Chapter 1026

"Time to test the blade!"

Carrying an unconscious person did not slow Scorpion down much. To put it simply, after abandoning ordinary chakra and switching the energy source for her entire body to the Azure Dragon Sage Art that had once troubled her for so long, Scorpion felt as if she had inexhaustible strength. Perhaps only she, who had long since become a human puppet, could truly understand how terrifying the corrosive effect of this Azure Dragon sage-art chakra was on ordinary people.

Sasori of the Red Sand knew Young Yuanzi extremely well. If she were to bring out all the research she had accumulated over the years on Young Yuanzi's unique power system and display it, it might very well allow someone to find its weakness.

But, quite unfortunately for Scorpion, Young Yuanzi was very special to her — not one of those 'puppets' she usually delighted in collecting, but rather the object of a far stronger desire: to merge as one. It was precisely this twisted notion that became the reason Scorpion had been able to keep the secret all along, working alone to find Young Yuanzi's weakness and then complete it.

That's right — complete the weakness. She wanted Young Yuanzi's power system to completely surpass the current ninjutsu chakra system. In her view, using the corrosive ability of Young Yuanzi's Azure Dragon Sage Art to assimilate the dragon-vein energy of Lou Lan and form an entirely new power was the first step in eliminating that weakness. Clearly, Young Yuanzi herself had done a better job of it than Scorpion had.

A body that has truly signed a contract with the Azure Dragon — how wonderful that would be, Scorpion thought with a hint of longing. She glanced at Gaara slung over her shoulder, and her mood suddenly brightened.

Almost there. As long as she had the massive power of a tailed beast, she too could break through the bottleneck. When that time came, she could challenge her again and win the victory. But right now, there was a rather troublesome matter that needed dealing with.

The pursuers were faster than she had originally anticipated. She had left Temari and Kankuro behind hoping to buy time, but it seemed that move had not worked. The importance of a jinchūriki to the village was clearly ranked higher. In that case, she'd try this one out first.

Maintaining her speed without slowing, she drew out an exquisitely crafted scroll. Scorpion partially unfurled it, revealing the incantations and sealing formation inscribed upon it.

"Puppet Release!" A thin puff of smoke, and a human puppet was released. Sensing the pursuers closing in from behind, Scorpion grinned wickedly as she pressed her hand against the puppet's chest, channeling sage-art chakra laced with dragon-vein power into it. Before long, the human puppet began moving on its own.

"I have a task for you — hold off the pursuers behind us." As she lifted her hand, Scorpion issued her order. The human puppet, now infused with chakra, was gradually growing more agile. After raising its head to confirm the enemy, it immediately set off in the opposite direction, charging straight at the pursuers head-on.

The Fourth Kazekage Rasa had reinforced himself with Wind Release ninjutsu, and the Sand Leaf Anbu accompanying him were all top-class trackers. Their perception abilities were all formidable, so the black shadow charging toward them was detected by them at the very first instant.

"Kazekage-sama, enemy attack!" The Leaf Anbu positioned to the front-right of the Fourth Kazekage was the furthest forward in the entire formation. He immediately began forming hand seals at the first instant. Everyone knew without thinking that what had appeared ahead was definitely Scorpion's means of blocking their pursuit, so there was no need to confirm what it was — just break straight through.

The Leaf Anbu on the left was a taijutsu specialist. He drew his ninja tool and channeled Wind Release ninjutsu into it, waiting at any moment for his partner to disrupt the opponent's advance so he could follow up with a finishing strike.