Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha lacks motivation.

Chapter 974 This round was a case of both sides anticipating each other's predictions.

Fengying Building, "Bang!"

The Third Kazekage, his face ashen, withdrew his hand from the table and, with eyes full of disappointment, angrily berated Rasa, who was hanging his head below, "You idiot! For a mere Chunin from a small place, you actually exposed the village's tightly guarded secrets!"

Chiyo, standing to the side, closed her eyes to rest, showing no intention of intervening. "Third Hokage, Rasa..."

Meanwhile, Ebizo, who was beside her, wanted to protect his disciple and was prepared to mediate the matter as an elder. However, as soon as he opened his mouth, his shrewd older sister secretly pulled him back, saying, "Don't forget our current identities."

Facing her younger brother's puzzled gaze, Chiyo slowly opened her eyes and gently shook her head. She and her brother had already returned all their power to the Third Kazekage. Now, they were powerless and their voices carried little weight. If they rashly stepped forward, they would likely humiliate themselves.

"Teacher, the scene has been cleaned up."

Just then, Pakura led a remorseful Yashamaru into the office and respectfully reported to the furious Third Kazekage, "Were there any other witnesses?"

Fortunately, the obese man was only a Chunin-level ninja. Rasa, who had exposed Magnet Release: Gold Sand, snapped his limbs in a single move. However, the conspicuousness of gold sand was undeniable. The Third Kazekage's biggest worry was that the secret of Sunagakure's possession of a nuclear-powered money printing press would be discovered by other villages, which would bring endless trouble.

"Everyone present fled in panic. I conducted a preliminary investigation based on the customer profile described by the shop owner. Except for a family of three who appeared to be tourists and were not found yet, all the other customers had passed the illusion torture."

Looking tired, Pakula shook his head and truthfully told them everything he had investigated overtime. (Tourists?)

A family of three?

The Third Kazekage frowned upon hearing this. This combination did indeed sound harmless, but the matter of Rasa's Magnet Release was a top secret, concerning the grand plan of Sunagakure. Any suspects had to be eliminated. "Better to kill a thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free."

"Roger that! Yashamaru, time to get to work."

Pakula raised his hand in a throat-slitting gesture, instantly understanding his teacher's meaning. He nodded slightly and waved to his subordinates behind him, "Brother-in-law..."

Yashamaru pursed his lips, looking at Rasa who was bowing his head in silence with teary eyes.

He knew all too well that the accident was caused by his gluttony. If he hadn't dragged his brother-in-law to that snack shop, the secret of Magnetism wouldn't have been exposed.

"This is all my fault."

Upon hearing this, Rasa raised his hand and waved it gently. Bloodline rampage is not common, but it is not uncommon either. Basically, every bloodline ninja will commit it once or twice. He only blamed his lack of control, as he couldn't even suppress the Magnet Release chakra within his body.

"Third Generation, I think this is an opportunity."

Seeing the eerie silence fall, Chiyo, who had been resting with her eyes closed, finally spoke for the first time, "Opportunity? What opportunity?"

The Third Kazekage only stripped Chiyo and her brother of their official authority; he did not remove their right to participate in deliberations. It just meant their words carried less weight now.

"The defeat in the last war made Sunagakure a laughing stock in the ninja world. Why not take this opportunity to flex our muscles and completely shed the label of weakness from Sunagakure?"

Chiyo's words were tinged with a probing tone, because she had never been able to figure out the Third Kazekage's purpose in hoarding supplies. She was taking advantage of Rasa's situation to probe his true intentions and see if this man still harbored ambitions to drag the village into the vortex of war.

"No!"

Without a second thought, the Third Kazekage stood up indignantly and directly rejected Chiyo's suggestion. At the same time, his gaze towards her held a hint of pity and apprehension. Sure enough, Elder Chiyo was still immersed in the grief of her loved ones' deaths and had not given up on the idea of ​​revenge. She made this suggestion in order to drag the village into avenging her son and daughter-in-law. She could not allow Sunagakure to become the blade of her revenge.

Although Chiyo currently holds no real power, she and her brother have managed the village for many years and still have some supporters. They might just cause a coup that would harm everyone else. For now, the best course of action is to appease this crazy old woman who lost her son.

Thinking of this, the Third Kazekage's tense expression suddenly relaxed, and even his voice softened considerably. "Elder Chiyo, the truckload of supplies that Pakura seized last time hasn't been properly accounted for yet. I'll trouble you to take stock of it later."

one time."

One car?

Chiyo raised an eyebrow. It was she who placed the order for the fat, round guy. There were clearly three large truckloads of supplies, so how did it become just one truckload in the Third Kazekage's mouth?

Is he trying to shut himself up?

