Chapter 19: Sasori of the Red Sand Takes Action
The images in Chiyo's mind, remnants of the zombies she had glimpsed from afar, lingered. After continuous contemplation, they surprisingly overlapped with the blueprints for the Human Puppet Secret Technique she had secretly shown her grandson.
That night, five-year-old Sasori clutched the newly created Father Puppet and Mother Puppet and asked her, "Grandma, is there any jutsu that can truly make father and mother move?"
"If the Human Puppet and that level of Soul Death Technique were combined, and a completely new jutsu developed… true Human Puppets could certainly be born. No need for remote chakra string manipulation; the puppeteer could stand in a safer location and command corpses to execute missions."
At that time, by outfitting the corpses with various mechanisms to enhance their combat power, stuffing them with ninja tools tainted with potent poison, and given their emotionless, death-defying nature, they were destined to become killing machines.
The puppeteer's art of that era would undoubtedly become the most perfect system, with no weaknesses left.
The Hidden Sand Village would truly emerge from the barren desert, surviving on the fertile lands of the Land of Fire, perhaps even shaking off the accursed nobles of the Land of Wind.
Due to financial strains, the Land of Wind constantly sought opportunities to withhold military funds allocated to the Hidden Sand Village. This was no secret in the Ninja World and indeed caused discontent among many radical factions in the Hidden Sand Village.
The Hidden Sand Village was already in an extremely passive position; with further budget cuts, how could it compete with other villages? In fact, based on normal development, in a few more years, especially after the Third Great Ninja War, the Land of Wind would become even more outrageous, actively bundling a large number of domestic missions for the Hidden Leaf Village to complete. There was no other way; the Hidden Leaf Village's Ninja were cost-effective, doing things well for less money, and the Land of Wind truly couldn't refuse.
As a result, the Hidden Sand Village reached its limit, not hesitating to team up with Orochimaru to launch the Konoha Crush plan. They attempted to prove to the nobles of the Land of Wind by destroying Konoha that the Hidden Sand Village wasn't just a good-for-nothing parasite draining the national treasury, but also possessed true capabilities; and that the Hidden Leaf Village wasn't as strong as perceived, nor did it deserve all the money from the Land of Wind.
"As long as we can acquire Tsukasa Kaede's jutsu, it would be best to abduct him entirely and have him further develop this jutsu." Chiyo had become completely fixated on Tsukasa Kaede.
If the combined new jutsu were applied to the Father Puppet and Mother Puppet, along with the forbidden jutsu she was secretly researching… her son and daughter-in-law would live again in another form, and Sasori would once more have parents, preventing him from becoming increasingly cold and withdrawn.
Soon, Tsukasa Kaede's name began to spread among the Ninja of the Hidden Sand Village. Those with even a little insight realized Tsukasa Kaede's value, and many had already begun seriously researching intel related to Tsukasa Kaede and formulating operational plans to hunt him.
Without the advantage of intel, Tsukasa Kaede's deterrent power sharply diminished by more than half.
As for the intel that Tsukasa Kaede was a Genin, many simply ignored it. It was ridiculous to even consider that; someone capable of developing the Soul Death Technique and utilizing corpses to a level where they could briefly withstand a Chikamatsu Puppet—no one would truly evaluate Tsukasa Kaede by Genin standards. He might even be a Chunin by now.
A few days later.
In a three-story building in the southwest region of the Hidden Sand Village, Sasori stood expressionlessly by the window, gazing at the wind and sand outside. After a long moment, he turned, walked down the stairs, and headed directly into the basement.
Sasori was assembling a puppet's skull.
A chakra scalpel precisely removed decaying flesh, revealing the puppet's synaptic interface. As he embedded the final cheekbone into the puppet's face, the puppet, submerged in preservative fluid, suddenly twitched a finger.
"This level of human puppet is far from enough… the technique isn't sufficient, and there aren't enough materials for experiments."
Sasori's pupils constricted in the eerie blue liquid. He opened his experiment log and frantically revised it, images of his parents' deaths playing on a loop in his mind: Sakumo Hatake's short blade slicing open his father's chest, his mother creating an opening to protect him…
"If they were human puppets, this wouldn't have happened. Even if Konoha's White Fang attacked them many times, it wouldn't inflict fatal injuries." There was no emotional fluctuation in Sasori's voice; his world now consisted solely of the human puppets before him.
If he could acquire that Konoha Ninja's Soul Death Technique, it might significantly advance the research and development of human puppets, bringing him a step closer to eternity, Sasori mused silently.
Of the recent war reports from the front line, only Tsukasa Kaede had piqued his interest.
Chiyo didn't want him to get involved with human puppets too early, but it was useless. Sasori's mastery of puppets was too profound, and the village also needed him to utilize his talents in this area.
What, are you asking if this would warp Sasori's psyche? There's absolutely no need to worry; the Ninja World has no shortage of madmen with twisted psyches. There are countless Ninja whose parents, children, or friends have been killed, far too many to count. Rather than worrying about such trivial matters, it's better to exploit the full value of talented individuals early on, lest they suddenly die one day, which would be a true loss for the village.
Just then, the secret room's door suddenly slid open, and the maid's spectacles glinted with a cold reflection: "Lord Sasori, I've come to bring you tea."
Sasori's puppet strings instantly wrapped around her throat. He said coldly, "Where is my original attendant?"
"Have I been discovered? How remarkable."
Nonō Yakushi, clad in the disguise of a Hidden Sand medical Ninja, uttered this exclamation. The scroll in her arms contained a deployment map of the Hidden Sand Village. At the first-floor entrance lay the real maid—the bloodstain from the cut on her throat cleverly concealed, her posture made to look like she was lazily dozing off.
"Your infiltration jutsu is decent, but your disguise is too crude. Your heartbeat and scent are wrong, and my attendant would never enter the basement," Sasori said coldly.
"Is that so? It seems I can't treat you like an ordinary child… I apologize for the disguise; I'm pressed for time and could be surrounded by your village's Ninja at any moment, so I didn't have the energy to meticulously handle the details."
Nonō Yakushi sighed, looking at the numerous puppets, a few corpses, and several half-finished human puppets blocking Sasori's path.
"It seems the mission to take you away has failed. I can't defeat you in an instant, let alone quietly take you with me. However, I didn't expect the Hidden Sand Village to have researched human puppets to this extent, possessing a certain practical combat value. I will relay this important intel back to the village."
Nonō Yakushi was somewhat regretful, but these gains were already sufficient.
If she delayed any longer, she wouldn't even be able to leave herself. She couldn't die yet; those war orphans still needed her protection.
"Wait, I haven't permitted you to leave yet."
Sasori of the Red Sand abruptly tightened the chakra strings on his hands, but his expression changed the next second as Nonō Yakushi used a chakra scalpel to sever all the chakra strings wrapped around her.
"A medical Ninja?"
Nonō Yakushi replied, "So you should know that many of your jutsu are useless against me. It would be better to let me leave peacefully, otherwise, I'll have no choice but to take you hostage… I dislike using force against children."
Sasori of the Red Sand said indifferently, "Kaedence you're a Konoha spy, there's even less reason for you to leave. There's something I need to ask you clearly about. Do you know that individual skilled in using the Soul Death Technique? I'm very interested in him; we can exchange intel."
(end of chapter)