Three days later, at night, in Sunagakure.
Chiyo's fingers lightly shifted across the puppet joints, and the clicking sound of the mechanisms locking together was especially clear in the silent room.
Outside the window, the night wind of Sunagakure carried fine sand and beat against the window frame. It was past midnight.
But her grandson, Sasori, had not come back.
Chiyo set down the puppet parts in her hand and furrowed her brow.
'Something is wrong.'
Sasori had a withdrawn personality, but he had never stayed out through the night before.
Moreover, his recent behavior...
She abruptly stood up and walked quickly toward Sasori's room.
The moment she pushed open the door, her pupils contracted sharply.
Scattered across the floor were countless puppet parts. The "Father and Mother" puppets that Sasori treasured most were now in pieces. The heads had rolled into the corner, and their hollow eyes seemed to be silently accusing something.
Chiyo's heart clenched hard. She quickly searched through the room.
Finally, on the back of a plain small human puppet, she saw words that Sasori had carved.
"Humans, I can make as many as I want with puppets."
The bad feeling in her heart grew even stronger.
She did not linger. She turned and rushed toward Sasori's puppet workshop.
The workshop door was locked tight.
Chiyo pressed her fingers against the door panel. The cold sensation made her fingertips go numb.
She had no patience to look for the key. She pulled an explosive tag directly from her coat and stuck it on the lock.
"Explode!"
A thunderous blast rang out. The door was blown to pieces. Through the spreading dust and smoke, Chiyo charged inside.
Inside the workshop, there was total silence.
The puppets that had once filled every wall, the flying birds, poison snakes, and human-shaped weapons that Sasori had carefully crafted, were all gone.
The room was frighteningly empty. Only the floor tiles in the center had a slight bulge, with traces along the edges of having been pried open.
Chiyo's breathing suddenly quickened.
She rushed to the floor tile and lifted it with both hands.
Underneath was a hidden compartment. The scroll that should have sealed the puppet "Petit Insect" inside was now completely empty.
That human puppet made from Sasori's friend...
It was gone!
Chiyo's hands trembled violently. Something like an invisible hand seemed to grip her throat.
She collapsed onto the floor. Her cracked lips quivered as she muttered to herself.
"Grandson, please don't make a mistake..."
Sasori had taken all the puppets.
Including that sealed "friend."
"Lady Chiyo!"
An urgent shout came from outside.
Chiyo snapped her head up and saw a Suna ANBU ninja standing at the workshop entrance. Behind the mask, his eyes were filled with anxiety.
"What is it..."
Her voice was hoarse, barely recognizable as her own.
The ANBU dropped to one knee and spoke in a heavy voice.
"The Third Kazekage went out tonight and has not returned!"
Chiyo's pupils contracted sharply.
The Kazekage had gone missing?
Sasori had also gone missing?
On the same night...
Her heart pounded wildly. A terrible thought coiled around her like a poisonous snake.
'Could it be... could Sasori have...'
"Send people to search!"
Chiyo shot to her feet. Her voice was hoarse and sharp.
"Seal all exits from the village immediately! Search for the Kazekage!"
The ANBU ninja bowed his head to accept the order, then turned and disappeared into the night.
Chiyo stood in place, her whole body trembling.
'Sasori... what have you done?!'
The village's intense response was quickly picked up by "eyes" lurking in the shadows.
In the back alley of a tavern, a ninja wearing a hooded cloak silently unrolled a scroll. He concentrated chakra at his fingertips and swiftly wrote in cipher.
[The Suna high command has mobilized in the middle of the night. Something major may have happened. This can be used to stir up internal conflict.]
The scroll dissolved into a wisp of smoke and vanished.
At the same time, the guards at the village gate were temporarily reassigned. Several ninjas disguised as merchants took advantage of the opening and slipped inside.
'Sunagakure's weakness... has finally been exposed.'
Just before dawn.
Chiyo stood at the top of the highest watchtower in Sunagakure, looking down over the village, which was gradually growing restless.
The ANBU search had turned up nothing. The Kazekage and Sasori seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth.
Chiyo's fingernails dug deeply into the stone railing. Her knuckles turned white.
'Sasori...'
'Have you truly betrayed the village?'
'Or is it that... you finally made your move against the Kazekage?'
The cold look in Sasori's eyes when he controlled the "Father and Mother" puppets surfaced in her mind, and it chilled her to the bone.
Just then, an ANBU ninja appeared beside her in a flash.
"Lady Chiyo! The patrol unit has reported. A hidden training ground shows signs of battle, and on the ground there is... there is blood belonging to the Kazekage!"
Chiyo's body swayed. A despair unlike anything before surfaced in her clouded eyes.
'It's over...'
'The sky above Sunagakure...'
'Is about to collapse.'
"Seal the information! The news of the Kazekage's disappearance must not leak out under any circumstances!"
Hearing Chiyo's words, the ANBU ninja departed quickly and began issuing the order.
That day, throughout every street in Sunagakure, ANBU ninjas on patrol could be seen at every turn.
The dusk of Sunagakure always came wrapped in the dry heat of windblown sand. Scorch Style ninja Pakura walked with steady steps through the streets, yet her brow was faintly creased.
'There are too many ANBU out today.'
Since early morning, she had noticed a sharp increase in the number of patrol ninjas in the village. Especially near the Kazekage Building, where there was almost one masked ANBU stationed every ten steps. Their postures were more tense than usual. Their fingers rested on their equipment pouches at all times, as if ready to respond to a sudden situation at any moment.
'What happened?'
Pakura felt a faint unease in her heart. Her footsteps unconsciously turned toward the Kazekage Building.
