"What a long time it's been, Uchiha~ Kiyoshi."
Pakura turned around.
Even her silhouette alone was enough to stir the imagination.
She deliberately emphasized Kiyoshi's name while staring directly at him.
Several Sunagakure ninja stood beside her.
This road was the only route leading to the Hidden Sand Village, so they had arrived early to receive the visitors.
"Yeah, it's been a while."
Kiyoshi looked at Pakura.
Among all the participants of the Chūnin Exams, Pakura had been the oldest of their generation and was currently in the middle of rapid physical maturity.
Her clothing had also started resembling her appearance from the original story.
Her sleeveless, backless ninja outfit exposed her smooth pale back and arms beneath the sunlight.
A white cloth wrapped tightly around her waist, accentuating the soft curves of her chest even further.
Its rise and fall with her breathing was clearly visible.
"Very nice."
Kiyoshi's eyes flickered again.
Wasn't this basically a fully ripened crop ready for harvesting?
And unlike the future ninja world, cosmetic surgery technology didn't yet exist.
Transformation Jutsu only created illusions. Once chakra ran out, the user reverted to their original appearance.
Even Orochimaru's B-rank technique Face Copy Technique was merely an advanced disguise involving attaching another person's facial skin onto oneself to maintain appearances without chakra.
"It really is nice. Seeing you means my wish can finally be fulfilled too."
A faint smile appeared on Pakura's lips.
A friendly spar between allies to strengthen "Leaf-Sand friendship" was perfectly normal, right?
Ever since their previous encounter, she had spent a lot of time devising ways to counter Kiyoshi's taijutsu.
"You've got some skill, brat."
Tsunade glanced between the two before grinning and slapping Kiyoshi heavily on the back.
Even with Kiyoshi's current physique, the impact hurt sharply.
An ordinary person would probably have collapsed instantly.
"You misunderstand, Tsunade-sama."
"Oh please, everyone was young once."
Tsunade narrowed her light-brown eyes teasingly while her chest swayed dramatically.
Young people these days really were impressive.
Even talented beauties from enemy villages kept staring at him.
Asuma and Kurenai had been fighting Baki during the Chūnin Exams, so they had no idea what exactly happened between Kiyoshi and Pakura.
They only knew that Kiyoshi had defeated and driven her away.
"So Kiyoshi and Pakura are flirting with each other…"
Asuma secretly rejoiced.
Didn't that mean nobody would compete with him for Kurenai anymore?
A temporary lead meant nothing.
The true winner was the one smiling at the end.
Unlike Asuma, who looked ready to burst into laughter, Kurenai's expression became noticeably gloomier.
First Kiyoshi had carried around a shrine maiden.
Now he seemed entangled with Pakura too.
Weren't they supposed to be enemies?
"Pakura, so that's Konoha's famous Uchiha prodigy?"
The one speaking beside her was a red-haired handsome boy.
"Leaf Village really has endless talent. One White Fang dies, and another genius immediately appears to replace him."
Though Sasori looked harmless and refined, his words were merciless.
Tsunade instantly frowned.
"Sasori!"
Pakura quickly called out to stop him.
Sasori's parents had been killed by Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake, so his hatred toward Konoha ninja was understandable.
But today Konoha had arrived as diplomatic envoys.
One careless mistake could trigger a serious international incident.
Sasori said nothing further and merely stared silently into the endless desert.
Pakura suddenly understood why the usually detached Sasori had lost control today.
The object of his hatred had already died.
There was nobody left for him to take revenge on.
It was like throwing a fully charged punch into soft cotton.
All that force… with nowhere to go.
Pakura sighed before turning toward Tsunade.
"My apologies. Please follow me. The village is still some distance away."
She turned and led everyone deeper into the desert, leaving footprints in the sand behind her.
Tsunade glanced at Sasori's red hair and recalled that Sakumo Hatake once killed a famous puppet-master couple from Sunagakure.
Could this boy be their child?
Tsunade motioned for the others to follow as they continued walking through the endless desert.
Kiyoshi quietly observed Sasori from behind, already calculating something in his mind.
Since the White Fang was dead, Sasori poisoning the Third Kazekage was only a matter of time.
After all, Sasori blamed the Kazekage for his parents' deaths.
He believed the Sand Village leadership was weak and incompetent for allowing Konoha to invade and cause their deaths.
The logic was absurd.
But that was genuinely how Sasori thought.
That was why Kiyoshi believed the ninja world was full of extremists and mentally unstable people.
Konoha had no department dedicated to children's mental health.
Neither did Sunagakure.
In fact, no ninja village possessed anything resembling a "Children's Psychological Care Center."
The first one wouldn't appear until six months after the Fourth Great Ninja War, proposed by Sakura after enormous effort.
