**Inside the Cave**
Sasori lay on the operating table, silently awaiting Kimimaro's modifications.
The two had just concluded a discussion about the concept of artificial humans. Sasori was deeply shaken by the idea, as if a new door to the world had opened before him.
The transformation began at this moment.
**Divine Hands!**
Kimimaro's hands glowed faintly golden as he commenced the artificial human project.
The plan wasn't entirely mature, but the initial modifications were manageable. Sasori's body, having already been turned into a human puppet by himself, made the process significantly easier.
Additionally, with over a hundred puppets at hand—including the Third Kazekage and Hiruko—the materials available were incredibly abundant.
Thus, Kimimaro's modifications were a great success.
Although this first attempt couldn't transform Sasori into something as exaggerated as Pain's Asura Path, integrating abilities from the Third Kazekage and Hiruko was achievable.
Most importantly, Sasori could now become an artificial human.
Kimimaro had initially wanted to model him after the Androids from *Dragon Ball*, but the difficulty was too great. At this point, he could only produce a semi-finished product.
If he came up with new ideas later, he could always add to Sasori's modifications.
Even now, this was already an impressive feat. At the very least, Sasori's strength had improved, and his appearance remained intact.
"Done."
After working tirelessly for an entire day and night, Kimimaro completed the surgery. Sasori, however, remained unconscious and wouldn't wake up anytime soon.
Kimimaro wasn't in a hurry. The longer Sasori slept, the better his body could integrate with the modifications.
As Kimimaro left the operating room, Deidara was already waiting eagerly at the entrance.
"How's Big Bro Sasori doing? Don't tell me he was really careless enough to get killed by an old lady and a little girl?"
"Don't worry. He won't die. We just experimented with some new ideas. We'll know the results once he wakes up."
"Ah, I see. For a moment there, I thought Big Bro Sasori really hit rock bottom." Deidara couldn't help but tease.
"You shouldn't talk about Sasori like that. You're not in much better shape yourself. Look at your arms—both of them are gone."
"Well… haha, it was an accident. If it were you, I doubt you'd have been able to block that copy ninja's attack either. Who knew he could use space-time jutsu? Totally caught me off guard."
Deidara let out an awkward laugh.
Having bragged earlier, his current state was naturally embarrassing.
Kimimaro shook his head helplessly. "Alright, hand over your broken arms. I'll reattach them."
"Great! You're the best! That cheapskate Kakuzu said it'd cost ten million ryo to fix one arm, twenty million for both. Such a rip-off!"
Deidara expressed his dissatisfaction with Kakuzu while kicking his ninja tool pouch down from his waist. He pulled out a storage scroll from it.
From the scroll emerged his severed arms. One had been twisted off by Kakashi, while the other was crushed during his fight with Gaara.
Fortunately, they were preserved well enough to repair.
Since his arms had been modified before, it wasn't too difficult to fix them.
"Kakuzu never misses a chance to make money. If he finds out I've cost him business, he'll definitely come after me. So don't tell him about this."
As Kimimaro spoke, he started cleaning Deidara's broken arms.
"Heh, even if I don't tell him, Kakuzu will find out. Besides him, you're the only one in the organization who can reattach arms. Don't worry, if that guy dares mess with you, I'll back you up!"
Deidara struck a heroic pose, prompting Kimimaro to roll his eyes.
"Take care of yourself first. That careless attitude of yours will get you killed someday. Next time, you might not be so lucky."
With Deidara's arms cleaned, Kimimaro began stitching them back together.
"Haha, it was just an accident. I didn't expect my opponents to be so skilled this time."
"There are many things you don't expect. Don't think you're the only genius around. Both Gaara and Kakashi are geniuses too. The ninja world isn't short on them."
Kimimaro retorted while performing his *Thread Stitching Technique*. In no time, Deidara's arms were reattached.
Deidara flexed his hands, even wiggling the tongues in his palms. Everything worked perfectly.
"Heh, your craftsmanship is top-notch as always, Kimimaro. Don't worry, I've learned my lesson this time. Next time, I'll be fully prepared!"
Seeing Deidara's demeanor, Kimimaro could tell he hadn't learned anything.
