It must be said.
White Zetzu Awei's work efficiency is very high.
When Jiraiya was drinking in a tavern in the town, he heard a woman lamenting that her husband had disappeared and that she had no choice but to work in the tavern as a hostess.
"You have a husband?"
Jiraiya was very surprised by this.
"Yes... I do..."
The woman was startled for a moment, somewhat puzzled by Jiraiya's line of thinking.
"Uh, no..."
Jiraiya quickly waved his hands.
Jiraiya lost interest in continuing to drink, having learned important information. The woman's husband was likely taken away by Orochimaru to be used as experimental material.
Here...
There must be Orochimaru's secret base!
Jiraiya sighed while paying and leaving the tavern, wondering how much trouble Orochimaru had caused outside, causing this couple to be separated!
After Jiraiya left, the waitress's lips revealed a mysterious smile, quietly transforming into White Zetzu's appearance and slowly sinking into the ground.
The Land of Rivers.
Orochimaru's experimental base.
Jiraiya found the location of this base and quickly dealt with the people in charge of guarding it, still using the same method to extract Orochimaru's whereabouts.
"Lord Orochimaru has already left..."
The guards of the base were not lying, as they had watched Orochimaru come in and leave with their own eyes.
"Am I too late again?"
Jiraiya could only sigh.
Still following the same process, Jiraiya first rescued the people who had been kidnapped and planned to use Fire Release ninjutsu to burn the base down to the ground.
However, this time...
The situation was somewhat different!
Orochimaru and Sasori of the Red Sand had just completed a commission task and arrived at the base, only to see Jiraiya wreaking havoc on his base!
"Jiraiya!"
Orochimaru couldn't help but clench his teeth in anger. Why does this guy always appear at the wrong time and in the wrong place!
"Orochimaru!"
When Jiraiya saw Orochimaru, his expression immediately became serious, directly bringing up the past: "Orochimaru, come back to Konoha with me, I must take you back!"
"You're still so naïve, Jiraiya…"
Orochimaru sneered disdainfully, "The leaves that fall to the ground will become more and more rotten, emitting a smell that is unbearable..."
"Rotten fallen leaves will nourish the sprouting of new leaves."
Jiraiya interrupted Orochimaru, continuing, "Orochimaru, no matter what you say, this time I will take you back!"
"That depends on whether you have the ability..."
Orochimaru's gaze narrowed, like a snake targeting its prey.
Just at that moment.
A figure crawled up to Orochimaru's side.
Sasori of the Red Sand's puppet Hiruko crawled up to Orochimaru's side, snorting coldly, "Sooner or later, it will involve us. Since we've run into this guy, let's deal with him. I've wanted to make one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha into a puppet for a long time..."
"This is..."
Jiraiya's expression gradually became serious.
Although Jiraiya did not recognize Sasori's puppet, he knew that anyone who dared to speak to Orochimaru like this must be formidable.
Moreover...
They were wearing the same black robe with auspicious clouds.
This meant that the two of them were likely members of the same organization.
Orochimaru, upon hearing Sasori's words, slightly turned his head to look at his teammate, sneering, "If you want to make him into a puppet, then try it yourself!"
Talking to Jiraiya!
What are you doing here?
Sasori, this fool, really thinks he can easily deal with Jiraiya?
Even Orochimaru himself does not believe he has the certainty to deal with Jiraiya. Does Sasori really think that with his puppets and poison he can take down Jiraiya?
Crack!
A light cracking sound came from inside Sasori.
Sasori indeed harbored this idea; he always enjoyed collecting the bodies of powerful ninjas, then turning them into human puppets!
Jiraiya is one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha.
Sasori wanted to add another precious item to his collection!
The ninja world map is neither too big nor too small; it's not easy to encounter someone once, Sasori originally wanted to kill Orochimaru and turn him into a puppet, but this guy joined the Akatsuki organization... Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha, also deserves to become a collectible!
A sharp blade-like tail of Hikaru suddenly emerged, darting towards Jiraiya, its blade extremely sharp, coated with Sasori's homemade potent poison!
Jiraiya could only hastily dodge, as the sharp tail stabbed into the ground, effortlessly destroying the hard stone slabs!
Crack, crack, crack…
Sasori's mouth opened wide!
A barrage of needles shot out from Sasori's mouth!
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
Jiraiya quickly erected a wall of earth!
The needles pierced into the wall!
"Hmph!"
Orochimaru laughed leisurely: "If that's all you've got, then my old teammate won't have much trouble…"
"I know."
