Chapter 695: Cruel News
Land of Wind, Sunagakure.
Kazekage's Office.
"Yashamaru, are you certain there was no problem with the report you submitted earlier? Iwagakure really intends to eliminate Ninshū?" Rasa asked with a frown.
"During the meeting in Six Paths City, Iwagakure did indeed express that intention," Yashamaru replied.
Their elaborate plan to sow discord had not even been put into action. The moment they mentioned Ninshū, the Iwagakure representative had immediately begun denouncing its ambitions.
That was clearly not the attitude of a normal ally.
"Then why has Iwagakure been avoiding the subject of joint military action?"
At first, Rasa had been delighted by Yashamaru's progress and quickly dispatched ninja to begin formal negotiations with Iwagakure.
However, the results were unsatisfactory.
Iwagakure never directly rejected cooperation, but whenever Sunagakure proposed joint military action against Ninshū, Iwagakure would produce all kinds of excuses.
They had even offered to provide Sunagakure with supplies while refusing to send ninja to the battlefield, claiming that Iwagakure had suffered excessive losses during the Third Shinobi World War.
Rasa would be damned if he believed that.
Iwagakure had surrendered so quickly during the final battle that they had barely suffered any significant losses.
As for the earlier stages of the war, although Iwagakure had suffered a minor defeat against Konoha, it was nowhere near enough to be called an excessive loss.
"Perhaps they want to take advantage of the situation to weaken Sunagakure's forces?" Yashamaru suggested after some thought.
Compared to fighting alongside Sunagakure, Iwagakure would naturally prefer to remain a quiet observer.
"Perhaps, but it's strange that Iwagakure is willing to provide us with so many resources," Rasa said, crossing his arms as he fell into thought.
Although Iwagakure was clearly avoiding direct conflict, they were unexpectedly generous with financial support.
That made Rasa somewhat tempted.
It was no exaggeration to say that the amount of money Iwagakure offered was almost enough to hire Sunagakure for an entire military campaign.
Moreover, Ninshū truly did affect Sunagakure's interests and was indeed a force Sunagakure needed to suppress.
However, after careful consideration, Rasa still felt that something was wrong.
Both sides were Ninja Villages.
Iwagakure needed money too.
Why would they willingly offer such a large amount?
Given the seriousness of the matter, Rasa decided that it would be inappropriate to make the decision alone.
He immediately ordered the Sunagakure Anbu to summon the Village's high ranking officials for a meeting.
"Advisor Chiyo. Advisor Ebizō."
Rasa, who had arrived early and was already seated in the conference room, quickly greeted Chiyo and Ebizō when they entered.
If they had been ordinary high ranking officials, Rasa, as the Fourth Kazekage, naturally would not have needed to be so respectful.
But these two were different.
First was their seniority.
Chiyo and Ebizō had already been famous high ranking officials of Sunagakure during the Second Shinobi World War, making them some of the most senior figures still active in the Village.
Second was their strength and influence.
Chiyo was currently the strongest puppet master in the Ninja World, and her mastery of Puppet Technique ranked among the finest in the entire history of the art.
Although Ebizō was not as powerful as Chiyo in direct combat, he controlled Sunagakure's intelligence network.
During the internal conflict that followed the disappearance of the Third Kazekage, Ebizō had even effectively controlled the Anbu that was nominally under the Kazekage's direct command.
Finally, the two were siblings.
That had been what Rasa feared most in the past.
Fortunately for Rasa, Chiyo's grandson had left Sunagakure.
After Sasori abandoned the Village, Chiyo seemed to lose much of her spirit.
She rarely involved herself in political affairs anymore, spending most of her time either researching Ninjutsu or fishing.
Perhaps because he was worried about his sister, Ebizō also set aside much of his work and often accompanied Chiyo when she went fishing.
Rasa had taken advantage of that opportunity to seize a considerable amount of authority, greatly increasing his influence within high level meetings.
"Fourth Kazekage."
The two nodded in response, neither cold nor particularly enthusiastic.
Once all the high ranking officials had arrived, Rasa began the meeting.
"The rapidly expanding Ninshū has affected the common interests of both Sunagakure and Iwagakure. However, Iwagakure's behavior regarding cooperation has been abnormal."
Rasa quickly explained Iwagakure's strange conditions to everyone present.
"There is definitely something wrong. Iwagakure is far too reluctant to participate directly in the conflict. Could they possess intelligence that we don't?"
"It's also possible that they simply want to preserve their forces for some other plan. However, on the surface, cooperating with Iwagakure would not necessarily be a loss for us. With that amount of money, we could significantly reduce the pressure on our military budget."
The high ranking officials immediately began discussing the matter, with considerable disagreement among them.
Some believed Sunagakure should take the money.
After all, they could not simply sit back and watch Ninshū continue expanding.
Others felt that the money was too dangerous to accept, and that Iwagakure must be hiding some kind of conspiracy.
Those people believed cooperation should be rejected entirely.
Chiyo sat quietly in her chair, watching the arguments with an indifferent expression and showing no intention of speaking.
If Sunagakure were not currently in such a difficult situation, and if it were already safe for her to fully retire, Chiyo would have resigned from her position as Advisor long ago.
Her son and daughter in law had died on the battlefield.
Her grandson had voluntarily abandoned her.
She had spent most of her life fighting for the Village, yet in the end, only her younger brother remained by her side.
She had already given enough to Sunagakure.
She owed the Village nothing.
If anything, Sunagakure owed her.