Oh well, if he hadn't learned, so be it.
For now, Sasuke wouldn't be coming after Deidara. Even if he did, without Lightning Release to counter him, Deidara should survive—as long as he didn't blow himself up.
"Where's Suigetsu?"
"He got bored and went swimming. By the way, why does he look so gloomy? What happened to him?"
"Nothing. Maybe he's tired from organizing supplies."
"Huh?" Deidara looked confused.
"Sasori is still resting. Keep an eye on him. I'm going out for some air."
"Got it! Leave Big Bro Sasori to me. If anyone tries to mess with us, I'll show them the beauty of explosion art! Speaking of which, it's such a pity I didn't get to use my art during the last battle. I lost my arms before I could even try."
Deidara looked regretful.
"Just don't end up blowing yourself up one day."
Kimimaro patted Deidara on the shoulder and walked out of the cave.
By the nearby river, Suigetsu was swimming leisurely, accompanied by Pikachu. The two looked completely at ease.
"You two sure know how to enjoy yourselves."
Hearing Kimimaro's voice, Pikachu brightened up and leapt toward him.
In mid-air, it spun to shake off the water before landing snugly in Kimimaro's arms.
It was as affectionate as ever.
"Boss, care for a swimming contest? I'll definitely beat you!" Suigetsu called out with a grin.
"No, thanks. We've got company."
As Kimimaro spoke, his sensory abilities picked up a presence.
It was Zetsu.
Sure enough, a moment later, Zetsu emerged from the ground.
"Heh, Kimimaro, your sensory skills keep improving."
Though Zetsu was smiling, he couldn't help but feel wary of Kimimaro's growing abilities.
"Zetsu, are there updates on the Two-Tails Jinchuriki?"
Kimimaro skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point.
"Indeed. Two days ago, Yugito Nii left her village on a mission. This is a great opportunity. We can ambush her on her way back."
"Then it's settled. Suigetsu, get ready to move."
"Got it!"
With Zetsu leading the way, Kimimaro and Suigetsu set off for the Land of Lightning.
On the other side, Kakashi and the others had already returned to Konoha and told Tsunade everything that had happened.
"This is what happened. Lady Tsunade, I believe that the information from Kimimaro should still be reliable. He has no reason to deceive us."
The one reporting was Sakura, while Kakashi had been hospitalized due to excessive use of the Sharingan.
Upon hearing this, Tsunade furrowed her brow slightly.
From Sakura's description, it seemed that Kimimaro indeed let Sakura and Chiyo off. He had even gone easy on Kakashi and Naruto during their battle. If not, they might not have seen Gaara.
"As expected, Kimimaro's joining Akatsuki must have had a different purpose. He's not loyal to the organization. So what is his goal? Could it be, like Jiraiya, that he noticed the threat Akatsuki poses?"
Tsunade was uncertain.
"Anyway, Kimimaro didn't act against Kakashi and the others, so it should be because of my reputation. As for Sasuke and Neji's information, he likely wanted to convey something to me through this. Since that's the case, Sakura and Naruto must go. But now that Kakashi is in the hospital, we'll need to assign other personnel."
Tsunade thought for a moment, then quickly made her decision.
"Tsunade, please let us go! I believe Kimimaro won't deceive me. When I fought him, I didn't feel like he wanted to kill me."
Before Tsunade could speak, Naruto, eager as ever, jumped in.
"I understand. You can leave early tomorrow. Since Kakashi can't go to the Tenchi Bridge, I'll arrange for a new leader and a companion for you."
"Okay!"
Smiles appeared on both Naruto and Sakura's faces. They had waited for this moment for three years.
Three days later, Kimimaro and Suigetsu arrived near the Land of Lightning.
"The two Woodmen are nearby, the rest is up to you."
Zetsu finished speaking and ran off. Not participating in battles was his usual style.
"This guy finally left. He always gives me an uncomfortable feeling," Suigetsu complained.
Kimimaro, however, activated his Byakugan and began searching for ninjas within a five-kilometer radius.
Over the past two years, Kimimaro had perfected his Byakugan, and five kilometers was the limit for his telescopic vision.
