"Sasori?"
When Chiyo uttered the na, Rasa felt the heavy stone in his heart finally settle.
It all made sense.
This was good.
As long as it wasn't an inside job, he had nothing to fear.
If it was Sasori, everything fell into place.
"Because of the human puppets?" Rasa asked.
"Perhaps," Chiyo replied, her expression returning to its usual calm. "But his actions will plunge the village into crisis."
"Perhaps," Rasa echoed in the sa tone as Chiyo.
"What do you intend to do?"
"As long as there's no traitor within the village, we have nothing to fear."
Chiyo chuckled. "Ah, so you suspected too?"
"There are only a handful in the village with such advanced puppet skills."
"Fair enough. It's only natural to suspect ," Chiyo murmured. "I've t the son of the White Fang. He does bear a striking resemblance."
"Well then, since we've identified the culprit, I'll handle it now." Rasa turned and prepared to leave.
"Rasa," Chiyo suddenly asked, "how do you plan to deal with Sasori?"
"Suna's way of dealing with defectors has always been the sa."
Watching as him used his sand-based Body Flicker to leave, Chiyo and Ebizō exchanged a silent glance.
"Let's not dwell on this," Ebizō said. "We might have to intervene as well."
"Who knows..." Chiyo picked up her fishing rod again. "Even though he's my grandson, taking down Rasa won't be easy for him."
"True," Ebizō agreed, resuming his fishing.
Although this Fourth Kazekage had spent so much of his ti prospecting for gold after taking the title, which surely affected his training, he still wielded the Magnet Release. In the desert, very few could challenge him.
The real problem was Sasori.
After all, he grew up in Suna. Even if stopped, he could escape with ease. And as for whether he still had old allies in the Suna forces, no one could say for sure.
Rasa hurried back to the Kazekage Bulding and promptly announced a eting of all the active jonin.
Under his orders, any jonin currently in Suna, regardless of their ongoing tasks, imdiately reported to the summons.
In terms of prestige, his standing in Suna was unshakable.
After all, he beca Kazekage by intercepting and defeating an entire Kumo army, saving the village in the process.
And once he took on the title of Kazekage, his mastery of the Gold Dust further cented his reputation.
Whenever villagers ntioned him, they would give a thumbs-up and sing his praises.
---
In the eting room, Rasa sat at the head of the table, watching as one jonin after another rushed in.
Each jonin who entered first saluted him, then discreetly studied his expression.
There was nothing to glean—he looked as formal and emotionless as ever.
After a while, no more jonin entered.
Rasa glanced around. Roughly two-thirds of Suna's active jonin were present.
Thankfully, because of the ongoing Chunin Exams, he had kept so jonin from being deployed elsewhere.
Otherwise, there wouldn't have been enough people to call on now.
"Are all the jonin currently in the village here?"
"Yes, Kazekage-sama."
"Good. Close the doors. Other than the jonin, no one else is allowed near this room. Have them wait outside."
"Yes, Kazekage-sama."
The non-jonin in the room quickly exited and shut the doors behind them.
Rasa tapped the table, his expression solemn.
"The content of today's eting is classified. The elders are already aware, and I trust all of you understand the gravity of the situation."
The assembled jonin imdiately straightened, their focus intensifying.
Everyone knew what had happened during the Chunin Exams. It was clear that this eting would address those events.
"The identity of the assailant has been confird—it is Sasori of the Red Sand."
The room was silent, and then an uproar broke out.
Sasori was a legend in Suna.
To put it bluntly, Rasa's obsession with gold was as extre as Sasori's dedication to creating puppets. Sasori had single-handedly supported half of the village's puppet production at his peak.
Suna's current puppet-crafting techniques were all derived from Sasori's innovations.
Many of the puppets used today were ones he didn't even bother to take when he left.
Now, this legendary figure had returned—and had killed Suna ninjas. How could anyone remain calm?
"His true motives are unclear for now, but one can assu that collecting materials for human puppets is among his goals. This is evident from the fact that he abducted several examinees," Rasa continued, dropping another bombshell. "As you've probably already guessed, the missing examinees all possess bloodline limit."
"Kazekage-sama, which villages have missing examinees so far?"
