Chapter 222: Kakashi and Tenzō Vs Sasori

Kabuto had once been a double agent.

He served both Orochimaru and Sasori simultaneously, acting as a pawn Orochimaru had placed close to Sasori. But according to Kabuto's knowledge, wasn't Sasori already dead?

What was happening? Could it be that the jutsu Orochimaru just performed had the power to resurrect the dead?

Equally perplexed was Sasori himself.

He raised his hands, examining his arms and body. Everything felt so real, convincing him—

He had been brought back to life.

However,

Upon realizing Orochimaru was present, any fleeting joy Sasori felt was immediately replaced by suspicion and rage. He sternly questioned:

"Orochimaru, what have you done to me?"

"Heh."

Orochimaru chuckled, speaking leisurely, "Haven't you always sought eternal beauty?

I've resurrected you using the Reanimation Jutsu. This technique grants you infinite chakra and a truly immortal body. This is the undying puppet you've been desperately seeking.

I've now granted you your dream of immortality. Instead of being angry, you should be thanking me."

"Hmph."

Sasori's eyes were cold, not believing a word from Orochimaru. After all, knowing his former partner, Orochimaru was a true embodiment of treachery and malevolence.

However, since Orochimaru had resurrected him and granted him an immortal body, Sasori decided to accept this gift without reservations.

With that thought,

Sasori's gaze turned icy. He immediately began forming hand seals, intending to eliminate Orochimaru on the spot.

Yet, the very next moment,

Sasori was horrified to find that his body wouldn't obey him. He was paralyzed.

Orochimaru shook his head, calmly approaching Sasori:

"You're as impatient as ever. Did you think I went through all this trouble to resurrect you out of some old partnership sentiment? The price of immortality is to become my servant."

As he spoke, Orochimaru moved behind Sasori, producing a kunai engraved with mysterious symbols.

With a smirk, Orochimaru drove the kunai into the back of Sasori's head, causing him to stiffen, his gaze becoming noticeably vacant.

Through this method, Orochimaru could erase Sasori's consciousness, turning him into a mere puppet.

This was the true cruelty of the Reanimation Jutsu.

However,

"In consideration of our past partnership, I'll allow you to retain some of your emotions and will. Of course, this is under the premise of your absolute loyalty and obedience to me."

Orochimaru said with a wicked grin as the kunai fully integrated with Sasori's brain, completing the "factory reset."

Crack, crack.

Sasori's head rotated 180 degrees on his neck, looking back at Orochimaru, remarking:

"You're despicable, using such a technique on the dead."

"Thank you for the compliment. This forbidden jutsu was invented by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. In terms of treachery and malevolence, I'm merely a poor imitation of him."

Orochimaru responded humbly.

Kabuto approached, marveling at Orochimaru's methods, his admiration evident.

He also realized that if Sasori could be resurrected, then potentially even more powerful shinobi, like the recently deceased Uchiha Dan or the leader of the Akatsuki, Pain, could be as well.

Wouldn't that make them invincible?

Aware of Kabuto's thoughts, Orochimaru chuckled and shook his head:

"The jutsu is still imperfect. Recklessly resurrecting someone too powerful could be risky."

This was the weakness of the Reanimation Jutsu.

If the deceased knew the seals of the jutsu or if their power greatly surpassed Orochimaru's, they could potentially break the summoning contract and escape his control.

Thus, to prevent any mishaps, the always cautious Orochimaru chose to first experiment with Sasori to gauge the results.

Once he perfected the jutsu, he could create an army of reanimated shinobi.

By then, not just the Uchiha clan, but even conquering the entire shinobi world would be feasible.

"Kabuto, your next task is to help me collect the bodies of powerful shinobi. We'll start with the Hidden Leaf Village. After all, it has a history filled with formidable shinobi," Orochimaru said, a glint in his eyes.

"Yes."

Kabuto responded, excited about Orochimaru's grand plan.

Just then,

Woo!

A piercing alarm suddenly rang throughout the laboratory.

"Oh? It seems the Sound Village's barrier has detected intruders."

Orochimaru, slightly surprised, approached a monitor, spotting two familiar figures, "Ah, it's Kakashi and Tenzō. I heard they've joined the Uchiha clan."

