Naruto: Reshaping the Shinobi World with Sasori

The incident began with a conflict between Rasa and two commoner family heirs, Murashi and Fukushimaoka, which led to a series of subsequent events.

It appears to be a struggle between the common people and the privileged.

But so far, only the very first few heads of commoner families have died in the village.

The civilian population suffered even greater losses... with only a few defectors from ninja villages appearing.

On the other hand, those who died on the side of the powerful elites were all high-ranking officials in the village or people who held real power.

Those who were subsequently promoted by Lord Kazekage were all new faces with decent abilities.

The only remaining elderly people were Lord Kazekage, Granny Chiyo, Ebizo and Rasa, as well as Nakamaru from the Analysis Department and Inoue, Yekura's father.

As a result of this conflict, many new faces have been replaced in the village's internal management.

It seems that everything is the result of class conflict between two factions.

The common people were overwhelmed by the will of the village's leadership.

But the ones who truly suffered heavy losses were the privileged elites.

Rather than civilian forces.

The common people are only superficially at a disadvantage.

In the end, all that was lost were a few leaders.

The deceased on the side of the powerful and wealthy were all high-ranking officials.

Unbeknownst to many, the power structure in the village has already changed.

Although this change was somewhat painful.

The Kazekage, Granny Chiyo, and the others were aware of this, but they never suspected anyone else, believing it was caused by internal turmoil.

After all, power struggles within a village are a topic that no ninja village can avoid, and they happen frequently.

Some ninja villages even have more intense and dark internal conflicts; the situation in Sunagakure is considered relatively mild.

But what made Arai realize something was amiss... was that the Kazekage trusted Sasori, so the whole thing was reported only to the Kazekage by Sasori, and outsiders could only know the general outline of the matter.

Furthermore, the deaths of these high-ranking officials are perfectly interwoven into the timeline of the entire conflict. Some were handled by Scorpion himself, while others had nothing to do with Scorpion, yet their bodies were never found. The clues to those high-ranking officials who died due to external factors are also rather vague.

In the end, we still had to send Scorpion to investigate.

Even if the investigation yields results, they all point to issues that the village cannot immediately address or take action on.

None of this is a problem.

The problem is... it's too perfect.

Regardless of who each of the murderers of high-ranking officials was, no information or clues could be found at the moment... This means that even if they were different murderers, each of them was exceptionally skilled in executing tactics.

This is a bit strange.

It should be noted that the high-ranking officials who were murdered were not weak in their own right. Even if the murderer was a civilian from the village who knew them well, it would be impossible for him to be so efficient every time.

Those in high positions, like Feng Ying, have a broad view of the whole situation. The information they need to process is quite complex and diverse. For those in higher positions, the focus is on resolving internal conflicts, so they tend to overlook such minor matters, perhaps because they don't care.

And they have absolute trust in Scorpion's abilities.

But for the experienced Arai, his intuition told him... something was wrong.

Scorpion is the sole and all-powerful member of the Dark Guard responsible for handling the entire matter.

Therefore, even if Arai has no direct evidence and only a feeling-based suspicion, the only way to find the truth is to start with Sasori.

Arai followed Scorpion all the way out of the village.

He hid very carefully, afraid that the scorpion would discover him.

The Scorpion of today is no longer the junior he was when he led the team.

Despite still being a teenager, almost fourteen years old... before joining the Anbu, Sasori's battlefield record was already quite impressive. He and Yubi were known as the twin stars of Sunagakure, and later he even became a Jonin.

Furthermore, after settling in the village, he was also frantically completing missions. Ignoring that exaggerated mission file, just looking at the high-ranking officials he had eliminated under the Kazekage's orders in the past six months... his strength was already a genuine elite Jonin.

To be honest, if it really came down to a fight, Arai even felt that... his chances of winning were slim.

If his suspicions are correct, and he can quietly eliminate the village's original "high-ranking officials"... then the true level of his Scorpion Puppet Technique is probably unknown to anyone.

"Um?"

After carefully following Sasori for a while, Arai suddenly noticed that Sasori had stopped in a desert area not far from the village.

"We've been discovered?!"

Despite being far away, Shin-i, who was hiding in the sand, immediately felt a pang of anxiety.

However, the scorpion in the distance did not make any strange moves; it simply stood there quietly.

After a while, a familiar "black dot" came into Arai's view.

"That is..."

"Yubi?"

Arai squinted.

He knew that Yubi had been traveling around for the past year, seemingly collecting and investigating information related to medicinal herbs throughout the ninja world in an effort to improve the village's medical environment. Although he would return to the village every now and then, he would only stay for a few days before leaving again.

They saw the two little ones reunited outside the village, a reunion after a long separation.

Arai's heart skipped a beat.

He connected the dots of the whole incident.

"Could it... be related to Yubi?"

Arai had a sudden thought.

He dared to say that, including himself, no one had ever associated it with Yubi.

Because Yubi wasn't even in the village.

His prolonged disappearance even caused this once dazzling "genius" to lose his presence during this turbulent period in the village.

Arai's mood immediately sank.

He knew Yubi's intelligence well... Although Scorpion was also very intelligent, given his personality, he wouldn't have done the whole thing so perfectly without leaving a trace.

Scorpion is more like the kind of guy who doesn't care about the village's reaction, kills people, and then leaves.

"If my guess is true... it's more likely to be his plan."

Arai refused to believe it.

But this thought just wouldn't stop popping up.

"Impossible... Yubi has no reason to harm the village's interests, and neither does Sasori... What's wrong with me? Why am I being so paranoid..." Arai's brain was a bit off.

Suddenly, I started to doubt myself.

You know, Yubi has been working tirelessly for the village's future...

Was his intuition really right?

……

Meanwhile, Scorpion and Yubi walked slowly toward the village.

"I'm being followed..."

"Scorpion spoke," he said.

"Who?"

Yubi asked with a smile.

Even if I'm being followed, it's okay.

Anyway, Scorpion only came to pick him up and didn't do anything else.

The reason I returned to the village this time is because the research on drug trials has yielded results.

After a year and a half, his finished drug was finally ready for mass production.

It wasn't for nothing that he worked so hard outside for so long.

Next, it's time to distribute the products... and open up the market.

"It can only be him... Arai."

Scorpion said calmly.

"Oh?"

Yubi raised an eyebrow.

"It seems... he may have discovered something," Yubi said softly, a hint of seriousness in his voice.

The next second, their expressions changed slightly.

"The person is gone..."

"Let's find a chance to kill him..."

蝎。

"Let's see... He probably only suspects it and doesn't have any evidence. Otherwise, given the Third Generation's personality, you would probably be in trouble by now."

Yubi considered the matter for a moment.

It seems... he should try to arrange a meeting with Arai, just the two of them, if the opportunity arises.

Sure enough, no matter how well a plan is arranged and executed, it is impossible to achieve perfection.

"I hope... things don't escalate to the point of armed conflict, otherwise..."

Yubi sighed inwardly.

His eyes flickered.