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The Akatsuki is no shy of lethal Shinobi, each deadlier than the last. But none come as close to being a human as Sasori. A child yearning for affection. A boy stripped from his parents. A product of war… a master of Death! Sasori of the Red Sand is one of the first Akatsuki to fall, but that doesn’t make him any less deadly.
An immortal being… an empty heart jumping from shell to shell, living a life eternal. Only if he weren’t in this deadly line of business, then he wouldn’t have had to die at the hands of our heroes (Sakura included, heh).
Such is the ever-lethal yet marvelous world Masashi Kishimoto has created. As a series, Naruto has lived in fans’ hearts for decades. Hailed as one of the Big 3 of the anime industry, this series is one marvelous amalgamation of Kishimoto’s storytelling. Every character is given meaning, every death a sad one.
This Sasori Naruto Guide aims to walk you through the Journey of Sasori, his beginning, his sins… his end. With the help of this guide, you’ll properly understand each and every aspect of Sasori’s life, understanding the reasons why he turned out to be the person that he was. So without any further ado, let’s dive into the Guide of Sasori.
Sasori of the Red Sand
Early Life
Sasori was born in the Village Hidden In The Sand. Grandson to Lady Chiyo, he lived his childhood days in innocence and happiness. But all that changed on one fateful day when both his parents went to participate in the ongoing 2nd Great Shinobi War.
Little did he know that would be the last time he’d see them. Both his Mother and Father would perish at the hands of Sakumo Hatake, father of Kakashi-Sensei.
This event would change the young boy’s life forever. He would be stripped of his innocent self, deprived of his very parents. Despite Chiyo being there with the young Sasori, even her best attempts were rendered incapable of filling the empty void that yearned for his father and mother.
To divert his mind elsewhere, Chiyo began teaching the boy her Art of Puppet Creation. As it turned out, young Sasori had a knack for this and soon Mastered her Art. At an early age, he began making his Puppets, even engineering a poison for which there would be no antidote.
But the loneliness etched in Sasori’s heart wouldn’t be filled. That was when he would create Puppets similar in appearance to his late parents.
Two Puppets, “Mother” and “Father,” whom he would embrace for long durations just to feel the love that he was deprived of. But that proved useless, as their cold bodies could never emit the warmth of actual love.
Sasori grew distant. Day by day, his emotions would feel like slipping away, him losing all respect for life that was fading. He had a new goal; to create “Art” that would never succumb to the cruelty that was time and would pass on long into the future.
This was what he deemed “Art.” From then on, his search for everlasting Puppets began.
Around that whole ordeal, his only friend, Komushi, came to him with a severed arm that he lost during his duty as a border patrol. So Sasori constructed a prosthetic arm for him, equipped with a blade laced with his poison. Unfortunately, Komushi accidentally ingested some of the poison and succumbed to it.
Sasori was sad at his friend’s death but then chose it as an opportunity to test his theory. From Komushi’s body, he constructed his first-ever human Puppet. Such creations proved more versatile than ordinary ones. This would begin his ascent to becoming an S-Rank Ninja of the Sunagakure.
Red Sand: The Moniker
As time passed, Sasori became a Ninja in the Sand Village and gained a means to test his improved Puppets out on the battlefield. He slayed hundreds of enemy Shinobi, coloring the Sand red with their spilled blood, hence the title “Sasori Of The Red Sand.”
He garnered a tremendous reputation as one of the strongest in the Village, maybe even at the level of a Kazekage. But his pursuit of eternal life would lead him to abandon the Sand Village and head on a journey of his own. That was also when Sasori devised a technique to separate his heart from his body and install it into a Puppet of his making, finally achieving his goal of a time-insensitive body. But his power search never ceased.
At some point during the 3rd Great Shinobi War, Sasori secretly kidnapped and killed the Third Kazekage, converting him into a Puppet. And with it, he acquired not only a strong Puppet but also the Third’s Iron Sand Manipulation technique. Searching for the Kazekage went on for years, but the Sand never found his body.
Recruitment by the Akatsuki
His feats were noticed by The Akatsuki, and they sent a formal invitation for him to join their midst. But the proud former Sand-Ninja declined their initial offer. So then Konan personally came to recruit him. Both engaged in a heated battle which ended in Sasori being bested. This revealed the caliber at which the Akatsuki operated and was enough to persuade him into joining their midst.
Initially, Sasori was partnered with Orochimaru, but the latter soon left after a failed attempt at capturing Itachi. So his second partner turned out to be Deidara. Both even went on a manhunt after Orochimaru. They located one of his hideouts, and a battle erupted.