Recalling the Third Kazekage's overly decisive reply, Chiyo, filled with suspicion, couldn't help but start speculating about a conspiracy. Could it be that her words had inadvertently revealed the Third Kazekage's undisclosed war ambitions, and that he had generously entrusted her with those truckloads of expensive supplies in order to continue his unfinished war preparations?

"I obey."

At this moment, the Third Kazekage, with a warm smile on his face, was transformed into a skilled and ambitious schemer by Chiyo's wildly imaginative mind. Fearing that continuing to speak would lead to her death, she immediately nodded and accepted this cushy job.

"Then we'll leave it to Elder Chiyo. By the way, I haven't seen Sasori lately. Is he sick?"

Seeing that Chiyo had accepted the supplies for maintaining stability, the Third Kazekage breathed a sigh of relief and casually asked with a smile.

This question, which couldn't be simpler, struck Chiyo like a thunderbolt. Was Scorpion being used to threaten her?

"Thank you for your concern, Third Hokage. Sasori has been practicing puppet-making techniques recently and rarely goes out."

Suddenly looking up at the Third Hokage with a "sinister" smile, Chiyo, concerned for her grandson's safety, forced a smile and explained, "No wonder he left the Pakura Squad; it turns out he wanted to inherit your mantle, Elder Chiyo."

The Third Kazekage nodded with a look of realization. Realizing that Sasori was the only thing this extremely unstable madwoman cared about, he thought for a moment, then smiled and promised, "If Sasori lacks materials to make puppets, just ask me as soon as possible, and I will definitely provide them all."

"Thank you, Third Hokage. I will definitely convey your words."

With a fake smile, Chiyo bowed slightly, but in her heart, she felt increasingly wary of the Third Kazekage, who was extremely cunning.

For the sake of Sunagakure, we must first keep him/her calm!

This was the only thought in the minds of the two men after the conversation ended. They both thought the other was a deeply hidden war fanatic and were afraid that the village would be implicated, so they had no choice but to show their submissive side.

Inside an inn in Sunagakure, after stuffing a coded letter filled with secret codes into the beak of a crow, Nonou, her face grave, turned to look at Uchiha Gin, who was sprawled on the bed enjoying the breeze from Kurenai Yuhi's fan. Her eyes twitched violently a few times. "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and pack your things and run!"

"Running away? I haven't had enough of this gossip yet!"

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Gin opened his droopy eyelids, casually gave Kurenai Yuhi, who had been diligently fanning him, a few candies, and shook his head with a reluctant expression. He still wanted to see how much precision and intensity of the enemy country's attack would be after Rasa exposed his identity as the Golden Child.

"I'll buy you a whole truckload of those melons when I get back. If we don't leave now, we really won't be able to leave."

Nono didn't catch the hidden meaning in Uchiha Gin's words. Recalling the scene of a large number of Sand Ninja arresting people in the street, her pretty face darkened slightly. It seemed that Rasa was the Sand Village's human gold mine. With his mastery of refining sand gold bloodline limit, his strategic value alone was no less than that of any Jinchuriki. Now that they had discovered this secret, they still insisted on staying in the Sand Village. What awaited them was the interrogation by the Sand Ninja Anbu.

"I just can't do anything with you. What can I do? I'm the most team-oriented ninja, so remember to buy a whole truckload!"

Uchiha Gin, who had been dragged up by Nono, scratched his head helplessly and gestured to Yuhi Kurenai to pack her luggage. Soon, the three of them, having packed their things, quietly slipped out from the back of the hotel, leaving behind only a few banknotes as payment for the unpaid room bill.

"Sigh...it seems I'm not going to get my data back."

Turning his head to look at the Sand Village, which stood stubbornly against the wind and sand, Uchiha Gin sighed with some regret.

He had originally planned to take some time to guide Scorpion on his path to becoming a pilot, but now it seems he can only let the kid learn through trial and error, and not repeat the mistakes of self-reform in the original timeline, and to be a good person.

Do you have a family of three like this in your store?

Just as the three of them had run away, Pakula, who had followed the clues to the hotel, was holding a portrait and questioning them with dark circles under his eyes from not having slept all night. The portrait showed a busty woman with glasses, a seemingly dazed little girl, and a guy with curly hair and a dead fish-like face who looked like he was about to get punched.

"Sir, yes, yes."

The innkeeper glanced at it, his gaze instantly drawn to the man's curly hair in the portrait, and he nodded hastily.

How could he forget such curly hair?

"Which room are they in?"

Pakula's eyes lit up at the words, finally able to leave work. "Please come with me."

Seeing the Sand Ninja Anbu army eyeing Pakula menacingly behind him, the boss wisely refrained from asking any further questions and led the way to the guest room of Uchiha Gin and the other two.

"Let's do it!"

At Pakura's hot-tempered command, the Sand Ninja ANBU, armed with weapons, burst in, only to find the room empty except for a few crumpled banknotes lying on the table. "Damn it, they ran away!"

