Chương 145

The forest fell silent. Broken pieces of the puppet scattered across the ground while the red-haired youth calmly stepped out from the wreckage, completely unharmed.

"So..." Rei said, resting his sword across one shoulder.

"You are finally out, took you long enough.." Sasori looked at Rei. Though he had spoken about his history but the fact that he wasn't surprised by his looks, meant he had really known him. Even his face was known to him.

"You knew."

"I have always known, you psychopath!" The young man slowly reached behind himself. A scroll unfurled with a sharp snap.

"I had hoped Hiruko would be sufficient."

"Are you delusional? I just said even with the other puppets you will lose." Sasori's expression didn't change, but his fingers moved almost imperceptibly.

"Arrogance has shortened the lives of many shinobi." The scroll before him burst fully open as chakra threads shot outward in every direction. Seals flashed one after another before a familiar figure emerged into the clearing. A tall puppet clad in robes floated silently into view, its movements unnaturally smooth. Metallic sand slowly leaked from within its body, swirling around it like a living storm. Rei merely sighed.

"... So you really did finish the Third Kazekage." The Iron Sand exploded outward. Satetssu Shigure (Iron Sand Drizzle). Thousands of needle-like projectiles rained across the forest with terrifying speed, piercing through tree trunks as though they were paper. Simultaneously, Deidara forced movement back into his numb limbs before biting another lump of clay.

"C2.. Kaat.." A massive white dragon burst into existence above the battlefield. It opened its jaws, releasing dozens of explosive clay birds that descended toward Rei while Iron Sand flooded the ground beneath his feet, leaving almost no avenue of escape. Natural energy surged violently through Rei's body. Dark markings spread across his skin as dense chakra erupted from his shoulders and back like roaring jets. The chakra blasters fired.

The ground beneath Rei shattered as he vanished from sight, propelled by an explosive burst of senjutsu-enhanced acceleration. Clay birds detonated behind him while Iron Sand narrowly missed his body, carving trenches through the earth instead. Every movement left only a distorted afterimage before another burst launched him in an entirely different direction.

"What the fuck.. This bastard.. Is that Sage transformation.."

"Looks like it.."

"Are senjutsu users so common now a days.." Few days ago Sasori got the report that Kisame had been attacked by someone with Sage transformation, so was this person the same as that guy? But how could this young guy be the same guy who defeated Kisame. Sasori had forgotten that the supposed senjutsu guy was toying with them too. Meanwhile, the Iron Sand shifted forms. Satetssu Kaihō (Iron Sand World Method).

Gigantic spikes erupted from every direction, attempting to imprison Rei inside an enormous forest of black metal. At the same moment, Deidara's dragon climbed higher into the sky.

"C3! Kaat!" A colossal clay bomb formed beneath the dragon, its shadow swallowing the entire clearing. Dajimu felt his blood run cold. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"He's going to erase the whole forest..." The gigantic explosive descended rapidly. Rei looked upward.

"... Too slow." Lightning Release erupted around his blade, turning the steel into a brilliant lance of blue-white light. Another burst from the chakra blasters hurled him hundreds of meters into the air before anyone could react. One slash. The lightning-coated blade cleaved completely through the descending bomb before it reached detonation range.

The unstable clay split into two massive halves, both crashing into opposite sides of the valley before erupting into separate explosions that shook the mountains but spared the battlefield itself.

"What?!" Deidara roared. Rei was already falling. Another blast from his back instantly altered his trajectory. Instead of descending toward Deidara, he crashed directly into the Iron Sand formation. His fist, reinforced by senjutsu and the monstrous physique inherited from Thor, smashed into the dense black metal. The first layer shattered. The second collapsed. The shockwave continued forward before striking the Third Kazekage puppet itself. Cracks raced across its body.

Then the legendary puppet exploded into countless fragments. Sasori's eyes widened for the first time.

"My masterpiece..." Rei landed lightly upon the broken remains.

"You relied too much on your puppets." Before either Akatsuki member could reorganize, Rei's chakra blasters roared once more, carrying him toward them with terrifying speed. For the first time since joining Akatsuki... Both Deidara and Sasori realized they were no longer hunting a bounty. They were the bounty this time.

