Puppet Masters were generally known for having one weakness. That weakness was close combat. If someone good at Taijutsu got close to them, they could defeat them easily without letting the Puppet Master use their puppets.
However, there was another critical weakness that Puppet Masters had which wasn't generally mentioned due to the difficulty in exploiting it. That was the very chakra threads that they used to control the puppets. If those chakra threads were severed, they would lose control over the puppets and would be left vulnerable without their greatest strength.
Destroying the chakra threads wasn't very difficult either as it was just normal chakra and not some indestructible thread. While an experienced Puppet Master could ensure that the threads didn't break against an AoE attack, if the threads were specifically targeted, they would still break.
Of course, that was easier said than done as the puppets would be used to block such attempts. And even if you succeeded, the Puppet Master could just create new chakra threads and connect to the Puppet once more.
When Sasori's chakra threads were destroyed, he did the exact same thing. In less than a second, he created more chakra threads to connect to the puppets. Unfortunately for him, Fujin's Wind Domain was the perfect counter to chakra threads. Even before the chakra threads reached his puppets, they were severed by more blades of wind that appeared out of thin air.
Sasori cursed, 'What the hell is this ability? And who is the one controlling that chakra? Is it one of Orochimaru's subordinates or are some other forces present in this town?'
Despite not knowing the answer to those questions, Sasori didn't stop. There were more than 60 puppets trapped inside the Wind Domain. It was more than a fourth of his puppet collection that he had been working on for over a decade.
Sasori repeatedly attempted to take control of his puppets but failed each time. The Wind Domain, which was only around the mansion like a dome, began extending in Sasori's direction.
Sasori observed, 'It's like a branch extending from that dome. Whoever it is, should be inside that dome. Regardless, what does he want to achieve by extending that chakra here? Does he think that he can defeat me without even showing his face? Or is he up to something else?'
Sasori wasn't someone who'd lose control of his emotions just due to his opponents' words or actions. However, he hadn't ever been insulted to such a degree before. Even then, he patiently waited to see what his mysterious opponent was up to. In a minute, the Wind Domain had extended all the way from the mansion to Sasori who was standing outside the town.
Winds began moving at a rapid speed and took the form of a Dragon. Sasori wondered, 'The Wind Dragon jutsu? So this chakra can be used to create Wind jutsus other than Blades of Wind jutsu. Still, this Wind Dragon… As I thought…'
As Sasori observed the Wind Dragon, he realized that it wasn't a normal Wind Dragon. Instead, it contained several dozen blades of wind inside it. In a sense, it was a deadly combination of two Wind jutsus.
The Wind Dragon suddenly dived towards Sasori. Sasori immediately took a defensive posture and extended Hiroku's tail forward while thinking, 'Those wind blades might work against normal puppets. However, it is useless against Hiroku's defenses.'
Sasori was confident in his defense. The Wind Dragon hit him and all the wind blades were stopped. They weren't even able to scratch the shield on Hiroku's back. The remaining parts had some scratches, but they weren't fatal for the puppet. However, something happened that made Sasori feel a sense of dread!
He immediately flickered away along with the Hiroku puppet. He looked at the Wind Dragon, who had stopped attacking, with horror as he thought, 'It can cut chakra threads even when I am controlling the puppet while hiding inside it. If those wind blades accidentally enter my body…'
Sasori's entire body was a puppet. If the wind blades destroyed the chakra threads that were controlled by his core, then he could fall within the blink of an eye! Of course, Sasori doubted that the Wind Blades would be able to reach his core, which was indeed the case as Fujin couldn't create Vacuum blades with his Wind Domain yet, but he didn't dare to test it for no good reason.
Seeing that Sasori had moved away, the Wind Dragon stopped and extended its elongated neck in the sky. Unlike the normal Wind Dragon, which Fujin couldn't control much, he had complete control over the Wind Dragon in his Wind Domain. So it could do much more than just tackle or shoot a Wind Explosion Sphere.
It opened its mouth and exhaled a Wind Breath while moving its head slightly so that the Wind Breath would be able to affect a large area. Needless to say, the Wind Breath also consisted of several small wind blades.
While the Wind Dragon was keeping Sasori busy, Fujin created several clones. A few of them flickered into the mansion and sealed the dead bodies of Yamakawa Hiromu and the Suna ninjas.
A few others flickered around in the town to the ninjas whom Fujin had detected. They killed the ones who were from the Yamakawa family with Blades of Wind jutsu if they were alone. For the ones that weren't alone, they transformed into a random person wearing the Sunagakure outfit and headband and killed them in broad daylight, causing even more chaos in the town.
The remaining clones hid their identities and flickered next to Sasori's puppets that were lying around. One of the Shadow Clones observed the seals on the puppets properly and analyzed, 'I see. The puppets don't just have seals to strengthen their combat capabilities but also have several seals to help Sasori detect things happening around them. No wonder he can control them so well despite being such a long distance away.
He is probably aware that we are inspecting his puppets right now. And, this seal should allow him to detect the location of his puppets. However, this seal has quite a low range. Suppressing these seals and sealing the puppet up shouldn't be an issue. If I escape with these puppets, he shouldn't be able to track them unless I am missing something.
Oh well, I was always curious about using Puppets. I can't refuse such a generous gift, hehe.'
The other clones also noticed the same thing on the remaining puppets. Everyone immediately began working on suppressing the problematic seals so that they could store the puppets in storage scrolls.
Sasori noticed the incoming wind breath, grabbed a scroll and opened it. A puff of smoke appeared. A moment later, several iron particles rushed towards the Wind Breath and formed an iron wall!
Fujin looked in the direction of Sasori and thought, 'So he decided to use the Third Kazekage puppet? Annoying, but my Wind Domain can't be stopped so easily.'
Fujin emitted more chakra into the air. The wind dragon disappeared as the attack took the majority of the wind chakra in that area. The iron wall was able to withstand the assault and no wind blades reached Sasori. However, Sasori was still perplexed.
Instead of a new Dragon forming, the Wind Domain continuously extended in his direction. Sasori retreated while analyzing, 'If I enter that area, then he can form wind blades at will. I will lose control over the puppet once again. I need to attack the one who is controlling this wind.'
Sasori got out of the path of the wind domain that was extending like a branch and began moving towards the town at a fast speed. Fujin's Wind Domain didn't have any chance of catching up with him.
Fujin sensed his movements and a smile appeared on his face as he thought, 'In Akatsuki, Sasori is one of the most dangerous members. If I ignore the ones with Dojutsu, I'd say that Sasori is the most dangerous one even though Kisame and maybe Kakuzu are stronger. Unfortunately for him, my Wind Domain is the perfect counter for a Puppet Master. It makes him one of the easiest Akatsuki members to deal with for me!'
Immediately, another branch extended out of the Wind Domain. However, it wasn't moving towards Sasori but instead was quite far from him. While the first branch that had extended began cutting off Sasori's retreat. Instead of confronting Sasori directly, Fujin attempted to trap him inside the Wind Domain!
Understanding his intentions, Sasori immediately retreated once again. Fujin chuckled as he muttered to himself, 'What a shame. I thought that he wanted to gift me the Third Kazekage puppet as well.'
