Chapter 705: Refusal
Land of Rain, Six Paths City.
"Ninshū is developing better and better. Iwagakure and Sunagakure are actually holding their exchange meeting in Six Paths City. Are they trying to openly show their support for Ninshū?"
"But didn't Iwagakure and Sunagakure sign peace treaties with Konoha only a few months ago? Is another war about to start?"
"Who knows? When have the Five Great Ninja Villages ever truly remained peaceful?"
After Iwagakure and Sunagakure announced the exchange and began sending ninja into Six Paths City, discussions quickly spread throughout the city.
Most people believed that Iwagakure and Sunagakure were showing support for Ninshū.
They assumed the two Great Ninja Villages wanted to unite with Ninshū in order to counter Konoha and Kirigakure.
At first, some people thought Ninshū lacked the qualifications to stand alongside such powers.
But after examining the situation more carefully, they realized Ninshū was far from simple.
On the surface, aside from its extraordinarily powerful leader, Ninshū did not seem to possess many other noteworthy advantages.
However, there was also the deceased Hanzō, the increasingly close cooperation between Amegakure and Ninshū, as well as the newly established Ninshū branch in the Land of Birds.
Perhaps the actual number of ninja Ninshū could mobilize was already greater than that of a relatively powerful minor Ninja Village like Kusagakure.
More importantly, Ninshū's leader alone raised its value enormously.
Sōsuke had defeated the Third Hokage.
Among currently active ninja, it would not be an exaggeration to say that this was one of the most impressive battle records in the entire Ninja World.
Of course, speculation was still only speculation.
In reality, neither Ninshū nor Iwagakure and Sunagakure had any intention of forming a deep alliance.
Ninshū's position was simple.
According to Mugetsu's plan, unless all Five Great Ninja Villages were convinced and willing to coexist peacefully, there was nothing worth discussing.
Until that day came, Ninshū would continue maintaining its neutrality.
The situation on Iwagakure and Sunagakure's side was more complicated.
They had deliberately chosen Six Paths City as the venue for their exchange meeting in order to attract attention.
In reality, both villages had already secretly sent ninja into the Land of Lightning.
There truly was a three-party alliance being discussed.
But the three parties were not Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Ninshū.
They were Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kumogakure.
Compared to Ninshū, whose continued growth would eventually compete with them for influence and resources, Iwagakure and Sunagakure were far more willing to cooperate with Kumogakure.
The three villages had fought one another during the Third Shinobi World War.
However, even Konoha, currently the strongest Ninja Village, was strengthening its alliances.
Under those circumstances, Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kumogakure had little choice but to temporarily set aside their previous grudges.
To avoid alerting Konoha, Iwagakure and Sunagakure deliberately staged this exchange in Six Paths City.
Still, if they were going to put on a show, they intended to make it convincing.
Both villages had genuinely sent many talented ninja.
Even the leaders of the exchange delegations were relatively famous figures within their respective villages.
After arriving in Six Paths City with Sunagakure's delegation, Chiyo handed nearly all of the actual work to her deputy.
She had not come here because she cared about the exchange.
She had come to see Sasori.
On her first day in Six Paths City, Chiyo casually asked a Ninshū ninja about Sasori.
To her surprise, the ninja had no idea who Sasori was.
Chiyo found that strange.
With Sasori's abilities, how could he possibly remain unknown within Ninshū?
However, she did not dwell on it for long.
She assumed Sasori might have deliberately kept a low profile because he was worried that Sunagakure would pursue him through Ninshū.
Strictly speaking, Sasori was still a rogue ninja of Sunagakure.
So Chiyo used her official identity to formally request a meeting with Sasori through Ninshū's higher ranking members.
This time, there were no problems.
After Ninshū confirmed Sasori's willingness to meet her, they quickly responded and arranged a specific time.
On the day of the meeting, Chiyo deliberately chose the casual clothes she had most often worn back when Sasori still lived in Sunagakure.
