"Lord Sasori... Lord Sasori..."
Temari stood to attention before Kankuro.
Kankuro finally saw the legendary Sasori of the Red Sand and immediately stood to attention as well.
"Lord Sasori, I... my name is Kankuro, and I, I also want to become a Puppeteer like you."
If Ryou were himself, he would have shooed the two children away on the spot, as if they were beggars.
But he had to act according to Sasori's personality.
Ryou thought for a moment and snorted: "Become a Puppeteer? You don't even have the qualifications to become a Ninja."
Faced with such a cold reception, tears immediately began to well up in Kankuro's eyes.
Temari instantly switched to a combat-ready expression, shielding Kankuro behind her without hesitation, glaring at Ryou with her blue-gray eyes.
Although Temari was still young, she already showed the potential to protect her family.
"Sasori, is it necessary to be so serious with a child?"
Pakura scolded Ryou and quickly got up to comfort Kankuro.
Chiyo shook her head but said nothing.
Sasori's personality was still as inflexible as ever.
Ryou ignored Pakura's words and instead stared back at Temari, eye to eye.
Yashamaru stepped in front of Temari and said to Ryou: "Sasori, we haven't gathered like this for a long time since graduation."
"Was there such a thing?"
Ryou rubbed his head, revealing a look of feigned wisdom.
It was impossible for Ryou to accept all of Sasori's memories; he only accepted some key ones.
It was impossible for him to experience every single detail of Sasori's past.
Temari spoke up for her uncle: "Sasori of the Red Sand, you are too arrogant; you only have eyes for yourself."
Temari believed Ryou's words were looking down on others—Kankuro was one, and Yashamaru was another.
Ryou looked at Temari proudly: "Who are you? Do you not know the terror of me, Sasori of the Red Sand? Back when I was roaming the Ninja World—"
Temari directly interrupted Ryou: "If you defected, then you defected! What do you mean by roaming the Ninja World?"
"..."
Ryou was stunned, and even Sasori inside him was stunned.
What Ryou wanted to say was that when he was roaming the Ninja World, Temari was still a nursing infant.
But Temari had directly cut off his momentum.
And her words weren't wrong; Sasori had indeed been a rogue ninja on the run.
Even now, the Village hadn't rescinded Sasori's rogue status, and there were still a bunch of Anbu watching him outside.
Maki couldn't help but chuckle, and Pakura laughed along.
Chiyo and Ebizo both found it hard to stifle their laughter.
Only Yashamaru wore an embarrassed smile, constantly apologizing to Ryou, saying things like children don't know any better.
"Hahaha..."
Pakura laughed most boisterously. A little girl who wasn't even a Ninja had silenced a genius like Sasori of the Red Sand with a single sentence?
This scene was truly too humorous.
Ryou got a little angry and extended Chakra Threads to control Temari: "Fine, fine, fine, I am a rogue ninja, and today this rogue ninja is going to eat a child."
Chiyo stepped in, using her own Chakra Threads to stop Ryou from bickering with the child.
"Enough, Sasori, don't lower yourself to Temari's level."
"Temari, Kankuro, and Yashamaru, don't just stand there, come sit down!"
Chiyo invited Temari, Kankuro, and Yashamaru to sit, gave each of them a pair of chopsticks, and added a wine cup for Yashamaru.
Children care for nothing but eating. Once the dog meat was served, Kankuro and Temari were busy competing with Ryou for the food.
While eating, Temari didn't forget to greet Pakura and Maki: "Lord Pakura, Sister Maki, I didn't expect you to be guests at Grandmother's house too."
Pakura didn't give Ryou any face at all and snorted: "I've accepted a commission from the Elder Council specifically to keep an eye on Sasori; he's a dangerous individual."
Maki gave Chiyo's family an embarrassed smile.
Ryou shouted at Chiyo: "Old woman, don't invite them as guests anymore, hurry up and kick them all out!"
...
After eating his fill, Ryou patted his bulging belly and let out a satisfied sound: "Comfortable, I haven't eaten this much in a long time."
In his heart, he mocked Sasori: "What a pity, Sasori, you're neither human nor ghost, so you don't have this kind of luck, do you?"
"Hmph!"
Sasori let out a disdainful snort.
Just as Ryou finished mocking Sasori, Pakura mocked Ryou: "Sasori, hiding and running around outside, I bet you haven't had a full meal in a while?"
Ryou turned to look at Pakura: "Pakura, you're still not quite convinced by me, are you?"
"Correct, Sasori, I'm just not convinced by you. Whether it's you or Rasa, I'm not convinced."
Pakura was indeed unconvinced by Ryou because the previous battle hadn't been satisfying. She believed Ryou had broken the rules by dragging an innocent person into the battlefield to threaten her.
Kankuro was still eating and looked up in confusion upon hearing Pakura's words: "Lord Pakura, why are you not convinced by my father?"
Yashamaru pressed down on Kankuro's head: "Just eat your food!"
Pakura didn't yield to Rasa, and Rasa similarly didn't like the look of Pakura.
The top combatants of Sunagakure were all unruly characters.
Only Chiyo could mediate.
Chiyo said: "Alright, you're all adults now, is it necessary to be as petty as children?"
"The battle with Uchiha Madara is imminent; you must unite."
Temari listened seriously to Chiyo and the others' conversation. The adults hadn't let the children get involved in matters of war.
So, the children like Temari and Kankuro didn't know about Madara's resurrection or the Fourth Great Ninja War.
Even if they knew, what use would it be? Could they send these kids who were still playing with mud to the battlefield?
If you don't know, ask.
Temari asked Chiyo: "Grandmother, who is Uchiha Madara? Why do we have to fight him?"
Chiyo didn't want to answer; there was no need for children like Temari, who weren't even Ninjas, to get involved in such big matters.
Since Chiyo didn't say anything, Temari could only turn to Yashamaru for help, but Yashamaru just kept serving Temari food, also not wanting children like her to know.
Only Ryou was the 'kindest' and told Temari.
"Temari, Uchiha Madara is a big idiot. He's from the Uchiha Clan of the Warring States Period..."
Kankuro stopped eating too, listening intently to Ryou's story about Madara.
Upon hearing it, they felt that Madara was a super villain planning to destroy the world.
But Temari was puzzled: "The Warring States Period was at least 50 years ago, how can Uchiha Madara live that long?"
Since Ryou had already started talking, Yashamaru simply told Temari the truth of the matter.
"It's like this—"
Before Yashamaru could start, Pakura snatched the conversation away.
Pakura shouted: "It's all the fault of that big idiot Uchiha Ryou; he's the one who resurrected Uchiha Madara."
"Hiss—"
Ryou instantly let out a hiss, his pupils narrowing to slits, his gaze becoming fierce, and a hissing sound came from his mouth.
Pakura was a bit confused: "I'm cursing Uchiha Ryou, why are you hissing?"
Ryou quickly changed back, laughing awkwardly: "Sorry, this is a side effect of being a rogue; rogue ninjas are always treated differently, even stray dogs on the street block the way when they see us."
Pakura mocked: "That's all you deserve!"
Ryou ignored Pakura and said: "I saw this Uchiha Ryou when I was doing business outside. He is a rare genius of the Uchiha Clan, once in a century."
"This person has the aura of a dragon and phoenix, even more terrifying than Uchiha Madara. We in Sunagakure must be on guard against him."
Pakura snorted: "What's there to be on guard against with a guy who stayed a Chunin for half his life?"
"..."
Ryou immediately stopped talking. If there were no one around, he would have turned Pakura into a human puppet by now.
This young person was too aggressive and didn't give him, her senior, any face at all.