After hearing Chiyo's explanation, no one found it strange anymore.
Immediately after, the commander of the Shinobi forces inquired about what had happened at the Shukaku Altar.
Chiyo told them that Shukaku had been captured by Ryou.
"What? Shukaku was captured?"
"What should we do now? We were already at the bottom of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Now that Shukaku is gone, our status will drop even lower."
"We're already in last place; can it even get any lower?"
"That's true!"
Some Shinobi realized that with Shukaku, they were the bottom of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, and without Shukaku, they were still the bottom.
So, having Shukaku or not made no difference.
Bullshit!
Shukaku was a Tailed Beast, after all, a weapon that could be passed down through generations.
Without Shukaku, Sunagakure's strength would weaken further, and they might even fall out of the rankings of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, being surpassed by other Shinobi Villages.
Although the Shinobi feared Shukaku's power and were hostile toward the Jinchuriki's existence, without the Tailed Beast and the Jinchuriki, they would be the ones crying out.
The Jonin commanders of the Shinobi forces looked anxiously at Chiyo: "Grandma, we must send out our main force to chase down and recover Shukaku!"
"By the way, Grandma, where is Kazekage-sama? Where did Kazekage-sama go? Has he not woken up yet?"
"Grandma, the elders of the Elder Council have all been brutally murdered. We must find the culprit as soon as possible!"
The crowd was a chaotic mess, everyone talking at once, their voices clashing in a loud clamor that made Chiyo's head feel like it was about to explode.
This was even with her having restored her youthful body; looking at Ebizo, he had already started pretending to be deaf.
"Enough! Everyone be quiet. First, return to the Village."
A Jonin commander looked at Chiyo: "Grandma, aren't we going to pursue Shukaku?"
Chiyo said, "The Kazekage was killed by Uchiha Ryou. Do you think there's anyone left in the Village who is his match?"
Chiyo dropped another bombshell into the crowd.
"What?! Kazekage-sama was killed?!"
"Impossible, absolutely impossible! Kazekage-sama was such a powerful Shinobi, how could he be killed by Uchiha Ryou?"
"What's so surprising about that? Look at that wooden giant; it's like a demon-subduing lord descended from heaven, a true god of earthly calamity. It's not strange at all that Uchiha Ryou could kill Kazekage-sama."
The people of Sunagakure were in an uproar—some were skeptical, some disbelieving, and others were shocked by Ryou's power...
Ebizo glanced at his sister, while Yashamaru, Karura, and the Sunagakure Anbu who knew the truth all looked toward Chiyo.
Chiyo had lied. Rasa wasn't killed by Ryou, but by Sasori.
But did it matter whether Ryou or Sasori killed him?
Ryou was Sasori's leader, so such a high-profile 'honor' should naturally be left to the leader.
In truth, it was Chiyo's doting love for Sasori; she firmly believed Sasori could still return, so she naturally pinned all the dirty deeds Sasori committed onto Ryou.
Anyway, Ryou was an S-rank rogue Shinobi, the big villain who had resurrected Madara.
Temari was currently beside Yashamaru and Karura, looking curiously at the tiny Gaara.
With Gaara being so small, it was hard to believe he would grow up safely.
Suddenly hearing the news from Chiyo, Temari burst into tears: "My daddy is dead, I don't have a daddy anymore."
A child's crying was more effective at stirring up collective indignation. Immediately, the Shinobi of Sunagakure began to form a united front to denounce Ryou.
"That despicable Uchiha Ryou! He killed our Kazekage; we must make him pay!"
"Yes, exactly! We must have revenge! When the Shinobi Allied Forces is formed this time, I'll be at the forefront. We must bring Uchiha Ryou to justice!"
Karura and Yashamaru comforted Temari: "Temari, don't cry!"
The siblings didn't know how to comfort Temari either.
The best comfort would be to train hard and take revenge.
But given Ryou's power levels, Temari wouldn't be able to beat him even if she trained for a hundred years.
Pakura led Maki to the side of Karura and her brother. She patted Temari's head: "Temari, why are you crying? Since Uchiha Ryou killed your father, then you go and kill his father."
Pakura had always been very principled: kindness may go unrewarded, but vengeance must be taken.
She had educated Maki, whose father was killed by Kirigakure, in the same way.
Temari nodded vigorously, a desert-dweller's resilience appearing on her face.
"Okay, I will definitely kill his father."
Karura and Yashamaru were speechless hearing Pakura's words to Temari, not knowing what to say to refute her.
Should they expose Pakura's deception and tell Temari that Ryou's old man had died a long time ago?
But perhaps this was for the best; there was no need for Temari to pursue an impossible goal.
If she wanted to vent her anger, she could go to Ryou's father's grave in the future and stomp on it a few times or take a piss to let off steam.
Pakura had Maki take Temari aside; she wanted to ask Karura and Yashamaru more about what happened at the Shukaku Altar.
Pakura looked at Gaara in Karura's arms, very surprised that there could be such a small infant.
After a moment of surprise, Pakura asked Karura and Yashamaru: "Karura, Yashamaru, what exactly happened here at the Shukaku Altar?"
On the other side, Temari quietly injected chakra into the spore inside her body.
Temari didn't dare tell her mother and uncle about the spore.
These spore made Temari's training twice as effective with half the effort; she could no longer do without the spore' assistance.
But this was something left behind by her enemy, and Temari felt very conflicted about it.
In her small mind, she schemed to use up all her enemy's things and annoy him to death.
Temari used chakra to contact Ryou.
"Uchiha Ryou, you bastard, you killed my papa! From now on, you are my enemy!"
Ryou, on the other end, only replied with one sentence.
"I didn't kill your fucking dad!"
...
Ryou lay on Shukaku's head, shouted a line at Temari, and then cut off the connection.
Candy complained to Ryou: "How is Granny Chiyo so shrewd? Every bad thing is done by us, while her grandson is a pure white lotus?"
Chiyo and the Sunagakure Anbu all had the spore they had planted, so what happened there could not be hidden from Ryou and Candy.
Ryou was just speechless; he estimated that Chiyo would also frame him for the massacre of the Sunagakure Elder Council.
But Ryou could only silently endure it; perhaps this was Chiyo's small way of getting revenge.
Ryou couldn't possibly return to Sunagakure with Shukaku over such a small matter just to question Chiyo.
That would be very lacking in grace!
But Ryou was a petty person; since Chiyo treated him this way, he naturally had to retaliate.
Ryou grabbed Sasori's tail and gave it a harsh electric shock.
"Uchiha Ryou, you bastard!"
Sasori hissed, swinging his tail stinger.
Ryou shocked Chiyo's eldest grandson, and suddenly felt much better.
Shukaku shouted at Ryou: "Great Master Ryou, please just let me go! You can even kill me, just don't let me go back inside the Ten-Tails' body."
Shukaku's current controlled state was similar to Pakura's; his body was controlled, but his consciousness remained.
Seeing such a proud existence as a Tailed Beast obediently begging for mercy before him made Ryou feel good.
It was like seeing a formerly unreachable high-and-mighty figure polishing his shoes.
So you have a day like this too!
Ryou did not agree with Shukaku: "Shukaku, saying these things is useless. The mission my leader gave me was to capture you and bring you back."
Shukaku was furious: "Who is your leader? Have him come see me, I'll talk to him!"
Candy chimed in: "Our leader is Uchiha Madara!"
"..."
Shukaku fell silent. If Ryou could easily defeat him, then Madara, who could easily suppress Ryou, could probably make him kneel with just a glance.