Sasori coldly retorted, impatiently pulling out a scroll. Upon opening the scroll, it revealed three characters.
Boom!
A puppet appeared in front of everyone!
It was Sasori's proudest creation, a puppet made from the body of the Third Kazekage of the Sand Village!
Sasori.
An S-ranked rogue ninja from the Sand Village.
Formerly the Third Kazekage's guard.
Many believed Sasori had defected because he thought he failed to protect the Kazekage, never suspecting he was the murderer of the Third Kazekage!
"The Third Kazekage, huh…"
Orochimaru had anticipated this, even harboring his own plans, and took the initiative to say: "If you have any remains of the Third Kazekage, we could make a deal, perfect for an experiment I have in mind…"
"Just help me capture him."
Sasori nonchalantly set his terms.
"Hmm hmm hmm…"
Orochimaru shook his head, disliking the terms, and proposed another: "I could instead save your life when Jiraiya kills you…"
To be honest,
Orochimaru didn't believe Sasori had any way to defeat Jiraiya.
And since Jiraiya also found out about his joining the Akatsuki, why not stir things up a bit more by dragging Jiraiya into it, making the Akatsuki's situation even more troublesome!
Orochimaru was very eager to see the Akatsuki organization run into more trouble, but he had always been monitored by Sasori of the Red Sand and couldn't find a way out. Now was a perfect opportunity!
As long as the Akatsuki encountered trouble...
Orochimaru felt that his plan to steal Pain's Rinnegan would become easier.
"Is that the Third Kazekage?"
Jiraiya had already heard their conversation and looked at the puppet in disbelief. He then turned his gaze to the ugly Hiruko puppet and quickly fell into thought.
"The Third Kazekage disappeared at the start of the Third Great Ninja War. Was he turned into a puppet by that guy? Is that guy a puppet master from the Sand Village?"
"No, that's not right."
"A puppet master from the Sand wouldn't dare to turn the Kazekage into a puppet, would they?"
While Jiraiya was deep in thought, Sasori of the Red Sand was already controlling the Third Kazekage to gather magnetism, forming it into a huge cylindrical magnet and smashing it towards Jiraiya!
The Third Kazekage, who had the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai, was revered as the strongest Kazekage by the Sand Village. When Sasori turned this Kazekage into a human puppet, he preserved his bloodline abilities and even modified his body to become a killing weapon!
Sasori was well aware that those little gadgets meant for killing would not be effective against Jiraiya, so he directly used the most powerful Magnet Release!
"The Third Kazekage...and a powerful puppet master..."
Jiraiya leaped aside to avoid the attack, watching helplessly as the cylindrical magnet smashed into the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust!
In terms of numbers, this was not advantageous for him. Puppet masters from the Sand Village were always difficult to deal with, always having some strange and unusual moves.
Especially since Orochimaru was just standing by!
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Drizzle!"
A mass of iron sand appeared in the sky like a tidal wave!
Sasori, controlling the Third Kazekage, condensed these iron sands into dense, black fine needles and shot them towards Jiraiya!
Ting, ting, tang!
The sound of the magnetic needles hitting the wall was incessant!
Jiraiya's figure swiftly dodged through the rain of needles, displaying agility that was uncharacteristic of his large stature, as he rapidly formed hand seals with his hands!
"Fire Release: Great Fireball!"
A blast of intense flame surged towards the direction of the Third Kazekage!
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Wall!"
Sasori was faster, quickly condensing the iron sand to form a solid iron wall in front of the Third Kazekage, blocking the scorching flames!
This puppet is his most precious collection and also the most powerful combat force. How could he bear to see it destroyed by Jiraiya!
"Opportunity!"
"Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"
Jiraiya quickly brought his hands together, his hair suddenly grew longer, turning into ropes and swiftly grabbed towards the body of the Sasori of the Red Sand!
To defeat a puppet master...
The best method, of course, is to capture their real body!
"Troublesome..."
Sasori of the Red Sand watched the incoming hair, his tail emerging again from behind, a blade spinning on it, continuously cutting Jiraiya's hair!
"..."
Jiraiya could only helplessly stop the Wild Lion's Mane Technique and started using his best summoning technique, calling forth a gigantic toad!
"Summoning Technique!"
Accompanied by the sound of smoke, the figure of Gamabunta instantly appeared!
"Is there another problem, Jiraiya..."
Gamabunta, holding a smoking pipe, glanced at Jiraiya, his gaze then drawn to Orochimaru: "Hmm? Is the enemy Orochimaru this time? Is that kid not here?"
