Sasori flew high into the sky, quickly assessing their combat strength, preparing for another round.
As the mechanisms behind him activated, the Chakra sealed in the second scroll injected into the Human Puppet's body, and he raised his left hand again.
As if intending to perish together, Sasori ignored the Wood Dragon charging towards him and sprayed a highly toxic, pungent water column towards Ino.
This was the second scroll behind him, sealing Water Release Ninjutsu and the highly corrosive poison, 'Corrosive Torrent Pillar'.
The Wood Dragon raised its head, attempting to help block the water column.
The Third Kazekage once again gathered a large amount of Iron Sand, and as the Wood Dragon raised its head, he created a giant iron cage that descended from the sky, clamping tightly onto the Wood Dragon's neck with a 'crack'.
The price was a claw strike from the Wood Dragon, leaving the Human Puppet's body covered in cracks, with many fragments falling off its torso, revealing the internal mechanisms. This Human Puppet was clearly on the verge of being scrapped.
The poisonous water sprayed by Sasori was highly corrosive, eating away at plants, trees, and buildings along its path, leaving holes of varying sizes.
Ino was also wary of the poisonous water. She quickly sank into the Wood Golem. The Wood Golem's inability to move was a major flaw, but its defense was incredibly strong. At this moment, the Wood Golem's palm rose, ignoring the corrosive toxins in the 'Corrosive Torrent Pillar', and its colossal hand grabbed a large mass of poisonous water, then flung it back towards the Third Kazekage Human Puppet.
Sasori felt a headache coming on. The Magnet Release Chakra within the Human Puppet was almost exhausted, and the Iron Sand prepared beforehand was also running low. Facing the poisonous water he himself created, he flicked his fingers repeatedly, and the Third Kazekage's Human Puppet narrowly dodged the poisonous water at the last moment. The cost was that its body was corroded with over a dozen large holes, and more than half of its body was scrapped.
Facing this combination of a Wood Golem and a Wood Dragon, even with his peak control skills, he was now completely at a disadvantage.
After fleeing the Hidden Sand Village, he hadn't encountered such a troublesome opponent in many years.
Ino was fighting more and more smoothly, but he was not.
Human Puppets were ultimately inferior to living people; the Chakra within them was limited, and the recovery speed of a Human Puppet's Chakra was far from matching its consumption rate.
The Third Kazekage's Chakra was almost completely depleted, and there was no hope of defeating Ino now.
He prided himself as an artist and had no desire to risk his life, so he immediately prepared to retreat. However, Ino had no intention of letting him go at this point.
With the Wood Dragon attacking and the Wood Golem defending, as Sasori activated the third scroll behind him, releasing a number of Human Puppets (now less than a hundred, only enough for a 'Half Puppet Mastery'), Ino unleashed a powerful technique.
'Wood Release: Descent of the Tree World!'
A sea of flowers, even larger than the one that once enveloped Konoha Village, appeared. Pale yellow pollen danced in the wind, quickly covering the Hidden Sand Village, with their battlefield being the epicenter.
The vibrant petals looked incredibly alluring, but the pollen had paralyzing properties. Upon entering the respiratory tract, one would faint within a minute. Kabuto, who was observing the battle from a distance, quickly covered his mouth and nose and fled. The Ninja of the Hidden Sand Village, including Elder Chiyo, also retreated with their subordinates.
Sasori also wanted to retreat.
His body was not afraid of pollen; let alone this much pollen, even several tons wouldn't scare him. But there was too much pollen, falling like snow, severely affecting the control of Human Puppets by Chakra threads. If a Puppet Master couldn't control their puppets, what was the point of fighting?!
Seeing his 'micro-control' falter and numerous red-robed Human Puppets enveloped by pollen, Sasori, without a word, cut off the Chakra threads of all Human Puppets in the 'Puppet Mastery'. At the same time, he used the last scroll behind him, the fourth scroll, to draw upon the Earth Release Chakra within it, preparing to escape by burrowing underground.
He hesitated noticeably when deciding whether to abandon the Third Kazekage Human Puppet.
This was his strongest collection and his most valuable Human Puppet. Without this item, Ino would have killed him ten minutes ago.
He quickly made up his mind: abandon it! His own life was clearly more important.
Sasori abandoned the Third Kazekage Human Puppet and prepared to use this powerful Human Puppet to buy himself time for his Earth Release escape.
He was very decisive, but as he cut the Chakra threads, a shocking and unscientific scene occurred.
The Third Kazekage's Human Puppet used its remaining Iron Sand to cover the Chakra threads. Sasori flicked his finger, but not only did he fail to cut the Chakra threads, the tiny Iron Sand instead traveled along the Chakra threads into his body. The almost scrapped Human Puppet slowly turned its head at this moment, looking at Sasori with those lifeless eyes.
Hatred! Fury! Resentment!
The Third Kazekage, who had been dead for many years, seemed to come alive at this moment. He clutched the Chakra threads tightly, staring intently at the genius Puppet Master he had once valued most.
"This isn't scientific at all," Sasori said calmly.
"But it's very metaphysical, isn't it?" Ino's voice followed.
Then came a loud 'boom'.
The Wood Dragon roared in. The Earth Release was only half-used before the Third Kazekage Human Puppet's Iron Sand interfered with Sasori's Chakra. Sasori stood rooted to the spot, completely unable to retaliate.
He looked up, watching the Wood Dragon bite off all his limbs and half his body. The remaining half of his torso and head were sent into the Wood Golem's right hand. In his final moments, he glanced at the Third Kazekage Human Puppet, which had lost all its luster. The Wood Golem's hand squeezed with immense power, crushing Sasori to death!
The Wood Golem released its grip, and the Human Puppet fragments turned to dust, scattering in all directions. Sasori's core was also crushed into minced meat by the Wood Golem's immense force, marking the end of everything Sasori was.
Ino looked to her right, where a humanoid phantom stood.
That was the soul of the Third Kazekage, which she had summoned during the battle using the Summoning Technique.
Even after being transformed into a puppet, the core of that Human Puppet was still his body and his Magnet Release Chakra.
A soul could slightly influence a Human Puppet.
Sasori relied too much on his science; because he had abandoned too many human organs, his sensory abilities were zero. He couldn't even see Ino openly summoning a soul.
Ino had kept this trump card unused until Sasori prepared to escape. The Third Kazekage's soul immediately controlled the remaining Magnet Release Chakra within the body, cooperating to kill the genius Puppet Master.
"Elder, I have fulfilled my promise to you. You may rest in peace."
"Thank you."
This was a personal grudge. The Third Kazekage, like the Second Mizukage before him, didn't want to waste words with Ino, a Konoha Ninja. With his great revenge achieved, his wish was fulfilled, and his soul transformed into a wisp of smoke, returning to the Pure Land.
Ino had originally thought of keeping some of Sasori's body parts to exchange for money at the Gold Exchange, but after thinking about it, she realized it wouldn't work.
This type of bounty was different from ordinary commission-based bounties. It involved too much money, and the client wouldn't hand over hundreds of millions of funds to the Gold Exchange all at once. Who would issue a bounty on Sasori? Most likely the Hidden Sand Village, and given the state of the Hidden Sand Village now, where would they get the money to pay the final installment?
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