Chapter 341: The Sand Village Betrays the Alliance
Konoha's movements did not go unnoticed by the other factions.
Consequently, the Four Great Ninja Villages sent envoys to question Konoha's intentions while simultaneously mobilizing their own forces for war. Even their ally, the Sand Village, was no exception.
It was during this critical period that the envoys of the Ninshu descended upon each village.
Sand Village, Elder Chiyo's Residence.
Since Rasa took over as Kazekage, Chiyo and her brother Ebizo had resigned from their duties as elders and advisors. They spent their retirement in peace, while secretly dispatching agents to search for their grandson's whereabouts.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard the Sand Anbu tried, they could find no trace of Sasori. Chiyo had begun to fear that he was no longer of this world.
On this seemingly ordinary day, a middle-aged man arrived at Chiyo's home.
"Sister! How could you leave me so suddenly? I can't bear to let you go..." Ebizo wailed incoherently, clutching Chiyo's "lifeless" body.
In truth, Ebizo knew this was just another one of his sister's pranks. However, out of pity for her boredom, he allowed himself to be "fooled" every time.
"Hah! Gotcha!"
Just as Ebizo finished wailing, Chiyo sprang up from the ground, looking very much alive and wearing a triumphant 'fooled you again' expression.
"Uh... Sister, you always scare me like that. One of these days, I'm going to die of shock before you do," Ebizo muttered, wanting to cry but unable to shed tears.
"Tch." Chiyo rolled her eyes at her brother like an old urchin. Feeling a bit bored, she sat by the pond, grabbed her fishing rod, and began her daily fishing routine.
Just then, a scroll that Chiyo always carried suddenly flew into the air on its own. To the siblings' astonishment, it popped open with a poof, releasing the objects sealed within.
White robes, various weapons—these objects were none other than Chiyo's trump card, the Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets.
"What? Have these puppets gained a will of their own?" Chiyo looked at her brother in confusion, only to find his gaze fixed intently on the main gate.
Turning around, Chiyo saw a middle-aged man with a calm aura push open the gate and walk into the courtyard.
Seeing this, the expressions of both siblings instantly turned grave.
As the foremost puppet master in the Sand Village, Chiyo's home was naturally protected by numerous traps. Yet, all of them had failed... Although she didn't understand how, Chiyo knew it had something to do with the man before her.
Combined with the anomaly of the Chikamatsu Collection, Chiyo and Ebizo were now on higher alert than ever before.
"Who are you? Why do you enter this old woman's home unannounced?" Chiyo demanded, testing the man. Meanwhile, Ebizo secretly moved his hand toward a hidden mechanism. One press, and a swarm of Anbu would arrive.
But what happened next made cold sweat instantly break out on Ebizo's forehead.
One of the puppets lying on the ground suddenly sprang to life and moved beside him. Its sharp scythe was pressed precisely against Ebizo's throat. A slight movement would separate his head from his body.
"Damn it! I placed special seals on the Chikamatsu Collection! How could you break them so easily?!" Chiyo lost her usual composure. Since the man's appearance, everything that had happened was beyond her imagination.
"It's simple," the man replied calmly to Chiyo's interrogation. "Because whether it is the alarm traps or these ten puppets, they are all masterpieces I created. Why wouldn't I know how to control them?"
"Your masterpieces? That's impossible..."
Chiyo could only stare at the man with suspicion. If not for his formidable strength, she would have dismissed him as a lunatic.
The things the man claimed were the works of the First Puppet Master, Monzaemon Chikamatsu. That man had been dead for decades. How could Chiyo believe such words?
Shaking his head silently, he took control of the puppets with a flick of his finger. Mr. Mon looked at Chiyo's solemn face, pulled a gleaming golden token from his robe, and tossed it to her.
Guarding against the enemy, Chiyo glanced at the token out of the corner of her eye, and her body instantly froze.
"Is this... the legendary Ninshu Decree?!"
"I see." After hearing Mr. Mon's explanation, Chiyo finally accepted his identity. Of course, Ebizo digging up an old scroll with Monzaemon Chikamatsu's portrait helped verify the claim.
When they heard that Konoha had refused the Ninshu Decree, causing the Ninshu to decide to punish the village, a sharp glint flashed in Ebizo's eyes.
He finally understood the purpose of the Puppet Master progenitor's visit to the Sand Village.
His mind racing, Ebizo decided to ask, "Mr. Mon, how exactly should the Sand Village assist the Ninshu? Please enlighten us."
"It is simple. Follow the other ninja villages, send troops to attack Konoha, and tie down their forces." Mr. Mon stated their plan without hesitation.
"As I thought." Ebizo kept a calm face, which made Mr. Mon smile. Ebizo then asked bluntly, "And what benefits will the Sand Village receive for sending troops to aid the Ninshu?"
Snap!
Mr. Mon snapped his fingers. A puppet less than a meter tall flew in front of the three. To Chiyo's shock, she could detect no signs of chakra threads controlling it.
In other words, this puppet could move completely autonomously.
"A truly marvelous concept. As expected of Mr. Mon's masterpiece," Ebizo praised sincerely, though his expression remained neutral, indicating the price wasn't high enough yet.
Whir...
Suddenly, the small puppet moved again. It absorbed a strange energy into its core, and a powerful purple laser beam shot out from its palm.
Carefully assessing the power of that attack, Ebizo hesitated for a moment before saying, "If Mr. Mon can transfer this technology completely to the Sand Village, our forces will be at your disposal."
"Excellent. I intended to pass these techniques to the Sand regardless. Your willingness to send troops to aid the Ninshu makes it even better," Mr. Mon said with a smile.
And so, influenced by the power of the Ninshu and tempted by advanced puppetry technology, the Sand Village resolutely betrayed their alliance treaty with Konoha.