She carefully tidied herself before heading toward Ninshū's reception room.
For Chiyo, this meeting was extremely important.
If it failed, she might truly lose the last remaining member of her bloodline.
She had even considered simply knocking Sasori unconscious and taking him back by force.
However, she quickly abandoned the idea.
She knew Sasori too well.
That would solve nothing.
Unless she intended to imprison Sasori for the rest of his life, taking him away by force would only make everything worse.
When Chiyo entered the reception room, she saw a red-haired young man who looked both familiar and unfamiliar.
For a brief moment, she fell into a daze.
The familiar part was Sasori's appearance.
He had not changed much.
He was still unmistakably the grandson she remembered.
What felt unfamiliar was his behavior.
The usually aloof Sasori was casually chatting like a friend with someone Chiyo did not recognize.
"Sasori, did you learn Puppet Technique from your grandmother?"
"Yes. Why? Are you about to say, 'So you're the grandson of a legendary puppet master. No wonder your Puppet Technique is so impressive'?"
"No. But your grandmother really is famous. Even someone like me who knows almost nothing about Puppet Technique has heard of her."
"What does fame matter? Is an enemy going to spare your life because your teacher is famous?"
Hearing that, the light in Chiyo's eyes dimmed slightly.
The moment Sasori said those words, she understood that her chances of succeeding today were already slim.
"Sasori, how have you been lately?"
Chiyo composed herself and gave him an exceptionally gentle smile.
"Is there anything you haven't been able to get used to in the Land of Rain?"
"It's fine. There's nothing I'm particularly uncomfortable with," Sasori replied as he turned toward her.
With his abilities, how could he possibly have failed to notice Chiyo entering the room?
Everything he had just said had been deliberately spoken for her to hear.
Sasori was not surprised that Chiyo knew he was in Ninshū.
First, he had never deliberately concealed his identity while living in Ninshū or Six Paths City.
Second, there was the matter of the puppet prosthetic limbs.
What interested him more was why Chiyo had suddenly come looking for him.
After thinking about it carefully, Sasori suspected she wanted him to return to Sunagakure.
But he could not go back with her.
Sasori did not blame Chiyo for his parents' deaths.
Their deaths had little to do with her.
The person Sasori blamed had been the Third Kazekage.
And Sasori had already killed the Third Kazekage and turned him into a human puppet.
Sunagakure simply did not know that yet.
If the truth were exposed, Sasori would not merely be unable to return.
He would instantly become Sunagakure's number one most wanted criminal.
Even without that incident, Sasori might not have chosen to return.
With it, returning was absolutely impossible.
If the truth came out, Chiyo might even be implicated because of him.
"Could you step outside for a moment?" Chiyo asked Nagato.
"I have some private matters I'd like to discuss with Sasori."
Although she was Sasori's grandmother, openly trying to persuade him to leave Ninshū in front of one of its members would still be inappropriate.
"Mm."
Nagato nodded and left the reception room, giving the grandmother and grandson some privacy.
Twenty seconds after Nagato left, Chiyo rapidly formed hand seals.
Chakra gathered.
A simple, small barrier quickly formed around the room.
Only then did Chiyo look directly at Sasori.
"Sasori, come back to Sunagakure with me."
"Staying in Ninshū will become extremely dangerous."
"Even if you don't want to return to Sunagakure, that's fine. Just don't remain here."
"Ninshū is walking toward an abyss. This path cannot be completed."
Chiyo genuinely did not have much faith in Ninshū's future.
The Second Shinobi World War had already demonstrated how difficult it was for another power to rise to the level of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Ninshū would not merely be challenging one Great Ninja Village.
Eventually, it would face every Great Ninja Village surrounding the Land of Rain.
The only reason that had not happened yet was because Ninshū had not crossed the critical threshold.
If it ever did, Chiyo had no doubt that Konoha, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure would all act.
