Chapter 698: Changes
Land of Rain, Six Paths City.
At noon, after finishing his training, Nagato went to the laboratory to find Sasori. The two then headed to Ninshū's cafeteria for lunch.
In the past, whenever Yahiko and Konan were at Ninshū, Nagato usually ate with them.
After Sasori arrived, however, Nagato almost always chose to eat with him instead.
Even if Nagato did not accompany Yahiko and Konan, the two of them would never be alone.
Sasori was different.
His position within Ninshū was somewhat delicate. Aside from Nagato, his only real friend, he barely spoke to anyone else.
If Nagato did not eat with him, Sasori would almost certainly end up eating alone.
Nagato had once experienced a period of wandering alone.
During those days, he had felt as though there were no place for him anywhere in the entire Ninja World.
Even while standing amid the noise and bustle of crowded streets, an endless sense of loneliness had surrounded him.
That only began to change after he met Yahiko and Konan, and the three of them started supporting one another.
At least back then, Nagato had still been in the Land of Rain, surrounded by people from his own homeland.
Sasori, on the other hand, was alone in a foreign land.
How could he not feel lonely?
Nagato did not believe he had the ability to completely pull Sasori out of his hatred or erase all of his loneliness.
He did not possess Mugetsu's ability, nor Yahiko's charisma.
Nagato merely hoped that Sasori, who had gone through experiences somewhat similar to his own, could feel a little better.
Especially now that Nagato had the ability to help someone else.
His own experiences had been even more tragic than Sasori's, yet Nagato had eventually met Yahiko, Jiraiya, and Mugetsu.
"These ninja get dumber every time I look at them. They struggle with operations this simple. I was already better than this when I was seven."
During lunch, Sasori could not help complaining about the Ninshū ninja who came to his laboratory to learn Puppet Technique.
"Their foundations are poor, and you're a genius," Nagato replied.
There were not many ninja within Ninshū who knew Puppet Technique.
It was also one of the few areas outside Mugetsu's expertise.
"That's true. Fortunately, they're at least diligent. Otherwise, they would never accomplish anything with Puppet Technique in their entire lives," Sasori said after thinking for a moment.
Although they did not possess his talent, Sasori had to admit that the Ninshū ninja who came to study under him worked extremely hard.
After they finished eating, Nagato asked, "Do you want to take a walk around the city?"
"Six Paths City is much more prosperous than before. It has changed a lot."
Sasori had arrived at Ninshū during the Youth Martial Arts Tournament.
Aside from the first few days, when he had been sent to work at a construction site, he had spent most of his time inside Ninshū's base and rarely ventured outside.
During the Youth Martial Arts Tournament, Six Paths City could only be considered a reasonably developed small town.
Afterward, Ninshū took advantage of the opportunities created by the Third Shinobi World War, and Six Paths City developed at an astonishing pace.
Its urban area had expanded to more than ten times its previous size, and its prosperity was now comparable to the capital of the Land of Rain.
"How prosperous can this godforsaken place possibly become?" Sasori scoffed.
"Still, taking a walk isn't a bad idea. Maybe I'll find an opportunity to escape."
"Then let's go."
Nagato nodded, completely ignoring Sasori's comment about escaping.
Ever since Sasori had been brought into Ninshū, Nagato had been the one primarily responsible for watching over him.
He had witnessed every stage of Sasori's change.
At first, Sasori had indeed tried everything possible to escape Ninshū.
Later, after realizing escape was impossible, he became dejected.
After that, he gradually began facing his situation directly and tried to perform well so that his sentence might be reduced.
Now, Nagato occasionally saw Sasori becoming genuinely happy because of various things.
This Sasori might still choose to leave Ninshū after completing his sentence, but Nagato was certain he would no longer attempt to escape before then.
The two began strolling through Six Paths City.
"It's a little more decent than before, but that's about it," Sasori commented.
"Actually, you contributed to this too, Sasori," Nagato suddenly said.
Sasori lifted his head proudly.
Of course he had.
His technology must have earned Ninshū a great deal of money.
"Do you remember this place?"
Nagato pointed toward one of the buildings.
"The construction site you worked at before was responsible for building this area."
Sasori's expression darkened.
So that was what Nagato meant by contribution?
There might actually be bricks in that building that he had personally laid.
"I'm joking. Your contribution to Ninshū is far greater than helping construct a few buildings," Nagato said with a laugh.
"Has anyone ever told you that you have no sense of humor? That wasn't funny at all," Sasori replied without hesitation.
"Really?"
Nagato looked slightly disappointed.
He had never told many jokes before.
Back when he was with Akatsuki, he was usually the one who needed Yahiko or Konan to lighten the atmosphere for him.
"Fine. It was a little funny, but only a little. Someone with a very low standard for humor might laugh," Sasori reluctantly changed his answer.
"That's good."
Nagato breathed a small sigh of relief.
Who would not want to be considered at least somewhat humorous?
Sometimes Nagato even imagined himself becoming skilled at telling jokes and making Konan laugh until she could barely breathe.
"Lord Sasori."
As they continued walking through Six Paths City, someone suddenly called out to Sasori.
Sasori turned toward the voice.
Very few people within Ninshū knew his real name.
Aside from the organization's higher ranking members, only the Ninshū ninja who had studied his techniques or undergone his surgeries generally knew it.
"Are you shopping with Lord Nagato? That's rare."
