This was a strange way for two people to relate. No matter how odd, it still came down to one truth: only those who are mutually interested draw close to each other.
To avoid unnecessary diplomatic trouble between two nations, Shigeo used Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique) to become a young shinobi, then headed toward Sunagakure with Cheng Mei'er. "From now on, I'll have to wrong you a bit. Stay in my pocket dimension for a while. When the time is right, I'll let you out."
"Hai!" Although Cheng Mei'er had a thousand questions, she didn't dare ask. Right now, she could only cooperate.
After placing her in his own different space, Shigeo arrived at Sunagakure's gate and addressed the guards: "I'm a commissioned shinobi from the Land of Birds. Sunagakure's Sasori killed the feudal lord of our Land of Birds. I'm here to investigate."
At once the gate guards hurried inside to report. The village was in a state of emergency; any unusual matter had to go to the elders first.
Soon, someone came to escort them in.
Outside the Sunagakure shinobi hospital, Baki received them. He was the teacher of Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari. Seeing Shigeo in disguise, he began to ask questions. Shigeo refused to explain anything and only pressed for Sasori's whereabouts: "He injured five of our people in the Land of Birds. Three were poisoned. If not for my medical skill, all would be dead. I'm here to ask—where is Sasori? I will take him back to the Land of Birds to stand trial."
It was a lie, but only a lie like this could keep Shigeo's identity hidden.
Deidara and Sasori had abducted Gaara. If Shigeo appeared here under his true name, the loss of the One-Tail's jinchūriki would be dragged into connection with Monin Village. The other Five Great Villages still knew very little about the Akatsuki, and he could not reveal his link to Itachi. Some things were better left unsaid.
"You're saying you can neutralize Sasori's poison?"
"Of course." Shigeo had come precisely to save Kankuro.
"Then… could you save someone for us?" Baki asked as he discreetly studied the young man before him. This person's arrival was suspicious, his claims about the Land of Birds vague. Could he have an ulterior motive?
As Baki hesitated, a medic rushed up. "Sir, what do we do? Kankuro can't hold on. Chiyo-baa sent me to Konoha to request the Godaime Hokage Tsunade-sama. I don't know if she'll come to help!"
The man was near panic. Baki's brow tightened. This was no time to overthink. He looked at Shigeo again. "Sunagakure will pay you a consultation fee. Please, save Kankuro."
"I don't want money. I want Sasori," Shigeo said.
"Agreed," came a firm voice. Chiyo-baa stepped out of the hospital, face solemn. "But before that, answer me—how did you know Sasori returned to Sunagakure?"
"I tracked him all the way. I lost him in the desert and then deduced he must have come here. Am I wrong?" Shigeo asked.
Chiyo said nothing for a moment. Sasori was a thorn in her heart. If Kankuro, half-delirious, hadn't mumbled that Sasori was the one who took Gaara, she wouldn't have believed he had entered the village at all.
"You're not wrong. He did return, but he's gone again. Still, if you save Kankuro, I'll go with you to pursue him—and I will give everyone an answer."
Her face was heavy with old memories. Sasori had once been a clever, adorable child. Somehow she'd come to understand him less and less, until he murdered the Third Kazekage and defected. Only then had she realized they now stood as enemies.
"Good. Keep your word." Shigeo strode into the hospital. He worked fast: several simple antidotes combined with a peculiar liquid, then an injection into Kankuro's body—and Kankuro woke quickly.
Shigeo confirmed it again with Kankuro: the youth who fought with explosive clay had indeed been traveling with Sasori.
Sunagakure's leadership decided on the spot: Temari, Baki, Chiyo-baa, five elite jōnin from the village, and the newly arrived "Land of Birds" shinobi would pursue Sasori's group, apprehend them, and rescue Gaara.
They set out at once.
Along the way, several Sand shinobi remained wary of the outsider from the Land of Birds. But time was short. Even if something felt off, they had no time to investigate.
"Young man, what is your name?" As they ran, Chiyo-baa looked at Shigeo and asked.
"A-Mo…" Shigeo answered. Their pace was far too slow. If not for the lack of a signal from Byakko, he wouldn't be wasting time traveling with them.
His earlier impersonation as a Land of Birds shinobi had only been to save Kankuro.
Thinking of Byakko, Shigeo frowned. The tiger was always swift. Why had there been no word for so long? That wasn't its style.
Suddenly, Shigeo's eyes widened. He almost smacked his own forehead. How had he not thought of this?
Byakko was a land-based divine beast. It couldn't fly. He had given it Deidara's binding strap to scent-track—but Deidara could fly.
And according to the original course of events, after abducting Gaara, Deidara rode a giant clay bird toward the Land of Rivers. How could a land runner like Byakko catch a scent trail left in the sky?
Even for a divine beast, that would be difficult.
With that realization, Shigeo understood why there had been no message.
But if there was no message, then where had Byakko gone?
If it had returned to its own realm, he would have sensed it through Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique).
Evidence suggested Byakko was still in the shinobi world. So where was it? Don't tell him it was sunning itself on some mountaintop, napping…
As he thought this, Shigeo sensed a familiar presence. He pivoted and veered in another direction. "Chiyo-baa, go on ahead. I'll catch up. I just felt my summoned beast. I'm going to check it out."
With that, Shigeo vanished into the forest. Baki watched, his suspicion deepening. He glanced at Temari and Chiyo-baa. "I don't trust this one. His timing is too convenient. I'm certain he's hiding something from us."
(End of Chapter)
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