Sasori

Sasori (サソリ), also known as Sasori of the Red Sand (赤砂のサソリ, Akasuna no Sasori), is the grandson of Chiyo and a rogue ninja from the Village Hidden in Sand. He served as one of the two main antagonists in the Kazekage Rescue Mission arc.

Background
When Sasori was young, his parents were killed by Sakumo Hatake, leaving him with no one but his grandmother, Chiyo, to take care of him. To cheer up Sasori, Chiyo began to teach him the art of making puppets, and Sasori soon proved to be a born natural at the art. He began making puppets at the age of five, his first two being modeled after his parents in an attempt to rid himself of the terrible loneliness he felt. But his creations's inability to give him the natural parental love he desired caused Sasori to become a psychopath overtime and develop an obsession with immortality. Many of the puppets he created were used the Third Great Ninja War, their effectiveness in straining the sand with the blood of their users' enemies giving Sasori his moniker.

Twenty years before his introduction in the series, motivated to create works that would last forever, Sasori created a means to convert a human into a puppet body. Sasori used this method on the Thrid Kazekage in secret as he left the Village Hidden in Sand. Sasori eventually converted himself into a human puppet to maintain his youthful appearance and increase his own offensive capabilities, but retained his heart — the only still-living part of his body — in a cylindrical container in the left part of his chest. Sasori whole body mechanism seems to fail altogether if his core is injured or damaged beyond healing, he seems very suprised as blood leaked out of his mouth while he cannot stop it, and it is shown to kept leaking out. He also cannot move any part of his body when his core was pierced.

Sometime after leaving the village, Sasori joined the Akatsuki and provided the organization with various sleeper agents throughout the five nations. He was originally paired with Orochimaru who he respected as both shared a desire for immortality. However, when Orochimaru left the Akatsuki, Sasori bore a grudge on his former partner's desertion to the point of having Kabuto Yakushi, who he thought was working for him, to spy on Orochimaru. Soon after, prior to being partnered to Plot

Accompanying Deidara on his mission to capture Gaara, Sasori uses his sleeper agents in the Hidden Sand Village to cause confusion. Once Deidara captured Gaara, Sasori buys his partner time by fighting Kankuro and poisoning him. After extracting Shukaku, Sasori and Deidara was given a new task to deal with Team Kakashi and Chiyo. While Deidara takes the others away, Sasori battles Chiyo and Sakura Haruno before the former uses the latter as a puppet to shatter Hiruko. Revealed, Sasori reveals the puppet that was the Third Kazekage and uses it to fight his female opponents. But Chiyo counters with Sasori's parent puppets, which she weaponized, before the Kazekge puppet is destroyed. However, Sasori unveils his most powerful puppet: himself as he uses his Secret Red Move: Performance of a Hundred Puppets. Eventually, proving to be hard to killed, Sasori is impaled by his parent puppets into a hug-like pincer move. Before dying, Sasori informed Sakura of his spy Orochimaru's in ranks and the time and place he was to meet him. Sasori's puppet body was later acquired by Kankuro and modified into a normal puppet.

Sasori was later reanimated by Kabuto to aid his replacement, Tobi, in the Fourth Great Ninja War. Though a bit annoyed that only living members of the Akatsuki remained, Sasori enjoyed the benefits of his new immortal body. Assigned to the Surprise Attack and Diversion Platoon, Sasori is tasked with disrupting the Allied Shinobi Forces with his human puppetry of Allied Ninjas and some of the reanimated ninja like Sai's brother Shin. After he is captured by Sai and Shin breaks free of the Reanimation jutsu, Sasori follows suit as he realizes from Kankuro that he was already immortalized by his puppets. As his soul fades, Sasori tells Kankuro to care for his parent puppets so they can used by future generations.

Appearance
Without his puppet armor, he maintained the appearance of a teenage boy with wide brown eyes, and short red hair. As a child, he wore green robes with a pale jacket around them. As he was an adult, he was mostly seen in the Akatsuki robe. When Sasori revealed his true body, which was a puppet with a pair of spinning claws attached to the backsides, a holder for four scrolls on the back, a stinger in the empty and open stomach cavity, a compartment in the right chest, and a core in the left, his eyes were wide open in a maniacal-like way, as opposed to his normal calm looking eyes.

On his left thumb was his Akatsuki ring, which bears the kanji for Jewel or Sphere (玉, gyoku). Sasori also wore teal nail polish. Even though he possesed a headband from Sunagakure that was slashed out, he was never seen wearing it.

Personality
As a child, Sasori always seemed sad and despondent, due to the lack of parental love. When introduced to the art of puppetry by his grandmother, Chiyo, he grew a little happier. He eventually created puppets with the likeness of his parents, but when the puppets couldn't give him the parental love he desired, he became cold, aloof, ruthless, and standoffish. This led to him having little regard for human life, and he went so far to state that he would feel nothing if Chiyo died, as he claimed that his heart had become like his puppet body: without any emotions. Despite his cruelty, Sasori also had been shown to possess a very down-to-earth outlook on life, rarely growing worked up over obstacles that came his way. He also rarely showed any extreme emotions, and even these instances were short-lived.