The Ninshū ninja waved his prosthetic limb and jogged toward them with an enthusiastic smile.
"He insisted on dragging me out for a walk after lunch so he could digest his food," Sasori explained.
"Lord Sasori, you don't come into Six Paths City very often, do you?"
The ninja immediately began introducing various places.
"If you get hungry tonight, you should visit the western side of the city. There are lots of food stalls there in the evening, and there's a tempura shop that's really good."
This was the first time he had seen Sasori outside Ninshū's base, so he naturally assumed Sasori rarely came out and knew little about the city.
"Oh, and if you like ramen, you absolutely have to try the shop on Commercial Street."
"And there's also…"
"I understand."
Unused to such enthusiasm, Sasori quickly interrupted him.
Nagato smiled and continued walking with Sasori.
"Are everyone in the Land of Rain this enthusiastic?" Sasori asked.
They had only just finished lunch.
Why had that man immediately started recommending one restaurant after another?
"His name is Sōsuke. Whenever he doesn't have a mission, he likes visiting different restaurants and food stalls. He's especially interested in food," Nagato explained.
Sasori nodded in understanding.
"But he isn't like that with everyone," Nagato continued seriously.
"He was so enthusiastic toward you because you're Sasori."
"You saved his career as a ninja."
Whether it was an arm or a leg, both were indispensable to most ninja.
If an ordinary ninja lost an arm or suffered permanent damage to a leg, their career as a ninja would almost certainly end.
"If he had stopped being a ninja, he might still have found some other way to contribute to Ninshū."
Nagato glanced back toward the man.
"But he might not have been able to earn enough money to eat and drink as freely as he does now."
Sasori fell silent.
He had possessed many reasons for learning Puppet Technique.
He wanted revenge for his parents.
He had a natural interest in Puppet Technique.
At times, he had even studied it simply because he was bored and had nothing else to do.
But there was one purpose he had never once considered.
Using Puppet Technique to save people.
After all, when Sasori had first been introduced to Puppet Technique, everything he learned told him that it was a form of Ninjutsu designed for combat.
"So, thank you, Sasori, for developing such a technique," Nagato said sincerely.
"If someone had to abandon more than ten years of skills and training because of a single accident, that would truly be a shame."
"This is nothing more than an insignificant green leaf growing on the tree of eternal art," Sasori replied, shaking his head.
No matter how one looked at it, prosthetic limb technology was merely a byproduct of human puppet research.
It was not even the most technically advanced result.
The true core of human puppet technology was the chakra core.
That was a technology capable of leading ninja toward eternal life.
"But it still has enormous meaning for Ninshū, the Land of Rain, and even the entire Ninja World," Nagato replied.
Nagato did not understand Puppet Technique.
But he understood the change artificial limbs could bring.
There would always be people in this world who lost limbs because of accidents, missions, or war.
Sasori did not continue arguing.
After all, Nagato was praising him.
The two continued strolling through Six Paths City.
When they passed a takoyaki stall recommended by Sōsuke, Sasori became curious and bought a serving.
He took a bite.
"It isn't nearly as good as he made it sound."
Sasori swallowed before continuing.
"In the end, eating is only a way to obtain the nutrients necessary to sustain life. The human body is such an inconvenient thing."
"Perhaps your tastes are simply different from his."
Nagato immediately disagreed with Sasori's conclusion.
"But I don't agree with that view. Enjoying truly delicious food brings a kind of pleasure that's difficult to describe."
Nagato still remembered the happiness and satisfaction he had felt the first time he tasted ramen prepared by Mugetsu.
That memory remained unforgettable.
"Sasori, maybe you think this way because you've never encountered food you genuinely love."
"The place where I grew up was far more prosperous than the Land of Rain," Sasori replied without backing down.
"I've eaten many famous delicacies from across the Ninja World. None of them gave me any particular enjoyment."
"That only proves those weren't true delicacies."
Nagato looked serious.
"If you had ever eaten something truly delicious, Sasori, you wouldn't think that way."
"You underestimate me too much. What kind of food could possibly compare to eternal life?"
Sasori did not believe any so called delicacy could change his opinion.
Nagato opened his mouth.
After a moment, however, he chose not to say anything.
He had absolute confidence in Mugetsu's Cooking.
But he could not make promises casually.
Mugetsu was not only the leader of Ninshū.
He had also recently become the Hokage of Konoha.
He must have countless matters demanding his attention.
Nagato could not trouble Mugetsu over something as trivial as proving a point about food.
Neither Nagato nor Sasori noticed that a passerby buying snacks nearby had shown a brief flash of surprise upon seeing them.
The expression disappeared almost instantly.
"Moving openly through the city with the Ninja Master's disciple, and judging by the way they interact, their relationship is clearly very close."
The Sunagakure spy carefully observed them.
"It seems Sasori truly has joined Ninshū."
Ninshū's greatest symbol to the outside world was naturally Sōsuke.
After defeating Hiruzen, Sōsuke had begun showing signs of being regarded as the strongest ninja in the current Ninja World.
The second most prominent figure was Nagato.
He possessed the special identity of Sōsuke's disciple and had also earned the title of the Ninja World's greatest genius.
The way Sasori and Nagato interacted did not resemble two people linked merely by cooperation.
They looked much more like close companions.
Without drawing any suspicion, the Sunagakure spy quickly finished his snack and later transmitted the intelligence he had gathered back to Sunagakure.
....
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