Ryou did exactly that. When he came into contact with Sasori's subordinates and Puppeteers, his Sharingan opened instantly, planting suggestions in them one by one.
"Your salt, my vinegar!"
Immediately, these people became even more devout in front of Ryou.
"It's truly a pity. If Lord Sasori hadn't disappeared, the position of Fourth Kazekage would have been his."
"Yeah, that useless Rasa has no talent at all; he only leads the Village to constant defeats."
"I think we should re-elect the Fourth Kazekage. Rasa simply cannot lead the Village to victory."
Rasa was furious. Did these guys want to taste his Gold Dust?
Ebizo quickly shouted, "What are you saying? Is this the time for such divisive talk? Get back to your posts immediately!"
Sasori's supporters were a bit bold, but they also understood that now was indeed not the time for such divisive words.
Ebizo led the Village elders over to Sasori.
He looked at Sasori and patted Ryou's shoulder. "Good child, it's good that you're back. It's good that you're back!"
With Chiyo confirming Sasori's identity, Ebizo and the Sunagakure elders didn't need to verify it further.
After all, Chiyo was the person closest to Sasori.
If even she was deceived, wouldn't they all be deceived along with her?
Sasori had been watching from inside Ryou's body; Ryou hadn't completely sealed him.
Sasori had never imagined the scene of returning to the Village, because having killed the Third Kazekage, it was basically impossible for the Village to accept him again.
There was also Sasori's personality; turning himself into a human puppet signified that he no longer needed human emotions.
This place, this world—Sasori didn't care about any of it anymore!
But could he really let go of everything?
The care from Chiyo and Ebizo, the support from his former subordinates...
Sasori suddenly realized that he hadn't severed all his bonds with this Village.
He still had to kill them all off!
"Hmph!"
Ryou snorted, treating Ebizo with a cold face.
Ebizo was even happier now; this was definitely Sasori.
Sasori's former colleagues—people who could have been considered partners before—all crowded around.
They were very happy that Sasori could return.
The only ones Ryou remembered were Yashamaru and Baki.
They were the same age as Sasori and were former classmates.
Yashamaru had sandy-blonde hair, a thin build, and fair skin, looking very similar to his sister Karura.
He acted and behaved like a woman; if you didn't know better, you'd think he was female. He was a standard femboy.
Yashamaru was not an insignificant presence in Sunagakure.
He was a Medical Jonin and served as Rasa's Anbu assistant; his status in the Village was quite high.
In the original work, his failure to assassinate Gaara was purely an act; if he were serious, a Jonin well-versed in human anatomy would have many ways to kill Gaara.
For example, poisoning!
Rasa sending Yashamaru to assassinate Gaara wasn't a joke; he really wanted to get rid of his own child.
It was also because of the failure of this Jonin, Yashamaru, that Rasa felt further assassination attempts would come at a greater cost.
He chose to endure Gaara's instability.
Yashamaru protected Gaara in his own way.
Yashamaru smiled at Ryou like a woman. "Lord Sasori, the Village will get better and better after your return."
Yashamaru was very happy, even somewhat grateful for Madara's threat.
Before this, Yashamaru strongly disapproved of Rasa and the Elder Council's conspiracy against Pakura, believing it was a senseless reduction of the Village's strength.
Peace with Kirigakure was good, but not at the cost of sacrificing the Village's hero.
However, Rasa and the Elder Council did it to eliminate a political rival, not for peace.
No one cared about Yashamaru's opinion.
But because of Madara's powerful threat, Rasa and the Elder Council had to recall Pakura.
Seeing Sasori like this now, he likely returned to participate in the war against Madara.
Pakura and Sasori were both back!
Look! The Village of old is back, the Village of old is back!
As for the rumors of Sasori killing the Third Kazekage, Yashamaru chose to turn a blind eye.
Just like what Ebizo said, given the current situation, one shouldn't say things detrimental to unity.
Let's just treat the Third Kazekage as if he's been missing all along!
Another Jonin of the Village, Baki, patted Ryou's shoulder.
"Sasori, it's good that you're back. It's good that you're back."
The Sasori of the same era had overshadowed everyone, including Baki, the Wind Release genius.
Ryou looked at Baki.
The current Baki was about a dozen years younger than in the original work, still a Suna lad of seventeen or eighteen.
However, because of the cloth on his head and the face paint, he looked no different from his terrorist-like appearance in the original work.
At most, his voice wasn't as steady as it would be later.
Regarding Sasori's return, Baki felt the same as Yashamaru: it was good that he was back.
With him back, the Village's strength increased significantly; now they could hold out for four more hours against Madara.
Our Sunagakure is truly amazing.
The members of the Sunagakure Elder Council subconsciously moved a bit further away from Ryou.
For no other reason than fear of death.
The elders all believed Sasori killed the Third Kazekage, although there was no direct evidence.
But they decided it was him anyway.
Because Sasori's non-conformity in the Village and his powerful individual strength threatened their power.
Moreover, he wasn't someone like Pakura, who was all brawn and no brains; Sasori's intelligence was top-tier in Sunagakure, having inherited Ebizo's strategic mind.
So, even if it wasn't him, they had to make it him.
Label them first, then pick a side—this was the old generation's way of fighting.
But with Chiyo and Ebizo present, the elders didn't want to speak too harshly.
Besides, even if Sasori really killed the Third Kazekage, so what?
Right now, the priority was dealing with Madara.
Sunagakure needed Sasori's strength.
It could only be said that Sasori returned to Sunagakure at the most opportune time.
But they couldn't just leave him uncontrolled, could they?
Sasori even dared to kill the Third Kazekage; were these elders more important than the Third?
If Sasori acted on a whim, he could send them all flying.
They had to ensure Sasori didn't go on a killing spree in the Village.
"Is that Lord Sasori?"
A girl wearing a light gray headscarf with delicate features watched Ryou from a distance.
This person was Pakura's disciple, Maki.
In the original work, she was a Sunagakure Jonin skilled in Sealing Jutsu.
With a pair of gray-green eyes and purple paint marks on her cheeks, she actually looked a bit like Rin at first glance.
Maki blushed slightly as she looked at Ryou; Sasori's appearance was even prettier than hers, which had a lethal appeal to girls.
Sasori's aloof and independent style in the Village really tugged at the hearts of many young girls.
Furthermore, he was an extremely powerful Ninja.
If it weren't for her low status, Maki would have already gone up to admire Sasori's beauty up close.
Pakura snorted. "Maki, don't get close to him. He... is a very dangerous person."
Pakura slowly walked towards Sasori, like a ball of burning fire, releasing a powerful aura.
It was an aura that disrupted unity.