Land of Wind, Hidden Sand Village, Kazekage Building.
"Impossible! I don't agree! Why use Akagitsune and Eryu to exchange for Bunbuku?! Is there no one else?!"
Chiyo's uncontrollable roar of anger echoed from the Kazekage's office. The Ninja guarding the door exchanged glances; it was the first time they had heard Lord Chiyo's voice so angry and distraught.
Although she had long had a premonition that Akagitsune and Eryu might become Sunagakure's envoys to Konoha, calling them envoys was simply Sunagakure's hostages in Konoha.
Chiyo found it really hard to accept, no, she couldn't accept it at all!
Her husband died on the battlefield in the war between Sunagakure and Kumogakure, and she had also made many contributions to Sunagakure on the battlefield.
Now, her only family were Akagitsune and Eryu, and Eryu's unborn child. How could she possibly accept this?!
"Chiyo, this is for Hidden Sand Village!"
The Third Kazekage looked at the extremely angry Chiyo and said calmly, "As long as Hidden Sand Village and Konoha are allies, Akagitsune and Eryu will be fine. They can also transmit intelligence about Konoha to the Village. This is all for Hidden Sand Village."
When he made this decision, he could already foresee how angry Chiyo would be.
Sunagakure had no better choice. Looking at Sunagakure's high-ranking officials, only Akagitsune and Eryu were most suitable.
"Lord Kazekage, do you think you can make Akagitsune and Eryu Konoha's hostages with just one sentence?!"
Chiyo slammed the table, questioning him. It was the first time she had been so angry, and the first time she had disregarded the Kazekage's dignity so much.
The office door opened, and Akagitsune and Eryu walked in.
"Why are you here?"
Chiyo looked at her son and daughter-in-law, realizing something, her eyes widening slightly.
"Mother, Eryu and I have already agreed with Lord Kazekage. We will go to Konoha as a symbol of friendship between Sunagakure and Konoha."
Akagitsune and Eryu looked at Chiyo with firm eyes. They had made their decision; for the Village they loved, they were willing to go to Konoha, where everything was unknown.
Child, please forgive us... Eryu's hand rested on her abdomen. She had wanted to object, but this was the Kazekage's order, so she could only put aside her objections.
She wasn't afraid of going to Konoha. Her only worry was the future of her child, whose gender she didn't yet know, in her womb. The thought of her child being born and having to live in a foreign land filled her with deep sadness.
(Sasori's birth date is November 8th. In the text, Sasori's birth date will be earlier.)
"I understand."
Chiyo no longer objected. The brief sentence seemed to drain all her strength, and she seemed to age more than a decade in an instant.
She knew that no matter how much she objected, Akagitsune and Eryu would still have to go to Konoha as Sunagakure's envoys to bring back Bunbuku, so she said no more.
Returning home, Chiyo meticulously maintained her puppets, re-poisoning the needles, sharpening the blades to extreme keenness before re-poisoning them, working late into the night, maintaining one puppet after another.
These puppets were all made by her own hands. When Akagitsune and Eryu went to Konoha, she would have them take these puppets, as well as some scrolls for learning puppetry, which were prepared for the child in Eryu's womb.
Eryu looked at Chiyo, who was still maintaining puppets, and couldn't help but walk into Chiyo's workshop and say, "Mother, you should rest."
"Eryu, this is the only thing I can do for you and Akagitsune. I hope these puppets can help you and become your strength, and I also hope the alliance between Sunagakure and Konoha can continue indefinitely."
Chiyo manipulated the puppet's arm, ensuring that the puppet's joints moved without any problems, her husky voice tinged with a hint of reluctance for Akagitsune and Eryu.
Chiyo knew very well that the alliance between Sunagakure and Konoha could not last forever. The Third Kazekage was a very ambitious person, and he would not be satisfied with just an alliance with Konoha.
It was precisely because of this that she so strongly opposed Akagitsune and Eryu going to Konoha as Sunagakure's envoys.
Once Sunagakure betrayed Konoha, would Akagitsune, Eryu, and that child survive Konoha's wrath...? Chiyo frowned, not continuing the thought. She was afraid that if she thought further, she would hate the Third Kazekage.
Soon, the news of Sunagakure and Konoha forming an alliance, at the Third Kazekage's instruction, spread throughout Sunagakure, including the matter of Chiyo's son Akagitsune and daughter-in-law Eryu going to Konoha as Sunagakure's envoys.
Amidst the farewells of Sunagakure Ninja and people, Akagitsune and Eryu, under the "protection" of Sunagakure Anbu, embarked on their journey to Konoha in the Land of Fire.
