Honestly, Black Zetsu had never been very optimistic about Uchiha Madara's "agent plan" from the very beginning.
In his view, the plan spanned too long a period of time and had too many variables. It would be difficult to guarantee its final success rate. Once something went wrong, it would be hard to fix. It would be better to wait until Madara died, then use the Reanimation Jutsu invented by Senju Tobirama to drag him back out and make him keep working.
But Uchiha Madara insisted on doing it this way. As his "incarnation," Black Zetsu had no way to oppose him and could only comply.
And now…
Black Zetsu had a faint premonition: if they did not eliminate this Mikami Yuu early, this man might very well pose an extremely serious threat to Uchiha Madara's "agent plan," and even to his own "split the mountain to save mother" plan.
This feeling had not appeared many times during Black Zetsu's thousand years of life, but it was usually very accurate.
Yet Uchiha Madara still did not take it seriously.
There was nothing Black Zetsu could do. He could only sigh, suppress his thoughts, and prepare to spend more effort later watching Mikami Yuu's movements, so that he could intervene at the first sign of trouble.
"Alright. Continue monitoring this man's movements. Unless necessary, do not interfere."
Uchiha Madara said.
"Yes, Lord Madara."
Just as Uchiha Madara waved his hand, intending to end this conversation,
suddenly,
the White Zetsu being used as the "television" seemed to sense something and shouted, "Lord Madara, I've detected a very strong chakra fluctuation. It seems to be moving from Kikyo City toward Mikami Yuu and the others!"
"Oh?"
Uchiha Madara raised an eyebrow and placed his palm on White Zetsu's forehead again. As the image shifted, a tall sand dune appeared before Madara, followed by the figure of a handsome red-haired boy.
The boy stood high above, one hand resting on his forehead as he gazed into the distance in the direction Mikami Yuu and Pakura had left. His expression was somewhat subtle, and no one knew what he was thinking.
"This is…"
Uchiha Madara quickly recognized him.
Sasori of the Red Sand.
Although he had lived in the Mountain Graveyard for years, Uchiha Madara was not ignorant of the ninja world's current affairs. From time to time, he sent large numbers of White Zetsu out to investigate newly rising figures and new ninjutsu in the various ninja villages, recording them all.
Naturally, most of the intelligence concerned Konoha, but there was some on Sunagakure as well. If asked who Maki was, Uchiha Madara might not know, but Sasori of the Red Sand was different. As the genius representative of Sunagakure in this era, and someone who had originally been expected to become the Fourth Kazekage, he had been investigated specifically.
So Uchiha Madara recognized him at a glance.
"…That red-haired brat obsessed with puppet art? Why would he appear in this area?"
Was it a coincidence?
Or…
had this mad "artist," who had captured the Third Kazekage and turned him into a human puppet, now set his sights on Mikami Yuu and the others, wanting to add two more pieces to his puppet collection?
Uchiha Madara narrowed his eyes slightly, the corner of his mouth curving into an amused smile.
"It seems there's no need for us to consider whether to act. A good show is about to begin."
Beside him,
Black Zetsu asked, "Lord Madara, Sasori of the Red Sand is the one who killed the Third Kazekage, and he even modified the Third Kazekage into a human puppet to serve as his own support. If Mikami Yuu cannot defeat him and is about to be killed… do we need to intervene?"
"…Let's watch first."
Uchiha Madara thought for a moment, then replied, "If this brat dies just like that, it proves his strength only goes that far. There is no need to forcefully save him. Perhaps… we can use his corpse to stimulate Obito."
And if the one who lost was Sasori of the Red Sand…
then perhaps they could consider capturing that fellow and discussing the true meaning of "art" with him.
After all, someone with such a twisted mind, ruthless methods, a certain obsession, and powerful strength was very suitable to serve as a charging pawn. If they had not encountered him, there would be no need to look for him specially. But since they had happened to run into him, they could not let it go to waste.
No one spoke again. The underground cavern fell silent, leaving only the flickering images on the "White Zetsu television" and the sound of wind from the depths of the Death Desert, carrying sand and unknown danger.
…
It was noon the next day.
