"One more year..."
Same place, same conversation.
A few days later, Sasori and Yubi once again came to the sand dune where they plotted.
Looking out, the scenery of the entire Hidden Sand Village remained the same—the same endless wind and sand and old buildings, without a hint of novelty.
"It's all the legacy left by the Second Kazekage."
Sasori stared into the distance and said calmly.
Beside him, the lazy Yubi was still lying down.
"Joining the Anbu isn't difficult with your credentials... but if you want to rise through the ranks in a short time and even have daily contact with the Kazekage, you still have to rely on your resume," Yubi said with a slight smile. "Although... you could also use some nepotism, it would inevitably invite gossip. It's better to let your strength speak for itself."
"So... if we carry out missions later or if the Village has assignments, we must separate."
Yubi held up a finger and emphasized, "Almost everyone in the Village now sees you and me as tied together. This is detrimental to our plan. We need to intentionally weaken this impression... and avoid letting the higher-ups pay too much attention to the two of us."
"In other words, from now on... we need to keep a lower profile."
"With another year to gain enough military merits, you'll be able to at least hold a position when you join the Anbu—at minimum, a Squad Leader level. You'll be able to get promoted quickly and come into contact with the Kazekage. It's not even impossible to become a Kage Guard."
"Work in the Anbu is different from the front lines... the assessment of positions and candidates will be more cautious. After all, you'll start coming into contact with some of the Village's internal affairs and secrets."
"And you?"
Sasori looked down at him.
Yubi gave a meaningful smile. "My Blood Release has been fully developed over this past year... the only shortcoming now is being limited by Chakra. But... this isn't my true level. During this year, I've researched some fun new abilities... Of course, even on the battlefield against Iwagakure, I never showed them. The reason is simple: I don't want anyone to know, nor do I want the higher-ups to have a clear judgment of my strength..."
"In their eyes, I'm still an outstanding junior with excellent Medical Ninjutsu skills and a Bloodline Limit... Regarding the level of my Blood Release, they should only know a part of it through battle reports."
Yubi sighed. "Human nature is like this... if talent is displayed too excessively, it's meaningless for those in high positions if they can't fully control it."
"Whether it's the Third Kazekage or Grandmother Chiyo, they should both have considerations in this regard... If they knew my true level, they would definitely come up with some plans and tests targeting me, trying to find a way to have one hundred percent control over me."
"Additionally, excessive growth... while a good thing for the current Village, will also be seen as a threat by some, including the Kazekage... a growth speed beyond their cognition will bring them panic on some levels."
"And what they'see' in me now... is only what I want them to see."
"That way... when our plan is implemented in the future, no one will suspect us... because, in their naive thinking, we don't possess that kind of threat."
Yubi chuckled at Sasori.
"..."
Sasori stared at Yubi's sunny face, remaining silent.
"What is it?"
Yubi's eyebrows twitched.
"Insidious."
Sasori's lips moved slightly as he spat out those two words.
He knew Yubi was smart... he didn't expect him to be so black-bellied.
He had already started playing with the Village's higher-ups... he was incredibly devious.
"Tsk... saying that is a bit much. Given our relationship, I haven't hidden anything from you. Besides, I'm doing all this for the Village and for our plan to succeed..." Yubi said, looking pained.
"My 'puppet core'... I've also found a way, but it still needs some time."
Sasori changed the subject.
Yubi's eyes lit up.
Besides asking Yubi for knowledge related to life and the Physical Body, Sasori was also deepening his understanding of 'techniques' through Grandmother Chiyo's experience.
He also found a lot of information left by the Village's previous Puppeteers to study.
While on the battlefield before, Sasori had benefited from the environment, researching a large number of Ninja corpses and conducting continuous private experiments.
He had also said... the key to the core is the heart.
Because in the circulation of the meridians within the body, the biggest 'node' is the heart... it concerns various elements of Chakra.
According to Sasori's idea... by preserving a portion of the heart's flesh, one could directly discard the Physical Body and replace it with a Puppet body.
Doing this has pros and cons... the advantage is that without complex meridian circulation, the response and output speed of mobilizing Chakra is faster, equivalent to not having to take a 'detour'. But the disadvantage is actually greater because without meridians and flesh, the 'life energy' of Chakra is simplified, becoming purely a direct 'power source'.
It cannot perform 'complex' calculations.
The nature and some transformations of Chakra can no longer be used. For example, to perform the diversity of Ninjutsu, one would have to rely on some mechanisms or scrolls.
But for Sasori, as a Puppeteer, this happened to be exactly what he didn't need, because his Ninjutsu were all about controlling Puppets... mostly in terms of skill and control. The requirements for Five Elements Ninjutsu or some Hand Seals weren't that great, and he didn't need to consider the nature of Chakra that much.
He could directly transfer these difficulties to the Puppet's mechanisms or rely on external objects.
Of course, these were all Sasori's current research results and had not yet been perfected.
There was still some distance to true success.
As time passed, it would only get better.
Not to mention, there was Yubi's help.
Sasori's research speed was clearly much faster than the progress in the original story.
Yubi's contribution was also indispensable.
Some of his knowledge... solved many problems and provided optimizations for Sasori.
Furthermore, he also knew what Sasori's future 'artistic' framework would look like... he had given Sasori the answers in advance.
"If you're modifying a Puppet with flesh and blood, one thing is to maintain a basic life state. This... needs to be achieved through 'techniques'. Additionally, if your puppet core wants to retain the abilities the deceased had in life, you need to stimulate and drive the 'core' as a Chakra node to generate the target's original Chakra, maintaining the same nature and Chakra capacity, and then use 'techniques' to restore their methods. You might need to use some Sealing Jutsu or Barrier-related Talismanic Incantations..."
Yubi rubbed his chin, thought for a moment, and gave a suggestion.
Sasori glanced at him.
"I know... you've had the idea of discarding your Physical Body for a long time."
Seeing the look in Sasori's eyes, Yubi smiled slightly.
Sasori had only said he was researching the puppet core; he had never said he would apply this 'technology' to himself.
And Yubi's words were clearly a reminder of what to watch out for if he abandoned his flesh-and-blood body.
"Don't worry, as a good friend, I support you one hundred percent... and I will find a way to make your 'art' even more powerful," Yubi said seriously, raising his hands.
"Heh."
Sasori didn't pay much attention.
Although as a doctor, Yubi had a deep understanding of the human body and life.
But as the saying goes, different professions are like different worlds. What Yubi could provide him were only some ideas and academic popularization. When it came to actually doing it, he still had to rely on himself.
Yubi even wanted to add bricks and tiles to his art.
In Sasori's view, this was somewhat overestimating himself.
He didn't understand the depth and complexity of the Puppeteer's discipline.
Seeing his expression, Yubi didn't explain but instead smiled: "Just don't let Grandmother Chiyo find out you have these tendencies... otherwise, she'll be heartbroken."
Sasori turned a deaf ear.
He turned to leave, heading down the sand dune first.
"Wait for me..."
Yubi stood up, patted the sand off his buttocks, and followed.