Sasori brought out his Third Kazekage Puppet while Orochimaru one-upped him by reincarnating the Third Kazekage himself. Following a fierce battle, the reincarnation ended up the winner, but then his actual soul took over and force-released the Jutsu, turning to dust.
This allowed enough time for Orochimaru to escape, much to Sasori’s disappointment.
Securing the One Tail
Now the duo had their next mission; Secure Gaara and extract his One-Tailed Shukaku. Both immediately set out to Sasori’s homeland. The Sand was already informed of the oncoming threat, and every precaution was placed to halt their advance. The border and entrance were swarmed with Sand Shinobi.
But none knew that Sasori had brainwashed and planted sleepers in their midst. By the time they reached the front entrance, the entire guard had been neutralized.
Despite this, Sasori decided to stay behind while Deidara alone invaded the Sand Village, taking on Gaara himself. A great battle commenced, which the whole Village spectated. Gaara did his utmost as the Kazekage and, in turn, sacrificed himself to protect his people.
After securing Gaara, both went to their hideout to commence the extraction ritual. But Kankuro was quick to halt their path. So Deidara went on with Gaara, while Sasori took on Kankuro.
Both Puppet users, yet Sasori proved far superior in every aspect. His mastery of the Puppet art far exceeded that of Kankuro, proved by the revelation that Sasori was the one who originally constructed Kankuro’s Puppets. The battle resulted in Sasori’s victory, with the other rendered incapable by the poison.
Hence the Akatsuki duo returned to base and began the extraction ceremony. By this time, information about Gaara’s kidnapping had reached the Hidden Leaf. Immediately, two teams, team Kakashi and team Guy, were dispatched to recover Gaara.
The Concluding Battle
When team Kakashi finally arrived at the cave where the ritual was taking place, it was already too late for Gaara; Shukaku had been extracted, and he was no more. Deidara escaped with the lifeless Gaara, leading Naruto and Kakashi away. This leaved Sasori to face off against Sakura and Lady Chiyo.
Thus a battle erupted. Sasori, wasting no time, revealed his Hiruko body, a scorpion-like tail protruding from its back. Sakura alone might not have been a match for an Akatsuki Member, but Lady Chiyo was there to save the day. She used her Puppet manipulation technique to attach her chakra strings to Sakura, controlling her like she would a Puppet.
This provided her the edge required to evade Sasori’s attacks, fluently maneuvering through them and breaking Hiruko with a single body blow.
Thus, with his main weapon/body broken, Sasori had no choice but to reveal his true face. Much to Chiyo’s shock, he looked exactly as he did twenty years ago when he left Sunagakure. Right off the bat, Sasori brought out his trump card, a puppet of The Third Kazekage.
Loaded with weapons, the Puppet dashed at blinding speed, making it difficult for Chiyo to maneuver Sakura. So for some backup, she summoned “Mother” and “Father,” Sasori’s first-ever Puppets which he left back at the village. Though, now they too were stacked with lethal weapons and modified for the offense.
The two parent Puppets engaged the Third Kazekage in combat, rendering its weapons useless. But the tricks weren’t finished just yet. In a shocking turn of events, The Kazekage Puppet was revealed to be able to summon and utilize the Third’s Iron Sand Technique. And using it, Sasori began taking control of the battle.
The tiny sand particles made their way to the “Mother” and “Father” Puppets’ joints, blocking their range of motion and halting them from moving. Not only that but the Iron Sand was also laced with Sasori’s poison. Further utilizing the Thirds ability, Sasori fused the sand particles into sharp needles, launching them at his foes. However, Sakura used this as an opportunity and faked being injured by the Sand and having been poisoned.
This caused Sasori to let his guard down and send The Third Kazekage in a head-on assault. And, as expected, just as the Puppet was moments away from Sakura, she hopped back up and, in a single strike, blew it to pieces.
With every other defense penetrated, Sasori was left with his final weapon, his own body. Removing the Akatsuki robe, he once again left Chiyo perplexed at his body being that of a Puppets. The only human thing about it was the encapsulated heart used as its core. And just like that, the final showdown commenced.
Chiyo summoned her special platoon of Puppets while Sasori unleashed his Ultimate Technique, “Performance of a Hundred Puppets.” Like the name suggests, One-Hundred puppets emerged, ready for battle.
As two teams charged at each other, both masterminds; Chiyo and Sasori, made it their best performance as puppeteers. The Formers squad though low in numbers, but her Puppets were more advanced and better coordinated. Hence the enemy Puppets fell at an exponential rate.
