Hiruko

was a puppet used by the Akatsuki shinobi, Sasori. Serving as a "puppet armour", it allowed Sasori to hide inside of it. Sasori also adorned Hiruko with the Akatsuki's robes and hid inside it so often that others came to recognise him only when he was wearing it. In the anime, Hiruko is a human puppet made from the corpse of a renowned shinobi. According to Chiyo, Hiruko was Sasori's favourite puppet.

Abilities and Weapons
A puppeteer is, under normal circumstances, at a disadvantage in close combat, as their enemies could potentially slip past their puppets and attack the rather defenceless user directly. Hiruko was an innovative method created by Sasori to circumvent that weakness, with the puppet becoming both armour and weapon.

After it was destroyed by Sakura and Chiyo, he switched to using the Third Kazekage puppet.

All weapons installed in Hiruko were coated in Sasori's special brand of poison, which would kill the victim after three days of painful paralysis.
 * Extendable iron tail providing offence by stabbing and defence by rotating around the body.
 * Heavy back shell for additional defence. A new addition since Chiyo last saw it twenty years ago.
 * Rapid launching of senbon from the mouth.
 * Torpedo-shaped left arm that launches shrapnel of senbon in all directions. A new addition since Chiyo last saw it twenty years ago.
 * Granted Sasori a gruffer voice.

Trivia

 * is an alternative name of a Japanese Fisherman god, commonly known as "Ebisu".
 * Hiruko's tail was seen in a flashback of Sasori's childhood as a part of an unfinished puppet. It had a split end.
 * Hiruko was erroneously called Sasori's eighteenth puppet in the anime. This was because literally translates to "number eighteen". Hiruko is actually Sasori's eleventh puppet.
 * Both the puppet Hiruko and the Third Kazekage were stated to be Sasori's favourite.
 * When Yamato went to the Tenchi Bridge to meet up with one of Sasori's spies, he used a Hiruko-like puppet disguise to pass himself off as Sasori.
 * The Hiruko puppet is 107cm in height.