Protection...? Eryu looked at the Sunagakure Anbu surrounding her and Akagitsune. While they claimed to be protecting them, they were actually there to guard them, preventing them from escaping midway and not going to Konoha.
After bidding farewell to Akagitsune and Eryu, Chiyo returned home, sitting dejectedly in a chair, looking at the photos on the table, falling into a long, silent contemplation.
After Akagitsune and Eryu, as Sunagakure's envoys, arrived in Konoha, the Hokage Building then publicly announced the news of Konoha and Sunagakure forming an alliance.
Konoha cheered universally, and their attitude towards Akagitsune and Eryu, who had come to Konoha as envoys, was respectfully cordial.
This was one of the few pieces of good news after Konoha's continuous battles with Iwagakure and Hidden Mist; Konoha was no longer fighting alone!
This slightly eased Eryu's uneasy heart. Before coming to Konoha, she had thought that she and Akagitsune would have their activities restricted, or even be imprisoned.
Although there were ANBU Ninja secretly watching them nearby, being able to live in such a beautiful environment in Konoha was already quite good.
"Shukaku, come back to the Village with us."
The Sunagakure Anbu's mission this time was not only to escort Akagitsune and Eryu to Konoha but also to bring Bunbuku back to Sunagakure.
Bunbuku took a deep look at Konoha. He knew very well that this might be the last time he would personally witness the scenery of Konoha, and such an opportunity would never come again.
It wasn't hard to imagine what awaited him back in Hidden Sand Village.
"Monk, if you're unwilling, then use my power to deal with them!" Shukaku roared. Rather than being locked in a prison back in Hidden Sand Village, Bunbuku's life in Konoha was clearly better.
Konoha wasn't worried about him losing control and going berserk; they only restricted Bunbuku's movements and had Anbu keep an eye on him.
"Shukaku, this is my destiny."
Bunbuku looked at the words in his palm, recalling his recent conversation with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. He slowly clasped his hands together and followed the Hidden Sand Village Anbu out of Konoha's gate.
In the brightly lit Laboratory, Orochimaru shook the test tube in her hand. The white, viscous liquid slowly separated, with one part sinking and another remaining at the top.
This was another time she had obtained the Gedo Statue's flesh and blood from Mountain Graveyard, or rather, from Uchiha Madara, for experiments, attempting to separate Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's cells and another Ōtsutsuki's cells from the Gedo Statue.
"It's a success!"
Hyuga Mio's face showed a hint of excitement. The veins around her eyes slowly receded, and her eyes returned from bluish-white to white.
"Mio, don't celebrate too early. The separation fluid's effect isn't ideal yet. I wouldn't want conjoined twins or deformities to be separated from the Gedo Statue."
Orochimaru wasn't quite satisfied with the separation fluid's effect; the separated Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's cells and the other Ōtsutsuki's cells had aggregated together.
If this separation fluid were injected into the Gedo Statue, what would be born via caesarean section wouldn't be the Ōtsutsuki Kaguya she wanted, but a deformity.
Hyuga Mio received her Shadow Clone's memories and suddenly asked, "Orochimaru, Konoha and Hidden Sand Village are forming an alliance. What do you think?"
"Once Konoha falls into a disadvantage during battles with Various Ninja Villages, Hidden Sand Village will definitely be the first to backstab them. It's that simple."
Orochimaru stated her opinion without hesitation, then destroyed the test tube in her hand. The separation fluid formula still needed further optimization.
"Then why would Konoha still form an alliance with Hidden Sand Village?"
Hyuga Mio frowned slightly. This was incomprehensible to her. Knowing that Hidden Sand Village would betray them, why form an alliance?
"For Konoha, Hidden Sand Village is used to attract firepower. For Hidden Sand Village, forming an alliance with Konoha is a temporary compromise. In short, they are using each other."
"So that's how it is…"
Hyuga Mio was still wondering, with Konoha's strength, there was no need to ally with Hidden Sand Village.
"Once Hidden Sand Village betrays Konoha, then Hidden Sand Village's envoys…"
Hyuga Mio thought of the wife among the couple her Shadow Clone had seen and couldn't help but worry. Although she wasn't showing yet, her Byakugan wouldn't be wrong.
"Mio, they will be fine. They are Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law."
Orochimaru said with a slight smile. Even if Hidden Sand Village betrayed Konoha, Akagitsune and Eryu, as well as the unborn Sasori, would not be in mortal danger. Their very existence was valuable.
"Chiyo, is that the person who led the Hidden Sand Village troops before?"
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