Amidst the showdown, Sakura once again charged at the real Sasori, Chiyo’s Puppets clearing the way, and managed to trap it within a seal. However, unbeknownst to anyone, his core, containing the main essence of Sasori’s life, jumped out of his body at the last second and attached itself to another Puppet.
Sneaking behind Granny, the second Sasori drew its blade. But just as it attempted to stab Chiyo, Sakura intervened. Perplexed, Sasori backed off and attempted another strike, but before he even had the chance, Chiyo had the “Father” and “Mother” Puppet charge and pierce Sasori’s heart. And with that, the battle reached its conclusion.
Dying Moment
With his heart penetrated, Sasori watched as Sakura fell to the ground, the poison slowly taking effect. For a second, it seemed that her fate was sealed, yet Chiyo intervened and, through a special technique, gave up a portion of her life to revive Sakura.
This technique would normally cost one’s life, but given Sakura hadn’t passed on yet, the seal settled with but a piece of Chiyo’s life. Witnessing this, Sasori congratulated the two for besting him and, as a reward, giving them a valuable piece of information before passing on.
Sasori: Appearance, Personality, Abilities, and Much More
Appearance
When it came to appearance, Sasori was a complicated one. To put it simply, his body was that of a hollow Puppet. And to make it a bit complicated, his actual Puppet body hid inside another Puppet body. The outer body was also a Puppet of his creation named Hiruko. Let’s discuss both in detail:
Hiruko Body
This is the appearance Sasori was first introduced as. Starting with his head, he possessed black hair but also rocked a traditional Japanese Kasa-style hat. His mouth, which was partitioned into 3 parts and held lethal weapons, was hidden behind a black cloth.
His left hand appeared like a holder with multiple small containers, each of which contained hundreds of needles dipped in a poison that Sasori had developed himself.
On his back was a Komainu Mask, containing a metallic scorpion-like tail, which too was cloaked in poison. As for his clothing, Sasori wore the usual Akatsuki robe.
Real body (kind of)
His actual Puppet form was strikingly similar to his human self. A young teenage boy with bright pink hair and brown eyes that never blinked (cause it’s a Puppet). His limbs attached like that of a Puppets. A pair of claws protrude from his back, each containing five sharp blades (probably dipped in poison too).
One side of his chest was a compartment, while the other was his heart in a cylindrical tube. Sasori’s heart was the only human part of him remaining. His abdomen was hollow, containing an extensive cable drenched in poison (Sasori sure loved his poison).
Lastly, he wore a ring that symbolized his commitment as an Akatsuki. And that pretty much sums it up for Appearances!
Personality
Upon first introduction, Sasori appeared as a very Calm and Composed person with little regard for human life. His heart had gone cold for the most part, and he rarely ever displayed emotions. Aside from that, some other interesting personality traits he possessed include his tactical brilliance and his views on Art.
He was a master of death, having engineered a poison that he had layered over almost every weapon in his arsenal. His views on Art were very contradicting with that of Deidara. The latter believed Art to be something that quickly diminishes, while the former believed it to be something eternal.
But all this demeanor birthed in Sasori, given the events that he underwent. As a child, his nature was very kind and loving. That soon changed when he lost his mother and father and was deprived of parental love. Little by little, his heart grew dark and what remained in the end was but a hollow shell (pun intended).
Family
Sasori’s family initially consisted of 4 members; his Father, Mother, Granny Chiyo, and himself. But when he was just a kid, both his parents went off to fight in the 2nd Great Shinobi War and never returned. Hence, Chiyo took him in and tried her best not to let Sasori feel his parents’ absence (that clearly didn’t work).
She taught Sasori the Art of Puppet Making, using which he created two puppets resembling his Mother and Father. He would often hug them for long durations.
The Puppet Master: His Favorite Puppets
As we’ve already established, Sasori was a brilliant Puppet Master. Having apprenticed under Granny Chiyo, he quickly surpassed her in the Art and developed his own army of lethal Puppets. He developed his style, where he would use human flesh to design his marionettes.
This allowed Sasori to copy the Shinobi’s actual Jutsu into its Puppet. But out of the 298 dolls in his possession, only 2 were his favorite and most used in battle; His Hiruko body and The Third Kazekage.
Hiruko
This is the body he was originally introduced as. In reality, Sasori’s real body, which is also a Puppet resembling his human self, resided inside Hiruko, taking away the disadvantages of being a Puppet user.
