"The Iron Sand Technique... Is this the third Kazekage's signature technique as recorded in the documents?"

At the exit of the passage, Gaara stood steadily atop the head of a giant sand serpent, gazing intently at the sand-iron triangle.

The series of fierce attacks had exhausted a lot of his chakra. Although he had Shukaku to support him, Gaara still needed some time to recover.

"This does indeed look like the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release: Iron Sand Technique, but he disappeared a long time ago!"

Behind Gaara, Maki looked hesitant. He had originally led a squad of elite Jonin and anti-aircraft crossbowmen from the village to follow Gaara and eliminate the invaders, but he never expected to witness the unique techniques of the previous two Kazekage.

"That's right, this is indeed the secret technique of iron sand."

Chiyo's aged figure slowly emerged from underground, her expression and tone extremely complex.

Upon hearing Chiyo's words, the Sand Ninjas, both inside and outside the outer perimeter of the blockade, exchanged shocked glances, and the scene erupted in a cacophony of noise.

Suddenly, the iron sand cone underwent a dramatic change, disintegrating into countless fine iron sand needles that shot outwards at incredible speed. These needles moved at breakneck speed, gleaming with a dark light, and looked extremely dangerous.

Fortunately, Gaara had recovered and managed to manipulate the sand into a swirling sand serpent to block the needles that were flying in all directions. However, the powerful impact still made Gaara frown slightly.

These iron sand spikes are extremely fast, have a wide attack range, and last for a long time, making them a very troublesome attack. Add to that the guy who could manipulate clay to create explosions, and these two are truly dangerous. Fortunately, in recent years, Sunagakure has acquired many valuable items from Konoha, greatly increasing its funds and resources. Elder Chiyo deployed some surveillance equipment to build a hidden monitoring area underground at the village entrance, which allowed them to detect Yura's unusual movements in time.

If these two were to infiltrate the village, the Sand Village would likely suffer incalculable losses due to their highly dangerous ninjutsu.

Seemingly realizing that his attack had had no effect, Sasori, controlling the Third Kazekage puppet, stopped attacking. The collision of the iron needles and yellow sand ceased, allowing the Sand Ninja on the outer perimeter to finally see the situation clearly.

"Tch, those Sandworms from Sunagakure aren't so bad after all. They actually discovered our movements and even laid an ambush on us. Brother Sasori, leave that so-called Kazekage to me. As for the other Sand Ninja, I'll leave them to you..."

"Brother Scorpion?"

As Deidara was speaking, he noticed that Sasori wasn't reacting at all, so he couldn't help but turn around and glance at him. Then he was horrified to find his older brother Sasori gazing deeply into the eyes of an old woman with a wrinkled face and a trembling body, completely oblivious to the world around them.

The unexpected turn of events sent a shiver down Deidara's spine. He subconsciously recalled Sasori's words about "eternal art." This so-called eternity, in a sense, could also be described as aging. Could it be that Sasori...

Lost in his own thoughts, Deidara forgot his surroundings and involuntarily clenched his buttocks, taking a few steps back. However, this brief moment of distraction resulted in a severe injury for Deidara.

Taking advantage of Deidara's retreat, Gaara manipulated sand to attack Deidara from three directions. The sand gathered into a long whip, lashing, entangled, and strangled him in one swift motion. Although Deidara reacted quickly, throwing out two high-speed clay birds to block the attacks from two directions, he was still entangled in a sand rope around his arm.

"Sandfall Funeral!"

With a fierce shout from Gaara, the sand ropes coiled and tightened, and a fountain of bloody sand suddenly appeared. Deidara's arm was horribly shredded into a bloody pulp by the sand manipulated by Gaara. Then, more sand surrounded Deidara from all directions, and a sand wave more than ten meters high was about to engulf Deidara's figure.

Boom boom boom!

Deidara reacted swiftly, disregarding the potential danger of the nearby explosions, he unleashed a string of clay birds and detonated them. The series of explosions created several gaps in the surrounding sand dunes, and Deidara seized the opportunity to create another clay bird and leap onto it.

This terrain was too disadvantageous for him. Deidara wanted to try to break through from the air, since there would definitely be far fewer Sand Ninja capable of aerial combat. As for Sasori, Deidara couldn't care less at this moment. He believed that with Sasori's strength, he would surely find a way to escape.

That's right, escape. Deidara no longer holds any hope of completing the mission and bringing back the One-Tailed Jinchuriki.

Although he had recently made a brazen attempt to single-handedly storm the Sand Village and capture the Kazekage, Deidara was no fool. Attacking with his aerial advantage to offset the Sand Village's manpower advantage was one thing, but continuing to fight the entire village alone after being attacked and injured was quite another.

Deidara attempted to break through from the air, a move anticipated by Gaara and the surrounding Sand Ninja. Crossbow bolts, sandstorms, and Deidara's clay birds created a stalemate in mid-air. Deidara unleashed his full power, locked in a fierce battle with Gaara, who was flying through the air on sand.

While Deidara and the Sand Ninja were locked in fierce combat, with explosions echoing in the air, Sasori was simply chatting idly.

"This is a human puppet, isn't it? Sasori, did you kill the Third Kazekage?!"

Elder Chiyo's gaze lingered on the puppet and human puppet where Sasori was hiding for a long time, her joy at seeing her grandson who had been missing for many years replaced by endless disappointment.

"Long time no see! You've aged terribly since you were a decade ago! Yes, this is indeed a human puppet, and the Third Kazekage's puppet at that. The human body is so fragile, completely unable to withstand the test of time. Only by creating puppets can it be preserved forever—that's art!"

The amount of information conveyed in his words was frightening, and the emotions he expressed were clearly profound and complex, yet Scorpion's tone remained as cold and somber as ever.

"Hoo, the Third Kazekage."

Chiyo couldn't help but repeat, "The mysterious disappearance of the Third Kazekage brought endless turmoil to Sunagakure. It was a crucial turning point in Sunagakure's decline and the catalyst for the Third Shinobi World War. I never imagined that the culprit would be my own adorable grandson."

"The Third Kazekage... Could it be that Sasori assassinated Lord Kazekage?!"

"This matter triggered the Third Shinobi World War. Back then, we thought it was Konoha's doing, but we never expected it was Elder Chiyo's family..."

The secret revealed by Sasori caused an uproar among the Sand Ninja on the outskirts, and even slowed down the encirclement and suppression of Deidara.

"How could you do something like this? Scorpion, you've made an irreparable mistake!"

Chiyo's old face was filled with grief and sorrow. She could forgive her grandson's mistake and was even willing to give her own life to save Sasori. But what Sasori had done was too serious, and Chiyo had no idea how to undo it!