The Demon Desert was a bit hot. Ryou carried Pakura on his back and called Candy, Snowy, and the other cats who had set up the barrier to find a cave.
After driving out the giant sand scorpion inside, he began to interrogate Pakura.
"Hahaha..."
Pakura's Ninja sandals were taken off by Ryou, and he was currently tickling her.
Pakura couldn't stand the itching; she laughed until tears came out.
"U... U... Uchiha Ryou, you bastard!"
Sasori frowned while watching from the side, flipping his two pincers back and forth.
Because Ryou's behavior was too unlike a rogue ninja; it didn't sit well with him at all.
Tickling as an interrogation method was completely low-class.
Sasori suggested: "Ryou, give Pakura to me. I'll dissect her head and use a Secret Technique to extract the information from her brain."
Pakura shouted at Sasori: "Sasori, you bastard! Sunagakure gave birth to you and raised you, yet you haven't kept a single bit of gratitude in your heart."
Sasori extended his tail stinger, about to give Pakura a sting. With Pakura's constitution, she wouldn't be able to neutralize Sasori's poison.
But Ryou reached out and grabbed Sasori's tail stinger, saying: "Sasori, if you kill her, what will I play with tonight?"
"..."
Sasori was speechless and said: "I can modify her into your exclusive Human Puppet, so you can play however you want."
ヾ(;ﾟ;Д;ﾟ;)ﾉﾞ
Pakura was filled with terror upon hearing this. If she died, it would be over, but she didn't know how this physical body would be desecrated by Ryou.
Looking at the puppet form of the Third Kazekage—such a glorious figure in life, yet after death, he couldn't even rest in peace and could only be reduced to Sasori's puppet.
Pakura hurriedly begged Ryou for mercy: "Uchiha Ryou, don't, please don't turn me into a Human Puppet! I'll do whatever you want."
Ryou gave an evil smile, stroking Pakura's smooth cheek: "Pakura, oh Pakura, you have days of fear too!"
Sasori frequently suggested from the side: "Ryou, this woman really has no brains. It's better to turn her into a puppet that can't speak."
"Get lost!"
Ryou slapped Sasori away: "Can a puppet compare to a real person? I want emotional value, psychological interaction, do you understand?"
Although Sasori could make puppets just like real people, even retaining the heating function, love isn't just a reaction of one organ to another.
It's the attitude of one soul toward another.
You have no reaction when a 'cup' is mentioned, but you immediately have a reaction when a young woman or Konan is mentioned.
That's the difference!
Sasori was angry, deeply loathing Ryou's cliché emotions.
Was it smeared with marijuana? Do you want to inhale it that much?
Sasori was an out-and-out anomaly, both psychologically and physiologically; he couldn't understand the pursuits of a vulgar person like Ryou.
He was angry that Ryou, who controlled him, was a vulgar person like any other, lacking a realization beyond his realm.
He also found it very strange why Ryou could possess such great power.
Because in the eyes of Ninjas like Sasori and Pakura, a person's strength must stem from the strength of their heart.
One's heart must first be strong, free from any constraints, and unburdened by emotions, so that they can become invincible.
Just like Madara.
Therefore, the stronger a person is, the more they distance themselves from the mundane world, the more non-human they become, possessing thoughts that transcend ethics.
Like Sasori's disregard for emotions, or Orochimaru's contempt for human ethics.
But Ryou was different; he clearly possessed such great power, yet he was still a vulgar person!
Sasori was very angry, but he could only rage impotently. The Third Kazekage had been taken back by Candy, and Sasori became the powerless Sasori again.
He couldn't change Ryou, who controlled him, so he simply found a place to close his eyes and lie down.
Ryou used Wood Release to create a chair and then sat on it.
With a snap of his fingers, he let Pakura down. Once she regained her freedom, Pakura rushed at Ryou like a hissing cat, trying to scratch his face with her hands.
But Ryou easily controlled her with chakra threads.
