The Naruto series features several immortal characters, each one pursuing eternal life for their own distinct motives. The Akatsuki had a few immortals among its ranks, with all of them obtaining permanence through peculiar means. Out of the four immortals, Sasori’s permanence stands out the most considering he was able to achieve immortality at such a young age, and that too through such unique methods.
Sasori’s motives for achieving eternal youth are arguably the most obscure, as the former Sand shinobi simply wanted to preserve his beauty, calling it the ultimate form of art. With his own aging body, Sasori would have eventually succumbed to the woes of aging, losing his youthful look. His reasons for seeking permanence may seem quite shallow at first, yet a deeper reason exists behind the drastic decision of turning himself into a living puppet.
How Sasori’s Tragic Past Led to His Immortality
Sasori is undoubtedly one of the most tragic members of the Akatsuki, devoid of love and emotion from a very young age. After losing his parents in the Third Great Ninja War, Sasori was left alone to fend for himself, even neglected by his grandmother Chiyo. On his own, Sasori would find himself in the puppet workshop, experimenting with all sorts of techniques and going as far as making puppets out of human corpses. Sasori’s deceased parents met a similar fate, as the two were his first human puppets, conjured in an attempt to provide himself with the warmth he could never receive.
From his initial fondness towards human puppets, Sasori developed an obsession with achieving power through his puppets, leading to the Third Kazekage becoming his next target. Through a strategic plan of weakening the Kage through poisoning, Sasori was able to defeat the Iron Sand wielding Kazekage, turning him into one of his living puppets. He considered the Kazekage puppet to be his greatest creation – a timeless masterpiece for all eternity.
However, the young Sand shinobi still remained dissatisfied, with the realization dawning upon him that his art may live forever, yet he himself will eventually succumb to the cycle of human life. In a bid to save his waning youth, Sasori began researching, looking for the answer to achieving true permanence. His research led him to a country in a far away land, known as the Land of Coral Reefs.
Sasori's Secret to Achieving Immortality
Sasori had gained insight about a King in a far away land who had been deemed to be immortal. Knowing this would be key to achieving immortality, Sasori traveled to the far away country known as the Land of Coral Reefs. He requested an audience with the King in a bid to gain the secrets to his eternal youth. However, his request was denied several times, with Sasori eventually forcing his way to the King.
This story was referenced during Sasori’s fight with Sakura and Chiyo, when he revealed his 100 human puppets, the very same puppets that had been used to annihilate the entire Coral Reef nation. Upon defeating the King, Sasori finally gained access to the secret to immortality, which lay in a small coral that the King had implanted into his thigh. As soon as he removed the coral from the body, the King instantly withered away, as the coral’s chakra was the secret behind his permanence.
Sasori took the coral for himself and found a way to seal his consciousness into it, most likely through an Uzumaki Clan sealing technique. Once his mind was inside the coral, Sasori implanted it into another puppet, using it to turn his own living body into a puppet. Through this method, Sasori was able to preserve his youthfulness forever, ensuring his own art would last for millenia to come.
How Does Sasori’s Immortality Work?
By sealing his consciousness into the coral, Sasori’s soul and mind remain bound to it, with his body simply being a puppet. This meant that he could no longer feel pain or any kind of emotion, quite literally turning into a living puppet. This allowed Sasori to become immune to all sorts of lethal techniques, such as Genjutsu, physical attacks, and even poison. Sasori is one of the few characters immune to Genjutsu, something the other immortals weren’t able to achieve.
To prolong his life, Sasori could simply change his puppets by implanting his core into another puppet, breathing his own soul into it. This meant that no matter how many times Sasori’s body was destroyed, he could survive by changing his physical body. However, this has several downsides, primarily his fragility against physical attacks. Sasori could find another vessel to survive, though in the off chance he isn’t able to find another vessel or has his core destroyed, his immortal life would come to an untimely end. This was precisely the method Sakura and Chiyo employed to defeat the rogue ninja, debilitating him by destroying his puppet body and crushing the core to end his life forever.