"Temari, what I'm talking about isn't some raccoon dog monster, but the Tailed Beast within the Village!"
Ryou cast a Genjutsu, drawing Temari into an illusionary world he had woven, manifesting the form of Shukaku for her to see.
Temari immediately saw a massive, sandy-brown raccoon dog, its entire body covered in deep blue cursed seal markings.
It had a single, thick, Longtail, and its ears were pointed and upright.
Its face was concave with no tongue, and its pupils were black four-pointed stars accompanied by four black dots; it was as massive as a small mountain.
At that moment, it was manipulating wind and sand with a wicked grin, wreaking havoc on the Sunagakure and using large-scale Ninjutsu against the Ninjas rushing toward it.
"Wind Release: Sand Buckshot!"
Suddenly, Temari saw her mother, Karura, holding a red-haired infant—that should be her second younger brother.
The giant wind-and-sand beast seemed to notice the mother and son, reaching out a massive hand to grab them.
"No—"
Ryou released the Genjutsu and said to Temari, "Temari, that is the Village's strategic Tailed Beast—the One-Tail Shukaku!"
Ryou then proceeded to educate Temari on the origin and terror of the Tailed Beasts.
After listening, Temari's face was filled with fear. "Why would the Village keep such a powerful demon?"
Ryou said, "It's for war. Shukaku's power is the best weapon for dealing with other Villages."
"Now that the previous One-Tails Jinchuriki, the monk Bunpuku, has reached the end of his life and passed away, the Village has begun selecting the second Jinchuriki for Shukaku."
"Your father has already made his choice: it's your second younger brother, Karura's unborn child."
Temari grew terrified. "Sealing such a massive Tailed Beast inside Mother's belly... will, will there be an accident?"
Ryou nodded. "Of course there will. Think about it—if the sealing of the Tailed Beast fails, not only your brother, but even your mother will meet with an accident."
In the original work, Karura had a premature birth, and the Sunagakure forcibly sealed Shukaku into Karura's womb, leading to a difficult labor.
The double exhaustion caused Karura to die immediately.
Of course, it's also possible that the seal was about to fail at the time, and to protect Gaara, Karura sacrificed her own life to convert all her chakra into the sand that protects Gaara.
Temari was somewhat confused; the child hadn't even been born yet, so how did Ryou know it was a brother and not a sister?
But now was not the time to ponder such suspicious points.
"No, I can't let Father seal Shukaku inside Mother's belly."
Temari turned, wanting to run home and tell Rasa not to seal Shukaku in Karura's womb.
But Ryou grabbed Temari's hand and told her, "Temari, you aren't even a Ninja. Do you think your Kazekage father will listen to your opinion?"
"..."
Temari fell silent. She hadn't even refined chakra yet; would her father care about the opinion of someone who wasn't even a Ninja?
Temari looked at Ryou and knelt directly on the ground. "Lord Sasori, please save my mother and brother. I'll do anything you ask!"
Ryou nodded. "That's right, Temari. Right now, only I can save your mother and brother."
"Come, swallow this."
Ryou gave Temari a spore that looked like a spider cocoon.
Temari was a bit confused. "Lord Sasori, what is this?"
"Don't worry about what it is, just swallow it."
Ryou pinched Temari's mouth and made her swallow his spore.
After Temari swallowed Ryou's spore, her body suddenly felt warm.
She now knew how to refine the chakra she had been unable to before.
Temari was pleasantly surprised.
Ryou said, "Temari, that is my little spider spy. It's curled up right at your heart. As long as you trigger it with chakra, you can communicate with me from a distance."
Temari basically understood now. "Lord Sasori, you want me to be your spy?"
Ryou nodded. "Smart. Temari of the Hidden Sand, attention!"
Temari snapped to attention immediately, standing there like an Asara soldier.
Ryou said, "Temari, the organization has a glorious mission to entrust to you."
Temari's face was full of solemnity. "Lord Sasori, please say it!"
Ryou said, "Temari, I want you to go undercover by your father and mother's side. You must tell me whatever actions your father and mother take."
"Especially when your father prepares to take your mother on a long trip, you must tell me immediately. Only I can save your mother."
"Understood! Temari guarantees the mission will be completed!"
Temari saluted Ryou vigorously, standing her body perfectly straight.
Though young, she possessed the courage of a soldier.
Ryou pressed his hand on Temari's shoulder and said to her very seriously, "Temari, this mission is of great importance; it concerns the future of the Hidden Sand."
"As long as you can complete this mission, I will arrange for you to enter the Ninja Academy early."
Temari was delighted, her face full of determination. "Please rest assured, Lord Sasori, a strong Village starts with me!"
"Good!"
Ryou nodded. "Go! Hurry home and monitor your parents!"
Temari nodded, and clutching her potted lily, she walked away with her chest puffed out.
Temari felt like she was someone important now; she couldn't play with those little kids anymore. She was someone who was going to do great things.
While practicing Sasori's Puppet Technique, Candy looked at Ryou speechlessly and said, "Is it really fun to deceive a child?"
"What do you know?!"
Ryou ignored Candy's sarcasm, took out the regeneration core, and began practicing Yin-Yang Release, such as turning Sasori's regeneration core into a cup.
Sasori was completely broken; he now only begged Ryou to give him a swift end.
But even such a request was an extravagant hope for him!
Seeing that Ryou wasn't paying attention to them, Snowy and Matatabi restarted their imperial battle. For a time, the two Supreme Cats fought to the edge of the universe.
The galaxy shattered, and even the heavens were obliterated.
Terrifying indeed~
As Ryou practiced, he looked at Sasori's 'Mother' puppet and became interested. "Sasori, your mom is actually quite good-looking!"
Sasori immediately became alert. "Uchiha Ryou, what do you want to do?"
Ryou said, "What do I want to do? I'm planning to use Yin-Yang Release to see if I can bring your mother's puppet to life. That way, I can be your father."
Sasori shouted frantically, "Uchiha Ryou, you beast, I won't allow you to insult my mother!"
Ryou looked at Sasori with some surprise. "Sasori, you still have things in this world you care about?"
"..."
Sasori didn't speak. It had to admit that as long as the personality named 'Sasori' remained, as long as the past remained, it was an emotional being.
Just as Ryou was about to properly discipline Sasori, Temari suddenly burst in.
"Lord Sasori, this is bad! Kankuro was stung by that poisonous scorpion you were keeping!"
Temari saw a strange thing with eyes and a nose in Ryou's hand.
Temari was in such a hurry that she didn't look closely, subconsciously assuming it was a puppet toy.
Ryou silently pulled Sasori back into his body and then stood up.
"Kankuro was stung by a poisonous scorpion? That's serious. Quick, take me to see him."
"Okay! Lord Sasori!"