"I'll activate our covert agents in the Land of Rain and the Land of Earth and have them investigate," Ebizō said.
"Iwagakure's behavior is too unusual."
Having spent so many years working in intelligence, Ebizō was especially sensitive to such abnormalities.
"This matter is too serious for us to make a decision lightly. We should investigate thoroughly. Thank you, Advisor Ebizō."
The high ranking officials who had previously disagreed with one another all supported Ebizō's proposal.
Anyone capable of reaching such a position was not foolish.
They could all see that something was wrong with Iwagakure.
They simply did not know what Iwagakure was hiding.
Thus, the high level meeting ended.
They would continue discussing the matter once Ebizō obtained further intelligence.
However, what Ebizō had not expected was that before his agents could uncover the reason behind Iwagakure's strange behavior, they discovered an entirely different piece of intelligence.
After reading the report, Ebizō immediately went to find Chiyo.
"I think I've found Sasori," Ebizō said.
A trace of emotion immediately appeared on Chiyo's calm face.
However, a moment later, she shook her head with a desolate expression.
"What's the use of finding him?"
If Sasori had left because he had been persecuted or harmed, Chiyo would have done everything in her power to find him.
But Sasori had voluntarily left Sunagakure.
He had voluntarily left her.
With Chiyo's influence in Sunagakure, if she had truly wanted to track Sasori down, she would have found some trace of him unless he spent every waking moment hiding.
Yet except for the earliest period after his disappearance, Chiyo had never actively searched for him.
Because she understood that even if she found Sasori, it would change nothing.
If Sasori did not want to remain by her side, she could not force him to stay.
"Where is he? How is he doing? Has he settled somewhere, or is he only staying temporarily?" Chiyo could not help asking.
Sasori was still her grandson.
Not knowing anything was one thing.
But once news of him appeared, she instinctively began worrying about how he was living.
"Six Paths City, in the Land of Rain."
Ebizō shook his head.
"I don't know whether he has settled there or what his current condition is. Based on the intelligence, I can only judge that Sasori may be there."
The Puppet Technique mentioned in the report was absolutely not something that could have been developed by the third rate puppet masters outside Sunagakure.
Combined with the direction Sasori had previously taken in his research, even if Sasori himself was not currently in the Land of Rain, Ebizō was certain that Ninshū's puppet prosthetic technology originated from him.
"Six Paths City? Isn't that Ninshū's territory?"
Chiyo was not unfamiliar with Ninshū, the rapidly rising organization.
Even though she had paid far less attention to Village affairs after Sasori left, the Land of Rain bordered the Land of Wind.
News concerning Ninshū frequently reached Sunagakure, making it difficult for Chiyo not to know about them.
"Yes."
Ebizō nodded.
"Sasori may have joined Ninshū, or perhaps he has established some kind of cooperation with them."
He then explained the matter involving Ninshū's artificial puppet limbs.
"Sasori would never join a ninja organization."
Chiyo instinctively rejected Ebizō's speculation, even though he had only said it was a possibility.
Sasori had not even wanted to remain in Sunagakure, the Village where he had grown up.
Why would he willingly join a ninja organization inferior to Sunagakure?
Whether considering the technical conditions available for puppet research or the family ties he still had here, Chiyo could not imagine Sasori joining Ninshū.
Ebizō said nothing.
He only sighed.
Chiyo fell silent.
The light in her eyes dimmed slightly.
From the perspective of her entire life, Sasori had only been gone for four or five years.
It did not seem particularly long.
But Sasori himself was only a teenager.
Those four or five years already accounted for nearly a quarter of his life.
During such a long period, it was entirely possible that Sasori had experienced things she knew nothing about.
It was also possible that he had changed in ways she could not imagine.
"Why did it have to be Ninshū…" Chiyo murmured.
There was no doubt that Ninshū, with its considerable ambition and enormous potential, was likely to become Sunagakure's next enemy.
If Sunagakure had not been wary of Sōsuke's ability to defeat Hiruzen, its ninja forces might already have entered the Land of Rain.
If Sasori had truly joined Ninshū, then he would become Sunagakure's enemy.
He would stand opposite his homeland.
They might even meet each other on the battlefield one day.
Just imagining that possibility made Chiyo feel faint.
That was her own grandson.
"It's only a possibility," Ebizō comforted her.
"I'll order our agents to obtain definite information about Sasori at any cost."
Ebizō should have been focusing more heavily on intelligence concerning the Land of Earth and Iwagakure.
However, he simply could not leave Chiyo like this.
What if Chiyo became impatient and personally traveled to Ninshū before the intelligence agents finished their investigation?
Entering Six Paths City was easy.
Whether she could leave afterward would depend entirely on Ninshū and Sōsuke's attitude.
Ebizō could not allow his sister to take such a risk.
In truth, Ebizō had not even wanted to tell Chiyo about this intelligence.
For her, it was truly cruel news.
The main reason he revealed it was because Ninshū's prosthetic limbs were already no secret.
Chiyo could easily learn about them from another source and then deduce Sasori's involvement herself.
That was why Ebizō ultimately chose to tell her first.
"Mm."
Chiyo nodded.
She had originally planned to go fishing today because the weather was pleasant.
But after hearing this news, every thought of fishing disappeared.
Her mind was now filled entirely with Sasori.
She desperately hoped that everything was a misunderstanding.
That Ebizō's intelligence was wrong.
That Sasori was not in the Land of Rain.
And most of all, that he had not joined Ninshū.
....
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