"Deidara.. Sasori.. Any other techniques? Turning to C0? Using your body as a puppet? Anything?" Rei mocked as he stopped in front of them pointing his blasters at both of them. Both Deidara and Sasori again shuddered when he mentioned "C0" and "making their own body" into puppet. This guy knew all of their secrets.

"Don't get ahead of yourself!" Deidara shouted.

"Then stop me," Rei replied calmly. The forest exploded into motion once again. Deidara's clay dragon roared through the skies, releasing another relentless wave of explosive birds while countless clay spiders scattered beneath the trees like a white tide waiting to erupt. Simultaneously, Sasori's chakra threads danced through the air as dozens of hidden puppets emerged from his scrolls, each attacking from a different direction while poisoned blades sought every blind spot Rei possessed.

Natural energy surged violently through Rei's body once more. The chakra blasters behind his shoulders thundered repeatedly, launching him through the battlefield with impossible bursts of acceleration. Every explosion detonated a fraction of a second too late, every poisoned blade cut through nothing but fading afterimages. To Deidara and Sasori, it almost appeared as though Rei simply ceased existing before materializing somewhere else.

"Corner him!" Sasori ordered. Many puppets came to life and encircled him from all angles. At the exact same moment, Deidara forced every remaining clay creation toward its center before slamming both palms together.

"Katsu!!" Hundreds of explosions erupted simultaneously. Smoke, iron sand, splintered wood and flames consumed the entire battlefield, reducing everything within hundreds of meters into utter devastation. Even Dajimu instinctively shielded his face as the shockwave flattened what remained of the surrounding forest.

"... Did we get him?" Deidara muttered.

"No..." Sasori answered. A streak of azure lightning burst straight through the smoke. Rei emerged like a spear released from a bow, propelled by another violent blast of senjutsu chakra. Before Deidara could react, the lightning-coated sword flashed once.

"Raiton: Lightning Blade." The blade pierced cleanly through Deidara's right shoulder before continuing into the tree behind him, pinning both man and cloak firmly against the trunk. Electricity coursed through his body, forcing a cry of pain from the usually arrogant bomber as his dominant arm immediately went numb. Sasori attacked instantly. His puppet arms transformed into bladed weapons while chakra threads attempted to bind Rei from every direction.

Yet before the attack could fully unfold, Rei twisted on one foot and drew a single horizontal slash infused with both Lightning Release and senjutsu. Both puppet arms fell to the ground. The clean cuts severed them just above the elbows, the metallic limbs crashing into the dirt with dull thuds while sparks danced across the exposed mechanisms. Sasori instinctively retreated several steps, staring silently at the remains of his prized modifications. Silence returned to the ruined forest.

Deidara hung helplessly against the tree, breathing heavily through gritted teeth, while Sasori stood motionless with both severed puppet arms lying before him.

"There.. one squad of Akatsuki down.." Rei said.

"You think you have won.. Release me.. Ughh! I will show you.."

"Show me what? C0? You are forgetting that I didn't even use Hiraishin." This made Deidara shut up while Sasori had a blank look on his face. Dajimu who was far away had finally arrived after seeing silence around for a bit of time and suffice to say his knees almost buckled by seeing the destruction around. Who was this guy?

"Hmph! So now you want to humiliate us?" Sasori asked.

"Humiliation would be taking both of you to Sungakure and Iwagakure. I am sure sending you there would earn quite he praise of Granny Chiyo and your old master." Rei replied.

"How do you know all this? Who are you?" Sasori asked. He was going through his life and he was sure that there was no one who had the looks of Rei around him, and this guy knew about Deidara too. So how the hell was he able to know so much?

"Didn't you get the memo when you came after me. Danzo really paid quite the amount to come after me. Sadly he underestimated me. Maybe if Pain had arrived it would have been problematic.. But sending you. Two young guys who hasn't seen the world and thinks beauty is about moments and eternity. Give me a break.. You guys are nutjobs to the core." Rei said.

"You.. You dare mock us.. Hmm?" Deidaa shouted. While Sasori's eyes squinted.

"You know about our leader?" This brought a smile on Rei's face.