Chapter 211
The fight between the blond man and Sasori didn't last long. Soon enough, control of the Third Kazekage was back in Sasori's hands. After all, he was a true puppeteer. If he couldn't even control his own puppet, what right did he have to call himself the best?
The restless puppets around them gradually stilled, but the blond man had left a backup plan. Transparent silk threads were embedded in several of the puppets. Even if he couldn't control them outright, he could still interfere with Sasori's manipulation.
The blond man noticed something odd—Sasori's movements were slightly stiff. It wasn't obvious to the average eye, but as someone who regularly manipulated others, how could he not notice?
"What a lunatic... Later," the blond man muttered. He raised one hand high, and a ball of white silk thread shot from his wrist, anchoring into the mountain ceiling. His body soared upward.
Then, the silk threads formed into claws, dragging rubble from the ceiling to collapse the cave. Sasori didn't chase him. He had already memorized the man's scent. There was no rush—he'd hunt him down eventually. It was a bit of fun he'd added to his so-called eternal life.
However, while Sasori allowed the blond man to escape, someone else wasn't so merciful.
A violent gust of wind exploded through the cave, and a burning iron mace shot through the storm like a cannonball, smashing toward the fleeing man with crushing force. The impact nearly hammered his spirit straight into the underworld.
The blond man barely managed to pull all his threads in front of his chest. The attack had come too suddenly, like the mace-wielder had been lurking there, just waiting to ambush him.
Insidious, sneaky, shameless—those were the words that came to mind as he gritted his teeth.
BOOM! Smoke and debris erupted from the cave floor. Before Sasori could identify what had dropped, another tall figure holding a mace leapt down into the cavern.
"I didn't expect a bonus," the man grinned, rubbing his hands together. "Well, the more the merrier. Just doing my civic duty."