Temari and Kankuro had also finished listening to the general situation regarding Madara. With their current level of thinking, it was still difficult to understand how one person could make the Five Great Nations unite against him.
Ryou prepared to let Temari and Kankuro join the war: "Temari, Kankuro, Uchiha Madara is the common enemy of the entire Ninja World."
"As children of the Kazekage's family, you aren't toddlers anymore. You have an obligation to participate. I now order the two of you to go and eliminate Uchiha Madara."
Pfft—
Pakura was drinking tea, and upon hearing Ryou's preposterous statement, she spat it out on the spot.
"Sasori, Temari and Kankuro aren't even three years old yet. Letting them join the war, you—"
Pakura felt that Sasori was acting very strange right now, even a bit shameless.
Those who knew Sasori well felt he had changed, but they didn't think too deeply about it; wandering outside for three years, it was natural for his personality to change a bit.
Who would have thought Kankuro would take it seriously?
He stood straight as a ramrod in front of Ryou, like a little soldier.
"I will definitely complete Lord Sasori's mission."
Kankuro called out to Temari: "Sister, let's go! The two of us will go eliminate Uchiha Madara!"
Temari knocked Kankuro on the head: "Idiot Kankuro, you haven't even learned to mold chakra yet and you want to go fight Ninjas? How many lives do you have?"
After lecturing Kankuro, Temari turned back to glare at Ryou: "Sasori of the Red Sand, you shameless guy, don't even think about tricking us into going to our deaths."
Ryou looked down at Temari and shouted: "How bold! A brat who hasn't even entered the Ninja Academy dares to speak to a Village Jonin like this? You deserve punishment!"
Yashamaru stepped forward to ease the tension: "Alright, alright, Temari, Sasori is just joking with you and Kankuro."
"Bah!"
Temari didn't believe it; she felt this Sasori had the personality of a child, just like them.
Yashamaru took Temari and Kankuro aside to play with the puppet toys in Chiyo's house. Once the two children were distracted by the puppets, he returned, taking the opportunity to introduce Ryou to the changes in the Village.
The Village had changed significantly after Sasori left.
For example, the power balance after losing the Third Kazekage, the reform of the Ninja units, the Third Great Ninja War against other Ninja Villages...
Inwardly, Ryou wasn't interested in any of this, but he still pretended to listen intently to Yashamaru's explanation.
In truth, the corner of his eye was constantly fixed on Pakura's beautiful back.
Dressed so provocatively—
"Sasori, Sasori—"
Yashamaru noticed Ryou's lack of focus and gave him a reminder.
Ryou quickly replied: "Right, right, well said. I've seen all the changes in the Village over the years. Very good, very spirited."
"..."
Yashamaru smiled helplessly.
Chiyo took the opportunity to mention the matter of Karura to Yashamaru.
"Yashamaru, has Rasa mentioned the Jinchuriki matter to Karura?"
It would be a pity not to do some cupping on such a smooth back.
Ryou was just thinking about cupping Pakura's beautiful back when he suddenly heard Chiyo's words, immediately shifting his attention from Pakura's back to the topic between Chiyo and Yashamaru.
He realized he had come to Sunagakure to capture the One Tail Shukaku, not to help someone with a back massage.
Yashamaru glanced at Ryou. Theoretically, Sasori was still under Anbu surveillance, and such important matters as the Jinchuriki could not be disclosed to him.
Seeing Yashamaru's defensive behavior like he was guarding against a thief, Ryou knew what he was worried about and immediately barked at him coldly.
"You girly looking man, what are you looking at me for? You think I'm going to steal Shukaku?"
Hard to say?!
Perhaps Sasori was Madara's spy, returning to Sunagakure to seize Shukaku, since Shukaku was being targeted by Madara after all.
Ryou pulled out chakra threads, threatening Yashamaru: "Are you going to talk or not?"
Yashamaru swallowed hard and then said: "The Kazekage has already mentioned it to my sister. She has no way to refuse."