"Primarily Kiri. Konoha and Iwa currently report no losses," Rasa replied, inwardly criticizing Kiri for flaunting its abundance of bloodline limits. This ti, they'd brought trouble upon themselves.
He couldn't help but feel a bit envious.
Suna was not only located in a literal desert but also suffered from a taphorical desert of bloodline limit resources.
It was well known that the number of bloodline users greatly impacted a ninja village's strength.
Suna's developnt of puppet techniques was fundantally an effort to compensate for its lack of human resources.
"That's the general situation," Rasa said, clearing his throat. "I'm officially announcing that due to the extre danger posed by Sasori, all of you must remain vigilant during the upcoming exams. If you encounter him, imdiately send an alert. Support each other, and I will arrive as quickly as possible."
"Kazekage-sama, are we to capture him alive?"
"Eliminating him takes priority. Against soone of his caliber, there's no room for leniency," Rasa stated. "I trust no one here wants to end up as a human puppet."
A chill ran through everyone present at those words.
"Understood, Kazekage-sama!"
"This concludes today's eting. Prepare yourselves accordingly."
The jonin rose and left the room one by one. As Rasa had said, no one wanted to beco a human puppet.
He remained seated, waiting until the room emptied before slowly rising.
An ANBU appeared at his side.
"Inform the mines that I won't be visiting for the foreseeable future."
"Understood, Kazekage-sama," the ANBU replied crisply, though his hesitant expression betrayed him.
This hesitation practically scread, "Kazekage-sama, I have sothing to say but don't know if I should."
"Are the village funds running out again?" Rasa's face darkened with worry. "Didn't we just extract so gold the other day? How could it run out so quickly?"
"Kazekage-sama, as you know, hosting the Chunin Exams has left the village in a financial deficit..."
"Curse Konoha!" Rasa fud. "They claim to co-host but haven't contributed a single coin."
He could understand Kiri refusing to pay.
Iwa's lack of contribution was expected.
But Konoha? The village that proposed the exams in the first place? Not chipping in a single cent?
The Fourth Hokage was outrageous!
"Then..." Rasa gritted his teeth, making a decision. "I'll go to the mines one last ti today. After that, I'm not going! Sasori is no weakling—I need to prepare myself!"
"Of course, Kazekage-sama," the ANBU quickly consoled. "Everyone knows how hard you work."
"Ah..." Rasa sighed, overwheld by frustration.
"Let's go. Quickly! We'll extract gold for just an hour today—not a minute more!"
---
Suna's movents did not escape the notice of the accompanying foreign squad leaders.
The Suna ninjas weren't trying to hide anything; they made their actions as public as possible, ensuring that no outsider could remain unaware.
Masashi had already been at the first exam site for four days.
Each team of participants only carried enough water and rations to last seven days. This ant that if they couldn't arrive at the location within that tifra, they would be automatically disqualified.
However, by the third day, the atmosphere had begun to shift.
So of the participants who arrived at the destination were visibly shaken.
When questioned by their team leaders, they revealed they had been attacked by an unknown ninja.
The attacker had even killed the proctor ninja who tried to intervene.
This news elicited varied reactions from the different villages' leaders.
The leaders of smaller villages were understandably nervous, so even requesting Suna temporarily suspend the exam.
anwhile, the representatives from Konoha, Kiri, and Iwa demanded that their respective jonin be allowed to enter the exam grounds.
Among them, i was particularly insistent. She was worried because Kimimaro had not yet arrived at the destination.
Kitsuchi also shared similar concerns. However, he refrained from showing the sa panic as the smaller villages, though internally, he was just as worried.
Deidara hadn't arrived yet either.
The three jonin from Konoha, however, appeared less concerned. After all, those targeted by the attacker were exclusively ninjas with bloodline limits.
And as for their participants in this year's exam… well, not a single one possessed a bloodline limit.
This was a deliberate decision made by Masashi and suggested to Minato.
Ninjas with a bloodline limit were better left out of such events—not because of their skills, but because bloodline limit often attracted unnecessary trouble.
While Konoha didn't have as many bloodline users as Kiri, their quality was higher. Each one that participated could beco a moving target for problems.
Of course, the official explanation was that Konoha prioritized inclusivity, focusing on ordinary ninja.
This reasoning wasn't without rit. Ninjas without bloodline limit faced less targeted aggression, allowing them to adapt better to the challenges of the exam.
