Chapter 251: Sasori, the Micromanagement Master
The final technique Konan used, wrapping the Steaming Danger Tyranny with her paper, was incredibly draining. That particular kind of paper was completely different from her usual paper; that one move alone consumed nearly a third of her chakra. Coupled with fighting for half the day before that, how much chakra could she possibly have left? Sealing tags would be more than sufficient.
After binding Konan's hands and feet, Ino sensed the surroundings. Obito, Pain, and the others shouldn't be nearby, but it was better to be safe. She created four Shadow Clones and had them erect a Four Violet Flames Formation, enclosing a small area. Then, her main body sat on Konan to rest.
"Damn it! White Tiger's been captured?" Deidara was still quite concerned about the 'little sister' he didn't share blood with, constantly glancing over in that direction. When the Four Violet Flames Formation rose, he knew things had gone terribly wrong. Their organization's only female member had most likely been defeated, which was utterly humiliating.
"Lord Sasori? Should we...?"
Sasori, limited in height while controlling the Performance of a Hundred Puppets, could still see the Four Violet Flames Formation. Ino setting up this sealing barrier was also a way to exert psychological pressure on them: Your comrade is down, aren't you going to run?
"What's the rush?" Lord Sasori didn't show a hint of panic. He calmly watched the Leaf ninjas fight his human puppets to the death, as relaxed as if he were watching an unremarkable stage play.
First Kakashi, and now Asuma. He directed his hundred-plus human puppets to attack, defend, or retreat, coordinating pincer movements and flanking maneuvers. When two, three, five, or ten human puppets swarmed a single ninja, attacking from all sides, no one could hold their ground.
Ino watched from a distance. She had also secretly practiced puppet manipulation for a few days and understood a bit about the art. Outsiders only saw the difficulty of the manipulation, but Ino noticed Sasori had an immense amount of chakra. This guy was just a mere core now, yet he still had this much chakra! Human puppets were somewhat like Kimimaro planted in the ground – their own cells weren't completely dead, and they had chakra within their bodies. However, controlling them with chakra threads still consumed the user's own chakra. Sasori simultaneously controlling over a hundred human puppets was like creating over a hundred Shadow Clones at once. This guy's own chakra reserves were frighteningly large.
Ino had taken down Konan, and Kakashi and Sasuke also held the upper hand against Deidara. Asuma wasn't aiming for success, but simply to avoid failure. He responded calmly, primarily focusing on defense at this moment.
Two human puppets, one on the left and one on the right, extended their arms, bright blades in their palms thrusting towards his chest. His tall frame was incredibly nimble, dodging and weaving. His chakra blades glowed with a faint blue light; the Wind Style chakra cut through human puppets like tofu. A sidestep allowed him to evade a blade, then he swept his arm outwards, severing a puppet's neck with a single slash, before following up with a kick that sent another puppet flying.
Genma Shiranui and Raidō Namiashi's coordination was extremely fluid. They stayed close to Asuma, and in less than ten seconds, four or five human puppets had fallen before the three of them. But with a mere thought from Sasori, the defeated human puppets, still connected by chakra threads, rose back to their feet.
After familiarizing themselves with Asuma, Genma, and Raidō's techniques, these human puppets, which still bore a faint resemblance to living people, began to sway their heads and use incredibly precise coordination to block the trio. The human puppet in the third row, first column on the left, thrust at Asuma's right shoulder, while the human puppet in the fifth row, seventh column on the right, retreated half a meter and fired poisoned needles at Genma Shiranui.
Sasori was like an incredibly precise computer, splitting his concentration into over a hundred parts, yet controlling everything with perfect order and fluidity, as if simply moving his own limbs. If this were his previous life, he would be a textbook micromanagement master!
"How can this be? Aren't these just puppets?" Raidō Namiashi parried with a reversed kunai, struggling awkwardly under the combined assault of two human puppets. He hadn't felt they were particularly difficult to deal with before, but in the blink of an eye, they seemed to have gotten stronger as the human puppets "died and came back to life"?
Genma Shiranui was the leader of "Genma's Squad" and had more combat experience. He could still maintain his attack rhythm while being surrounded by five or six human puppets. He reminded his teammates, "These are indeed Sand Village puppets. The opponent's manipulation technique is extremely advanced, and they've also seen through the weaknesses of our techniques in the previous fight."
"Seen through? Is it some kind of Kekkei Genkai?" Raidō Namiashi immediately thought of the Sharingan.
Genma Shiranui didn't think so. "This guy was the genius puppeteer back then. His combat talent is unparalleled. He must have analyzed it through his own ingenuity." Someone who can control over a hundred human puppets in battle, analyze their Taijutsu and Ninjutsu weaknesses, and then use puppet manipulation to defeat them... can someone truly achieve such a feat through sheer intellect?
Genma Shiranui exhaled sharply. "Think of the Fourth Hokage. This guy in front of us is the same type of ninja as the Fourth."
Asuma bore the greatest pressure. Over twenty human puppets were attempting to stab him with various blades. Looking at their sickly green and grey colors, he knew the toxins on them were absolutely astonishing.
From a distance, Ino was also contemplating how she should fight Sasori. Poison? That option was immediately rejected. Sasori had converted his entire body into a human puppet; only that bizarre regeneration core remained flesh. Could such a piece of meat even be poisoned? All her various poison-based attack methods were rendered useless. As for Flower Style, without the sensory-confusing abilities and the pollen that caused numerous complications, its actual lethality based solely on vines was quite low. Even if she used Flower Style, Sasori could use the Third Kazekage. With a gust of wind, oh boy, all the pollen would be gone...
Ino felt a headache coming on; Sasori countered her perfectly. Not only did Sasori have a massive amount of chakra, but his Ninjutsu, Wisdom, Speed, and Hand Seals stats were also at extremely high levels.
Raidō Namiashi, who had long served as a guard for the Third and Fourth Hokages, now became the weakest link. As he became the focus of attack, he was hit by the human puppets' poisoned kunai three times within three seconds.
While Sasori unleashed poisoned needles, Deidara also scattered countless clay spiders towards the ninjas surrounding him. Surrounded by Kakashi and Sasuke, the Lightning Style combination, and a host of other Leaf ninjas, Deidara was hard-pressed, clearly about to collapse.
To protect Naruto, the back of one of the sword-wielding samurai was struck by over ten poisoned needles. Hayate Gekko, protecting Yugao Uzuki like Deadpool, attempted to slash the poisoned needles with his sword, but ended up being hit by seven or eight poisoned needles in his shoulders, chest, abdomen, and arms. Shino Aburame, who was close by, also took two poisoned needles.
"Retreat!"
As Sasori unleashed poisoned needles, Deidara also threw countless clay spiders, forcing the Leaf ninjas back. They attempted a rescue of Konan, trapped within the Four Red Yang Formation, but Kakashi and Asuma desperately blocked them. Seeing there was truly no opportunity, they could only ride Deidara's clay giant bird and flee the battlefield.
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