Sasori was also known for his impatience, as he repeatedly noted that he did not wish to wait or keep others waiting, which was quite ironic since he had all the time in the world due to his puppet body.

Sasori and his second partner in Akatsuki, Deidara, both had conflicting views of art, and they frequently argued about their different views. Deidara maintained the opinion that art was something transient that departs quickly, where as Sasori believed that fine art is something wonderful that is left long into the future. This reflected their individual natures; Deidara made clay sculptures which exploded, while Sasori created long-lasting puppets out of humans. Nevertheless, Deidara outwardly seemed to respect Sasori's beliefs, although Sasori never respected Deidara's.

Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals
Sasori made an appearance in the chibi spin-off, Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals. Unlike in the original one, he is seen as Deidara's new partner instead of being the latter's first partner. He is first seen in Episode 38, alongside with Deidara, arguing about their art. When he later saw Deidara trying to help a disguised Lee and Tenten escape the hideout, he mistook Lee as a newbie recruited by Zetsu and then tried to bring Lee into his side about his beliefs about art. When Lee showed him and Deidara about his idea of art by showing a picture of Guy, he destroyed it using his Third Kazekage. Hidan and Kakuzu arrived and told them that art is useless because there is no profit on it. When the two saw Lee, they ask who he is. Before Deidara could try to explain, Sasori told them that Lee is a new recruit, giving Deidara and Lee a bigger problem. Later after Pain decided to test Lee by making him fight a disguised Guy and Neji, Deidara tried to help them escape by using his clay beetle but was unintentionally hit by the "fight" and the clay bomb ends up right into Sasori's face. After the bomb exploded, he is angered by this and tries to teach Deidara a lesson by pulling out his Third Kazekaze but accidentally drags Kakuzu, Kisame, and Konan, much to their anger, thus starting a fight which ends up destroying the hideout. After Tobi and Zetsu arrived, Sasori blames him for "recruiting" Lee and Guy. Upon learning the truth from Tobi, who admits about Lee, he alongside with his teammates beat up Deidara for not telling Lee was a spy.

Abilities
The symbol Sasori placed on the puppets he created.

Puppet Master
Being trained by his powerful grandmother, Chiyo, in the art, Sasori was a master of puppetry and created a number of ingenious puppets; while in Sunagakure he created the three puppets that Kankurō used, and had 298 other puppets in his personal collection. His status as a master puppeteer offered him a tremendous advantage against other puppeteer shinobi, especially if the puppets they were using happened to be formerly his own, as seen in his battle against Kankurō. Skill-wise, Sasori could manipulate puppets at an incredible speed, to the point where his finger movements became blurred to Sakura Haruno. As puppets are usually installed with long-range weapons, Sasori was an expert at fighting at long distances. His usage of Puppets were at such a high level that he made mere techniques appear as an artistic performance. Deidara himself even admitted that Sasori was stronger of the two.

Sasori's abilities also gave him the power to defeat and kill the Third Kazekage, who was said to be the strongest ninja in the history of Sunagakure, though Sasori states that he had some trouble obtaining him.

Knowledge
Repeatedly, Sasori has demonstrated to be a highly cunning ninja, able to handle situations with various traps and misdirections. He is also shown to be a highly analytical man, able to quickly determine his opponent's strengths and combat methods. Like his grandmother, Sasori has a great knowledge of the human body, as shown from his brainwashing jutsu and his mastery over creating different types of poisons. His unique poisons, that he laced nearly every weapon in his arsenal with, took effect instantly, and one such poison could kill the target after three days of suffering. Sasori initially believed this poison to be incurable, but later, to his surprise, Sakura came up with a successful antidote for the poison.

Human Puppetry
Sasori's puppets were unique in that they were made from the still-living bodies of humans. These human puppets were more versatile than regular puppets, since, in addition to having many dangerous devices installed within them (as is common with regular puppets), they were also able to use chakra and perform jutsu. Any jutsu or Kekkei Genkai abilities possessed by the converted human were also passed onto the puppet.

Hiruko
Sasori's puppet armor, Hiruko was the first puppet to be shown being used by Sasori in the series. Sasori actually wore this puppet as an armor, and controlled it from the inside, thus eliminating the puppeteer's weakness of being a separate and exposed target. While within Hiruko, Sasori had a deeper and more hoarse voice. Hiruko was his favorite puppet, such that he adorned it during nearly his entire tenure with Akatsuki, and had it wear the Akatsuki cloak and hat. Sasori used Hiruko so much that many people seemed to have rarely seen Sasori himself in person, as evidenced by Zetsu and Kabuto's responses to seeing that Hiruko was not his actual body. On the other hand, Orochimaru did realize he was not Sasori, implying he had seen Sasori's true face during his time with Akatsuki. During an anime omake, it was shown that Deidara has also seen Sasori's true face while Sasori was doing maintenance of Hiruko.