"Pakura, don't test my patience. If you continue to be so willful, I'll let Sasori turn you into a Human Puppet."
In some aspects, a 'toy' can completely outmatch a real person.
For example, controllability. Real people have a lot of issues—emotions, periods, fatigue, and if you're unlucky, illnesses.
A 'toy' doesn't have these risks.
Pakura's face was full of defiance: "Uchiha Ryou, you despicable Uchiha, you don't have the grace of an Uchiha at all."
"Grace?!"
Ryou used chakra threads to control Pakura's limbs, pulling her over to kneel before him.
"Let me show you what grace is."
Pakura's pupils suddenly shrank as she saw the evil of this world.
...
Konoha.
People were coming and going at the village entrance, shoulder to shoulder, bustling and crowded.
Konoha was very lively because many people were coming to the village.
Ninjas from the Five Great Nations, lords, samurai, officials from the Feudal Lords...
Even rogue ninjas with scratches on their headbands came to visit Konoha. The Ninjas at the village entrance didn't seem to care about their status as rogue ninjas and let them pass directly.
Because of Madara's Eye of the Moon Plan, everyone saw that the formation of the Shinobi Allied Forces was imperative.
Nobles, merchants, large groups, big enterprises, and even the power-holding classes like the Feudal Lords were pushing for the formation of the Shinobi Allied Forces behind the scenes.
The Third Mizukage of Kirigakure Village wanted to delay, but the Land of Water's Daimyo didn't want to wait and directly ordered the entire Kirigakure to ally with Konoha.
The upper classes didn't want to enter a world of genjutsu because they already had their own island and private jet. Why would they pursue illusory happiness in dreams?
It was fine for Ninjas to kill each other, but why did it have to affect the lives of nobles like them?
Madara really was inconsiderate!
Kakuzu, dressed in a black robe and wearing a Takigakure rogue ninja headband, entered Konoha.
He looked up at the three faces on the Hokage Rock, focusing on Hashirama's face.
This was the first time Kakuzu had come to Konoha and seen the long-famed Hokage Rock.
Kakuzu had assassinated Hashirama—not with a shuriken from eight hundred miles away, but in a head-on assassination.
However, Hashirama had beaten Kakuzu to near death in just two or three moves. He dragged his scarred body back to Takigakure.
Kakuzu felt he had been betrayed; the higher-ups had assigned him to assassinate Hashirama just to send him to his death.
You attack the Land of Fire alone on two fronts; how can one person be on two fronts? By being cut in half, of course.
"First Hokage, you are dead, but I am still alive. Therefore, I am the ultimate winner."
Sometimes a Ninja's battle isn't just on the battlefield; one can also defeat an opponent outside of it.
Kakuzu was indeed no match for Hashirama in terms of combat power, but in terms of lifespan, he was the clear winner.
Hashirama died early, while Kakuzu could live until the era of Konoha's Third Hokage.
This is one victory.
Kakuzu: one win; Hashirama: zero wins. This is the second victory.
Kakuzu: two wins; Hashirama: zero wins. This is the third victory.
...
In summary, Kakuzu has ten wins, and Hashirama has zero wins.
Kakuzu was winning big! What does the First Hokage have to compare with Kakuzu?
A smile that hadn't appeared in a long time crept onto the corners of Kakuzu's mouth as he prepared to head to the Hokage's Office.
Suddenly, an Anbu wearing a mask appeared in front of Kakuzu; it was Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
Shinnosuke looked at Kakuzu warily and then proceeded to expose Kakuzu's background.
"Kakuzu, an S-rank rogue ninja in the rogue ninja world, formerly an elite Jonin of Takigakure, who once assassinated the First Hokage..."
When Kakuzu entered the Land of Fire, Konoha's Anbu had already set their eyes on him.
Because Kakuzu was very famous in the black market; many people with high bounties were handled by Kakuzu.
Recently, Konoha had even been recruiting rogue ninjas, so they naturally had to find out these people's backgrounds and prepare to assign them duties.
To be sent to fill the holes!