Chapter 5: Chiyo: This is Bad
"Hm?"
While lost in thought, Hiiro Rinko suddenly sensed a faint Chakra signature appear in the distance, like seeing a tiny candle flame in a vast, dark, empty room.
"So this is Chakra sensing? What a novel experience… Ah, there are too many research topics to explore. I'm actually starting to look forward to the days ahead~"
His tone visibly lifted, sounding quite cheerful.
As someone whom Gojō Satoru had called a 'Technique-fetishistic pervert,' Rinko was well aware of the abnormality of his own mental state.
Ignoring ethics and morality, holding life cheaply, and acting without hesitation just to verify a technique or realize a concept, completely disregarding how much trouble it would cause—people like him are usually the ones beaten up by three-good-citizen superhero teams who can fuse even with their eyes closed in manga.
"No, I can't show that expression. I must look sad, me~"
Though he recognized the inappropriate feeling, the instinctive joy was not easily suppressed.
Rinko raised a hand to slap his cheeks, estimating the speed of the approaching figure. He forced himself to rein in his smile, then grabbed a handful of coal dust and rubbed it onto his face. He then rubbed his eyes until they were red and teary.
His acting skills were terrible—not even close to being called passable. Without a little outside help, he probably wouldn't be able to fool a seasoned shinobi's eyes.
…Blood.
As a kunoichi (female shinobi), Chiyo, just past thirty, was in her all-around prime. Excelling in both Medical Ninjutsu and Puppet Technique, she frequently dealt with various poisons, naturally training her sense of smell to be extremely sensitive.
From a long distance away, she could already smell the faint scent of blood in the air.
For the vast majority of people, this was not a joyous omen, and it was certainly true for Chiyo in this moment.
She frowned and peered at the forge in the distance, her heart sinking to the pit of her stomach.
Sunagakure had long ago confirmed that the blacksmith family residing there were members of the Uzumaki Clan. Over the years, Sunagakure had spent a significant amount of wealth and resources to woo this family.
Helping them conceal their identity, commissioning large orders, and subtle, high-level contacts and overtures of goodwill…
Truthfully, while the couple's strength was indeed much greater than that of an ordinary Chūnin, it did not reach the Jōnin level. Furthermore, due to their long absence from actual combat, how much of their original skill remained was questionable.
Such 'Wild Shinobi' would normally not warrant such extensive effort from one of the Five Great Hidden Villages, but the identity of 'Uzumaki Clan' was enough to justify everything.
To be precise, a Wild Shinobi might be worth 10 points, and a regular Uzumaki Clan member might only be worth 50 points.
But a rogue Uzumaki shinobi wandering outside their homeland? That person was probably worth 300 points.
Especially for Sunagakure.
Before the First Hokage, Hashirama, established peace treaties among the Great Nations by distributing the Tailed Beasts, the One-Tails, Shukaku, had already been captured by Sunagakure.
However, it wasn't until the Second Kazekage, Shamon, took office and dedicated himself to the militarization of the Tailed Beasts that Shukaku was finally sealed inside a Jinchūriki (Human Power of Sacrifice).
Bunpuku, who became the first Jinchūriki of Shukaku in his childhood, was able to skillfully manage and maintain a friendly relationship with the Tailed Beast through diligent training. But this 'stability,' built on peaceful communication between human and Tailed Beast, was not trusted by Suna's high command.
Later, to prevent the Jinchūriki from going berserk, Suna's higher-ups ordered Bunpuku to be confined to a prison.
In short, Suna's research and foundation in Sealing Jutsu (Fūinjutsu) were incredibly weak—so weak that they could barely rely on their own sealing arts to maintain the reliability of a Jinchūriki.
And it was widely known that the Uzumaki Clan was the most proficient existence in Sealing Jutsu in the Shinobi World.
It was impossible for Sunagakure not to covet the Uzumaki's sealing arts. However, the Land of Whirlpools (Uzu no Kuni), where the Uzumaki resided, was firmly blocked by the Land of Fire. Furthermore, Konoha and Uzugakure (Hidden Eddy Village) were the closest of allies. Under these circumstances, the difficulty of infiltrating Uzu to steal the Uzumaki's sealing arts was self-evident.
At this critical moment, Sunagakure discovered an Uzumaki Clan member—a shinobi, no less—wandering in the neighboring Land of Rivers! How could they not be ecstatic?
It was somewhat embarrassing to admit, but even the Chūnin-level sealing arts leaking from this couple were superior to Suna's own.
In fact, the couple had deliberately disclosed their status as Uzumaki to Sunagakure.
Although they faked their deaths and concealed themselves in the Land of Rivers to escape the shinobi life, they were also keenly aware that the peace after the Great Shinobi War wouldn't last long.
If it were just the couple, they wouldn't have cared, but with the birth of their child, they had to find a fallback plan for their son amidst the gradually turbulent situation.
As deserters who had faked their deaths, they certainly couldn't return to Konoha or Uzugakure. Therefore, the best option was Sunagakure.
As one of the Five Great Hidden Villages, and one with a desperate need for the Uzumaki's Sealing Jutsu, the combination of these two factors meant they were bound to receive exceptionally generous treatment.
The couple's strength wasn't outstanding, and their loyalty to any Hidden Village was questionable. But their perceptiveness was sharp, and their love for their child was undeniably fierce.
When Sunagakure confirmed the authenticity of their identity, they naturally considered using violent means.
Just two non-Jōnin shinobi. Killing or capturing them would not have been difficult for Sunagakure. But preventing them from committing suicide would have been extremely difficult.
In this 'transaction,' Suna was not in a favorable position. Having no wiggle room, Suna could not afford to take aggressive measures.
They needed living, cooperative Uzumaki Clan members, especially a next-generation Uzumaki whom they could influence through various channels to become a true Sunagakure shinobi.
Therefore, Suna chose—and was forced—to use a soft policy, relying on continuous, generous commissions and promises of safety to negotiate with the couple.
Even the fact that they hadn't joined Suna after several years showed they were driving up the price, but Suna's higher-ups could see this and were helpless to stop it.
This was the brutal reality of a seller's market.
On the bright side, at least Suna did manage to acquire some Sealing Jutsu notes from the couple, so it wasn't a total loss.
Compared to the cost of sourcing what they needed externally, the years of investment weren't necessarily expensive.
But now, all that effort was likely about to be flushed down the drain.
Lamenting inwardly, Chiyo silently released an ordinary Puppet and had it push open the slightly ajar door.