Chapter 32: The Scorpion of the Crimson Sands

He hardened his heart. Since escape was impossible, he might as well end his own life—better than falling into enemy hands and revealing the village’s secrets. Drawing a kunai once more, he pressed it against his neck, ready to end it all.

Witnessing this, Akakage Yūhi felt a twinge of disappointment. Had the man chosen to fight to the death, he might have attempted to capture him alive. But if he was intent on dying, there was little he could do. Well, if capturing him alive was out of the question, bringing back his head would have to suffice.

Every village had the ability to extract intelligence from the heads of the dead, but Konoha, home to the Mountain Tribe, was unquestionably the best at it. Their skills in gathering information from fallen foes were unrivaled throughout the ninja world.

Unwilling to complicate matters further, Akakage Yūhi waited patiently for the man’s death before stepping forward to sever his head. Yet, standing beside Yūhi was Kawaoki Aoba, whose pupils suddenly constricted. Through his sensory perception, he detected a dangerous presence—a familiar one at that.

Damn, how did this guy show up here? This isn’t your time to appear. Wait, could that puppet be…?

Is the Third Kazekage already gone? If so, that means the Third Great Ninja War is about to break out.

Damn it, better focus on surviving this ordeal first. If we die here, there’s no point worrying about a third war.

In Aoba’s vision, a spear formed from black iron sand, controlled by magnet release, shot swiftly toward its target.

Pfft!

Flesh was pierced, and a gaping hole opened in the chest of the sand ninja. His eyes widened in shock as the kunai in his hand slipped and fell to the ground.

It seemed that fate had denied him the chance to die by his own hand.

Are there more enemies? Wait, an attack formed from iron sand—that’s the Magnet Release of the Kazekage. But who’s behind them?

As his last breath faded, the sand ninja struggled weakly to turn his head, determined to see who stood behind him, even in death.

He got what he wanted, but died in extreme shock and disbelief.

“Puppet ninja! The Third Kazekage! Sasori of the Red Sand!” Akakage Yūhi named the culprit for the restless sand ninja.

At that moment, Yūhi’s heart was filled with shock. Upon seeing Sasori and the Third Kazekage’s puppet, many pieces fell into place, and he understood why Sunagakure had been acting so strangely lately.

When a village’s Kazekage falls, chaos is inevitable.

But judging from Sasori’s actions, had he already become a rogue ninja? Yet recently, there had been no bounty posted for Sasori by Sunagakure. Was it simply to keep things hidden, or was there another plan at work?

Oh, right—I almost forgot about that guy.

“Hey, you’ve seen the situation now, haven’t you? If you don’t want to die in vain, start talking. Tell me everything you know,” Yūhi said to the spy, who was poisoned and weak.

The spy lay nearby, having witnessed the entire battle.

He had watched all the sand ninjas fall, believing he might survive by luck. But upon seeing Sasori and the Third Kazekage’s puppet by his side, he nearly broke down.

Life’s ups and downs come too quickly.

At this point, he knew his life was doomed.

This Konoha squad had already surprised him by defeating the sand ninjas. But against Sasori, only Akakage Yūhi had a chance to survive and escape. Even that strange kid’s chances were slim.

Taking a deep breath, the spy knew he could no longer hesitate. If his earlier caution was understandable, now, ignoring the danger would be a death sentence by his own hand.

“The Third Kazekage and Sasori disappeared together. The Sunagakure leadership suspects Konoha is responsible. The atmosphere among their high ranks has been tense lately—they’re pointing fingers at us. It’s possible they want to provoke a small-scale war along the border,” the spy spoke rapidly, revealing all the intelligence he had gathered.

Finally, he looked at Yūhi with hope. “Akakage, if you return to the village, please tell the Hokage that I completed all my espionage missions seriously.

Also, please pass a message to Keiko and our child: their husband and father died for the village. He is a hero of Konoha.”

“I understand. If I make it back, I’ll deliver your message,” Yūhi replied solemnly.

Though seeing Sasori and the puppet made it clear that the spy’s information was no longer critical, it did not change the fact that he had risked years infiltrating Sunagakure for Konoha.

Despite some personal ambitions, his contributions could not be erased. Yūhi believed the Hokage would treat his family well.

“Enough talk. Now, are you ready to meet death?” Sasori finally spoke after using his puppet to kill the sand ninja and remaining motionless.

His delay wasn’t due to mercy but a desire to hear the so-called intelligence—to see what Sunagakure had done since his departure.

After hearing it, he felt indifferent.

He held no attachment to Sunagakure and felt nothing toward Konoha, who had killed his parents.

Apparently, the belief that he’d be stirred by bad news from Konoha was an illusion.

If Sunagakure wanted war, let it come. Even if the Third Great Ninja War erupted, as long as no one interfered with him, it didn’t matter.

Now, Sasori’s heart cared only for his pursuit of eternal art.

Glancing at the now-dead sand ninja, Sasori tossed the Third Kazekage’s puppet aside.

Though a puppet master like him found little value in the man, he was still an elite Akatsuki member—barely worthy of being part of his collection.

Sasori then turned toward Yūhi. As a ninja whose main attack was genjutsu, turning into a puppet would greatly diminish his value, but as an Akatsuki member, he was at least an ordinary piece of art.

“Since you disturbed my pursuit of eternal art, your corpses will be your compensation,” Sasori sneered. Throughout, he never spared a glance at Aoba and the others—perhaps in his eyes, those three weren’t even worth becoming puppets.

“This is truly troublesome. Aoba, how many more times can you use that shunshin technique?” Yūhi asked, referring to the swift movement technique from the Sixth Marine Style, “Razor.”