The Strongest Artist in Naruto

"Retreat!" Tendou ordered decisively.

"Do you think you can escape?"

Sasori pulled out a scroll. With a flick, several puppets emerged from the seals, blocking the Konoha team's retreat.

"Nani?!"

"So the puppeteer is inside that puppet!"

As Sasori began controlling additional puppets, Hyūga Kazuto finally noticed the chakra threads, pinpointing Sasori's true location.

This explained why Sasori rarely manipulated multiple puppets while using Hiruko. It made it too easy to reveal his position. If he was doing so now, it only meant one thing: he had no intention of letting them leave alive.

Kazuto had found Sasori's true body, but it was already too late.

The Konoha team scrambled to find a way out. Tendou chose to cover their retreat, his face showing exhaustion but also unshakable resolve.

"Fire Release Cooperation Technique!"

This was a combination jutsu normally requiring three shinobi to execute. Yet, Tendou managed it alone with no loss in power, a testament to his mastery of Fire Release.

But just as the other four began to cheer their leader's incredible technique, a puppet with light blue hair stepped forward, extinguishing their hope entirely.

"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"

The puppet tilted its body upward, its chest puffing out dramatically, then leaned forward, shark-like teeth flashing as it unleashed a massive torrent of water.

The wave spread rapidly, crashing down on Tendou's flames like a relentless tide, snuffing them out as if they were mere sparks.

"How is this possible?!"

"A puppet... using jutsu?!" Hyūga Kazuto exclaimed, despair growing on his face.

"Surprised?" Sasori said with rare smugness. "He was from the Hōzuki clan. His affinity for Water Release makes this perfectly natural."

"The Hōzuki clan?!"

"A human puppet..." Tendou muttered, his voice trembling.

The art of human puppetry was a highly classified secret in Sunagakure. But secrets often slipped through cracks, and the other great villages had recorded such information in their classified archives.

However, the puppet research program in Sunagakure had been discontinued years ago, deemed a failure. Only one person had ever mastered the technique—the rogue ninja, Sasori of the Red Sand.

Sasori of the Red Sand!

Hearing that name sent chills down their spines. An S-rank rogue ninja wasn't just a title—it signified a threat so great that either a Kage or multiple elite squads were necessary to subdue them.

There were only six S-rank rogues across the shinobi world. What the group didn't know was that five of them were already part of the Akatsuki, while the sixth, Orochimaru, was a former member.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow River!"

The ground beneath Sasori and Deidara liquefied into a muddy current, rapidly pushing them back.

Deidara, now airborne, glanced at Sarutobi Tendou, who was making a last stand, before dismissing him. His target was the four who were trying to flee.

"I'll leave those two to Sasori," Deidara muttered.

"Secret Technique: Insect Cocoon!"

A massive swarm of kikaichū burst from Aburame Shikuni's clothing, darkening the sky like a locust plague.

Boom! Boom!

The effort was futile. Deidara's clay spiders detonated, scattering the swarm with ease.

"Damn it!"

Each attempt to resist proved meaningless. The unrelenting barrage of clay spiders overwhelmed them. Even though a single explosion was no stronger than a paper bomb, the continuous onslaught was devastating.

Out of the village yet?

Deidara smirked as the terrain opened up. Finally free of the cramped village environment, he could unleash his full power. In the open wilds, no one would survive.

"C2: Aerial Wyvern!"

"C2: Raptor!"

The two clay beasts took form—one soaring through the skies, the other sprinting on the ground. Coordinated to attack from above and below, they became the ultimate hunters.

"Dammit! Stay away!" Shimura Kiyoto roared, swinging his sword with all his strength, cleaving one of the raptors in half. Yet his breath came in ragged gasps, his blade feeling impossibly heavy.

"He doesn't seem intent on killing us," Aburame Shikuni noted, his voice calm despite the chaos. "Given his abilities, taking our lives would have been trivial. He's trying to exhaust us. His goal is clear—capture."

"Capture?!" Kazuto's voice shook. "Does he intend to turn us into human puppets?"

"If we're blown to pieces or mutilated, we wouldn't make viable puppets," Shikuni replied grimly.

"That... can't be!" Rin, pale as a ghost, trembled at the thought. Death was one thing—but being turned into a puppet was a nightmare beyond comprehension.

"We need to decide," Shikuni continued coldly. "Do we choose death or gamble that they won't kill us immediately?"

"Perhaps they want to ransom us back to Konoha or interrogate us for secrets. Either way, we still have a slim chance if we surrender."

His words cast a heavy silence over the group.

"Suicide," Kazuto said bluntly. The Caged Bird Seal would ensure his death regardless. If the Hyūga clan knew he was captured, they would activate it to prevent the Byakugan from falling into enemy hands.

"I... agree," Shikuni admitted, though reluctantly.

"Why?!" Kiyoto shouted. "We're Konoha shinobi! They won't dare kill us outright. Even Sasori of the Red Sand wouldn't risk it!"

"Our village will pay the ransom, and we'll live to serve again—or even take revenge one day!"

He turned to Rin, the only one yet to speak.

"Rin, you agree with me, right?!"

Rin's lips quivered as she glanced between the others. Her indecision was written all over her face. But before she could speak—

"Got you!"

Clay centipedes erupted from the ground, coiling around them like snakes. The four shinobi were immobilized.

Their faces turned ashen. They no longer even had the choice to decide their fate.

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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