This approach was also a form of protection for these ninjas. Additionally, their performance during the Chunin Exams contributed to their overall achievents, serving as a resource shift that favored non-bloodline limit ninja by providing them with more opportunities for advancent.
Although, in truth, it was still about safeguarding the bloodline limit users. At least the policy appeared more palatable.
Achieving such balance in the ninja world was no easy feat.
However, by the fourth day, when so of the promising young Konoha ninjas hadn't returned, Masashi couldn't sit still any longer.
Along with representatives from the other three major villages, they collectively began applying pressure on Suna.
The Suna proctor in charge of the site was in a tough spot.
The three villages' representatives couldn't be ignored.
The proctor knew that if Suna hadn't made their security and criminal-capture efforts so overt, the three villages would've already taken action. They would've suspected Suna of orchestrating the attacks.
In truth, Kitsuchi and i still harbored such suspicions. Only Masashi thought otherwise.
He doubted Suna would be behind this. Even if the current Kazekage was the weakest among the Five Kage in terms of raw power, he wasn't foolish enough to sabotage his own village's reputation.
Moreover, the upper echelon of Suna wouldn't risk targeting other villages' participants. The perpetrator wasn't selective—they attacked every team indiscriminately.
Interestingly, the assailant hadn't targeted Suna participants but had attacked the Suna proctor.
Another peculiar detail: only A ninjas hadn't been attacked. However, Kusa participants claid this was because A ninjas were already eliminated—defeated by Kiri and Iwa teams.
This situation left everyone in an awkward position.
By the fourth day, the attacker had beco more brazen. Every team that arrived at the site that day reported being attacked.
The reason they made it to the destination? The assailant had no interest in them and attacked only to lure out Suna proctors.
The attacker, confird to be a highly skilled puppeteer, was evidently using Suna proctors to gather materials.
This suggested they were either building or modifying puppets on the fly.
The Suna proctor in charge was furious, but the team leaders had grown suspicious.
This wasn't the work of an ordinary criminal.
Even if Suna had been weak during the Third Great Ninja War, it was still one of the Five Great Nations. Considering the attacker's skill in puppetry and their intimate knowledge of the desert, they were either a forr Suna ninja or soone deeply connected to the village.
Based on survivors' descriptions of the assailant's capabilities—dispatching Suna proctors with ease—it was clear they were at least an elite jonin.
Could it really be him... Sasori? Masashi thought.
No ordinary elite jonin could toy with Suna proctors across the entire desert. After all, there were jonin among the proctors as well.
If it truly was him, then things made a lot more sense.
For soone like Sasori, targeting participants with bloodline limits during the Chunin Exams might seem plausible—but taking on the entire Suna, not to ntion antagonizing half the ninja world, seed excessive.
Regardless, it was ti to investigate.
---
Facing the pressure from the three major villages, the Suna proctor finally gave in. A ssenger was sent to the Kazekage's office.
Rasa, understanding the gravity of the situation, imdiately authorized the request. In fact, he wished the villages would call off the exams entirely and leave as soon as possible—saving Suna both money and trouble.
With his approval, the Suna proctor relayed the decision to Masashi, Kitsuchi, and i.
The three were unsurprised and wasted no ti. They requested a guide from Suna and headed into the desert.
Their speed soon left all signs of civilization behind, with nothing but endless dunes stretching to the horizon.
"We should split up," i suggested. "Kitsuchi and I need to locate our genin first. Ti is critical, so we'll move ahead."
"Alright," Masashi agreed. "Though it goes without saying, I'll still remind you—if the assailant is Sasori, be cautious."
Kitsuchi and i nodded, acknowledging the warning. They then parted ways to search for Deidara and Kimimaro.
If the attacker was indeed Sasori, the young genin wouldn't stand a chance; the skill gap was insurmountable.
After the two departed, Masashi turned to the Suna guide. "Where are Konoha teams concentrated?"
Among the Konoha participants, Masashi believed Hana was the most likely target for her unique abilities.
The Inuzuka clan's secret techniques had, over ti, influenced their physiology, granting them enhanced agility, heightened senses, and other distinctive traits.
For the standard of selecting human puppet materials, such qualities would be highly coveted.
Currently 80 advance /Malphegor
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