Seeing the Third Kazekage's body collapse to the ground, Anya finally relaxed. On the surface, the battle had seemed quick and effortless, but in truth, he had used everything he had—poison techniques, genjutsu, sword arts, dojutsu, and even medical ninjutsu. Most crucial was the poison; if not for three consecutive days of slow-acting poison buildup that reduced the Kazekage's strength to its lowest point, he might have survived the final strike of the [Phantom Sword Art].
After pushing his Mangekyou to its limit with Setsuna, Anya's right eye still throbbed with pain—clear signs of the technique's toll.
Nearby, Sasori couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. Brother Kurotsuchi had just killed him like that. Though he had always known Brother Kurotsuchi was strong, he hadn't expected this level of power—absolute Kage-tier strength. Throughout the entire fight, there had been no opening for him to intervene at all. At that moment, his hunger for power burned stronger than ever.
Once the pain in his right eye eased slightly, Anya moved forward, dragging the Kazekage's body into the room and using his extensive experience to erase all signs of combat. Since the fatal blow had been delivered with a Chakra Scalpel, there wasn't even a drop of blood at the scene. He quickly locked the door, making everything appear as though nothing had happened.
After finishing, Anya turned to the dazed Sasori and said, "Sasori, go to the Third Kazekage's Office. Drop subtle hints to see if anyone knows where The Third went."
Sasori understood immediately. The Kazekage's sudden disappearance would inevitably send shockwaves through the village. If someone knew the Kazekage had come specifically looking for them, the two of them wouldn't have much time left.
"Alright," Sasori agreed, quickly composing himself, feigning normalcy as he carried the tray of food toward the Kazekage's Office like any other day.
Anya began cleaning the traces in the room, restoring everything to its original state. The consequences of the Kazekage's sudden death would surely be severe. As Sasori had said, once his identity was exposed, war between Sunagakure and Konoha would be unavoidable. How would the Third Hokage deal with him—the one responsible? Anya wasn't confident. At the very least, there would be no reward, so naturally, they needed to keep the truth hidden for as long as possible.
As for Sasori, Anya planned to take him along when he left. With the Kazekage dead, there was no longer any reason for Sasori to remain in Sunagakure. If he was implicated in the Kazekage's death, not even Chiyo would be able to protect him. Moreover, Anya now needed to build an organization, and Sasori would make an excellent assistant.
After restoring the room to perfect order, Sasori finally returned, his face lit with excitement as he said, "Brother Kurotsuchi, the Kazekage came alone—no one knows where he went."
Hearing this, Anya smiled and said, "Then that's settled. Sasori, I'm leaving now. Come with me—let's get out of here."
Sasori nodded with a grin, pulling out a Mission Scroll. "That's exactly what I was thinking, Brother Kurotsuchi. I've grown tired of this village already, so I accepted a mission scroll as an excuse to leave. From now on, I'll follow you."
With their plans finalized, the two wasted no time. Just as they had arrived, Anya concealed himself inside Sasori's puppet and boldly left behind the now leaderless Sunagakure Village.
After rushing frantically for a long time, the two finally left the territory of Sunagakure Village and could stop to rest briefly. Once again, it was a familiar town with its usual casino. Anya tested his luck at the casino twice before leaving. Though he already had plenty of money from Sasori's earlier financial support, a little more wouldn't hurt either — now he could even be considered quite wealthy. If he ever ran low on cash again, he could always swing by Aimashi Room and walk away a little richer. Anya made a mental note of the casino's name: Aimashi Room.
Leaving the casino, Anya found Sasori spacing out and approached him, asking, "What's wrong? You seem lost."
"Lost? No," Sasori replied bitterly. "I'm just thinking about how to quickly improve my strength. You're so strong, Kurotsuchi. Since I'm following you, I can't afford to stay too weak."
After thinking for a while, Sasori suddenly had an idea and said to Anya, "How about I transform myself into a puppet too? That way, not only could I become an artwork, but I'd also gain Eternity, and my power would instantly increase."
"Huh?" Anya gave him a confused look and reflexively tapped Sasori on the head. After doing it, he found it oddly satisfying — no wonder his teacher used to rap him on the head like that.
"Forget that idea, Sasori," Anya said, voice firm. "When I first met you, you struggled against even an elite Jonin and might not have won. Look at yourself now — already capable of going head-to-head with Kage-level experts. The human body has limitless potential for growth. Once you become a puppet, your strength will be entirely limited by it — you'll hit a ceiling, and that's it. That kind of action is plain stupid."
Of course, there was something else Anya didn't say: With Sasori's looks, turning into a puppet meant he wouldn't have descendants — an unfortunate loss. Grandma Chiyo would probably kill him as Sasori's senior brother for ruining such a good-looking kid.
Sasori thought for a moment yet hadn't abandoned the idea yet. "Kurotsuchi, puppets can still be upgraded, right? Don't you remember when you told me about those Transmorphers before? Their puppets can fly across worlds and travel through space."
Anya finally understood what it truly meant to shoot oneself in the foot. Come on, they weren't even from the same world!
Anya patiently advised, "Sasori, that was just a story, you know? Stories can be made up freely. Today, I can say they roam through the universe, and tomorrow I can claim they destroy entire universes. So don't take them too seriously."
"Fine," Sasori realized Kurotsuchi meant well and decided to suppress this tempting thought, then asked instead, "Kurotsuchi, where are we going now? Shall we go to Konoha (the Hidden Leaf Village) together?"
"No," Anya shook his head. "We're heading to another village."
Given Sasori's personality, if he found out that Kurotsuchi was actually a wanted criminal in Konoha, who knew what trouble might happen? Moreover, considering Sasori's identity, appearing in Konoha at such a sensitive time when Kazekage's disappearance had just occurred would lead to unpredictable consequences. Therefore, absolutely no trip to Konoha.
Anya had a perfect destination in mind — the place he hadn't visited in years. It was time to check in again since it belonged to his very first ideal subordinate.
Naturally, Sasori raised no objection and followed Anya out of the small town.
At this moment, Anya summoned the Eagle Puppet and carried Sasori into the sky.
As Sasori flew into the sky once again beside Kurotsuchi, a wave of emotion welled up inside him. Unconsciously, he recalled the past—back when life was carefree, his parents still alive, and he seemed like the happiest person in the world. Sudden misfortune had left him feeling like the world had turned its back on him, making life and death seem meaningless. He'd even created two puppets modeled after his parents to keep him company, and for the first time, he thought maybe puppets weren't so cold after all.
Then, when Kurotsuchi reappeared before him—alive and real—it finally brought back the last bit of warmth he felt for this world. The joy of flight brought back a feeling he'd long forgotten—the simple happiness of being human.
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