"Kagura is probably still in training..."
Jiraiya knew who Gamabunta was asking about and said solemnly, "Let's deal with the puppet master first, then handle Orochimaru. We must bring him back this time..."
"We should have the messenger frog call that kid over."
Gamabunta exhaled a ring of smoke, making a sensible suggestion to Jiraiya: "That kid could be a lot of help... Orochimaru is not easy to deal with."
As Jiraiya's companion, Gamabunta had witnessed Orochimaru's strength and knew that Orochimaru was a contractor from another hidden place in the ninja world, the Ryuchi's Cave, and could also summon the Summoning Beast, Manda, whose power is comparable to his own!
"Summoning Beast, huh?"
Sasori of the Red Sand, with his puppetry, looked up at the gigantic Gamabunta, still unmoved, controlling the Third Kazekage to gather iron sand once again!
However...
This time it's different!
Gamabunta and Jiraiya simultaneously released ninjutsu!
"Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bomb!"
From Gamabunta's mouth, a massive amount of toad oil was expelled, which, combined with Jiraiya's Fire Release, instantly created a sea of fire, engulfing the Sasori of the Red Sand and the Third Kazekage!
The Sasori of the Red Sand hastily controlled the Third Kazekage to conjure an Iron Sand Wall in an attempt to block it, but still could not stop the high temperatures from the flames outside from invading!
"Such a powerful Fire Release?"
For a moment, the Sasori of the Red Sand felt somewhat helpless.
Now he was completely unable to launch any attacks; any puppet would surely be burned. If he passively dodged, the Iron Sand Wall could only block the flames, not the heat energy, and would even transmit the heat energy!
"I told you so..."
Orochimaru's mouth curved into a slight smile, seemingly having anticipated this outcome: "Your puppetry is advantageous against those who are skilled in physical combat, but against Jiraiya, it falls short."
"Will you really not make a move?"
The Sasori of the Red Sand glanced at Orochimaru.
"There's no need."
Orochimaru shook his head and continued: "Even if I were to take action, the outcome would not change. The two of us could not possibly take down Jiraiya."
"I will report this matter to Konan."
The Sasori of the Red Sand coldly reminded Orochimaru: "If this person traces back to the organization, both Pain and Konan..."
"With just one move, I could kill you alongside him."
Orochimaru suddenly uttered a phrase that terrified the Sasori of the Red Sand, before continuing: "Me standing by is already a form of assistance to you."
"..."
The Sasori of the Red Sand had to admit that Orochimaru was right.
"Now, we have a new problem…"
Orochimaru looked towards Jiraiya, who stood atop the head of the Gamabunta, and said softly, "If it weren't for your insistence on fighting him, perhaps we would have left already... Now we must find a way to defeat Jiraiya to prevent him from pursuing us."
"Perhaps..."
"We'll also have to face another more troublesome enemy."
As Orochimaru spoke, the corners of his mouth curled into a deeper smile, indicating that the enemy was very troublesome, yet his face showed little fear.
While Orochimaru was speaking, a figure instantly appeared beside Jiraiya, standing together on the head of Gamabunta!
"A kid..."
Sasori of the Red Sand looked up in confusion.
"That's no ordinary kid..."
Orochimaru watched the appearing figure, smiling subtly, "That kid is my most perfect creation!"
Boom!
While Sasori was still in surprise, he saw the figure standing on Gamabunta raise his palm, and a white light flew out from his palm!
Sasori quickly manipulated the iron sand to form a sand-iron barrier, but the white light penetrated the solid sand-iron barrier in an instant, as if piercing through a fragile piece of paper!
Even...
The white light also pierced through the head of Sasori's puppet, Hiruko!
In one strike!
It defeated Hiruko!
To others, it would seem like a strike that killed Sasori!
Fortunately, Hiruko was not Sasori's real body, just a puppet he used to conceal his form!
Sasori's real body had no choice but to emerge from Hiruko, looking astonished at the figure who easily forced him out. The technique that instantly separated the iron sand barrier into atomic form said it all!
"If I'm not mistaken, that kid just used... Dust Release?"
"Yes... It was Dust Release..."
Orochimaru watched the young man using Dust Release, sticking out his tongue and greedily licking his lips.
Orochimaru felt he could hardly contain himself anymore, just waiting for the three-year cooldown period of the Living Corpse Reincarnation to pass, and then he would immediately switch to the body of Akihara Kagura!
~~~
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