Yuu and Pakura moved swiftly across a golden sea of sand. The surrounding air was already distorted by the high temperature, and the sand-colored cloaks on their bodies snapped in the desert's hot wind. Even though they wrapped a layer of chakra around their bodies, it was still difficult to block out the heat.
Suddenly!
The sand beneath their feet churned violently without warning, faintly forming a whirlpool-like depression.
"Careful!"
With a rumbling boom, a huge creature burst out of the sand. It looked like a worm, but more than ten times larger. Its body appeared segmented, and its gaping mouth was like a bottomless tunnel filled with spiral rows of sharp teeth, as if it wanted to swallow the two above it whole.
A giant sandworm—one of the most troublesome predators in the desert.
In an instant, Pakura and Yuu leapt left and right, avoiding the bloody maw. At the same time, they gathered more chakra beneath their feet to avoid being swallowed by the loose quicksand when they landed.
Then,
Pakura raised her hand, and several orange-red fireballs appeared around her.
"Scorch Release: Over-Steam Kill!"
Yuu also drew the Sword of the Thunder God from his back. Under his chakra's activation, it expanded to nearly two meters long. Then he flashed in close, raised his hand, and cut. The sword body enhanced by Monster Strength turned into a bolt of lightning and directly slashed across the sandworm's massive body.
Pfft!
Along with a dull tearing sound, the sandworm's "neck," covered in a tough leather-like shell, was cleanly cut open with a huge gash. Dark green, foul-smelling bodily fluid sprayed out. Meanwhile, the Sword of the Thunder God, whose body was mostly chakra, remained as clean as new.
On the other side, Pakura's Scorch Release fireballs arrived shortly after, smashing into the wound Yuu had cut open. The high temperature instantly vaporized the sandworm's bodily fluids, then rapidly dried out the water inside its body.
The sandworm's enormous body twisted and rolled on the ground for a while, letting out shrill hisses. Finally, it convulsed a few times and stopped moving completely, leaving only the crackling sound of high heat burning its shell.
"…This sandworm seems bigger than the one this morning. Are they a family?"
Yuu looked at the sandworm's corpse and said.
"I don't know. I suggest you revive it and ask."
Pakura made a deadpan joke.
"That's a bit difficult."
Yuu casually replied.
As they spoke, the galgame system's text box quietly flickered a few times.
[Monster Strength: Hey, hey, little white-hair, why didn't you use Mad Gamble this time? Seriously, I was ready to help you roll the dice, but you didn't gamble!]
[Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique (Clone Technique): Mm… not gambling is a good habit, but why didn't you use Shuriken Shadow Clone?! I was clearly ready to go out! Honestly!]
"…"
Yuu's mouth twitched slightly.
It was one thing for Monster Strength to like gambling, but why had Clone Technique come out to join the fun too? With how thick and tough this sandworm's hide was, were ordinary shuriken really useful against it?
Hm… if combined with Fire Release, perhaps they would be useful. But in that case, it was better to simply cut it with one slash. Much cleaner and more efficient.
At once,
Yuu and Pakura did not linger. They went around the sandworm's corpse and quickly disappeared behind the rolling dunes, leaving the huge corpse to rapidly dry under the scorching sun, giving off a thick burnt smell before being devoured by nearby scavenging creatures.
For Yuu, this trip was a very novel experience.
Although he did not know whether deserts in the real world were like this, the Land of Wind's Death Desert was definitely not an easy place to survive. During the day, the heat was unbearable, and the sand underfoot was hot enough to fry an egg. At night, the cold pierced to the bone, nearly turning breath into frost.
There were also sandstorms that could descend at any moment, and all kinds of desert creatures hidden in the dark… It could be said to be full of danger.
If not for Pakura, a native who deeply understood desert survival, leading the way, even with Yuu's solid strength and tough body, he probably would have been skinned by the environment.
Of course…
if Pakura had not been leading the way, Yuu probably would not have taken this route.
After traveling together for several days,
Yuu and Pakura's conversations clearly increased.
After all, although the two had known each other for a while, their previous relationship had either been that of captive and guard, or enemies in opposing camps. Only now, due to a twist of fate, had they become companions fighting side by side, so their relationship had clearly become much more familiar.
Because of this, Yuu discovered that Pakura actually had a bit of talent for sarcastic jabs. Once they were familiar, every time she spoke, there was a barb hidden in it. No wonder she could not get along with someone as rigid as Rasa.
