I just returned to Konoha and found that my entire clan was gone.

"Won't other villages look down on us because of this?"

"Don't we have Konoha as an ally? When we're weak, we should just obediently submit to the strong and maintain our relationship with Konoha. I heard that the newly appointed Hokage of Konoha is that girl who plays with slugs. She won't make things too difficult for Sunagakure as Hokage."

During their conversation, they established the tone for Sunagakure, revealing that the two were not as detached from worldly affairs as outsiders claimed.

"Shh, sister, someone's coming..." Ebizo interrupted Chiyo's rambling and looked toward the gate.

Chiyo realized what was happening, but kept her eyes closed and remained silent, pretending to still be fishing.

"Elder Chiyo, Elder Ebizo, I have something important to report." Maki knelt on one knee as soon as he entered the room, showing his respect to the two elders.

“You’ve come to the wrong place. Maki, we haven’t talked about village affairs for a long time. All I want now is to see my lovely grandson before I die. I’m not interested in anything else.” Chiyo opened her eyes a crack, but didn’t look at Maki.

“What if what I’m about to say is about your grandson?” Maki said, swallowing hard.

"What did you say?" Before Maki could react, Chiyo appeared directly in front of him, a speed that even most Jonin couldn't match.

Maki was surprised by Chiyo's excitement and bent down to say, "Gaara, the Jinchuriki of our village, was captured by Konoha. During the negotiations with Konoha, Konoha agreed to return Gaara."

"Get to the point! I don't need to know things that aren't relevant," Chiyo said angrily, seeing Maki's leisurely tone.

Maki wiped his sweat as he watched Chiyo grow increasingly agitated. "Now for the important part: on our way back, we were attacked by two people, one of whom was Sasori, your grandson."

"Are you sure this is my grandson, Sasori? So many years have passed, his appearance should have changed. How did you recognize him?" Chiyo calmed down after confirming that she had heard about Sasori and continued to ask.

“I’m sure! Because not only did Sasori admit it himself, he also showed me something…” Maki paused before continuing, “When I fought him, he used the Third Kazekage’s human puppet.”

"I see..." Chiyo understood immediately upon hearing this news. Sasori, who had disappeared with the Third Kazekage, had killed the Third Kazekage and turned him into a human puppet.

"Moreover, his target at the time was the One-Tailed Beast. They all belonged to the same organization. This is what the Konoha ninjas told me, and they also told me that the people in that organization had also attacked the Nine-Tailed Beast." Maki continued without pausing.

"What do they want the Tailed Beasts for? Does their organization possess the method to seal them?" Chiyo asked with some doubt. "Also, how did you escape from Sasori? Did Sunagakure send reinforcements?"

"To be honest, it was Sasori who withdrew voluntarily. The Konoha Jonin defeated another of Sasori's companions, and Sasori, seeing that he couldn't take Gaara with him, retreated. That companion of Sasori's is currently imprisoned in the village jail."

"Konoha is indeed a place where talents emerge in abundance..." Chiyo couldn't help but sigh, wondering about the exact strength of Sasori's companions. She figured that anyone who could be Sasori's companion must be quite strong.

“The most troublesome thing now is that there were two other Jonin who were with me when I was fighting Sasori. One was from our village and the other was from Konoha. Now both of them have been poisoned by the deadly poison that Sasori applied to the puppets. The medical team is helpless. I can only ask you to help them,” Maki said, bowing and pleading.

"Is the Sunagakure medical team so weak that they can't even cure poison anymore?" Hearing Maki's explanation, he understood why Maki had come here. Mainly, there were also Konoha ninjas. It seemed he couldn't just leisurely fish here anymore.

"I'm so sorry, the medical team said they've never seen this kind of poison before, they can't analyze its formula, and they can't develop an antidote." Maki bowed again.

Seeing Maki's hesitant demeanor, Chiyo waved her hand impatiently. Maki, thinking Chiyo was unwilling to help, immediately knelt down and said, "Elder Chiyo, you must intervene this time. This concerns the relationship between Sunagakure and Konoha..."

Seeing Maki kneel down so brazenly, even Chiyo, who was already seventy years old, gaped in astonishment and said angrily, "I told you to lead the way! I didn't say I disagreed!"

Maki, who was still talking when he heard Chiyo's words, paused for a moment. The words he had prepared suddenly stopped, and he looked at Chiyo awkwardly.

"You're an elite Jonin of Sunagakure, you should have some dignity," Chiyo said irritably.

Maki nodded quickly and led Chiyo the way.

