The Red Sand Scorpion is not just a simple name. According to legend, Sunagakure's genius craftsman and every puppet master of the village take pride in obtaining puppets made by the Red Sand Scorpion.
Since the parents of the Red Sand Scorpion were killed by Konoha's White Fang, the Red Sand Scorpion began learning puppetry under the guidance of Chiyo. In just a few years, the reputation of the Red Sand Scorpion's genius spread throughout the Hidden Sand Village.
Perhaps it was the death of his parents that inspired the Red Sand Scorpion, allowing him to grow into a powerful ninja in a short period of time.
Although the amount of chakra the Red Sand Scorpion possesses is not immense due to age limitations, it is undeniable that he is very strong.
The Red Sand Scorpion, who wields the puppet of the Third Kazekage, is immeasurable in strength, and must at least be considered equivalent in combat power to the Third Kazekage himself.
The strength of a ninja is not judged by chakra alone. Naruto, in the original story, possessed a massive amount of chakra but was still just a genin at first.
The strength of puppet masters depends not only on the number of puppets they can control, but also on their quality. In this regard, the strength of the Red Sand Scorpion should surpass that of Chiyo.
The brilliance of the early morning sun had just fallen on the earth, and Chao Yanqian followed Uchiha Chizuru to the secret base established by the Red Sand Scorpion.
It was an extremely well-hidden valley, surrounded by a large number of felled trees. From an environmental analysis, the Red Sand Scorpion likely hid here to study puppetry.
[Shadow Clone Jutsu]
Chao Yanqian formed a seal with both hands, created a shadow clone, and hid in a concealed location with a camera.
If you want to obtain evidence that the Red Sand Scorpion assassinated the Third Kazekage, it's not enough to force him to use the puppet of the Third Kazekage. You must photograph it being used, specifically when the puppet utilizes the Iron Sand technique.
As long as there are photos of the Third Kazekage puppet using Iron Sand, even if Chiyo had a thousand mouths, she wouldn't be able to justify her grandson.
"What are you doing?" Uchiha Chizuru asked curiously, observing Chao Yanqian's actions.
"Senior Chizuru, you're too curious. You just need to force the Red Sand Scorpion to go all out," Chao Yanqian replied.
"Tch! Brat!" Uchiha Chizuru curled his lips, then stepped forward and began forming hand signs.
[Earth Style — Rockslide Jutsu]
This ninjutsu collapses rocks using chakra, and is very effective against enemies hidden in mountainous terrain.
Rumble!
With a loud noise, the entire hill began to tremble slightly, and then the 'suspected Red Sand Scorpion secret base' suddenly collapsed, burying everything inside.
"Hey! You didn't kill him, did you?" Chao Yanqian exclaimed.
It's undeniable that the Red Sand Scorpion is very powerful, but in such a geographically favorable location, a sudden sneak attack might actually crush him. Chao Yanqian wasn't sure if he had survived the collapse.
If the Red Sand Scorpion died, Chiyo's hatred would be directed squarely at Chao Yanqian, and he didn't want to be the target of her pursuit.
Uchiha Chizuru didn't speak, and instead gestured for Chao Yanqian to fall back, then activated his Sharingan and looked around cautiously.
Seeing Uchiha Chizuru's hand signal, Chao Yanqian quickly retreated and assumed a defensive stance with a kunai in hand.
Uchiha Chizuru was a jōnin after all, and far more experienced. Although his personality was a bit arrogant, his strength couldn't be denied.
Boom!
The collapsed rock suddenly exploded, and a black shadow leapt out. At the same time, countless senbon shot from the shadow, targeting both Chao Yanqian and Uchiha Chizuru in a storm of attacks.
[Earth Style — Earth-Style Wall]
Uchiha Chizuru moved quickly. The enhanced perception of his Sharingan allowed him to sense the ground movement immediately, and he formed hand signs to raise an earthen wall, blocking all the flying needles.
Chao Yanqian quickly ran behind the wall and said to Uchiha Chizuru, "It really is the Red Sand Scorpion. I'll leave the rest to you, Chizuru-senpai!"
"There's poison on those senbon. Be careful!" Uchiha Chizuru warned.
"Senior Chizuru, take this!" Chao Yanqian handed him several bottles of antidote, then used Earth Style to burrow underground and retreat.
Originally, Chao Yanqian wasn't planning to give the antidote to Uchiha Chizuru. But since the Red Sand Scorpion survived such a ninjutsu barrage, he had clearly either used puppet techniques or turned his body into a puppet.
In that case, if Uchiha Chizuru died, Chao Yanqian definitely wouldn't escape.
Although these antidotes might not completely counteract the Red Sand Scorpion's poison, they could at least slow the spread of toxins.
[Fire Style — Fireball Jutsu]
As the senbon attack ceased, Uchiha Chizuru immediately launched a fireball.
From a distance, it was clear that the figure which emerged from the rubble wasn't the Red Sand Scorpion himself, but the puppet he used for protection Hiruko.
Hiruko possessed both offensive and defensive capabilities, designed to compensate for the puppet master's weakness in close combat. It had multiple hidden mechanisms throughout its body and extremely strong defenses. The Red Sand Scorpion had likely relied on Hiruko's defense to survive Uchiha Chizuru's Earth Style attack.
There was both good news and bad news now.
The good news was that Chao Yanqian knew the Red Sand Scorpion was inside Hiruko and had some understanding of its attack mechanisms. The bad news was that even with this knowledge, he couldn't get close enough to destroy the puppet.
It seemed he would have to share his intel on Hiruko with Uchiha Chizuru.
Now the battle between Uchiha Chizuru and the Red Sand Scorpion had reached a stalemate. Chizuru continuously dodged Hiruko's attacks, unable to close the distance. However, none of the Red Sand Scorpion's attacks could escape the insight of the Sharingan.
The danger of puppet masters lies in the strangeness of their attacks. Normal ninjas often struggle against them.
But the Uchiha clan's Sharingan could see through puppet attacks, making them natural counters to puppet users.
The battle between the two looked like a constant chase, with neither able to gain the upper hand. But in ninja battles, the slightest misstep can determine the winner instantly.
Hiruko's attacks were too frequent, and Chao Yanqian, hiding in the shadows, observed closely. However, his lack of insight left him frustrated he couldn't dodge the Red Sand Scorpion's attacks if they came his way.
In other words, in this battle, Chao Yanqian could not intervene.