The entire ninja system quietly twisted people from childhood onward.
"I should find a chance to guide Sasori a little," Kiyoshi thought.
A twisted Sasori could still be useful to him.
At least then his talents wouldn't go to waste.
After all, the Sasori from the original story hardly qualified as a decent human being.
The group soon arrived at Sunagakure.
The village stood at the center of the desert, one of the few oases in the region.
The Sand ninja had built their homeland within these harsh conditions through sheer perseverance.
Kiyoshi observed the strange architecture around him.
The longer he looked, the more oppressive it felt.
Everywhere stretched endless earth-colored fortress-like buildings.
Even a tiny bit of color seemed like a luxury.
Pakura noticed his gaze and snorted.
She was convinced Kiyoshi wasn't looking at the village with admiration.
To her, his expression carried the superiority of someone born in a rich and fertile land.
Kiyoshi glanced at the proud look on Pakura's face.
Every village heavily emphasized patriotism from childhood.
Pakura had grown up here, so naturally she felt no oppression.
This environment had become normal to her.
The official novel Gaara Hiden even stated that most Sand ninja weren't interested in luxurious lifestyles.
In Kiyoshi's eyes, that was simply making the best of misery.
Without learning contentment, people would eventually suffocate in this desert and become food for vultures.
The ninja who secretly longed for better lives were probably living in hell every day.
As they walked through the village, curious Sand villagers constantly glanced toward the Konoha headbands on their foreheads.
"We're here."
Pakura eventually stopped before a grand building.
In every ninja village, the headquarters handling diplomacy, missions, and administration was always far more impressive than surrounding structures.
Inside, a man looked up from his desk.
"Welcome, shinobi of Konoha, to Sunagakure."
The Third Kazekage possessed light blue hair and narrow eyes, wearing dark blue robes slightly deeper in color than his hair.
"Third Kazekage, I come representing Konoha to discuss strengthening our alliance."
Tsunade's usual carefree expression became serious as she removed several densely written documents from a sealing scroll.
"Of course."
The Third Kazekage nodded.
He had already expected Konoha to request revisions to the alliance.
They hadn't stopped Tsunade's group because Konoha had notified them beforehand through long-distance communication devices.
Soon, Tsunade and the Kazekage began negotiating the details of the alliance, discussing reinforcements and revisions to previous unfair terms.
Kiyoshi observed the Third Kazekage briefly before withdrawing his gaze.
The databooks described him as "the strongest Kazekage in history."
His terrifying power came from the Magnet Release bloodline ability.
He could convert highly condensed chakra into magnetic force and freely manipulate iron sand.
Any metal weapon affected by magnetism became useless against him.
His abilities were overwhelmingly powerful.
The only reason Sasori managed to kill him was because he never expected betrayal from someone he trusted.
Roughly two hours later, the Third Kazekage looked toward Sasori standing nearby.
"Take them to rest. It's getting late."
"Yes, Kazekage-sama."
Sasori replied emotionlessly.
The Third Kazekage was already accustomed to Sasori's cold attitude.
As Chiyo's beloved grandson, Sasori was a genius despite his antisocial personality.
At a young age, he had already mastered both puppet techniques and poisons.
Without question, he would become one of Sunagakure's greatest future pillars.
Sasori led Kiyoshi's group away.
Pakura remained behind to report whether the Konoha ninja displayed anything suspicious during the journey.
"Sasori, could you show me around Sunagakure a little?"
After being escorted to their accommodations, Kiyoshi suddenly asked.
Sasori glanced at him strangely before nodding.
It wasn't a problem.
With Sasori accompanying him, nothing suspicious could happen.
"Kiyoshi, I want to go too," Kurenai said softly.
But exhaustion was visible on her face.
They had spent days traveling through the desert, where daytime temperatures exceeded 40°C while nights dropped below freezing.
Resting properly had been nearly impossible.
"Get some rest, Kurenai. I'll just take a quick look around and come back soon."
Kiyoshi smiled gently.
"…Alright."
Kurenai reluctantly nodded.
Asuma yawned loudly.
"We're heading to rest first."
He entered one of the rooms.
Each person had their own private room.
After all, Tsunade's group technically counted as a diplomatic delegation.
"Don't stay out too long," Tsunade said.
"Yes, Tsunade-sama."
Kiyoshi nodded before leaving alongside Sasori.
As they walked, Kiyoshi casually asked questions about Sunagakure while Sasori responded indifferently.
Eventually, Kiyoshi deliberately guided them toward a crowded area.
The more people around, the easier it became to conceal his true intentions.
The two moved through the lively streets packed with pedestrians.
The weather today was pleasant, and many people filled the roads.
Then suddenly, Kiyoshi asked:
"I heard your parents died at the hands of Sakumo Hatake?"