"This… this can't be right…"
Inside an abandoned village deep within the Wind Country, Pakura stared blankly at the documents in her hands, her expression completely frozen.
Nearby, Ren, Yūgao, and Uchiha Shisui—who was repeatedly applying eye drops—paid her little attention.
The battle from the day before had taken a heavy toll on all of them.
Sasori's puppets were not only numerous, but viciously designed. Poison, traps, hidden mechanisms—every single one was lethal. Worse still, the bastard could fly using his puppets.
Compared to Sasori—who only needed to focus on how to kill—Ren and the others had far more to worry about.
The most important thing was simple but exhausting:
They couldn't let him escape.
Just that alone had drained an enormous amount of chakra and stamina. Thankfully, everything had ultimately gone according to plan.
"And honestly," Ren thought, glancing around the ruined village,
"we should really be thanking Sasori."
Judging by the state of the place, this village had almost certainly been wiped out when Sasori was "collecting materials."
And it was precisely because of his identity, and because he carried the Third Kazekage puppet, that Kabuto had been able to act.
If Ren's guess was right, Sunagakure was now mobilizing on a massive scale to hunt him down.
"How are you feeling now?" Yūgao asked as she walked over and sat beside Ren.
"I really didn't expect this mission to spiral so far out of control," she said quietly.
"And I definitely didn't expect… all of this."
Her gaze flicked briefly toward Pakura, who was still staring rigidly at the documents, before returning to Ren.
"You're incredible," Yūgao said sincerely.
"I've always been incredible, senpai," Ren shrugged with a grin.
"If I weren't, how could I protect you?"
"That's not what I meant," Yūgao said, pressing her lips together before changing the subject.
"I mean… you actually guessed Sunagakure's strategy and intentions."
"She's right," Shisui added, leaning over from the side.
"I didn't ask how those documents were obtained—but I trust you wouldn't fabricate something like this."
And frankly, coming from that department, having unusual channels wasn't impossible.
But the truly frightening part was that Ren had already pieced everything together before any concrete intelligence existed.
That wasn't normal.
"All right," Ren said, waving them off.
"Enough praising me. Let's talk cleanup."
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"We have most of what we need now. It's time to think about how this ends—and how we leave."
No matter how badly they'd thrown Sunagakure into chaos, the mission itself was essentially complete.
That was also why Shisui trusted the documents' authenticity—anything being submitted up the chain would be scrutinized to the death.
"Agreed," Shisui nodded, then asked cautiously,
"What about your plan? And Pakura—what are you going to do with her?"
The plan, of course, meant weakening Sunagakure.
Shisui hadn't forgotten his desire to secure advantages for Konoha—and the Uchiha.
"She goes back," Ren replied flatly.
"As for the plan—you'll see the results soon enough."
He paused, then looked at both Shisui and Yūgao seriously.
"But before that, there's something I need the two of you to do."
"Say it," they answered without hesitation.
They trusted Ren completely by now.
And then—
His next words made both of their expressions stiffen.
"How long is this going to take?"
At a desert oasis near the border of the River Country, Elder Ebizō waited impatiently.
The battle from before was still burned into his mind.
The Third Kazekage puppet.
And the man behind it.
"…Was that really you, Sasori?"
Ebizō fell silent.
He needed to tell his sister.
And he needed to figure out how to contain the fallout.
Then, that very night, a man named Hideyoshi contacted him—using a shadow clone.
He gave Ebizō this location.
And handed over a kunai.
A standard Konoha-issue kunai.
While such things could be forged,Ebizō dared not ignore it—especially under current circumstances.
"How deeply is Konoha involved in this…?" he wondered uneasily.
After weighing the risks, he chose to believe just enough.
And came alone.
He was just beginning to suspect he'd been deceived—
When two figures appeared in the distance.
"…That is—"
One wore an ANBU mask.
The other—
"Pakura?"
So she'd been taken by Konoha?!
Ebizō's expression darkened—but at the same time, he felt a flicker of relief.
At least she was alive.
"Greetings, Elder Ebizō," Ren said calmly.
"You're from Konoha," Ebizō stated, scrutinizing him.
"You have guts. Stirring up chaos in the Wind Country—should I admire you, or kill you?"
"That depends entirely on you," Ren replied indifferently.
He glanced at the silent Pakura, then continued.
"This area is crawling with ANBU. One order from you and I'll be surrounded.
But are you sure that's what you want?"
"You think Konoha would acknowledge you after everything you've done?" Ebizō scoffed.
"ANBU who die outside their borders don't exist."
"Konoha won't," Ren agreed.
"But I don't represent only Konoha."
Ebizō's eyes narrowed.
"And you should trust our professionalism.
We already possess what we need."
"If you act now, certain information will spread.
After all—I'm here on behalf of someone who wishes to cooperate with you."
"…What information?" Ebizō asked grimly.
Ren straightened.
This was the moment he'd been waiting for.
"Elder Ebizō," he said solemnly,
"Lord Danzō sends his regards."
"..."
Damn it.
Danzō Shimura.
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