"Kamui!"
Kakashi unleashed the Mangekyō Sharingan's power. Instantly, Deidara felt his whole body twist under a strange force, wracked with pain. He broke free in a panic, sweating profusely.
"Hey, hey, what the hell is this power?!"
"A space–time jutsu? So Kakashi actually knows something like that? Oh, right—he was the Fourth Hokage's student."
Sasori recalled, then warned, "Deidara, get higher, or you'll be hit."
"Got it!"
Deidara urged the giant clay bird higher into the sky. But Kakashi had already shifted his Kamui's target onto the bird itself.
With a ripping sound, the clay bird was warped away by Kamui. Deidara, Sasori, and Gaara's corpse plummeted from the sky. Kakashi dropped to one knee, breathing heavily—the technique had drained a tremendous amount of chakra.
So… it really can't be used recklessly. Obito… just where are you?
Chiyo flicked out chakra threads, snagged Gaara, and pulled him back.
"Gaara!!!"
Naruto leapt up to catch him. Seeing the cracks marring Gaara's face, Naruto's eyes widened with fury.
"AAAAHHHH!!!"
A torrent of hateful chakra erupted from him, surging skyward in a column so intense it was visible from afar. He could no longer restrain his rage.
Kiyosuke immediately stepped in—
Smack!
Naruto was struck across the face, stunned into silence. The outburst of chakra receded, and clarity returned to his eyes. Breathing hard, he forced the rampaging power back down.
Chiyo sighed with regret, looking at Gaara.
"My decision back then still doomed him. This old woman has done nothing but make mistakes her entire life…"
Deidara and Sasori landed not far away. Sasori's puppet, Hiruko, unfolded onto the ground, its scorpion-like tail swaying.
"Deidara, looks like we won't be escaping today," Sasori said flatly. "We'll have to settle this here and now."
Though, in all likelihood, it'll be our lives that end.
"If worst comes to worst, I'll show them my ultimate art!" Deidara grinned. "Took me a long time to perfect it. Though that guy…" He eyed Kiyosuke as he stood tall again. "Doesn't look like he'll go down easily."
"Of course not. The only real counter to him is Water Release. But I've made some adjustments to Hiruko since last time."
Kiyosuke glanced toward Chiyo.
"Don't you want to speak to your adorable grandson?"
"Heh… Kiyosuke-kun, this old woman would like nothing more than to speak with him. But he hides inside that puppet… even catching a glimpse of his face is nearly impossible."
"Then how about I drag him out for you?"
"I'd be grateful."
"Good!"
Kiyosuke laughed, clenching his fists. Flames burst along his arms, so hot they raised the air's temperature around him.
"Don't underestimate me! I rebuilt Hiruko just for fighting you!"
With a mechanical click, compartments on Hiruko's back sprang open, spewing out dozens of scrolls. The puppet's hands formed seals, the scrolls bursting with power—massive torrents of water rained down.
Kiyosuke was drenched. The flames on his body sputtered out.
"Now!" Sasori commanded.
Hiruko's arm shot forward and split apart, launching a storm of poisoned steel needles. Its maw opened wide like a cracked orange, firing even more.
"In this state you're solid! With this many projectiles, there's no way you can dodge!"
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
A wall of water surged up, blocking the barrage.
"You're right, I am solid right now," Kiyosuke said calmly. "But precisely because of that weakness, I made sure to learn Water Release. What's wrong? No one told you? Don't tell me… you seriously didn't know I can use Water Release? Really?!"
"Damn it!"
From the side, Chiyo chuckled.
"You brat—you did that on purpose. With your speed, dodging would've been simple."
"More or less."
Kiyosuke smirked.
"Dodging isn't hard. But I'd rather see what tricks your grandson has prepared besides this."
"I've got plenty!"
From Hiruko's mouth extended a tube, firing a thin jet of water sharp enough to slice trees clean in half, leaving perfectly smooth cuts.
"So dangerous!" Chiyo exclaimed.
But Kiyosuke was already in motion. In a flash, he appeared before Hiruko, crushing its head in his palm. The water blade sputtered and died.
Hiruko's tail lashed forward, but Kiyosuke flicked a kunai, deflecting it aside.
Water dripped from the tail's tip.
"Hah. Poison and water together, huh? A clever trick—force me into solid form, then make me careless, stab me with that tail, and let the poison do the rest. Truly dirty work, puppet masters."
As he spoke, he stomped down, shattering Hiruko's body.
From the wreckage, a black-cloaked figure emerged, landing beside Deidara.
Chiyo's voice trembled.
"So you finally came out… This old woman needed someone else's help just to see her grandson's face again. I really have grown old."
"And what good will it do you to see me?"
The voice was nothing like Hiruko's. It was young.
Kiyosuke's eyes narrowed.
"I've no idea what you're babbling about, Asakawa Kiyosuke. You're as strange as ever."
The figure pulled back his hood. A face still in its teens stared back at them, shocking Chiyo to her core.
"N-no… impossible… your face… You turned yourself into a human puppet?"
She stumbled back, unable to accept the truth. She had always known her grandson was extreme… but not this extreme. To turn even his own body into a puppet? Judging by his appearance, he must have done it years ago, soon after leaving Sunagakure.
"You see it, don't you, Grandma Chiyo? This is eternal art."
Though a human puppet, Sasori's expression was lifelike, animated with frightening realism. His research into human puppets had reached a terrifying pinnacle—another form of immortality, not unlike Orochimaru's.
Both had found ways to live on. Orochimaru through replacing vessels with his soul, Sasori by preserving his core within an artificial body.
Kiyosuke clapped slowly, eyes gleaming.
"No matter what you've done, you can't turn every part of yourself into a puppet. Human puppets can't generate chakra. That means there's still a piece of flesh somewhere in you. And if I smash it, you'll die."
His words wiped the faint smile from Sasori's face, replacing it with shadow.