They might not formally organize a joint army.
But each of them would certainly send ninja forces.
"Is there any Ninja Village that's truly safe?" Sasori asked in return.
Being a ninja meant living on the edge of death to begin with.
"You know that isn't the same thing."
Chiyo shook her head.
How could the ordinary dangers of ninja missions be compared to the scale of another great war?
"To me, it is the same."
Sasori's expression remained indifferent.
"And staying in Ninshū is more meaningful."
"You know Ninshū's actual goal is peace throughout the Ninja World."
"They aren't trying to become the strongest ninja power or dominate the entire world."
"Countless ninja organizations claim to pursue peace," Chiyo replied.
"But Ninshū actually accomplished something," Sasori said seriously.
"Under Ninshū's governance, the Land of Rain truly became peaceful."
"The security inside the Land of Rain is even better than in the Land of Wind."
Sasori began listing the changes Ninshū had brought to the Land of Rain since its founding.
"That's because this is their own country," Chiyo countered.
She did not believe there were truly that many genuine pacifists in the world.
If so many people sincerely desired peace, why had the Ninja World spent so much of its history trapped in war?
"They're doing the same thing in the Land of Birds," Sasori replied.
"That's expansion of influence."
It was precisely Ninshū's actions in the Land of Birds that had made Sunagakure increasingly vigilant.
If Ninshū were allowed to repeat the same process across every small country, then its strength and influence would expand rapidly.
"If that's how you see it, then there isn't much point continuing this conversation."
Sasori remained calm.
"You can't persuade me to return to Sunagakure, and I can't persuade you to understand what makes Ninshū different."
During his time in Ninshū, Sasori had observed the organization closely.
He had personally seen what Ninshū was actually doing.
Forget Chiyo.
There were probably ordinary Ninshū ninja who understood the organization less deeply than Sasori did.
Chiyo fell silent.
Originally, she had assumed Sasori joined Ninshū because of some unusual circumstance.
She had never expected that he had simply come to acknowledge the organization itself.
"Can we talk again in a few days?" Chiyo asked.
She could already tell that nothing more would come from today's conversation.
"I don't think that's necessary."
"Just consider it keeping an old woman company."
"I might not have time."
Hearing that final answer, Chiyo felt a slight sense of relief.
At least he had not rejected her completely.
She said goodbye to Sasori and left the reception room.
Twenty seconds later, Nagato returned.
"What happened?" he asked with concern.
Chiyo's expression had clearly been poor when she left.
She had not looked like someone who had just enjoyed a pleasant reunion with a long-lost relative.
"What do you think?" Sasori replied.
"If one of your relatives was being detained by some ninja organization, would you be happy?"
Nagato thought for a moment.
"According to the conditions Sensei set, your sentence is almost over, Sasori."
Mugetsu's original condition had been that if Sasori successfully helped Ninshū acquire puppet prosthetic limb technology, five years would be deducted from his sentence.
Nagato had also been granted the authority to reduce Sasori's sentence by up to four additional years.
Nagato was extremely satisfied with Sasori's behavior and had already granted the maximum reduction available to him.
Now, Sasori only needed to successfully train a Ninshū ninja capable of independently mastering the puppet prosthetic limb technology.
The moment that happened, his sentence would officially end.
"Do you think teaching those idiots Puppet Technique is easy?"
Sasori spoke irritably before standing up and walking toward the laboratory by himself.
Nagato remained behind with a confused expression.
He had no idea how he had somehow managed to irritate Sasori.
...
Land of Lightning, Western Port Town.
While the attention of almost the entire Ninja World was focused on Six Paths City, Sunagakure and Iwagakure had secretly dispatched ninja into the Land of Lightning.
To reduce the risk of exposure, they had not even chosen one of the Great Ninja Villages as the location for their meeting.
Instead, they gathered in an ordinary western port town in the Land of Lightning.
