Chapter 74: Just Joined, and Already Making Himself Useful!
"How about it? Not willing?"
Oborotsuki slowly gripped the handle of the Decapitation Greatsword with a half-smiling, half-mocking expression, his sharp gaze fixed on Sasori of the Red Sand.
"What exactly is your goal?"
Sasori asked calmly.
"That's not something we need to talk about right now."
"Maybe if I'm in a good mood someday, I'll chat with you about it."
Oborotsuki gave a playful laugh.
"Hmph…"
"I've long heard about the Bloody Mist Village's reputation. Your Kirigakure prison must hold quite a few heavy criminals, right?"
Sasori said with a meaningful smile.
His words clearly signaled that he was agreeing to Oborotsuki's invitation.
"You can have the heavy criminals. Do whatever you want with them for your eternal art research."
"Just don't refuse when I need you to take action."
After saying this, Oborotsuki shouldered the Decapitation Greatsword and turned to leave the forest.
Sasori glanced at the scattered wreckage of Hiruko all over the ground, then silently followed him out.
As soon as Oborotsuki brought Sasori back into Kirigakure, they ran right into the Kaguya clan's attacking force.
"So this village really is just as the rumors say—full of war…"
Sasori looked at the fierce battlefield ahead with a thoughtful expression.
"Are you just here to watch the show?"
Oborotsuki turned his head and gave Sasori a meaningful look while still carrying the greatsword.
After meeting his gaze for a moment, Sasori said nothing more. He immediately stepped forward.
"Which side should I help?"
"Or should I just kill everyone on both sides?"
As Sasori walked out, he had already taken out the scroll containing his human puppets and asked calmly.
"The invaders—you can deal with them however you like."
"Don't touch the Kirigakure shinobi."
Oborotsuki walked to the side, sat down, crossed his arms, and watched leisurely.
"Understood."
Without another word, Sasori unleashed Performance of a Hundred Puppets.
More than a hundred human puppets of various shapes and sizes were summoned and immediately launched an attack on the enemies.
…
The Kaguya clan's strength wasn't particularly great.
After all, only Kaguya Kimimaro had truly awakened the Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse) kekkei genkai.
The rest were merely fanatics.
Facing Sasori's Performance of a Hundred Puppets, they had no power to fight back.
The battle ended very quickly.
"Oborotsuki, that person is…?"
Terumī Mei, who had led people out to intercept the Kaguya clan, had long noticed Oborotsuki watching from the sidelines.
She had also noticed that Oborotsuki and Sasori had returned together.
So as soon as the battle ended, she immediately came over to ask.
"That's the bodyguard I invited back. Just call him Sasori. No need to mind him."
"He won't do anything to Kirigakure."
Oborotsuki smiled.
But Terumī Mei still looked a little uneasy. She turned her head to look at Sasori again.
After all, the combat level Sasori had just displayed was extremely powerful.
"A puppeteer this strong… I've only ever heard of one…"
"But that person should be old enough to be my grandmother by now."
The person Mei was referring to was Chiyo of Sunagakure.
Such a long-established powerhouse would naturally be known even in faraway Kirigakure in the Land of Water.
However, compared to Granny Chiyo, her grandson Sasori had turned himself into a human puppet long ago and hadn't participated in the ninja wars.
So it was only natural that Mei didn't recognize him.
At this moment, Sasori walked back over.
"So this level of trash was enough to give your Kirigakure such a headache?"
"I could have dealt with most of them with just the Ten Puppet Performance of Chikamatsu alone."
As Sasori approached, he spoke with clear disdain.
"Performance of Chikamatsu… that name sounds really familiar."
Terumī Mei frowned, trying hard to remember.
She felt like she had heard it somewhere before.
"Let me introduce you. Sasori—this is the Fifth Mizukage of Kirigakure."
Oborotsuki interrupted Mei's thoughts with a smile and formally introduced the two.
"Sasori is a friend I met while I was away from the village."
"At first this guy wasn't very friendly, but now he's become much more obedient."
Hearing Oborotsuki describe him this way, Sasori had nothing to say.
Terumī Mei, however, suddenly jolted:
"I remember now! Performance of Chikamatsu—legend says that's the puppet technique used by Granny Chiyo of Sunagakure! You…"
She looked at Sasori in shock and disbelief.
"Heh… so the old lady's fame has even reached this far?"
Sasori lifted his eyes toward Mei.
"You are…"
Terumī Mei's pupils flickered with incredulity.
"He's from Sunagakure."
"According to what you just said, that Granny Chiyo person… wouldn't happen to be your grandmother or some relative, would she?"
Oborotsuki asked Sasori with exaggerated curiosity.
"Hmph…"
Sasori didn't directly answer the question. Instead, he gave a cold, meaningful snort, turned around, and walked toward the outside of the village.
"Oborotsuki, how did you bring back a shinobi like this?"
Terumī Mei watched Sasori's departing figure with some worry:
"What if… he's a spy sent by Sunagakure?"
"Want to know more details?"
Oborotsuki looked at Mei's exquisite face and couldn't help grinning wickedly:
"Come to my room tonight. I'll tell you slowly."
"Die!"
Terumī Mei clenched her fist. She really wanted to punch this shameless guy right now.
Yet even though his words were clearly provocative,
When Oborotsuki said them, they somehow made her angry… and at the same time, a little expectant for him to continue teasing her.
"Am I crazy?"
Terumī Mei silently asked herself in her heart.
"Haha…"
"Sasori is actually a good guy. He's like a hedgehog—you've seen hedgehogs before, right?"
"Anyway, as a missing-nin from Sunagakure, he definitely won't be a spy for them."
Oborotsuki smiled as he gently stroked Mei's hair. In his mind, however, he couldn't help picturing Sasori hiding inside Hiruko all day.
This kid… deep down, he's starved for affection.
That's why he hides behind that kind of shell.
"Since you invited him back, then you're responsible for managing him."
"But let me make this clear: if this guy dares to do anything harmful to Kirigakure, I absolutely won't let him off."
Terumī Mei stated her stance firmly ahead of time.
"By the way… what time do you get off work tonight?"
Oborotsuki asked completely out of context.
At that moment, Ishiki Risa came running over to report to Mei:
"Lady Mei, the enemy corpses have been handled. Confirmed to be members of the Kaguya clan—127 bodies in total."
As she spoke, she quietly glanced at Oborotsuki, then immediately looked away.
"To think they brought the entire clan to try to betray Kirigakure…"
"It seems there are still many areas where our work isn't thorough enough. We must prevent this kind of thing from happening again! Risa, come back to the office with me right now to work on countermeasures!"
"And you—come too."
After speaking to Oborotsuki, Terumī Mei turned and hurriedly walked back toward the village.
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