Chapter 157 – A Trustworthy Person
For a genius like Sasori, if you failed to kill him in one shot and gave him a second chance, the battle would turn into an experience grind, leveling him up—and at an incredibly efficient rate.
"Neji, try to trace the chakra threads. See if you can find the source..."
For a puppet master, the chakra threads controlling their puppets were vital. If not hidden properly, they could be traced back to the source and the user would be killed.
"I can't. There's no clear trail..." Neji shook his head.
"You can see the threads though, right?"
"Yes, I can see them," Neji explained. "But there are too many disguises. The source is completely obscured."
As someone with the Byakugan, Neji could easily detect chakra threads within range—but discerning the origin was a different matter altogether.
"I see..." Mizuki was disappointed, though he had somewhat expected it.
If Sasori had already set up such a sophisticated strategy, he certainly wouldn't get caught on such a minor detail.
Controlling chakra threads wasn't difficult—there were many techniques.
Mizuki himself had mastered methods like breaking and reconnecting chakra threads.
There was no way a master puppeteer like Sasori wouldn't know them.
Using such tricks, his real body's location was practically impossible to detect.
Mizuki's gaze swept past Neji and paused on Shino.
But ultimately, he didn't ask Shino to try.
"If even the Byakugan can't find him, bugs won't help either.
Bugs are good at sensing chakra, but they lack intelligence. They can't distinguish details."
The problem in front of Mizuki was a real headache.
In the past, when his power was lacking, he'd always operated from the shadows—relying on superior information and carefully crafted countermeasures.
That often let him defeat stronger enemies.
But this time, against Sasori, even though Mizuki wasn't at a disadvantage in raw power for once, he was being tactically countered.
"Neji, Shino, and Aoba's info isn't confidential.
With Yura as a spy, it makes sense Sasori adjusted his tactics.
But why be this cautious?
Could it be... the one-time Rinnegan display left too deep of an impression, making him overestimate me?"
A small detail change had led to a chain reaction, gradually weakening Mizuki's information advantage.
Now that he was stepping into the spotlight, he was starting to be the one getting outplayed.
He knew Sasori wasn't deliberately targeting him.
It was simply caution—timidness that just happened to hit Mizuki's weak point and created the very situation he least wanted to see.
If he deactivated Sage Mode, his sensory perception would improve dramatically.
That wouldn't guarantee locating Sasori's real body—but it would help avoid many traps.
However, without Sage Mode, Mizuki would lose his overwhelming battle power.
Against the Third Kazekage human puppet, he wouldn't stand a chance.
"Mizuki, what should we do?" Aoba saw the impasse. "Should we regroup with the Sand?"
Mizuki turned to glance at the Sand team's side.
Kakuzu and Hidan had already engaged them.
It was still early—mostly probing attacks.
The cautious Maki led Yura and Makie to fend off Hidan's aggressive strikes.
Facing such a lunatic, Maki didn't dare go all in.
As for Kakuzu, the dangerous one—he wasn't doing anything.
He seemed to be analyzing the situation or just observing...
But he kept looking toward Mizuki's side with a chilling stare that made one feel uneasy.
"Not for now."
Mizuki rejected the idea of regrouping.
Kakuzu and Hidan weren't any easier than Sasori.
In fact, Mizuki would rather deal with Sasori.
Kakuzu was just too hard to kill, and his destructive power was insane.
Hidan, without prior intel, was a massive wildcard.
Mizuki couldn't guarantee protecting all three of his temporary subordinates—and with Yura's suspicious presence, it was better to keep distance.
"Then what should we do?" Aoba pressed.
Fighting an enemy hidden in the dark while you stood in the light was... hard.
Mizuki didn't know either.
Prolonging this with Sasori was the worst option.
There was a reason clones and substitutes were so valued—
a good one could completely shift the tide.
Just like Mizuki's fake Jinchuriki had helped him rise this far.
Sasori's puppet clones—combined with his mastery of puppetry—were even more troublesome.
They were solid entities and hard to distinguish from the real one.
Even if each puppet was weaker than Sasori's true self, they were still stronger than most ninja.
And every time Sasori attacked, Mizuki had to go all out—just in case it was the real one.
Without being able to identify the true body, he couldn't afford to underestimate any of them.
It was a tactic Mizuki had often used himself—
now the tables were turned.
"We need a solution fast." Mizuki turned to Aoba.
