Besides, the Gold Exchange did indeed offer a bounty of over a hundred million for Sasori, but how would one collect that money?
Take Sasori's head? That's just a puppet's head; what could it prove?
Take that regeneration core, which looks like a sex toy? The Gold Exchange staff would probably be confused, right? What is this thing? If I yell'Sasori of the Red Sand,' will it suck me in?
After much deliberation, it was decided to simply crush him and be done with it.
Ino, wearing a mask, was also affected by the flying pollen. She put away the wooden figures and wooden dragons, thought for a moment, and then cleaned up the battlefield.
The Third Kazekage, Orochimaru, Hiruko's tail, and all the remaining human puppets from the Puppet Mastery were packed up and taken away.
Seeing that nothing was left behind, she then set off to find Choji and the others.
Without the Third Kazekage's Iron Sand interfering with the magnetic field, she quickly located Choji. She used Flying Thunder God to catch up to the three, and then used Flying Thunder God again to take the three to find Shikamaru and the others who had left the Village.
Everyone gathered together, and without much discussion, they all fled the Hidden Sand Village in a Ninja run.
Ninjas are squishy and fragile, but when it comes to escaping, this profession still has its advantages.
From the Ninja Academy, the first thing teachers taught was how to escape, or rather, strategic retreat.
You can have low defense, you can have insufficient attack power, but your speed absolutely cannot be slow; those with slow speed die the fastest.
Choji's speed was his weakness, but after transforming into a butterfly, almost all his fat was consumed. His body was still a bit weak at this time, but he could keep up with their speed.
Ino and Shikamaru led the way, Temari brought up the rear, raising the banner of Elder Ryusa. Ninjas belonging to the Elder Council, Temari and Kankuro's subordinates, and Miss Maki's Sealing Team colleagues continuously joined the group. Along the way, a large number of Hidden Sand Village civilians and Genin were also gathered, and finally, a large force of over three thousand people left the Hidden Sand Village in a mighty procession.
On the way, they encountered some Ninjas and Ninja Academy students led by Baki.
Temari wanted to call her teacher, Baki, but Baki generally guessed their intentions. He didn't want to defect to Konoha, so the two sides parted ways at the intersection.
When Ino and the others came, they crossed the desert. On their way back, they wanted to take the main road.
However, they were stopped by strict checkpoints. The Ninjas at the checkpoints were unaware of the major changes that had occurred in the Hidden Sand Village.
But for such a large group to take the opportunity to leave the Hidden Sand Village, the Jonin at the checkpoint objected.
Temari believed that these Ninjas who had been stationed at the checkpoints for years were not the same as those Ninjas who were vying for power. She did not want to engage in conflict with these Ninja soldiers, so she immediately gave up on taking the main road and chose to lead her people across the desert.
Originally, it took Ino and the others five days to cross the desert. Now, with Gaara's harem, a group of injured people, and a large number of civilians, the time spent would at least triple.
There were simply too many beautiful girls. Bringing them back to Konoha would definitely make the young men of Konoha and Jiraiya howl with excitement, but in the desert, this became very troublesome.
The group of girls also gritted their teeth and persevered. Shikamaru and Temari constantly planned routes, while Choji and Kankuro occasionally hunted down wild beasts for food. Ino had the most strenuous job; after walking for an hour, she had to squat down and use her perception abilities to search for any pursuers. At night, she also had to use Wood Release to create a simple shelter for these people.
For a camp of three thousand people, there was no need to be too meticulous; a place that could provide shelter from the wind and rain was enough.
On the way, they encountered Shirō again.
Seeing them bringing so many civilians, Shirō accepted Temari's invitation this time and joined the group, using his familiarity with the desert environment to help guide the way.
After walking for twenty-one days in the desert, all the fresh water Ino had stored in Kubisaki Castle was used up. Only then did they emerge from the desert and encounter Konoha Village's support troops at the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers.
Asuma brought 1,500 Ninja troops as support. Ino was exhausted, but she still forced herself to be energetic and carried out the handover work with Asuma.
"This time, we rescued one Hidden Sand Village Elder, who is Elder Ryusa; four Jonin, Temari, Kankuro, Baki, and Suna. Temari and Kankuro aside, Baki is Pakura of Scorch Release's disciple and is skilled in Sealing Technique. Suna is Baki's subordinate and was persuaded by Temari to join us. After that, there are 132 Chunin, 580 Genin, and the remaining two thousand-plus are civilians. However, among the civilians, there is a Taijutsu master named Shirō. This person is very strong, and I believe he possesses Jonin-level strength."
The people brought out this time could form a small Ninja Village without a problem. Asuma knew that these were Ninjas friendly to Konoha Village, so he did not dare to neglect them and immediately sent his subordinates to distribute food and medicine.
Ino had a fierce battle with Sasori earlier, using up half of her Chakra. The Descent of the Tree World was beautiful and had the imposing aura of 'after my flowers bloom, all other flowers shall die.' She also led three thousand people across the desert like Moses parting the Red Sea. Even though Shirō, Shikamaru, and Temari were all extremely capable, she was still very tired at this time.
She and Asuma were both Jonin and had no subordinate relationship. What she said now was for the sake of the resettlement work.
She rested for half a day, replenished some food and water, and then returned to the Village with Shikamaru and Choji to give a formal mission report to the Hokage and the Advisors.
Inside the Hokage's office, Jiraiya, Tsunade, the two Advisors (excluding Danzo), and Shikaku were all present.
Shikamaru and Choji had no right to speak in this setting, serving as background. As a Jonin, Ino reported the mission process in detail to the Village's higher-ups.
At the end, she said, seemingly casually but actually boastfully, "Hokage-sama, sensei, there's no need to prepare antidotes and Chakra Blades for Sasori anymore. I don't know what his purpose was in going to Hidden Sand Village, but we encountered each other there, had a fierce battle, and I killed Sasori."
She indeed didn't know Sasori's purpose in going to Hidden Sand Village, and Sasori probably didn't know her purpose either. The two of them fought a muddled battle in someone else's home, almost demolishing Hidden Sand Village, after which Sasori lost his life, and she just dusted herself off and came back.
Utatane Koharu frowned slightly: "You defeated Sasori of the Red Sand from Hidden Sand Village? What Ninjutsu did you use?"
Ino gestured towards Tsunade with her chin: "He is Sasori of the Red Sand, not Sasori of the Red Sand from Hidden Sand Village. When fighting Sasori, I used the Wood Release that sensei taught me."
Everyone looked at Tsunade. Tsunade puffed out her chest and lifted her head, her face full of pride. That's right, I taught it!
The two Advisors, Shikaku, Shikamaru, and Choji left one after another. Ino wanted to discuss the battle details with Jiraiya and Tsunade, as it involved the Third Kazekage.
The disappearance of the Third Kazekage was the fuse for the Third Shinobi World War. This war established Minato Namikaze's reputation as Konohas Yellow Flash and plunged Obito into darkness. However, it has been more than ten years since the Third Shinobi World War ended, so this matter is both important and not so important.
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