Danzo wasn't a fool either.
The Sand's elite, Pakura, had killed Yamanaka Nai but let him go? No matter how one looked at it, there was something fishy about that.
After some deep thought, Motomu barely managed to come up with a solution.
This blame...
...could only be pinned on Sasori.
"Whatever, I'll take it one step at a time."
"If things really go south, defecting isn't a bad option either."
Heh, defecting even before Obito.
Talk about setting a fine example for his little brother.
Suddenly!
A loud explosion echoed from not far away.
Lost in thought, Motomu snapped his head up, his eyes fixated on the direction of the noise.
What was going on?
Was it really this lively tonight?
Motomu took a deep breath, suppressed the confusion in his heart, and sped off toward the source.
Beneath the pitch-black night sky.
Kunai clashed against a puppet swarming with black Parasitic Giant Insects.
Amidst the clattering of wooden joints, the puppet's third and fourth arms unfurled, plunging deep into Aburame Ying's side.
"Sasori of the Red Sand, has the Sand Village decided to abandon its alliance with the Leaf?!"
Aburame Ying shouted as she commanded her insects to devour the chakra Sasori was using to control the puppet.
The chakra threads on Sasori's puppet snapped, and it slowly lost control.
However, this sight did nothing to alleviate Ying's despair.
A wave of dizziness washed over her.
A sickly green blade, clearly coated in poison, had been released by the paralyzed puppet and left embedded in her body.
As paralysis took hold, she collapsed into unconsciousness. Countless black Parasitic Giant Insects swarmed out of her pores like refugees fleeing a disaster.
The red-haired youth stood nearby, his hands finishing a sequence of seals.
Clap!
The boy pressed his palms together.
"Hidden Memory Sand Manipulation Jutsu."
...
By the time Motomu arrived, this was the scene that greeted him.
Knowing his dear teammates from Root, they certainly hadn't come here to save him.
They were likely just looking for scraps, hoping to scavenge some intelligence.
Sasori's presence here, however, caught Motomu by surprise.
Judging by Sasori's demeanor, he seemed to have come specifically for them.
Sasori looked at the approaching Uchiha Motomu.
Frowning, he pointed a puppet arm toward the unconscious woman.
"This woman... do you know her?"
Motomu glanced at Captain Sosuke, who was skewered alongside Pakura on Hiruko's blade like pieces of meat on a kebab.
Then he looked down at Aburame Ying, whom Sasori was pointing at.
Motomu nodded calmly.
"These people are my teammates."
A "just as I thought" expression appeared on the red-haired youth's face.
"The Leaf is just as decadent as the Sand."
"I will unlock part of her memory when the time is right."
"As for the other one, he's quite skilled. I'll add him to my collection for now."
The Hidden Memory Sand Manipulation Jutsu, huh?
A realization dawned on Motomu.
Wasn't this the technique Sasori used to control the memories of the Sand's spies in the original story?
When the Akatsuki invaded the Hidden Sand Village, Sasori had used this jutsu to restore Yura's memories.
Following the pre-set plan, Yura had then deactivated the village's defensive barrier.
As expected, experts always had their own ways of doing things.
He had been wondering if Sasori forgot to leave a way to get in touch, but it seemed he had been overthinking it.
One brother puts in the heart, while the other puts in the brains.
Just a moment ago, he was thinking of using Sasori as a scapegoat, and in the blink of an eye, Sasori had already smoothed things over for him.
Sasori had erased the memories.
Now, all he had to do was insert some personal touches into his teammate's blank memory to resolve the issue perfectly.
Without hesitation, Motomu unleashed his Hypnosis and Dream Eater combo on the woman on the ground!
...
After parting ways with Sasori...
...Motomu reached the border of the Land of Fire just as the sun began to rise.
He carried the unconscious Aburame ninja on his back.
Amidst the whistling of leaves rushing past his ears...
...Aburame Ying, having been given an antidote, slowly drifted back to consciousness.
She opened her eyes, her gaze somewhat unfocused.
"What happened..."
In the next second, she clutched her temples, her brow furrowed in pain.
Fragmented images flashed through her mind—Sasori's puppets, the death of Captain Sosuke.
"The mission failed."
She muttered to herself, her eyes filled with disbelief.
Motomu felt the person on his back wake up.
He promptly set her down.
"It's a miracle you managed to escape from that guy."
"But then again, my Parasitic Giant Insects are the natural counter to puppet masters."
Motomu's eyebrows twitched as he heard this.
What in the world was she talking about?
Did I break her brain?
I didn't even go that far!
Motomu paused for a moment, then asked,
"What happens next?"
"Next?"
"I need to report to Lord Danzo immediately about Sasori's attack. It seems the Sand Village intends to betray their alliance with the Leaf."
Mm, yes, that's exactly right.
Motomu was quite satisfied with his "Grand Memory Restoration Technique."
"And after that?"
"I... I'm going to use my Parasitic Giant Insects to deal with Sasori."
Motomu: "???"
Time to increase the dosage!
"Gak!—"
His Psychokinesis instantly tightened around her throat.
Hypnosis and Dream Eater were activated once more.
Time passed quickly.
At the gates of the Leaf Village.
Motomu returned with Aburame Ying, who barely looked human anymore, crystal-clear drool dripping from the corner of her mouth.
Under the curious gazes of the gatekeepers and a crowd of villagers...
...Motomu headed straight for the Hokage Building with Ying in tow.
Bang!
The Third Hokage, who was currently assigning an S-rank mission to Minato Namikaze, looked toward the office door.
Beyond the double wooden doors, Motomu walked in, supporting Aburame Ying.
"Important intelligence!"
"Sasori of the Red Sand... toward..."
After listening to Motomu's report...
...Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned grave.
He first signaled the Anbu nearby to take Aburame Ying—whose memories had been twisted into a pretzel—to the hospital.
Then, he took a deep drag from his pipe.
"Sasori of the Red Sand attacked Pakura and your squad."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
"I understand. You're dismissed."
After bowing respectfully and leaving the Hokage Building...
...Motomu's mouth twitched.
Who would believe it? He had actually broken a Root ninja.
Before, Aburame Ying's memory was like a buggy piece of code—it had issues, but it still ran.
But he couldn't resist trying to "debug" it.
The result was as expected: the memory had completely crashed.
He glanced at Ying, who was being carried away on a stretcher.
Motomu shrunk his neck back.
I'd better lay low for a while.
In the meantime, I should start researching my strategy for Ryuchi Cave.
Not long after Motomu left the Hokage Building...
...news about him reached Danzo.
Aburame Ying was carried into the hospital and then promptly carried back out.
In the darkness underground.
Root, Laboratory.
Several Root ninjas from the Yamanaka clan were breaking into a cold sweat around the person on the operating table.
"What on earth happened to these memories?!"
Under the Mind Transfer Jutsu, Aburame Ying's memories were found to be completely scrambled.
There wasn't a single shred of useful information.
"Lord Danzo."
"This... only our Clan Head can handle this."
Half an hour later.
Inoichi Yamanaka, the head of the Yamanaka clan, arrived at Root.
After sifting through the memories himself, he seemed to discover something.
Inoichi quickly formed several hand seals.
The chakra needles piercing through the memory region of Aburame Ying's brain were released.
A continuous segment of memory appeared.
Sasori of the Red Sand, Pakura, and the Leaf ninjas.
It's all real!
"Reporting to Lord Danzo."
"Sasori of the Red Sand has attacked Pakura and the Leaf's Root forces."