Chapter 35 Extreme Speed

"You're a Jonin from Konoha? From the Uchiha clan..." Chiyo had already heard from Maki on the way that the Konoha ninja who captured Deidara was an Uchiha, but she didn't expect him to be so young. Judging from his age, he was about the same age as Rasa's children. She didn't expect that he could handle a ninja that even Maki couldn't deal with.

Ye Lan nodded slightly. It seemed that this old woman held a position in Sunagakure equivalent to that of an advisor elder in Konoha.

"Let me be clear, I'm not entirely confident either. Although I taught him his puppetry techniques, I haven't seen Sasori in a long time, so I don't know what effect his poison is at this stage." Despite Chiyo's criticism of the Sunagakure medical team in front of Maki, she was also giving Konoha ninjas a heads-up beforehand.

"Then I'll trouble you." Ye Lan seemed to think that Chiyo knew Sasori, so she didn't ask any further questions and just said a polite thing.

"The puppeteer we encountered earlier is Elder Chiyo's grandson. Elder Chiyo had been searching for him." Seeing that Chiyo had entered the infirmary, Maki whispered in Ye Lan's ear.

Ye Lan suddenly realized that he had encountered rogue ninjas from Konoha, Kirigakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure, and was only missing Kumogakure. This Akatsuki organization really knew how to pick its people.

Before long, Chiyo came out. Seeing her expressionless face, Ye Lan's heart sank, but he still stepped forward and asked calmly, "How is Elder Chiyo?"

“Scorpion’s skills are getting better and better…” Chiyo was still thinking about Scorpion’s methods when she heard Ye Lan’s question and said, “I should be able to crack the poison if I study it, but they don’t have time. At the very least, it will take me half a month. Those two girls won’t last that long. They will die from the poison in a few days at most.”

Upon hearing Chiyo's words, everyone present changed their expressions, and Ye Lan's face also turned ugly. He hadn't expected that his first mission as a formal Jonin would encounter such a mishap.

"What if it's Lady Tsunade?" Ye Lan asked, still unwilling to give up.

"That girl who played with slugs? Although I don't want to admit it, that girl was much better than me at deciphering poisons. I suffered quite a few losses at her hands on the battlefield back then." Chiyo's expression turned to one of reminiscence.

Hearing Chiyo say this, Ye Lan felt a little relieved and then said, "Then I will take the two wounded to Konoha."

"Young man, the distance from Sunagakure to Konoha is not short, and how come you've been traveling with two patients along the way?" Chiyo had never met such a polite Uchiha before, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of goodwill towards her.

"Don't worry about that, but the medical team will need to prepare two stretchers and ropes," Ye Lan said.

At this moment, Maki thought of Ye Lan's summoned beast, understood his thoughts, and hurriedly nodded, saying, "I'll go and make arrangements right away."

Ye Lan turned around and looked at Hinata and the other two who hadn't rested yet. He sighed and continued, "Shino, the three of you wait for me in Sunagakure. I'll come back and join you after I've delivered Kurenai."

Seeing that Ye Lan and the others were not flustered at all, their unease gradually disappeared, and they nodded in agreement.

Then, following Ye Lan's instructions, several Sand Village ninjas carried Kurenai and Maki to the rooftop on stretchers. Chiyo, curious about how Ye Lan would take them back to Konoha, followed along.

Seeing that everything was almost ready, Ye Lan directly used the Spirit Summoning Technique.

"What does Ye Lan want with me this time?" Po Jun seemed to be in a good mood this time, it seems that he has already hooked up with that female falcon from before.

Ye Lan solemnly explained the reason to Po Jun, who, after listening, said nonchalantly, "All I need to do is bring these two girls to Konoha with you, right?"

"We need to go as fast as possible; they can't hold out for much longer," Ye Lan continued, mentioning the distance between Sunagakure and Konoha.

"Considering the distance shouldn't be too bumpy, it should take about a day to get there," Po Jun said after listening.

Upon hearing Po Jun's answer, everyone's expressions gradually became excited. Finally, there was good news. Then, they tied Hong and Juan to Po Jun's back respectively.

"This is really something..." Chiyo said in a low voice, standing to the side. Maki looked at Chiyo with a puzzled expression.

“I see a shadow of the Sannin in this kid… no, at his age, he will definitely surpass the Sannin in the future.” Chiyo said, looking at the strange summoning beast, Hajun.

Maki didn't expect Chiyo to have such a high opinion of Ye Lan. Each of the Sannin is a true Kage-level expert on their own. Although Ye Lan's current strength is not weak and he has reportedly successfully resisted Orochimaru, his reputation is far less renowned than that of the Sannin. