Sasori's initial trip to the Land of Hot Water was just a stop along the way. Ever since leaving his village, he embarked on a purposeless journey. He had visited the endless, majestic mountains of the Land of Earth, collecting a few Iwagakure ninja corpses along the way. He also traveled to the peaks of the Land of Lightning, where he listened to the constant, roaring thunder and gathered a wealth of puppet materials.

He passed through the Land of Hot Water while heading south.

In this scenic land, Konohagakure and the Cloud Ninja had deployed tens of thousands of soldiers, locked in fierce battle. For Sasori, this was like a grand feast spread out before him. He quickly altered his plans to visit the Land of Fire and decided to linger in the Land of Hot Water instead, scavenging the battlefield like a hyena, happily collecting usable materials.

Since the end of the Third Great Ninja War, it had been a long time since he could gather materials so easily.

The effectiveness of his human puppets greatly depended on the abilities of the "materials" themselves. For example, no matter how much he modified a genin's corpse, it could never compare to the puppet of the Third Kazekage. While ordinary mechanisms could be perfected, the bloodline limits and ninjutsu that more powerful human puppets possessed couldn't simply be added through modifications.

In Sasori's view, his human puppets should at least be made from the corpses of chunin with special abilities. Naturally, a jonin's corpse would be even better, as long as it was at least 70% intact. Most importantly, the brain and torso needed to be undamaged. Otherwise, it would be impossible to preserve the chakra pathways, and the deceased's abilities would be lost.

Unfortunately, jonin were not easy to defeat, and their corpses were hard to come by. Most of the time, the bodies he obtained were in terrible condition.

This meant that Sasori's collection of human puppets could only grow slowly.

Originally, Sasori had planned to leave the Land of Hot Water after Konohagakure and the Cloud Ninja finished their war and continue his endless journey.

That is, until he saw Susanoo.

Witnessing the awe-inspiring power of this technique sparked something within him. He began to wonder: if he turned a member of the Uchiha Clan into a human puppet, could he preserve this extraordinary ability?

After observing for a while, however, he had to abandon this desire. It was far too difficult to obtain an Uchiha corpse. Many Uchiha had fallen in the war, but their bodies were always recovered. Unless he fought the Konoha ninja head-on, he had no chance of getting his hands on those corpses—especially not the likes of Uchiha Sougen or Uchiha Shisui, who possessed the power of Susanoo.

Still, he was unwilling to give up completely.

So, he infiltrated the Konoha ninja's camp and stole a batch of scrolls from their corpse-handling unit.

"...Still nothing? Tsk!"

Sasori set down the last scroll with disappointment. He had not found a single Uchiha body. In fact, he didn't come across any corpses from notable clans like the Hyuga or Aburame. Though the bodies he did find were all jonin and special jonin, so the haul wasn't entirely a loss.

Still, there was a lingering sense of regret.

In the end, he hadn't been able to get what he truly desired.

The small cave was artificially carved out, and on the stone platform within, several corpses of fallen Konoha ninja were neatly laid out. Sasori shook the scroll in his hand, preparing to store the bodies. Just then, he suddenly turned his head, eyes locking onto the cave's entrance.

Someone was coming!

"They're faster than I thought."

Sasori muttered softly.

After stealing so many corpses from Konoha's camp, he had expected the Konoha ninja to pursue him, but they arrived much sooner than he had anticipated. He set down the scroll, staring intently at the cave's entrance.

...

"Pakkun, is the target in here?"

Kakashi pressed himself against the rock wall and peeked around the corner. The cave ahead bore clear signs of artificial excavation—definitely not a natural formation. Piles of uncleaned rubble were still scattered at the entrance.

"The scent is coming from that cave, mixed with the stench of corpses,"

Pakkun, perched on Kakashi's shoulder, wrinkled his nose, clearly uncomfortable with the smell.

"Whew..."

Kakashi took a deep breath.

He didn't rush in. Instead, he lifted his forehead protector, revealing the Sharingan underneath, and turned to Uchiha Itachi and Kimimaro behind him. "Itachi, Kimimaro, be ready. Let's see if we can pull off a sneak attack. And remember, puppet masters often use poison, so stay on guard and be careful not to get hit."

If a sneak attack was possible, there was no need for a direct confrontation. That was a rule Kakashi had learned during his time in the Anbu.

Ninja battles weren't bound by strict codes of honor—anything that could eliminate the enemy was fair game. The puppet masters of Sunagakure weren't feared for their clever mechanisms alone but for the deadly poisons they used to claim lives in short order.

Almost every skilled puppet master was also an expert in poisons.

Konoha had suffered greatly from this during previous wars with Sunagakure. Fortunately, with Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin, Konoha's forces were equipped with antidotes that could counter the puppet masters' poisons, helping Konoha achieve swift victories in the war.

"Kakashi-senpai, we probably won't have the chance for a sneak attack. I think we've already been spotted."

Uchiha Itachi looked up at the cliff opposite them, his Sharingan locking onto a small, earth-colored lizard clinging to the rock wall. It was almost perfectly camouflaged, blending seamlessly into the wall, but the Sharingan detected the chakra flowing within its body.

"A summoning creature?"

Kakashi followed Itachi's gaze and frowned. Ordinary animals didn't have chakra. Only a few exceptional creatures were born with the ability, and even most summoning creatures required training to harness chakra like ninja do.

So,

99% of animals with chakra flowing through their bodies are the summons of ninjas.

"Have we been exposed? Damn it."

Kakashi muttered, clearly annoyed.