This isn't good.

Kabuto's face paled, and he knelt, apologizing to Orochimaru:

"They must have tracked me here. My apologies, Lord Orochimaru. I was careless."

Kabuto recalled the day he lost consciousness in an alleyway of the Hidden Sand Village. He had been watched all along and had inadvertently led them here.

"Don't panic."

Orochimaru didn't reprimand Kabuto. Instead, he said with interest, "It seems only Kakashi and Tenzō have come. Perfect. Let's have Sasori face them. I'm curious to see how much of his former strength he retains in his reanimated state."

No sooner had he spoken than Sasori, obeying Orochimaru's command, stepped outside.

Meanwhile,

Orochimaru also ordered Kabuto to quickly pack up, preparing to abandon this laboratory and relocate.

He had many hideouts and had anticipated such situations, hence his calm demeanor.

Outside the Sound Village,

Kakashi and Tenzō crouched on a large tree, observing the situation below.

The creature Ah Fei had already attached itself to Tenzō early on—it seemed to favor Tenzō, perhaps because its abilities harmonized well with Tenzō's Wood Style jutsu.

Together, they could maximize their combat potential, even against formidable Uchiha with the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Byakugan, activate!

Kakashi activated his Byakugan, scanning Orochimaru's underground lair, his expression growing more astonished.

"Typical of Orochimaru, establishing such a ninja village in such a short time."

As he was reflecting,

Whoosh, whoosh.

Two prisoner-ninjas suddenly emerged from the ground, charging directly at Kakashi and Tenzō.

Have they been spotted?

Kakashi and Tenzō exchanged glances, leaping down from the tree to engage the enemies.

Zzz, zzz!

With a flash of lightning, Kakashi quickly dispatched one with his Chidori.

On the other side, Tenzō's Wood Style subdued the other, effortlessly restraining him.

At that moment, Kakashi's Byakugan noticed chakra strings attached to the enemies, leading back to a nearby thicket.

"Tenzō, be on guard. The real enemy is a puppet master."

He immediately warned.

"Hmm." Tenzō nodded, also sensing the anomaly, and looked towards the thicket with Kakashi.

Controlling living humans with chakra strings, treating them as puppets—such a level of puppetry was unheard of for both of them.

The opponent was undoubtedly formidable.

Soon after, a red-haired young man emerged from the thicket.

Is that...

Kakashi's eyes narrowed, recognizing the Akatsuki's black cloak with red clouds on the young man. But... hadn't the Akatsuki been annihilated?

Furthermore, through his Byakugan, Kakashi observed that only the heart region of the red-haired youth had chakra flowing, appearing quite peculiar.

Unexpectedly,

"You're Kakashi, right? The son of the White Fang of the Leaf."

The red-haired youth recognized Kakashi first, speaking with a reminiscent tone, "Your father once infiltrated the Hidden Sand Village, killing my parents. Unfortunately, he died too early for me to exact my revenge. So, I vented my anger on the Third Kazekage. It was his negligence that allowed Konoha to invade the Hidden Sand, leading to the death of my parents..."

The resurrected Sasori seemed more talkative than before.

Perhaps his soul had felt lonely wandering the Pure Land alone, with no one to converse with.

"You are... the Red Sand's Sasori?!"

Kakashi exclaimed.

"Indeed, it's me."

Sasori replied calmly, "It's strange. Just minutes ago, I was furious and frustrated about being resurrected. But now, I believe it's fate that brought us together here. The White Fang took my parents' lives, and now I'll take his son's to fulfill my long-awaited revenge."

Over the years, he never forgot the hatred in his heart.

With a swift motion, Sasori tore off his Akatsuki cloak, revealing his modified puppet body. Especially noticeable was the "scorpion" character near his heart region.

Under the astonished gaze of Kakashi and Tenzō,

Whoosh!

A steel cable shot out from Sasori's abdomen, aiming straight for Kakashi.

Kakashi dodged, and the cable pierced a tree, pulling Sasori's body towards it.

Wood Style: Forest Emergence Jutsu!

Tenzō quickly formed hand seals, releasing wooden tendrils from his palm, attempting to capture Sasori.

