After confirming it wasn’t a mirage, Kiyosuke picked up the pace. In the desert, an oasis ant hope—and the presence of life.
As long as the people here weren’t from Sunagakure, things would be fine.
He crossed the dunes and stepped into the oasis. Taking cover under a poplar tree, he imdiately felt cooler. Slumping to the ground with a deep breath, he muttered,
"I’m alive! Seriously though, how do Sunagakure shinobi survive in this place?"
If he had to live in the desert year-round, he’d definitely be dead.
After resting a bit, he dusted himself off and set out to find a water source. He had enough water, but better safe than sorry.
As he ventured deeper into the oasis, sothing started to feel... off. Aside from the occasional animal noise, the place was dead silent.
Logically, an oasis was a precious resource in the Land of Wind. No way the locals wouldn’t set up camp here. But he hadn’t seen a single person—not even a Sunagakure outpost.
Then the scent hit him.
A tallic tang in the air.
"...That’s the sll of blood."
The stench of human blood drifted faintly on the breeze. Alarm bells rang in his mind as he held his breath and ducked behind a tree.
As he crept closer, he spotted it: a shallow pond... and a mountain of corpses piled beside it. The blood had turned the surrounding sand red. All the bodies wore the uniforms of Sunagakure shinobi.
And by the water’s edge, a young man with red hair and delicate features sat calmly, thodically working on one of the corpses. It looked like he was trying to reshape it into sothing else.
The scene was grueso beyond belief—but the red-haired boy didn’t flinch. His expression remained calm and focused, like a craftsman finishing a task.
Kiyosuke’s breath caught at the sight. At that mont, the boy’s fingers twitched, and dozens of kunai suddenly rose into the air, shooting toward him in a flurry.
Even though Kiyosuke was hiding behind a tree, the kunai curved mid-flight as if they had eyes, relentlessly pursuing him.
The red-haired boy stood, frowning slightly. With a flick of chakra threads attached to his fingers, the kunai zipped toward their target. They weren’t bloody—but they were unnaturally hot.
"What the hell...?"
"Great," Kiyosuke muttered. "I just had to run into this lunatic."
Without hesitation, he turned and bolted out of the oasis.
There was no way he could take this guy on. He had to run.
"A ninja, huh?" the boy said softly, a curious smile creeping onto his face. "I wonder what you’d look like as a puppet."
With that unsettlingly sweet expression, he said sothing utterly horrifying.
He packed up the unfinished corpse and chased after Kiyosuke.
"You can’t escape!"
He was fast—much faster than Kiyosuke—and pulled out a scroll. With a puff of smoke, a puppet appeared in his hand.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
The puppet lunged, spewing a barrage of senbon from its mouth that pierced Kiyosuke’s body. But he didn’t stop running. Flas surged from within, healing the wounds almost instantly.
The red-haired boy raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued.
"You’re fascinating. You’ll make a magnificent puppet—an eternal masterpiece."
"You’re insane!" Kiyosuke shouted.
Realizing he couldn’t outrun him, he skidded to a stop, spun around, and raised a hand.
"Flaming Wall!"
A wall of fire roared up between them.
The red-haired boy retrieved the puppet and summoned another one.
If any Sunagakure shinobi were present, they would have instantly recognized it.
The missing Third Kazekage.
His disappearance had triggered a massive search operation from Sunagakure. The information leaked, and Kumogakure took advantage—sparking the outbreak of the Third Great Ninja War.
The red-haired boy—none other than Sasori of the Red Sand, grandson of Sunagakure elder Chiyo—had assassinated the Third Kazekage and turned him into a puppet.
In fact, one could argue that the entire Third Ninja War started because of him.
Sasori had once blad the Kazekage for sending his parents to their deaths on the battlefield. Unable to exact revenge on the true cause—the White Fang of Konoha, who had died during a mission—Sasori redirected his hatred toward the Kazekage, murdered him, and transford him into a puppet equipped with the Magnet Release kekkei genkai.
Sasori muttered, "Hiruko isn’t enough for this level of fight... but this is my proudest work. Let’s see what he can do."
He manipulated the Third Kazekage puppet’s hands into a hand seal. Instantly, a wave of black iron sand surged forth, swallowing the fire wall whole.
Far in the distance, Kiyosuke, who had already resud his escape, heard the commotion and cursed.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Boom!
A massive black serpent exploded onto the desert floor. Kiyosuke landed on its head.
"Black Snake! I need your help! It’s the Third Kazekage—and the guy who killed him!"
"What are you talking about?" the serpent replied in a deep, rumbling voice. "The Third Kazekage and the one who killed him? So... is the Kazekage dead or not?"
"He’s been turned into a human puppet. Which ans I’m basically facing two Kage-level monsters. That strong enough for you?"
He clearly rembered Black Snake’s earlier condition: no weak fights.
"Well, now we’re talking."
Black Snake’s eyes glead coldly. Facing the incoming iron sand tsunami, it flicked its tongue and twisted its massive body with lightning speed—completely at odds with its size—charging straight into the wave. Its thick tail swung down, targeting both Sasori and the Third Kazekage puppet.
"Iron Sand Wall!"
The sand condensed into a towering barrier—far sturdier than an Earth Release wall.
Black Snake’s tail slamd into it with a crack, blowing it apart in a black cloud of magnetic sand.
"Pretty tough," the snake muttered, flicking its tail. "Guess this wasn’t a waste of ti after all. When we’re done... I’m eating that brat."
"Can we not? He’s still got value alive."
"Then never mind. But don’t think he’ll be easy to catch."
That iron sand was a pain to deal with—even for a beast like him.
Sasori stared at the massive snake.
"A summoned beast, huh? No matter. Iron Sand Drizzle!"
Countless needles ford from iron sand rained down on Black Snake, covering a huge area.
Black Snake’s body undulated rhythmically, its scales clamping tightly together. The needles struck its hide with a cacophony of clinks.
Its head swayed from side to side, protecting its eyes.
As for Kiyosuke on top...
He’d already been turned into a human pincushion.
"Damn it! If my body weren’t special, I’d be dead already! Are you really my summoned beast?!"
Black Snake snorted.
"If you die, it just ans you’re not strong enough to be my contractor. Dead’s dead."
...
Is it too late to summon a new beast?
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