attacking stance toward Sasori.
Only then did Hyuga Kagami say calmly, “I have no interest in eliminating Sunagakure’s missing-nin.
There’s no need for us to keep fighting.”
Sasori’s expression darkened.
“You stole one of my prized possessions.
Do you really think I’ll let you go?”
Even Sasori had begun to feel wary after witnessing the mysterious techniques Hyuga Kagami had displayed—methods unlike anything he had ever seen before.
At this moment, Sasori had already classified Hyuga Kagami as a formidable opponent capable of threatening his life.
Hyuga Kagami smiled.
“This human puppet has preserved most of the strength it possessed while alive.
I have to admit, when it comes to making puppets, you really are a genius.”
This time, Hyuga Kagami’s smile was not an act.
He was genuinely delighted.
Now that he possessed the Third Kazekage human puppet, he had effectively gained the ability to fly.
Whether he chose to fight or leave was now entirely up to him.
The reason Hyuga Kagami had not immediately withdrawn from the battlefield, and instead continued exchanging pointless words with Sasori, was simply because he was trying to figure out how to conceal his identity and prevent Sasori from hunting him down afterward.
After all, being marked by a powerhouse of Sasori’s caliber was no laughing matter.
One careless mistake, and he might end up losing his life without even knowing how it happened—just like the Third Kazekage.
“You can control a puppet without using chakra threads.
How did you do it?”
“Forget it.
Once I capture you, everything will become clear!”
With that, Sasori took out a red scroll.
At his low shout, the scroll abruptly unfurled, and figure after figure shot out from within, floating around Sasori.
They were all puppets draped in red cloaks.
There were ten of them in total, each with a different design.
Some wielded sabers, some carried swords, while others had enormous shuriken strapped to their backs.
Sasori grinned.
“Red Secret Technique: Performance of Ten Puppets!”
Watching the scene before him, Hyuga Kagami thought to himself, “Looks like Sasori hasn’t mastered the Performance of a Hundred Puppets yet at this point in time.
But even the Performance of Ten Puppets is more than enough to give me trouble!”
Clatter, clatter…
Amid the rattling and trembling of puppet joints, the ten red-robed puppets lunged toward Hyuga Kagami.
Hyuga Kagami frowned and raised his hand once more.
Wheel of Will!
Having lost two-thirds of his chakra, Hyuga Kagami was practically incapable of fighting any longer.
So after using Wheel of Will to repel the ten red-robed puppets charging toward him, he immediately leaped onto the Third Kazekage human puppet.
In an instant, the iron sand filling the air transformed into a pair of iron wings.
Carrying Hyuga Kagami, the Third Kazekage human puppet took to the sky and flew toward Mitsui Chuichi’s corpse in the distance.
Sasori, who had been sent flying along with his puppets, cursed under his breath.
“Damn it!
That move again!”
Sasori found Wheel of Will extremely troublesome.
A technique that required no hand seals and could seemingly be activated at will was particularly difficult to deal with.
However, through this latest exchange, his keen senses had also allowed him to determine that Wheel of Will had an effective range of only around fifteen meters.
He immediately changed tactics, controlling his puppets to launch long-range projectile attacks at Hyuga Kagami.
Almost without needing any instructions from Hyuga Kagami, the Third Kazekage human puppet activated Magnet Release on its own, blocking every incoming kunai and shuriken.
Sasori, pursuing from behind, saw this and his expression darkened.
He had the distinct feeling that he was being slapped in the face by his own masterpiece.
Soon, under Sasori’s control, the ten red-robed puppets switched their projectile weapons to bone senbon coated in deadly poison.
Magnet Release could not control nonmetallic objects, so the Third Kazekage human puppet transformed a portion of its iron sand into a hemispherical barrier, completely shielding their rear.
Clink!
Clang!
Clatter!
For a time, the sound of bone senbon striking the wall of iron sand rang out without end…