Upon seeing this, Sasori launched windmill-like blades from his back, spinning rapidly, cutting through the approaching tendrils.

However, with Ah Fei's support, Tenzō's Wood Style jutsu exhibited relentless regrowth. As soon as they were cut, they grew back, and even multiplied.

In a blink, numerous tendrils bound Sasori, immobilizing him.

Chirp, chirp, chirp!

The chirping of the Chidori echoed behind Sasori. Kakashi, like a silver bolt of lightning, dashed forward, landing a precise Raikiri on the regenerative core located at Sasori's heart.

He had already seen through Sasori's weakness.

"I'm sorry for the loss of your parents. But that's the brutal reality of war. Especially for us ninjas, our hands are stained with the blood of innocents. We should always be prepared for death."

Kakashi calmly stated, retracting his arm as Sasori's body slumped.

"Sensei, we should go after Orochimaru quickly, or he might escape."

Tenzō approached, ready to join Kakashi underground.

However, just as they began to move, Sasori's voice echoed from behind:

"Did I say you could leave?"

Huh?

The two turned in surprise to see dust gathering, covering Sasori's heart, rapidly repairing his damaged body.

"Orochimaru wasn't lying. This truly is an immortal body. The regenerative core was once my only weakness, but now even that no longer exists."

Sasori murmured, his emotions mixed.

In life, he had desperately sought to create the ultimate puppet representing eternal life, but had failed.

Now, Orochimaru's Reanimation Jutsu had granted Sasori his long-sought wish. However, this time, Sasori had become the puppet being manipulated.

No matter.

He wanted to test for himself if this reanimated body was as invincible as Orochimaru claimed.

With that thought, Sasori's eyes sharpened, charging at Kakashi and Tenzō once more.

He abandoned all defense, launching even more reckless attacks.

Inside the laboratory,

Orochimaru, watching the battle through a monitor, slowly began to smile.

This was the power of the Reanimation Jutsu.

Though Sasori's movements seemed somewhat stiff compared to his living self, the infinite chakra and regenerative abilities of the reanimated body compensated for all shortcomings.

Inferno Formation!

Above ground, Sasori raised both hands, releasing two columns of fire from the mechanical tubes in his palms, sweeping across the forest.

The flames were incredibly hot, with a potent melting force. Even rocks would instantly liquefy, let alone the surrounding trees.

Water Style: Water Wall Jutsu.

Kakashi quickly formed hand seals, raising a wall of water from the ground, barely blocking the flames.

Knowing Kakashi couldn't hold out for long, Tenzō charged at Sasori, seizing an opportunity to create a massive tree that engulfed Sasori.

Wood Style: Violent Spear Tree.

A powerful Wood Style technique that killed Sasori once again.

But with countless particles of dust gathering, Sasori calmly emerged from the tree, resurrected once more.

"Sensei, it seems he truly can't be killed."

Tenzō's expression shifted.

Kakashi, however, remained composed, analyzing:

"Notice the cracks on his body and his eyes. I've heard of these characteristics from the Uchiha clan leader. They're signs of a forbidden jutsu the Uchiha clan is researching—Reanimation Jutsu. It's said that those resurrected by this jutsu can't be killed. The only way is to seal their souls, sending them back to the Pure Land."

So that's it.

Tenzō nodded, exchanging a glance with Kakashi. Their years of camaraderie allowed them to quickly devise a battle plan without words.

However,

Sasori saw through their intentions.

"Planning to seal me? That's one way. But I won't let you succeed. It's time to end this battle."

With his cold voice, Sasori unfurled a scroll, summoning all his cherished puppets.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

Hundreds of red-robed puppets appeared in the forest, each unique, wielding different weapons, all controlled by chakra strings emanating from Sasori's "regenerative core."

A puppet master's strength is often measured by the number of puppets they can control. Humans have a limit, given they have only ten fingers.

Unless you're like Sasori, who's no longer human.

Through his heart's regenerative core, he projected his will onto the puppets, making them extensions of himself, controlling them effortlessly.

This technique was called the Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets.

In the past, Sasori used this technique to single-handedly destroy a nation.