Sensing something was amiss instantly, Pakula slammed his fist on the table. Amidst the incredulous look on the innkeeper's face, he grabbed the banknotes from the table, crumpled them a few times, and then expertly stuffed them into his pocket. "Ninja Master, this money..."

"This is physical evidence! I have the right to retain it."

Pakura Noodles, used to extorting money, glared at the innkeeper who still wanted more, then turned to Yashamaru behind him and instructed, "Go tell the teacher, the rest of you follow me, they can't get far."

Pakula's act of stealing money wasn't for nothing. Judging from the residual warmth on the banknotes, their owner had only recently left, and she could definitely catch up with them now.

"yes!"

"Sizzle!"

The trio, having successfully escaped Sunagakure, were traveling rapidly through the desert when Uchiha Gin, trailing at the back of the group, suddenly stopped as if remembering something. "Did you forget something?"

Noticing his strange behavior from ahead, Nono stopped and frowned, saying, "Someone's coming. You guys go first."

Sensing a large group closely following them not far behind, Uchiha Gin waved his hand casually, as if he were about to take a dump, and asked, "What? How many people are there?"

Upon hearing this, Nono's expression changed in surprise. At this crucial moment, she did not question Uchiha Gin's perception, but was worried about whether their team could return safely. "Let me count, one, two, three... um, not many."

Uchiha Gin stroked his chin and carefully counted the small cursors on the sensory radar. Asano Nou, looking calm, nodded. "Phew... three? Not bad. Kurenai Yuhi, genin. Prepare for battle."

Hearing the number three, the tense Nono finally breathed a sigh of relief, pulled out a kunai with her backhand, turned around and gave the order to the taut-faced Kurenai Yuhi behind her, "Yes!"

Kurenai Yuhi was so excited during her first battle against an enemy from another country that she trembled with excitement. Her palms, which were gripping her kunai, were almost soaked with sweat. "It's three squads."

Seeing the two women standing ready for battle, Uchiha Gin hesitated for a moment before truthfully informing them of the enemy's actual number, "Three...three squads?"

Nono's confident smile froze on her face, and she even stumbled over her words. As everyone knows, the number of people in a team is usually between 5 and 13. Whether it is a low-end five-person basic team or a fully equipped thirteen-person elite team, the combined number of people is more than the three of them can handle.

"That's right, just three squads, leave them to me."

With a languid expression, Uchiha Gin stretched his stiff neck, turned his back to the two women, and made a quick walking gesture. "You..."

Watching his broad back, Nono gently bit her lip, her beautiful eyes hidden behind her glasses filled with complex emotions. The information she had obtained from Root had indicated that Uchiha Gin's strength was at most that of an elite Jonin. Facing the encirclement and annihilation of three elite Sand Ninja squads, his only fate was death. "Stop dawdling. Remember to tell Minato for me that I'm going to see some old friends and won't be going back for a while."

Uchiha Gin actually had another place he wanted to go on this trip. He originally planned to discuss it when the three of them reached the Land of Rivers, but now it seems he has to tell them in advance.

However, this ordinary explanation took on a different meaning in Nonou's ears, becoming Uchiha Gin's farewell words: "Was it really worth it for someone like me?"

For the first time, Nono felt this way of being protected. Her heart, which had been immersed in darkness, couldn't help but beat. A strange emotion appeared in her eyes as she looked at Uchiha Gin. "Any beautiful thing has the right to be protected."

Uchiha Gin shook his head upon hearing this, then tilted his head and looked back at Nono, whose eyes were gleaming slightly. He smiled slightly and said, "I hope you can be more frank next time we meet."

Beautiful... Protect...

Do I, with my hands stained with sin, even deserve to be called worthy?

"Yuhi Kurenai genin, retreat."

One last, poignant look at Uchiha Gin's languid yet strangely reliable back, Nono, her heart heavy, grabbed the tearful Kurenai beside her and, ignoring her struggles, fled towards Konoha without looking back. "No! I want to stay and fight together!"

"Your staying will only be a burden."

Nonou's cold words pierced Kurenai's young heart like a sharp knife, leaving the girl in a deathly silence.

Curly, you must hang in there! I'll be right back to help you!

After calming the burden in her arms, Nonou, who was running, secretly vowed that she would stand with Uchiha Gin even if it cost her her life.

"Why are you alone? Where are your other two teammates?"

Pakura, the leader, looked at the lone figure ahead with suspicion. After confirming Uchiha Gin's identity by his curly hair, she frowned and questioned him. Uchiha Gin, who had been waiting for a long time, slowly opened his narrowed eyes, revealing a terrifying crimson. The chilling aura that followed sent a cold sweat through Pakura and the others, who were already in a 40-50 degree Celsius heat. "You look a little sleep-deprived. You'll definitely have a good dream in a bit."

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