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"A misunderstanding?" Sasori turned his head to look at the two men, his face twisting into a stiff smile. "There is no misunderstanding."
"Our two esteemed advisors came with genuine sincerity." Tomoyuki's expression had returned to normal, his tone dripping with earnestness.
"Heh." Sasori let out a derisive snort, utterly unimpressed.
"It seems even you, the so-called 'negotiation expert,' have slipped up this time, Tomoyuki."
Kakashi's voice cut in at just the right moment.
"Did it never occur to you? The reason you were once undefeated in negotiations wasn't just because of your own skills—there was another crucial factor."
Tomoyuki looked up, stunned, his gaze fixed on Kakashi standing on the other side of the Four Violet Flames Formation.
"Back then, you had the entire Hidden Leaf Village behind you." Kakashi's voice grew colder. "But now? You can only speak for your own small faction."
"You—" Tomoyuki opened his mouth but found himself at a loss for words.
Tsunade's stern voice echoed in agreement. "Kakashi is right. The moment you decided to betray the village's interests, Konoha ceased to be your shield."
"A pity you failed to consider the consequences of your betrayal."
Kakashi sighed, then locked eyes with Sasori again.
"I'm guessing the Akatsuki never actually intended to make a deal with them, did you?"
"Hahahahaha—!" Deidara couldn't hold back another burst of laughter before clapping mockingly. "Damn, you're sharp! Impressive, yeah!"
"Wha—what?!"
Tomoyuki and Yasuke's faces twisted in horror as they immediately tried to retreat.
"After all these years, I still encounter self-proclaimed 'geniuses' like you."
Sasori's voice was icy. In an instant, two puppets materialized behind Tomoyuki and Yasuke, their blades piercing straight through their hearts.
"Guh… gh…"
The two men gasped, their bodies stiffening instantly from the potent venom. Blood gushed from their mouths as they collapsed.
"Cooperation? There was never such a thing." Sasori tilted his head slightly. "We simply used you to sow chaos in Konoha and track down Lady Tsunade's whereabouts."
"Too bad Lady Hokage's journey was so… eventful that her location was never really a secret. Leader's plan was redundant, yeah." Deidara shrugged.
"Not entirely." Sasori turned his gaze toward Tsunade, still trapped within the barrier. "At the very least, by the time Konoha learns of their Hokage's death, they won't be able to send reinforcements in time."
"I see."
Tsunade frowned at the lifeless bodies of Tomoyuki and Yasuke before shaking her head in resignation.
"So your true objective is…" Her voice hardened as she stared at Sasori. "To abduct Naruto in the chaos? Or sabotage the Five Kage Summit?"
"Naruto… that's the name of the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, isn't it?"
Sasori flexed his fingers, and the two puppets discarded the corpses before floating back to his side.
"The Nine-Tails isn't our mission."
With his free hand, he unfurled a scroll he had been holding all along.
"After this summit, the final war between the Five Great Nations and the Akatsuki will begin… or so our leader originally planned."
Eight more figures emerged from the scroll, lining up before him. With a flick of his wrists, each of his fingers connected to a puppet.
"But now that you've been rescued by Uchiha Kaito, it's unclear whether Konoha—still largely intact—will even join the war."
"So…" Kakashi's eyes widened in realization. "You're trying to assassinate the Hokage to ensure Konoha participates in your planned war?!"
Tokuma glared furiously. "A mere rogue ninja organization, daring to challenge all Five Great Nations at once? You're even more arrogant than I thought!"
"Arrogant? Maybe!" Deidara grinned wildly. "With the chakra of all the Tailed Beasts, the Akatsuki will reshape the world's rules after this Fourth Shinobi World War, yeah!"
"What is the Akatsuki's true goal in collecting the Tailed Beasts?!" Tsunade demanded suddenly.
"To make the world know pain?" Deidara mused, sounding unsure. "Yeah?"
"Idiot!" Sasori's puppets levitated menacingly. "Through devastating war and the power of the Nine Tailed Beasts, we will force the world into submission—and then create peace!"
So they really don't know anything…
Having learned the full truth from Kaito, Tsunade couldn't help but look at them with pity.
"What's with that look?!"
Sasori's voice sharpened with anger as his fingers twitched again.
Eight of the ten puppets surged forward, bypassing the Four Violet Flames Formation and unleashing a barrage of weapons toward Kakashi and Tokuma.
At the same time, Deidara hurled a swarm of clay insects, though he shot Sasori a puzzled glance.
"Weird. For once, Sasori actually bothered explaining things before attacking. Yeah."
"Consider it a final mercy before they become my newest puppets."
Sasori's fingers danced as he maneuvered the eight puppets against Kakashi and Tokuma, all while circling the barrier. His voice was cold.
"And you—don't you dare blow up my future collection!"
"Huh?!"
Deidara, mid-hand seal, scowled. "Why should my art take a backseat to your puppet show? Yeah?"
"Don't test me, Deidara." Sasori's tone was dangerously calm.
"Tch." Deidara reluctantly lowered his hands. "Fine. Only 'cause we've been partners this long. Yeah."
Meanwhile, Kakashi and Tokuma fought back-to-back against the relentless puppets.
"These ones aren't human puppets?" Kakashi noted as his kick connected with solid wood instead of flesh.
"Lady Tsunade destroyed all of Sasori's human puppets in their last fight," Deidara chimed in, barely hiding his amusement. "So now you two will be his replacements. Yeah!"
"Deidara!" Sasori growled.
Kakashi suddenly exchanged a glance with Tokuma.
"Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!!"
Tokuma spun rapidly, his defensive technique deflecting the puppets' assault. Seizing the opening, Kakashi sank into the ground.
"Oi oi, running away and leaving your comrade behind?" Deidara taunted.
"Of course not—"
Kakashi reappeared directly in front of Sasori's real body, his Sharingan morphing into a new pattern.
"Kamui!!"
A spatial vortex materialized, its crushing force wrenching at Sasori's body.
"Crack—!"
Sasori's form shattered into pieces—only his right arm was caught in the vortex before it vanished.
Clutching his bleeding left eye, Kakashi barely had time to react before—
"Click, click, click—"
"I've been waiting for you to use that technique."
Sasori's dismembered limbs flew back together, reassembling seamlessly. His remaining left hand extended, a pipe emerging from his palm as purple smoke billowed out.
"Hatake Kakashi… today, you become part of my collection."
*****
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