"Ninshū harbors enormous ambition, while Konoha and Kirigakure clearly have plans of their own. I fear another great war may soon descend upon the Ninja World," Yashamaru said first.
As he spoke, he carefully observed the expressions of the Iwagakure and Kumogakure representatives from the corner of his eye.
His greatest attention was naturally focused on Kumogakure's representative.
The Land of Lightning was different from the Land of Wind and Land of Earth.
It did not border the Land of Rain.
Even if Amegakure and Ninshū eventually rose into a sixth great ninja power, the immediate impact on Kumogakure would be far smaller than what Sunagakure and Iwagakure would face.
More importantly, Ninshū was nowhere near becoming a genuine sixth great ninja power in the short term.
That was why Yashamaru deliberately mentioned Konoha and Kirigakure as well.
Ninshū might not threaten Kumogakure for a long time.
Konoha could.
Yashamaru did not believe Kumogakure would simply stand by and watch Konoha become increasingly dominant until it evolved into a superpower far beyond the other villages.
As Yashamaru expected, the Kumogakure representative's expression immediately became more serious.
"That's right," Dodai said.
"At a time like this, our three Great Ninja Villages need to cooperate."
"We cannot allow Konoha to achieve whatever it wants."
Kumogakure's leadership actually understood Ninshū's potential fairly well.
However, most of them believed that potential would never truly be realized.
Konoha was different.
If Konoha received full support from Kirigakure, then even if Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure joined forces, the final outcome would become difficult to predict.
"Recently, our Tsuchikage personally entered a dangerous situation and obtained an extremely important piece of intelligence," Retsuishi said.
The conference room immediately fell silent.
Yashamaru and Dodai both turned toward him with surprise and curiosity.
If Retsuishi was telling the truth, then the simple fact that the Tsuchikage himself had taken such a risk was already important information.
What kind of intelligence could possibly justify a Kage personally putting his life in danger?
"Sōsuke has actually been underestimated."
Yashamaru and Dodai looked puzzled.
Sōsuke was already widely rumored to be the strongest ninja in the current Ninja World.
How could someone with that reputation still be underestimated?
"Sōsuke possesses power far beyond an ordinary Kage."
Retsuishi's expression became solemn.
"If I had to describe his level of strength, I would say he is another God of Shinobi."
"God of Shinobi..."
Shock appeared on Dodai's face.
Defeating Hiruzen and being comparable to the God of Shinobi were two completely different concepts.
For example, some Kumogakure ninja might believe the Third Raikage could defeat the Third Hokage.
But no one in Kumogakure would seriously claim that the Third Raikage could rival the legendary God of Shinobi.
Even Mugetsu, who had shone so brilliantly during the Third Shinobi World War, had only been described as possessing the potential to reach that level.
People had not yet broadly declared him equal to the God of Shinobi.
Yashamaru's reaction was even more complicated.
Surprise filled his face, but beneath it was also a faint trace of relief.
Sunagakure had recently been discussing how to deal with Ninshū.
If a full conflict broke out, Sunagakure might indeed possess enough military strength to destroy Ninshū as an organization.
But if Sōsuke then devoted himself entirely to retaliation, Sunagakure would inevitably suffer catastrophic decline.
This would not be the revenge of an ordinary Kage-level ninja.
It would be retaliation from someone comparable to the God of Shinobi.
As for whether Iwagakure's intelligence was genuine, Yashamaru could not currently think of a good reason for them to fabricate it.
Was Iwagakure trying to trick Sunagakure and Kumogakure into temporarily ignoring Konoha and focusing on Ninshū instead?
That seemed unlikely.
Sunagakure already had a direct conflict of interest with Ninshū.
As for Kumogakure, if Sōsuke's strength had been exaggerated, then Iwagakure and Sunagakure together should have been capable of steadily eliminating Ninshū without involving Kumogakure and introducing additional uncertainty.
....
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