At this moment, both the Sand Ninja from Huang Sha's faction and Yura's faction stared blankly at the Third Kazekage.
The appearance of this Human Puppet hadn't changed much, and with its iconic Magnet Release, the Sand Ninja all recognized the true identity of this Human Puppet: their Kazekage, who had been missing for many years, now appearing in this grotesque form before them. For them, it was truly a desecration.
The leader of a Village, the strongest Kazekage, had now become like this?
With plants still growing wildly around them, Ino and Sasori exchanged more than ten blows. Seeing that she couldn't win in a short time, she used Earth Release to dive underground, then hid behind a tree, secretly observing Sasori for weaknesses.
A Human Puppet's body doesn't get sick, is immune to many physical damages, immune to toxins, and doesn't need to consider issues like hunger, thirst, or dopamine secretion. While it can't achieve eternal life or perfect health, it extends the lifespan far beyond that of ordinary humans.
Sasori's Hiruko was exceptionally sturdy. Ino's vines wrapped around it several times, only to be cut by Hiruko's sharp, blade-like scorpion tail.
Sasori even released more than ten red-robed Human Puppets. These Human Puppets, wielding sharp blades, continuously chopped at the surrounding plants.
The Third Kazekage's Human Puppet watched menacingly, searching for Ino's trace within the dense, impenetrable forest.
Human Puppets don't need to form hand signs. With a thought from Sasori, the regeneration core issued commands, and the Human Puppet's Chakra moved left and right. Dense Sand Iron covered most of the battlefield, quickly pinpointing Ino's location.
"Found you."
Sasori flicked a finger, and the mechanism on the Third Kazekage's left chest opened. The surrounding Sand Iron quickly converged, forming a triangular Sand Iron Truncated Pyramid several meters long.
The Sand Iron Truncated Pyramid was entirely black and incredibly heavy. Under magnetic control, it whistled as it flew towards Ino's position.
Innumerable plants along its path were torn to shreds by the heavy, sharp Sand Iron Truncated Pyramid. Just as it was about to reach Ino, a massive, dark green arm appeared out of nowhere, grabbing the over three-meter-long Sand Iron Truncated Pyramid as if it were a toy.
Ino maintained her hand sign, a few tiny beads of sweat appearing on her forehead: "Wood Release: Wood Human Technique!"
Her Lv3 Wood Release and 10 points of 'Essence' made using the Wood Human Technique a bit strenuous. Like a basic Susanoo, her Chakra was currently only enough to manifest the upper half of a plant giant. The bottom? The bottom was gone!
Even with only the upper half, this was still the Wood Human Technique, capable of withstanding a Tailed Beast Ball.
At this moment, the Wood Human was seen grabbing the Sand Iron Truncated Pyramid created by the Third Kazekage with one hand, raising its arm, and with even greater force, throwing it back.
Sasori was somewhat surprised.
He naturally recognized the Wood Human Technique, which the First Hokage used to suppress the Ninja World. The enemy before him was far stronger than anticipated.
Hiruko's defense was high, but its mobility was extremely low.
Facing the Sand Iron Truncated Pyramid thrown back like a meteor, he had no time to dodge.
The Third Kazekage continuously used his Magnet Release ability, attempting to interfere with the Sand Iron Truncated Pyramid's flight path, but the Wood Human's strength was too great. The magnetic field only caused a slight, almost negligible deviation in the pyramid's trajectory.
More than ten red-robed Human Puppets formed a human wall to block it, but in the end, it was futile. They, along with Sasori's Hiruko, were smashed to pieces by the incredibly heavy Sand Iron Truncated Pyramid!
With a loud 'crunch,' the Sand Iron Truncated Pyramid directly hit Hiruko, like a foot stepping on a cockroach. Ino pressed her advantage, standing on the Wood Human's head, controlling the surrounding trees to grow wildly. Soon, the Wood Human held a bow and arrow. The Wood Human drew the bow, and in the next second, a giant wooden arrow, carrying a strong wind, shot towards Sasori's position.
There was a loud 'boom.'
The arrow pierced into the earth, shaking the ground. The entire Hidden Sand Village swayed twice.
Compared to Lord Madara's over two hundred-meter-tall Susanoo, or Kakashi's one hundred eighty-meter-tall Susanoo, Ino's current twenty-meter-tall half-Wood Human looked truly pathetic. But she had no choice; this was her current level. If Yamato were here, he couldn't even use the Wood Dragon Technique, let alone the Wood Human Technique.
Ino sensed Sasori's Chakra. Sure enough, the guy was still alive. She continued to draw her bow and fire arrows.
Her sensory ability locked onto the target, and she fired another arrow.
This time, Sasori was prepared. He hadn't fought with his true body for many years, and he hadn't fully emerged from Hiruko yet. He quickly manipulated the Third Kazekage to deploy an incredibly thick Sand Iron shield in front of him.
After piercing the Sand Iron shield, the Wood Release arrow lost its power. Ino re-concentrated her Chakra, controlled the Wood Human, and fired another arrow.
The outer Sand Ninja were all bewildered. What was with the rumbling, thunder-like sounds in the Village? What was that tall humanoid creature? All sorts of rumors spread.
Some said Konoha Ninja had launched a full-scale invasion, others that the Third Kazekage had turned into a vengeful spirit. The villagers, already running around in panic due to the "Madmen," descended into full-blown terror.
Even if there were someone to command them, it wouldn't have mattered.
After three arrows, Ino felt a huge depletion of Chakra, almost one-tenth of her Chakra per arrow. She stood on the Wood Human's head, and the recovery ability of her basic Sage Body began to work, quickly replenishing her depleted Chakra.
"What an incredible Bloodline Limit. I want to collect your body." Sasori's true body emerged from Hiruko. His face was delicate, like a rather sunny boy next door.
But if one looked closely, they would notice that his eyes, face, and even the muscles on his body were stiff. His body had long been dead; he was now a true shell.
The Third Kazekage's Human Puppet guarded his left, and Orochimaru's Human Puppet guarded his right. On the ground, besides the remnants of Hiruko, there were dozens of shattered red-robed Human Puppets. About half of his Puppet Mastery was ruined.
These Human Puppets were all shattered by the Wood Human's immense strength. Repair them? He could certainly repair them if he wanted to, but he didn't have time now.
"Why bother? You can't beat me at all. You go back to your Akatsuki Organization, and I'll go back to my Konoha Village, how about it?" Ino wasn't particularly keen on a death match with Sasori here. It was pointless.
"I must take your body and add it to my collection!" Sasori no longer felt anger, but seeing his many precious collections and the Hiruko he had used for years shattered, that sense of loss still made him hate Ino to death.
You simply don't understand art! You only know how to smash things with big wooden stakes with a "DuangDuang"!
Ino also got a little annoyed: "It's not certain who will collect whom, grandson! Today, I'll teach you a lesson on behalf of your grandmother!"
This guy was taking more than his share. Others got one uniform, he got two.
Hiruko wore one Akatsuki Organization coat, and his inner true body also wore one. At this point, the coat was severely damaged. Sasori ripped off the coat, revealing his intricately structured puppet body, with only a pair of dark blue trousers remaining.
From the outline, there was truly nothing below; it was cut very cleanly!
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