"Later, use your summoned crows along with Shino's bugs to help Neji probe suspicious locations.
Follow the chakra threads and try to narrow down the possibilities."
Right now, it was a desperate move—but it was all they had.
Sage Mode wasn't infinite.
Even with the Concealment Technique and its chakra reserves, Mizuki's stamina was nowhere near a real Jinchuriki's.
If he ran out, the battle would be over.
While Mizuki struggled, the Sand team was also in trouble.
A truly immortal fighter, huh?
No wonder he's in the same organization as someone like Sasori.
They're all monsters… and then there's that one...
Maki glanced nervously at Kakuzu, who was just standing still.
After initially revealing his overwhelming strength, Kakuzu had gone passive—
not attacking at all.
"Earth Release techniques…?
Such advanced elemental manipulation is terrifying."
Even without revealing his Earth Grudge Fear, Kakuzu's elemental attacks alone could dominate most of the ninja world.
Why he was ignoring his partner's fight and watching Mizuki instead was a mystery.
Regardless, the three-on-one against Hidan wasn't going well.
Despite several clean hits—including vital spots—Hidan kept charging forward, seemingly unaffected.
In fact, he thrived on the pain.
Maki could tell: Hidan's mental state was absolutely unstable.
"Unpredictable behavior...
This is the worst kind of opponent."
As a strategist, Maki didn't fear strong enemies—he feared those who didn't follow logic.
Unpredictable lunatics were the worst.
"Makie, use your sealing jutsu.
We can't drag this out—we'll get worn down."
"Understood."
"Yura, disrupt his weapon—that triple-bladed scythe is too much trouble."
"Fine, but hurry—we can't hold him off forever."
"I'll help too," Maki said.
Seeing Kakuzu wasn't intervening, he focused fully on Hidan.
To be honest, without Hidan's weird immortality and Jashinist rituals, his actual combat ability was average.
No genjutsu, barely passable taijutsu, and slow for his tier.
In a fair three-on-one, Hidan couldn't win.
"You sure you don't want help, Hidan?"
Kakuzu turned back from watching Mizuki and Sasori's fight.
"I got this."
"Fine. Hurry up. We've got other things to do."
Kakuzu didn't like Hidan's drawn-out fighting—but there wasn't much he could do.
He still hadn't figured out a way to kill him, after all.
While Konoha and Suna struggled, Iwagakure remained neutral, still observing.
"Are we being ignored?"
Black Zetsu's daughter—Black Soil—was clearly frustrated.
They were supposed to be transporting Deidara, a high-value target, yet the enemy had ignored them entirely.
Sure, Konoha and Suna had revealed great power, enough to draw enemy focus.
But for proud Iwa-nin, being overlooked still stung.
"It's fine."
Aka Tsuchi calmly replied.
"Letting them clash is better. Less risk for us."
Iwagakure's forces here weren't the strongest individually.
But they had their unified tactics and formation skills—which were deadly in wartime.
Against elite foes, however, those tactics lost effectiveness.
In fact, they risked massive casualties.
At this level, raw strength trumped numbers.
Only Aka Tsuchi and Black Soil had any hope of real combat.
"We can't just watch forever..."
Black Soil was nervous.
If the others failed and Deidara wasn't secured, they'd have to make a hard choice.
If they couldn't retrieve him, better to kill him on the spot.
Back when he defected, Iwa hadn't pursued him aggressively.
Now he was part of a terror organization targeting the Five Great Nations.
Letting him fall back into enemy hands wasn't an option.
Even if Iwagakure was willing to let him go out of sentiment,
Konoha and Suna definitely wouldn't.
"Let me think." Aka Tsuchi nodded.
He considered the possibility of enemy reinforcements or traps.
Three had appeared—there could easily be more.
"Let's move toward Konoha's position…"
He finally made his decision.
"What? Shouldn't we support the stronger Sand Village?" Black Soil asked.
"You're still too young." Aka Tsuchi shook his head.
"Sand looks strong—but their enemies are stronger.
Konoha was caught off guard, that's all.
Their true strength hasn't even shown yet.
And most importantly—the Sand can't be trusted.
If they were truly reliable, Mizuki wouldn't be refusing their help."
---
Read up to 20 chapter ahead of time on patreon.com/Legendryweeb
{please give this novel 5 Star review and power stone}
*Thank you*