At the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rain, Shiraishi and Sasori of the Red Sand—two elite ninjas hailing from the same village—officially ignited a fierce battle!
Facing Sasori's ambush, Shiraishi decided to use overwhelming force to strike back. The moment the Sage's Blade unsheathed, the surrounding air erupted in violent currents. Even Sasori felt a tremor of shock at Shiraishi's sheer aura.
As expected of the one who surpassed the previous Kazekage... though only eighteen, such power is truly enviable.
While Sasori wished to wait for Shiraishi to mature further, he knew that as Shiraishi's strength skyrocketed, the probability of capturing him and turning him into a Human Puppet was dwindling toward zero. This desperate gamble was the only window Sasori had left.
"Sasori, you picked a bad time to cause me trouble."
Shiraishi had dropped the honorific "Senior," his voice dripping with cold fury. He rotated his silver blade, unleashing a vast surge of atmospheric pressure.
"It is because you cling to something as fleeting as a 'village' that you remain imperfect," Sasori countered. "Eternity is the only truth."
"Utterly delusional!"
Even if it would be difficult to explain this to Lady Chiyo later, Shiraishi could not afford to stop here while the Sand faced an existential crisis.
Furthermore, Sasori's obsession only served to fuel Shiraishi's irritation. To block his path home for such a trivial pursuit was unforgivable.
With a roar of chakra, the Sage's Blade transformed into a domineering wave of slicing energy!
First Strike: Destruction. Combining the Cyclone Attack and Whirlwind Blade, the sharpness of Shiraishi's Wind Style was undeniable.
The first row of dozens of Human Puppets had their heads severed instantly. As the air vortex swirled, it created a self-sustaining cycle of vacuum slashes, while the silver sand beneath Shiraishi's feet began to coalesce.
However, the fallen puppet heads suddenly fired a barrage of poisoned needles under the control of chakra threads!
Shiraishi had faced Hanzo and Chiyo—both masters of poison—, but Sasori was arguably the greatest toxicologist in the world.
Long before leaving the Sand, he had mastered thousands of chemical combinations. Shiraishi manifested a Magnetic Wall to intercept the projectiles, but the needles were non-magnetic and punched straight through.
"I knew you were a master of Magnet Release. Did you think I wouldn't prepare?"
In the shadows, Sasori—possessing a face even younger than Shiraishi's—watched the battle. Behind him, a Scarlet Control Mirror appeared, controlling a legion of puppets to swarm Shiraishi.
It was the very design Shiraishi had once sketched; Sasori had perfectly replicated and improved it. With the aid of the mirror, Sasori's Red Secret Technique was more devastating than ever.
Then, the Third Kazekage Puppet appeared.
This was Sasori's masterpiece. Its right hand could manifest multiple large blades for wide-range attacks, while the left housed a summoning seal that released a thousand mechanical arms laced with toxic gas.
Most dangerously, it retained the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai, allowing it to manipulate Iron Sand. If the Iron Sand invaded a body or a puppet, it could cause total paralysis.
Secret Technique: Thousand Hands Manipulation!
Thousands of puppet arms surged toward Shiraishi alongside clouds of poison. Shiraishi countered by twisting his silver blade; the cyclone on his blade actually guided the poison mist back toward Sasori, while his whirlwind slashes carved through the mechanical limbs.
Shiraishi took to the sky, his silver sand wings firing a "Sand Drizzle" of needles to clash with the Third Kazekage's Iron Sand World Order.
"Too strong... It's wonderful. Such power!" Sasori's eyes filled with a fanatic's light, looking at Shiraishi as if viewing a priceless work of art.
On the ground, six silver rings began to float, intersecting at six specific cardinal points.
"This technique isn't perfect yet, but it's enough for you, Sasori."
Sasori's heart skipped a beat. This was a technique he had never seen. Clearly, Shiraishi had developed something revolutionary during his two-year training.
Space-Time Ninjutsu?
The moment Shiraishi touched one ring, he vanished, reappearing at another coordinate to dive down with his silver blade at blinding speed.
Although the "Dimensional Holes" within the rings were not fully formed, they created a stable Dimensional Body Flicker corridor, allowing Shiraishi to teleport between them.
The Hidden Sand Village
Just as Ryoko Yamaji finished deploying the village barrier, a massive tremor shook the earth. A strange light seeped into the cracks of the sand, and the barrier began to... reverse.
"A Barrier Reversal?! How is this possible?!"
Ryoko's face paled. To reverse a barrier and trap the defenders inside required not only a mastery of the specific formula but a level of sand control superior to the caster's own.
Is it the Uchiha?
As it turned out, while the Leaf army swarmed the outskirts, a middle-aged Uchiha ninja was forcing his Sharingan to the limit.
Uchiha Zhan, son of the legendary Kagami Uchiha and uncle to Shisui, was acting as the Third Hokage's trump card.
As a member of the pro-Hokage faction within the clan, he was sacrificing his eyesight to turn the Sand's own defense against them.
"Zhan, can your body hold out?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked.
"Lord Third... I am fine. The Sand is now trapped by their own technique," Zhan replied, blood seeping from the corners of his eyes.
"Since the Sand chose to harbor Black Mist Shiraishi, they must be prepared for the wrath of the Leaf," Danzo declared, stepping forward with his cane.
He looked at the Uchiha with a hint of his usual disdain but quickly turned his gaze toward the village, his heart swelling with ambition.
"Sand ninjas... your end has come!"
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed. Claim early access on Patreon: Patreon.com/kazama677
🔓 You hold the keys to bonus chapters:💬 10 reviews ignite 1 bonus chapter🔷 60 Power Stones summon another
🔥 Your power determines how fast the tale unfolds.