Hiruko was loaded with weapons, all laced with Sasori’s lethal poison. Its mouth and left hand worked as projectile launchers, spewing high-speed needles (covered in poison).
On its back, there was a demon mask from which emerged a scorpion-like tail, which was its main weapon. This tail could be used both offensively and defensively.
The Third Kazekage
Somewhere along the 3rd Great Shinobi War, The Third Kazekage went missing and was never found. The culprit is later revealed to be Sasori himself, who slayed The Third Kazekage, thought to be the strongest ninja in the Sunagakure history, and made him into a Puppet.
Not only that, he even copied the Third’s Keekai Genkai; Iron Sand, making it an extremely lethal weapon. The difficulty that Sasori faced to obtain this Masterpiece made it one of his favorite Puppets.
To improve upon the already deadly Iron Sand, Sasori imbued it with some of his poison. Its arms could emit poison gas while also releasing a wire to capture and drag one into the gas cloud.
Quotes
Given Sasori’s initial appearance, one wouldn’t assume how deep his philosophies on life could be. He proved himself to be quite the thinker, giving away some beautiful yet twisted quotes in his short-lived tenure on screen.
Then again, given his “Artistic” interests, it’s only natural that he has some over-the-top things to say about Art. So let’s look at some of Sasori’s most memorable quotes:
- Fine Art is something wonderful that’s left long into the future… eternal beauty.
- I would describe myself as a human being who could not become a complete Puppet, I am an unfinished Puppet whose lifeless frame still contains a beating heart at its core. I am neither dead nor am I alive.
- The spider needs to be swifter than the fly.
- True beauty lies in things that last forever, never rotting or fading.
- Kankuro… I want you to have my “Mother” and “Father” Puppets as well… and when you die, pass them both on… to the next generation.
- My old Puppet body… suddenly it all seems so pointless. I now have the body I’ve always desired, one that will never rot or decay. I’ve truly become a Puppet in every sense of the word.
FAQs
Question: Why Did Sasori Turn Evil?
Answer: The main reason for Sasori’s conversion to the dark side has to be his parent’s passing.
He was but a child when both his mother and father lost their lives in the 2nd Great Ninja War, and he was taken in by granny Chiyo. Even though she did everything she could to fill this void in Sasori’s heart, the boy yearned for parental love.
He even made Puppets of his parents, which he would hug for long durations. But the reality of his parents never coming back eventually set in, and his humanity slowly kept withering away. And what remained at the end was but a soulless shell devoid of any feelings and affection.
Question: How Did Sasori Gain Immortality?
Answer: During his time serving at The Akatsuki, Sasori’s constant search for life eternal led him to develop a special technique that allowed him to separate his heart from his body and place it in hollow objects; Puppets.
Maybe it was the trauma of losing his parents that played a role in his attempting this endeavor. Maybe he got fearful of death. Whatever the reason may be, the specifics of his technique were never revealed.
All that’s known is that he transferred his heart into a cylindrical container, allowing Sasori to implant it inside inanimate objects.
Question: How Did Sasori Gain the Third Kazekage as His Puppet?
Answer: He assassinated the Third Kazkage sometime around the 3rd Great Shinobi War and then used his body to form a Puppet. During his battle with Lady Chiyo and Sakura, he revealed his trump card; A Puppet of the Third Kazekage himself. Not only that, Sasori’s ability even allowed him to recreate his Iron Sand technique, for which he was feared as the Strongest Kazekage.
And as the battle raged on, he even expressed how difficult it was for Sasori to obtain The Third as his Puppet, making it one of his favorites.
Sasori Naruto Guide: Final Thoughts
Witnessing Sasori’s past, one can’t help but ponder what could have unfolded if he hadn’t lost his parents. Maybe he wouldn’t have forsaken his humanity and had grown up to be a ridiculously powerful young man, maybe even the next Kazekage.
It also makes one wonder how a single wrong move can alter one’s life to such an extent. That is how a sensitive, loving child could evolve into such a killer. But no matter how we feel about it, fate always has its way.
And let’s not forget how in his final moments, despite having the capacity to dodge Chiyo’s final attack, Sasori saw his parent Puppets charging. Running through his mind were the beautiful moments he had spent with his mother and father and how they would embrace him together.
Then and there, Sasori concluded that it had been enough, and he Deliberately took that attack, ending his final moments once again embraced by his parents.
Sasori was a complicated one. Despite all his sins, this human side of his has always found a soft spot in me for him. And it’s nice to see he got the ending he desired. That’s it from my side. Hope this article has provided great insight into Sasori’s life. I’ve been Emad, and I’ll see you in the next one!