As a kekkei genkai ninja favored by the Third Kazekage, she had the authority to meet with the Kazekage directly.
However, just as she approached the main entrance of the building, two ANBU ninjas appeared and blocked her path.
"Lady Pakura, please stop."
One of them said in a cold voice.
"I have a matter to report to the Kazekage."
Pakura's gaze was sharp.
"The Kazekage is handling important matters and is not receiving visitors today."
The ANBU's tone left no room for argument.
Pakura narrowed her eyes. These ANBU were normally respectful toward her, but today their attitude was firm, and they even carried a faint wariness.
'Something is wrong.'
She was silent for a moment. In the end she did not force her way through. As she turned to leave, the corner of her eye caught a hunched silhouette that seemed to flash behind the curtains of the third floor window of the Kazekage Building.
'Was that... Lady Chiyo?'
As night deepened, Pakura sat at home polishing her kunai, but her thoughts could not settle.
'What exactly is the Kazekage planning?'
'Or is it that... he has run into trouble?'
While she was thinking, a series of short knocks suddenly came from outside the door.
"Lady Pakura, emergency meeting. Please proceed to the Kazekage Building immediately."
The voice of an ANBU ninja came through the door.
Pakura shot to her feet and grabbed her forehead protector, tying it on.
She followed the ANBU at a quick pace. The crowd outside the Kazekage Building had already quietly parted to form a path.
The moment she stepped inside the building, Pakura's nerves snapped taut.
Both sides of the corridor were lined with fully armed ANBU. A suppressed surge of chakra fluctuations filled the air.
'An atmosphere like this...'
'It is exactly like guarding against an enemy invasion!'
The door of the meeting room closed heavily behind her.
Pakura looked around and found that all of Sunagakure's high-ranking members were already present. Chiyo, Suna commander, and the various unit commanders including Suna, along with elders who had not shown themselves for a long time.
Everyone's expression was as dark as still water.
"Everyone is here."
Chiyo's hoarse voice sounded.
She raised her hands to form a seal. Several ANBU immediately deployed a barrier technique at the four corners of the room. A pale violet light screen instantly enveloped the entire space.
'A soundproofing barrier!'
Pakura's pupils contracted slightly.
'Just what kind of intelligence requires protection this tight.'
"Lady Chiyo, exactly what has happened? And why is the Kazekage not present at a meeting like this?"
Suna stepped forward respectfully and asked.
Chiyo slowly stood, her thin fingers pressing down on the tabletop. Her voice was low.
"The Third Kazekage... has gone missing."
The meeting room fell immediately dead silent.
"Wha... what?!"
One of the elders slammed his palm on the table and shot to his feet.
"After he went out last night, he has not returned since."
Chiyo's gaze swept across everyone.
"The patrol unit found signs of battle, and... a few drops of his blood."
Pakura's breath caught. In her mind flashed the abnormal behavior of the ANBU she had seen during the day.
'So that's it...'
"Was it an assassination? Or a defection? Was a body found?!"
Someone demanded sharply.
Chiyo was silent for a moment, then suddenly looked toward Pakura.
"Pakura, you attempted to meet with the Kazekage today?"
Every gaze in the room instantly converged on her.
A chill ran down Pakura's spine, but she straightened her back and responded.
"Yes, but I was stopped by the ANBU."
"Why were you looking for him?"
Chiyo's eyes were sharp as a blade.
"Because the ANBU deployment today was abnormal!"
Pakura did not back down.
"I wanted to know whether something had happened in the village. As it turns out now, my instinct was correct."
Chiyo looked at her deeply for a long moment.
Among the two most promising junior ninjas that the Third Kazekage had favored, one was Suna, and the other was Pakura.
However, precisely because of Pakura, Chiyo could not help but remain on guard.
On the border.
This highly regarded junior had publicly helped an Uchiha from Konoha before.
Chiyo finally shifted her gaze and sank wearily into her chair.
"On that same night, besides the Third Kazekage, Sasori also disappeared..."
Chiyo's voice carried a suppressed pain.
"Sasori?!"
The meeting room erupted in an uproar again.
Besides being Chiyo's grandson, Sasori of the Red Sand was also the most renowned puppeteer in Sunagakure.
Pakura noticed, however, that when Chiyo spoke those words, her fingers were unconsciously turning over a worn puppet part.
"The most urgent matter is to seal the information!"
One of the elders stepped forward and spoke loudly.
"The Third Kazekage possesses a kekkei genkai and formidable strength. He is the strongest among all the Kazekage in history. I do not believe he could be assassinated within Sunagakure. What we must do first is prevent news of the Kazekage's disappearance from leaking out, and search for him in secret!"
Hearing this, everyone present looked thoughtful.
It seemed like a reasonable approach to them.
After all, no body belonging to the Kazekage had been found, so it was not certain he was truly dead.
Before the words had finished, an urgent knocking sound came from outside the barrier.
An ANBU rushed in, his voice trembling.
"This is bad! Traces of a large number of spies have been discovered at the village entrance!"
Chiyo's face instantly went pale with fury.
'As expected. The claws of other nations have already reached inside.'
Chiyo produced her response plan, distributed it to everyone, and spoke in a firm tone.
"Everyone, with the Kazekage absent, the stability of Sunagakure is above all else. I hereby announce the activation of the Elder Council to temporarily assume the Kazekage's authority! All external operations are to be suspended for now. We will stabilize the interior first before considering anything else!"
---
━━━━━━━━━━━━
❤️ Enjoying the Story?
⭐ Every 500 Powerstones = 1 Bonus Chapter!
📖 Read 120 chapters ahead on Patreon.
🔗 patreon.com/atomelectron
Thank you for your support!
━━━━━━━━━━━━