Through Sasori's memories, Ryou also knew of Pakura's situation; like Sasori, she was a proud person.
But Sasori's pride lay in a deep-seated disdain for life; he viewed everyone the same, seeing them as nothing more than pathetic flesh and blood.
At most, he was eccentric; as long as no one provoked him, Sasori wouldn't meddle in others' business.
This way of doing things didn't touch the interests of the high-level, didn't hurt the face of the middle-level, and didn't change the concepts of the lower-level.
You're good, I'm good, everyone's good.
That's why the Village could tolerate Sasori's eccentricity.
But Pakura was different; her pride was directed towards her enemies and those with whom she disagreed.
To protect the interests of civilian Ninjas, she often clashed with the Village elders.
Back then, even the Third Kazekage found Pakura quite a headache.
You touched the high-level's cake and changed the concepts of the lower-level—if you don't die, who will?
Ryou looked at Pakura.
He guessed that Pakura still didn't know she had been framed by the higher-ups; he could use this to drive a wedge between Pakura and the Sunagakure leadership.
Then, by using Sasori, Chiyo, and Pakura to control Sunagakure, it could serve as his future sanctuary.
Ryou couldn't be Madara's lackey forever.
A fortune teller once said he would be draped in a white robe in the future.
That white robe was a Kage Robe, a Six Paths Haori, definitely not a Shroud.
It proved Ryou had the fate of an emperor, born for greatness; he couldn't spend his whole life as someone's underling.
Therefore, Sunagakure had to be brought under control.
Chiyo smiled at Ryou and said, "Sasori, the Village has cleared your wanted status. You're reinstated to your original post as the commander of the Puppet Brigade. I can finally take a break."
Sunagakure had a Ninja unit specifically composed of Puppeteers; they weren't many, but every one of them was an elite.
They were originally Chiyo's troops, later handed over to Sasori to lead.
After Sasori defected, Chiyo took over the unit again. The puppets in her house were all prepared for this Puppet Brigade.
Ryou nodded.
But Pakura had a different opinion. She asked in surprise, "Sasori's suspicion has been cleared? What were the Village elders thinking? The Anbu haven't even interrogated him. How can they judge that Sasori isn't a threat to the Village?"
Although Ryou hadn't done anything bad from yesterday until now, Pakura instinctively felt this man was dangerous.
Not just normally dangerous.
Beneath that handsome skin of his, there might be a demonic heart hidden.
Could someone like him have his suspicions cleared so easily?
"No, I have to go find Rasa and get a clear answer!"
Pakura stood up and rushed off, wanting to find Rasa to demand an explanation.
Ryou directly released ten chakra threads to control Maki: "Pakura, if you dare go, I'll kill your cute little disciple right now."
"ヾ(;ﾟ;Д;ﾟ;)ﾉﾞ."
Maki's small face instantly turned pale.
Pakura turned back and shouted, "Sasori, you despicable fellow! And you say you're not a dangerous person."
Chiyo had a bit of a headache: "Give this old woman some face and stop arguing!"
Pakura couldn't refuse Chiyo's request.
Pakura sat back down.
Ryou retracted the chakra threads controlling Maki and said to Pakura, "Pakura, if it doesn't work, just stay by my side. If I do anything bad to the Village, you'll be the first to stop me."
Pakura nodded, "Fine, I believe that one day you will show your true colors."
Ryou looked at Pakura and smiled, but in his heart, he was already planning to find a deserted place to control her and give her beautiful back a good cupping session tonight.
Bitch, you actually dare to say I harbor evil intentions?
Having settled Pakura's matter, Ryou smiled at the people at the table: "Let's eat!"
Maki picked up her chopsticks and started grabbing food.
Ryou was surprised: "Ah! You're really eating it?!"
Ryou reached into his pocket, wanting to pull out his gun and give Maki a shot.
But that thing was too evil; he was afraid of scaring her.
So Ryou pulled out a Red Tail Scorpion and prepared to sting Maki with it.
Pakura quickly stood up to stop Ryou: "What are you doing? You can't just kill people here."
Chiyo looked at the Red Tail Scorpion in Ryou's hand with some surprise; she seemed to have forgotten something important.
But the more she tried to remember, the less she could; Chiyo could only blame her age, thinking she was getting a bit of senile dementia.
Chiyo spoke up: "Sasori, you can't just kill people in this house!"
"True, I'll wait until we're outside to kill!"
Ryou nodded, then put the scorpion back on his chest.
With Ryou not acting crazy, everyone could enjoy lunch in peace.
Chiyo dotingly served Ryou his favorite food.
"Here, Sasori, these are your favorite Millet Cakes. Grandma made them for you herself."
Ryou didn't like these bland things; he liked strong flavors, like a 'master-disciple bowl' of Pakura and Maki.
But since he was playing Sasori right now, he could only eat the Millet Cakes Chiyo gave him.
He even broke off a bit for the Red Tail Scorpion on his chest.
Chiyo looked at the scorpion on Ryou's chest in surprise: "Sasori, is this the Red Tail Scorpion I gave you last night?"
Ryou nodded.
"How did it get so big?"
Ryou said, "I fed it with chakra and made some minor modifications! I'm raising it as a Summoned Beast."
Sasori, eating his former favorite Millet Cakes, inwardly rolled his eyes.
Chiyo felt a bit strange again: "Sasori, why did you think of raising a Summoned Beast?"
Generally, Puppeteers don't need Summoned Beasts because their combat partners are the puppets they create themselves.
Ryou explained, "I took a liking to this scorpion's venom."
"I see!"
Chiyo was no longer surprised; after all, the venom of Sasori's scorpions was well-known.
After lunch, Chiyo said to Ryou, "Sasori, you've been away from the Village for three years. Go and get reacquainted with it this afternoon! The Village has changed a lot in the years you were gone."
"Pakura, take Sasori for a walk around the Village."
Pakura nodded; even if Chiyo hadn't said anything, she would have followed Sasori.
She was just afraid this guy would get up to some mischief.
Ryou nodded, "Alright, I want to go see Temari's house."
Not long after, Ryou headed out.
Pakura followed behind with her arms crossed. Maki wanted to follow, but Chiyo stopped her.
"Maki, come help me with some things!"
Chiyo wanted to create some opportunities for Ryou and Pakura because of last night's dream, where Pakura was her granddaughter-in-law.
Although Chiyo wasn't very satisfied, in order to have a great-grandson as soon as possible, she could only try her best to accept Pakura.
As soon as Ryou stepped out, he was bitten by a dog—a black dog wearing an eyepatch, Tsume's Ninja Dog, Kuromaru!
Kuromaru bit Ryou and bolted, barking, "Sasori of the Red Sand, you hateful fellow! I'm here today to avenge the dog you ate yesterday!"
"How audacious!"
Having been bitten by a dog, Ryou immediately wanted to bite back. He dropped to all fours on the spot, regressing to an ancient form, and used both hands and feet to chase after Kuromaru.
"Kuromaru, stop right there!"