He had been careless. Too focused on the person known as Sasori of the Red Sand, he had neglected to survey the surrounding environment. He hadn't noticed the presence of a nearly invisible lizard. If Uchiha Itachi hadn't pointed it out, Kakashi might have suffered a major loss.

"A ninja of Sasori of the Red Sand's caliber isn't easy to ambush in the first place. Even if we'd spotted that lizard sooner, there's no way we wouldn't have been noticed whether we tried to catch or kill it. And there might be other traps around here as well... Kakashi-senpai, let's just go straight to him! We're already exposed anyway."

Itachi suggested calmly.

"…"

Kakashi glanced at Itachi, who remained composed and unflustered.

He was starting to understand why so many in the Uchiha clan boasted about Itachi being a once-in-a-generation genius, second only to their clan leader. It wasn't just his quick mastery of the Sharingan or his rapid progress in ninjutsu, but also his incredible mental fortitude.

In contrast, Kakashi felt a little out of sorts himself.

Kakashi closed his eyes briefly, took several deep breaths, and cleared his mind of the chaotic emotions that arose after learning the truth about the disappearance of the Third Kazekage. There was no need to dwell on those irrelevant thoughts now—focusing on the current mission was what mattered.

"Let's go! Let's see this criminal for ourselves and find out if he's really Sasori of the Red Sand… But, by the way, Itachi, Kimimaro, do either of you know what Sasori of the Red Sand actually looks like?" Kakashi remembered an important question.

How could they confirm if their target was really Sasori of the Red Sand?

Sunagakure had issued a wanted poster for him, but that was quite some time ago. The photo might not match his current appearance, and Kakashi hadn't even seen the wanted poster before.

"I haven't seen the wanted poster, but the clan leader once told me that human puppetry is Sasori's signature technique. We just need to check if his puppets have chakra flowing through them."

Itachi's answer left Kakashi in silence.

Of course.

Had he gotten too relaxed after the war ended? Something so simple hadn't even occurred to him, and it took a younger ninja like Itachi to remind him. Training was essential—not just physical, but mental discipline as well!

Enough chit-chat.

Kakashi gestured, then darted ahead toward the nearby cave. His crimson Sharingan spun as he scanned the ground for traps, carefully moving forward. Once he reached the entrance of the cave, he stopped.

Looking inside,

Torches were mounted on the cave's walls, illuminating the scene. He could clearly see the rough, simple stone platform, the dozen or so corpses lying on it, and behind the platform, a short red-haired "boy."

"So young?"

Kakashi was stunned.

Sasori of the Red Sand, standing behind the platform, was barely over 160 cm (about 5'3") tall, with short red hair and a youthful face. If not for his cold, indifferent expression, it would be hard to believe this boy was the infamous S-rank rogue ninja.

At this point in time, Sasori of the Red Sand hadn't yet pulled off his monumental feat of single-handedly bringing down a nation.

But even when he left Sunagakure, his skills were already impressive enough for the Sand to label him an S-rank rogue ninja. His puppets were still considered top-tier masterpieces, coveted treasures among puppet masters.

"Kakashi Hatake, Itachi Uchiha, Kimimaro Kaguya… Looks like my luck isn't too bad!"

Sasori immediately recognized the three who had entered.

As a genius who had developed the forbidden art of human puppetry, he had mastered various abilities, including memory-reading techniques. His research into the human body and soul had reached a level of complexity that ordinary people could barely comprehend. Extracting memories from corpses was a simple task for him.

It was through these techniques that he had gathered information, allowing him to instantly recognize Kakashi and the others.

Seeing them filled Sasori with joy, his previous feelings of regret and disappointment vanishing. He had spotted Uchiha clan members at the Leaf ninja camp, but hadn't acted due to the environment.

So after stealing the corpses stored at the body disposal unit, he hadn't erased his own lingering traces or made a hasty retreat. Instead, he lingered in this desolate area, hoping to lure in some big fish.

The Leaf ninja couldn't ignore the theft of the corpses, and with their abilities, it wouldn't be hard for them to pick up on the clues he left. However, it wasn't like they'd send a large army after him. The most likely scenario was that they'd dispatch one or two elite squads to track him down.

As a rogue ninja of Sunagakure,

Sasori knew a lot about how the major villages operated. While Sunagakure wasn't exactly the same as the Leaf, many things were similar. And don't forget—most of the other great villages often copied the Leaf's methods.

The ANBU system, medical ninja training, ninja academies—these were all things copied from the Leaf.

"Sasori of the Red Sand?"

Kakashi tested the waters.

"Oh? You know me?"

Sasori seemed surprised.

Despite being an S-rank rogue ninja, he had never openly advertised his identity. Even most of Sunagakure's younger generation wouldn't recognize him if they saw him. It was similar to how Naruto and his team didn't know who Orochimaru was in the original story.

"Not going to answer, huh?" Sasori raised an eyebrow. "Well, no matter. I'll just extract the answers from your minds later."

As he finished speaking, he suddenly raised his right hand. A puppet burst out from the ground, extending four arms, each with blades glowing a menacing purple, and lunged at Kakashi.

Snap!

Kakashi vanished.

What the puppet had sliced into pieces was a block of wood.

"A substitution jutsu? Quite fast! But I wonder how long you can keep dodging?"

Sasori lightly tapped his fingers.

The puppet followed his command, its four arms moving in ways a human body couldn't possibly replicate, slashing at Itachi. The glowing purple blades were clearly coated with poison—getting nicked even slightly would be fatal!

Have fun during the holiday! *

(End of Chapter)