To go further, he would need to upgrade his Byakugan. However, he hadn't found a suitable method for this yet.
Even so, his current Byakugan was much stronger than that of the Hyuuga clan members like Hiashi.
Soon, Kimimaro detected the two Woodmen's whereabouts.
"I found them. In the southwest, 3,526 meters away. Besides the two Woodmen, there are two Cloud ninjas. Based on their chakra and clothing, they should be around Chunin level."
Judging the strength of ninjas wasn't easy, as the Byakugan could only detect the amount of chakra in a person, not their entire strength.
However, it did provide valuable insights. For example, ninjas with more chakra were likely stronger, while those with little chakra were definitely weaker.
Although people often said that Kakashi had little chakra, that was only when compared to the Hokage. For a Jounin, Kakashi's chakra was certainly not lacking.
"Boss, should I go first?"
Suigetsu asked, gripping his sword eagerly.
"Sure. I'll take care of the two Chunin, and you focus on the two Woodmen."
"Got it! I'm on my way!"
Suigetsu immediately moved into action.
Kimimaro, however, did not follow. Instead, he extended his left hand and formed a bone bow. Gripping the bow with his left hand, he created two bone arrows with his right.
Over 3,000 meters away, Kimimaro used his Byakugan as a sniper scope for his bone bow.
"Direction: southwest. Distance: 3,526 meters."
Kimimaro murmured to himself, his Byakugan and bone arrows merging into one.
"Fire!"
With a sharp command from Kimimaro, two bone arrows shot out simultaneously.
A sonic boom rang out!
At the same time, Suigetsu had already arrived in front of the two Woodmen.
"Two-Tails Jinchuriki! Suigetsu's here to capture you! Surrender now!"
As soon as Suigetsu finished speaking, the sonic boom sounded, startling him.
The two Woodmen and the two Cloud ninjas were also startled.
In the next moment, the bone arrows pierced through the throats of the two Cloud ninjas.
Whoosh!
The arrows flew through their throats, spraying blood!
Death!
Kimimaro had killed two Chunin from over 3,000 meters away!
Suigetsu and the two Woodmen were both stunned.
They hadn't reacted in time. If the arrows had been aimed at them, they wouldn't have fared any better—at best, they would've been heavily injured.
"Who?! Who shot us from the shadows?!"
The two Woodmen shouted in anger and surprise.
Suigetsu, finally recovering from the shock, called out.
"Boss! That method of dealing with the Chunin was a bit too brutal, don't you think? Let me know next time, you almost scared me to death!"
Kimimaro appeared next to him without a word.
"Complaining after I clear the obstacles? Get ready for battle."
Kimimaro said, stomping the ground. In an instant, a transparent barrier appeared.
This barrier was a combination of the Four Purple Flames Formation and the Sealing Barrier, designed by Kimimaro. Once inside, no one could leave unless they defeated him.
"Okay, boss, just watch me show off!"
Suigetsu said confidently.
Meanwhile, the two Woodmen had regained their composure. She looked at the clothing of Suigetsu and Kimimaro and coldly said, "I thought it was someone else, but it's just those Akatsuki members hiding in the shadows.
Hmph, don't think I'm some weak Jinchuriki like the Fifth Kazekage. If you want to capture me, you're just dreaming!"
The news of the Kazekage's capture had been out for several days, and the Cloud Village had received the information.
The two Woodmen had been urgently recalled to the Cloud Village because of this.
But she wasn't afraid.
As a Jinchuriki, she had her own pride.
Moreover, she was just one step away from becoming a perfect Jinchuriki, her strength rivaling that of a Kage.
"Take this!"
Suigetsu didn't pay attention to her confident speech and swung his sword at her.
"Seeking death!"
The two Woodmen summoned cat claws on her hands and feet, meeting Suigetsu's sword head-on.
Clang!
The claws sparked as they scraped against the sword, creating a dazzling display, much like sparklers.
"This guy's so strong? No wonder Jinchuriki are different."
Suigetsu was surprised to find that the two Woodmen could actually withstand his sword.
And the battle had only just begun!