Could one refuse such a matter concerning the Village's interests? Especially Karura, who, as the Kazekage's spouse, also placed great importance on the Village's interests.
Chiyo felt somewhat apologetic: "I'm sorry, this is for the good of the Village. If Sasori had a child, I would certainly have his descendant become Shukaku's Jinchuriki."
Pakura, Maki, and Yashamaru subconsciously looked at Ryou.
Based on the original work's plot and the conversation between Chiyo and Yashamaru, Ryou had basically figured things out.
Before the war with Madara began, Sunagakure planned to seal Shukaku within the fetus in Karura's womb.
Ryou stood up and said, seemingly very concerned for the Village: "Old woman, why let a woman bear such a burden?"
"How about this? I am a rogue ninja of the Village, and the higher-ups still have suspicions about me."
"Let me take on the role of Shukaku's Jinchuriki! For the sake of the Village's people, I am willing to endure this pain!"
Pakura looked at Ryou in surprise.
The power of a Tailed Beast was not so easy to control, especially when an adult became a Jinchuriki.
Admittedly, an adult's chakra and physical fitness were stronger, making them better able to resist the erosion of the Tailed Beast's will.
Yagura Karatachi was an adult Jinchuriki who had only recently sealed the Three-Tails.
But Yagura's constitution was very special—the best things come in small packages—and he had a high compatibility with Tailed Beasts.
Furthermore, the Three-Tails, Isobu, was an introverted, quiet, and non-confrontational turtle-like Tailed Beast.
As long as you didn't provoke it, it wouldn't bother you at all.
The most representative adult Jinchuriki was Uzumaki Mito, but she was of the Uzumaki Clan, with a constitution even more special than Yagura's.
The Uzumaki Clan were the best Jinchuriki for sealing Tailed Beasts; even an old man from the Uzumaki Clan could become a Jinchuriki if pulled out.
Uzumaki Mito's seal used her own body as a cage for the Nine-Tails, and she never thought of utilizing its power.
She relied purely on her own chakra to suppress the Nine-Tails; to her, the Nine-Tails was a burden, a source of negative feedback.
Mito was not a standard Jinchuriki either.
The Five Great Nations had researched Jinchuriki for many years and found that children had the best compatibility with Tailed Beasts.
Because Tailed Beasts also had thoughts; they could tell if someone was using them.
A child's lack of calculating intent would make a Tailed Beast lower its guard and accept the Jinchuriki's presence, becoming willing to lend its power to them.
Adults' minds were full of calculations; there is no innocence in the world of adults, which makes Tailed Beasts extremely prone to going berserk.
The three previous Jinchuriki test subjects were all adults, and none had survived Shukaku's erosion.
Sasori's Ninja stats were at the Kage level, which meant he had a high possibility of suppressing Shukaku's rampage and successfully sealing it.
But if he did that, Sasori would never be able to rest properly and would face the risk of his mind being eroded by Shukaku.
He would gradually turn into a frantic and irritable Lunatic.
In everyone's eyes, Sasori standing up and offering to become Shukaku's Jinchuriki was an act of voluntary sacrifice.
That was why Pakura was so surprised.
Could it be that he didn't kill the Third Kazekage?
Pakura felt that a person willing to sacrifice himself could not possibly be the cruel criminal who poisoned the Third Kazekage.
But Chiyo refused: "No, Sasori, the Village needs your combat power to deal with Uchiha Madara!"
Even a Ninja with Kage-level stats like Yagura needed time to stabilize the turtle after sealing Isobu.
How much more so for Shukaku, who was extremely unstable, foul-mouthed, prone to screaming, and frequently went berserk?
In the original work, even by the time of the Shippuden era, Gaara had not reconciled with Shukaku; it wasn't until the Fourth Great Ninja War that Shukaku acknowledged Gaara.
At that time, it had to acknowledge him; the story was nearing its end, and the Tailed Beasts were being threatened by Madara.
If they didn't unite, they would all be finished.