Hiruko had a long mechanical, scorpion-like tail (an allusion to Sasori's name meaning "scorpion"), extending from the mouth of what appeared to be a demon mask on its back. Chiyo said this mask was a recent addition by Sasori to add extra defense to a weak point in the puppet. The tail worked as Hiruko's main offensive weapon, and was laced with his poison. The tail was also used as an extra defense by spinning it around his body at a rapid speed. Hiruko's left arm was rigged with a projectile launcher capable of firing poisoned shrapnel and needles, and its mouth could also be used to serve a similar function of firing poisoned needles.

Hiruko is only said to have been a human puppet in the anime. In the manga it was just a regular puppet.

Third Kazekage
Sasori's favorite human puppet, the Third KazekageSasori's favorite human puppet was the Third Kazekage, which retained its unique Kekkei Genkai Iron Sand techniques. When mixed with Sasori's poison, the Iron Sand was given a more lethal edge. The Iron Sand could also be used to fill up the joints of other puppets, thus immobilizing them. The Third's puppet's right arm held several poisoned blades, while the left arm could open up to reveal several summoning seals that summoned thousands of similar arms to attack the target. These arms were capable of crushing an opponent, emitting poisonous gas clouds, and releasing wires that dragged the opponent into the gas cloud. If these arms were cut off, a small buzz-saw took their place.

Puppet Body
Sasori's Puppet Body. Although Sasori was 35 years old, he maintained the appearance of a teenage boy. Sasori's unnaturally young appearance was a product of his design. Aside from his heart, Sasori's body was actually a puppet. In place of his stomach was a thick cable coiled around a pole, allowing Sasori to use it as a stinger and retract it if necessary. Attached to his back was a scroll holder, containing four scrolls that seemed to serve as "ammunition", which Sasori used to store his human puppets. Sasori also added a pair of poles to the back of his hips, each equipped with five large blades that could spin like a propeller, and pipes to each of his hands that could spew out intense fire or powerful water jets. Despite being loaded with weapons, Sasori kept them (and his true form) hidden with his Akatsuki robes, which were large enough to conceal them without problem. Curiously, when using "himself", Sasori's eyes were always wide open, giving him a somewhat maniacal look. In contrast, prior to revealing his puppet body, they were always half-closed, making him appear calmer. Sasori has claimed that he has not used "himself" since joining Akatsuki, until his last battle with his grandmother and Sakura Haruno.

Installed in the right part of his chest was a mechanism that could spin numerous chakra strings, allowing Sasori to use his Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets. With it, he was given a drastic advantage over other puppeteers, such that he claimed to have taken down an entire country with it. Sasori's left part of his chest held the only part of him still human and thus the only, and necessary, part of his body capable of controlling chakra: a cylinder-shaped device containing his heart. Since his own body was also turned into one of his human puppets that he controls, technically, this is Sasori, because Sasori's heart was the only living part of himself, his puppet body was virtually indestructible, allowing him to survive the poison mist Kankurō bombarded him with, as well as the impact from Sakura's punches. He was also immune to hindrances that would normally affect a human's body, such as fatigue, muscle failure, and pain, allowing him to move at full strength for extended periods of time. When smashed apart, he could simply draw the pieces back together. Additionally, he could transfer his heart to other puppets in a split second, allowing him to abandon a body should it be damaged beyond repair or otherwise incapacitated. It is suggested in the manga that Sasori created more than one puppet body in his image. Sasori as Kankurō's puppet. After his death, Kankurō retrieved Sasori's lifeless body and made several modifications to it. He removed the pair of blades on the back, the cable stinger in the stomach, and the core that contained Sasori's heart. The flamethrower jets on the palm, however, seem to be still intact. Kankurō also added a cloak over the puppet.

He has been shown to use the Red Secret Technique: Machinery Triangles with Sasori; whether this is a new addition installed or if it already existed but was not shown earlier is not yet known. It's also possible that Kankuro retrieved Sasori's second body as that one already had a cloak and was without the blades.

Trivia

 * Sasori (蠍) means "scorpion".
 * Sasori had the same birth date as Masashi Kishimoto.
 * Additionally, his birth date (November 8) makes Sasori's Western astrological sign Scorpio, the scorpion.
 * Sasori had one of the longest battle times in the anime (8 full episodes), giving him roughly about 4 hours of battle screentime.
 * In the first poll he was in (the 6th overall poll), he placed 6th on the list.
 * Sasori made a brief appearance in the 129th Naruto Shippūden episode omake, walking past Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki in a festival, glancing at the former.
 * According to the Databook:
 * His hobby was remodeling his puppet collection.
 * Sasori wished to fight Monzaemon Chikamatsu.
 * Sasori didn't need food, due to his puppet body.
 * Sasori had completed 72 official missions in total: 5 D-rank, 12 C-rank, 16 B-rank, 29 A-rank, 10 S-rank.
 * Sasori's favorite phrase was "Eternal beauty".
 * All of Sasori's puppets wore the same clothing: black cloak with a ruffled neck area. The exception goes to his Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets, of which the cloaks they wore are red. Also, Sasori and Hiruko themselves wore the Akatsuki robes instead.
 * Curiously when using "himself", Sasori's eyes become wide, thereby making him appear insane. Prior to that his eyes were half-closed, making him more calm and aloof.