However, Yuu thought it was fine.
After all, Pakura like this seemed more real. If she were silent all the time and never spoke, that would be more of a problem.
"By the way, Pakura, what exactly caused your relationship with Rasa to sour?"
During one rest break, Yuu brought up the topic.
"…It wasn't anything major. There were just a few missions where I publicly rejected Rasa's plans. Also, when he first started pursuing Karura, I advised Karura to stay away from him. I felt his temper was rather bad, and that maybe he would commit domestic violence in the future, or even abuse his children."
Pakura replied casually, then glanced up at Yuu.
"But I think those were all small things. It shouldn't have made Rasa hold a grudge for so long, right? I almost forgot about them myself."
"Uh…"
Yuu wanted to say something, then stopped.
Honestly, he felt that the key reason Rasa and Pakura did not get along might not be political disagreement.
It was probably those few things Pakura had said to Karura.
Whether Rasa had ever abused Karura was hard to say.
But when it came to abusing children… Gaara would definitely have a lot to say.
Rasa himself was not exactly a cunning, intelligent person, and his heart did not seem very broad either. It was reasonable for him to hold a grudge because Pakura had touched something deep inside him.
Since that was the case…
"After this peace treaty is officially signed, Rasa should be sent back to Sunagakure. Given his personality, he might continue making trouble for you. What are you planning to do?"
Hearing Yuu's words,
Pakura was silent for a moment before speaking.
"I'll see how it goes. This time, he led Sunagakure and suffered such a terrible defeat at Mount Kikyo. Under normal circumstances, he should properly reflect on himself instead of venting anger on others. If he really becomes unreasonable, I won't just let him do as he pleases."
"Have you never thought about competing with him for Kazekage?"
"…I have, but it's difficult."
Pakura sighed and glanced at Yuu.
"In terms of strength and prestige, he is indeed far above me. Unless I achieve some major contribution, such as… capturing you, the 'White Reaper,' alive and bringing you back to Sunagakure, perhaps I could surpass him. What do you think? Want to help me?"
"Then forget it."
Yuu shrugged. "I'm doing pretty well in Konoha. I don't really want to go over to your side and eat sand. If I'm invited as a guest, that's another matter."
"That would probably be difficult. After all, your reputation in Sunagakure is not exactly good. There are more people who want to kill you."
Pakura said.
Yuu smiled and did not continue.
In truth, Yuu had considered whether he could find a way to make Pakura the Fourth Kazekage. That would definitely be better than Rasa becoming Kazekage.
But after thinking carefully, the possibility was indeed not high.
Pakura's hard conditions were indeed inferior to Rasa's. Looking at individual aspects, the gap might not be too large, but overall, the difference was considerable. This was also why, in the original story, she had been sent out as a sacrifice and died tragically in a conspiracy between her own village and Kirigakure.
If Pakura had strength and reputation like Sasori of the Red Sand, then even if Rasa wanted to kill her, he would not use such a lowly method. In fact, he probably would not be able to do it at all.
In theory, with Yuu's two Scorch Release analysis scrolls, Pakura's strength should be stronger than in the original timeline at the same period. But the chance of surpassing Rasa was not high. Moreover, as an assassin-type ninja, she was naturally countered by an artillery-platform-type ninja like Rasa, who had both offense and defense.
So…
unless Rasa suddenly died, or Pakura suddenly achieved a major contribution on the level of "capturing the White Reaper alive," it would be very difficult to significantly change Sunagakure's high-level power structure.
"Forget it. No point thinking about this. It has nothing to do with me anyway. Let fate handle it."
Yuu stretched and pushed down these messy thoughts.
In the end, if he wanted to control his own fate in this world, strength came first. Everything else was secondary. Instead of spending time thinking about such things, he might as well play more galgame and raise the next ninjutsu to max affection sooner.
In the desert, some ninjutsu—such as Water Release and sealing techniques—were not very suitable for practice. He could only occasionally talk to them to maintain relationships.
But Yuu's Dragon Fire Technique had already reached over 80 affection. According to his estimate, once he gathered three Fire Release techniques at max affection, something worth looking forward to would likely appear…
~~~
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