Naruto: How was Sasori alive if he turned himself into a human puppet? Explained

Modified Mar 17, 2024 11:00 GMT

Naruto: How was Sasori alive if he turned himself into a human puppet? Explained (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Amongst many Naruto fans, especially Western ones, a common consensus found regarding the early stages of the Shippuden anime series is a deep love for the Kazekage Rescue Mission arc. Despite being one of the only arcs in the Shippuden series to air in standard definition formats rather than high definition, it’s nevertheless one of the most beloved for many aspects, including its animation.

Fans also heavily praise the introduction of the Akatsuki members, starting off with Sasori of the Red sand and his partner Deidara, the Explosion Style user. After having been a relatively ambiguous and unknown entity in the first part of the series, Naruto fans were pleased to see the group get involved in the coming events from the start.

However, the introduction of Sasori and the subsequent expanding on his origins which the arc did left many Naruto fans with more questions than answers regarding the character. One of the most common questions stems from how Sasori was “alive” if he had turned himself into a human puppet rather than inhabiting a truly human body.

Naruto’s introduction of Sasori opens the door for conversations about the soul and more in–series

How Sasori was alive, explained

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Despite being a human puppet, there was still one aspect of Sasori’s body which was still truly human by the time the character is introduced at the start of Naruto: Shippuden. As revealed in the final stages of his fight against Sakura Haruno and Granny Chiyo, Sasori has a “core of living flesh” which is the one part of him that had remained human.

This “core” was kept in the left part of his chest, its placement mimicking the location of where a typical human’s heart would be found. The core also features some similar aspects of a heart and cardiovascular system, such as roots which look like veins and appear as a color similar to that of unoxidized blood. The core’s kanji spells out his name, but can also be read as “scorpion.”

However, the fact that the core spells his name is of more significance here given that this core is the only living part of his body which he still contained. Due to Sasori incorporating this human core into his human puppet body, the character was able to maintain awareness and other natural faculties of the human body. This includes the ability to speak, see, hear, fight, and have internal dialogues, as Naruto fans saw throughout the aforementioned fight.

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Thus, the answer as to how Sasori is still alive stems from the fact that he implements this human core into his human puppet body. However, exactly how the core is able to work is left a mystery, like Sasori’s ability to create puppets which retain and can use the original human’s chakra, techniques, and Kekkei Genkai. This is especially seen with his puppet of the Third Kazekage.

Thankfully, it can be inferred that the two processes are related, with Sasori using an advanced version of this technique on himself to create the human core which allowed him to be alive. While nothing can be said for sure, this was most likely done by condensing his body’s chakra into the core and somehow transferring his consciousness along with his chakra. Unfortunately, it seems as though Naruto fans will never get a clear answer as to these mechanics and rules.