Ryou didn't return to his room; instead, he rounded a corner and crouched against the wall to eavesdrop.
Shukaku should currently be sealed within the tea kettle, hidden within Sunagakure's sealing barrier.
Sunagakure was so large that finding it wouldn't happen overnight.
Ryou could only wait for the moment Chiyo sealed Shukaku into the fetus in Karura's womb before making his move.
The safest bet would be to perform a direct C-section on Karura and take away Gaara once Shukaku was sealed in his belly.
Suddenly, a voice appeared out of nowhere right beside Ryou.
"Lord Sasori, what are you eavesdropping on?"
Startled, Ryou turned his head to look.
It was little Temari with her four small ponytails. She was currently holding a small potted plant containing a bunch of brightly blooming lilies.
This was a type of sego lily from the desert that bloomed with orange-red flowers; Chiyo had given it to Temari.
He breathed a sigh of relief and then pinched Temari's cheek. "What are you shouting for? Temari, let me tell you, a great disaster is about to befall your family!"
Temari originally wanted to swat Ryou's hand away, but hearing him say this, her small face instantly turned pale. "What? What disaster will happen to my family?"
"Come on, let's go to my room to talk!"
Ryou took Temari's hand and led her to his room.
Inside Ryou's room, Temari saw two cats playing and fighting on the bed.
One was a tabby cat with scars on its face that looked extremely fierce.
The other was a two-tailed white cat with pure white fur, red claw-mark patterns around its eyes, and dark blue fur on the outside of its ears.
Both cats looked like ruthless beasts that had killed people.
Temari didn't dare get close to the two fierce cats.
The strangest thing was the grey-and-white shorthair cat next to them. It had a piece of candy in its mouth, and its paws were releasing chakra threads to control Sasori's 'Father' and 'Mother' puppets.
Under its control, the two puppets moved as if they were living people.
Temari's eyes widened instantly. Though she was young, she had recently begun refining chakra.
Naturally, she knew what the chakra threads on Candy's paws meant.
Ten chakra threads controlling two puppets—this was a veteran Puppeteer.
"Lord Sasori! It! It!"
Temari pointed at Candy, so shocked she couldn't speak.
A cat was actually a Puppeteer?
Candy glanced at Temari and said disdainfully, "What's all the fuss about?"
"It can talk!"
Temari was even more shocked now. It could talk; this was a Summoned Beast! A high-level Summoned Beast that knew Puppet Technique.
Ryou sat on the edge of the bed and called out to Snowy and Nekomata, "Stop fighting. You can't kill a cat like that."
Snowy and Nekomata stopped their battle.
Nekomata snorted. "Snowy, you've improved quite fast! However, I am the King of the Cat Tribe."
Snowy barked, "Nekomata, don't be so arrogant. If you're not satisfied, let's fight again!"
Hearing the two cats speak, Temari pointed at the three cats and asked, "Lord Sasori, are... are these all your Summoned Beasts?"
Ryou nodded. "That's right, Temari. These are all my Summoned Beasts!"
Temari was a bit puzzled. "This doesn't really match Lord Sasori!"
In Temari's perception, Sasori was the kind of person who was aloof and went his own way.
The most suitable Summoned Beast for Sasori should be a highly venomous scorpion, just like his name.
Cats were also proud creatures, but they didn't fit Sasori's temperament.
Moreover, cats were very narcissistic creatures that would hiss at the slightest provocation.
Ryou pulled Nekomata into his arms to pet it, and Nekomata was somewhat reluctant.
It was the Cat King of Sora-ku; usually, even Cat Granny didn't dare to pet it.
But in front of Ryou, it could only hiss.
Soon, Nekomata comfortably closed its eyes and praised Ryou, "Master, I'm willing to call you the Uchiha's Top Technician."
Ryou smiled.
Kakashi's title as Konoha's Top Technician was because his skills were top-notch and he had conquered a large number of customers, which is why people called him that.
Temari didn't like cats; she liked a type of Kamaitachi from the desert that could release powerful Wind Release.
The chakra attribute Temari had recently tested for was Wind. She intended to become a Wind Release Ninja in the future and hoped to have a Kamaitachi as a Summoned Beast to assist her Ninjutsu.
However, young as she was, her heart was still captured by the cute cats, and she couldn't help but want to hug Snowy.
Snowy was a fierce cat and refused to be touched by anyone other than Ryou.
As soon as Temari's hand reached out, Snowy extended its claws to scratch her. At the critical moment, Candy used chakra threads to pull Temari back.
But Snowy also shredded Temari's lilies all over the floor.
Looking at the petals scattered on the floor, Temari's eyes instantly turned red. A thin layer of water shimmered in her eyes, and tears hung on her eyelashes, looking as if she might burst into loud sobs at any second.
In a desert Village like Sunagakure, flowers were a luxury and a symbol of vitality.
Ryou pinched Snowy's ear to lecture it. "Snowy, why are you so selfish?"
Snowy looked full of pain. "I was wrong, I was wrong!"
Ryou then looked fiercely at Temari. "No crying! If you cry, I'll punish you!"
"Waaaah—"
Temari immediately started crying her heart out.
Ryou hurriedly took Temari's potted lily in a fluster and released Wood Release, instantly pouring a rich life force into the lily's stem.
The lilies that had been shredded by Snowy's claws seemed to have passed through an entire spring in an instant, rapidly sprouting, growing, and blooming.
"Alright, alright, Temari, look, the flowers have bloomed again."
Seeing the lilies blooming once more, the crying expression on Temari's face faded away instantly.
She picked up the lilies again and looked at Ryou with great confusion. "Lord Sasori, what Ninjutsu is this? How is it so magical?"
Temari had just seen a layer of green chakra appear on Ryou's hand, and just a touch had made the lilies bloom again.
Temari had never heard of such a Ninjutsu before.
Ryou patted Temari's head and smiled. "Want to learn?"
Temari nodded vigorously. "Yes!"
If Temari could learn this kind of Ninjutsu, she could grow many, many flowers in the Village in the future.
Sunagakure wouldn't have to be so monotonous anymore.
Ryou's face, which had been very gentle just a moment ago, suddenly turned cold. "I'm not teaching!"
Seeing that Temari was about to cry, Ryou held Snowy in front of her.
"If you dare to cry, I'll have Snowy hiss at you!"
Following Ryou's lead, Snowy made a hissing face at Temari.
Temari immediately didn't dare to cry.
Ryou lay down against the bed, trembling with comfort all over, and even ordered Snowy and Nekomata to massage his shoulders.
After a moment of silence, Temari finally realized why she had followed Ryou to his room.
"Lord Sasori, you said earlier that a disaster would happen to my family? What kind of disaster?"
Ryou sat up cross-legged and spooked Temari, saying, "Do you know about Shukaku?"
Temari nodded. "I know, a type of Tanuki demon that can control wind and sand and create illusions!"
The Shukaku Temari knew about was clearly the Shukaku from the Land of Wind's folklore, not the Tailed Beast Shukaku.
Ryou could understand; after all, Temari wasn't even a Ninja yet.
No one would tell her about Sunagakure's Tailed Beast, Shukaku.
Information regarding Tailed Beasts was limited to the Village's high-ranking officials; it was likely that even some of Sunagakure's Genin didn't know about Shukaku.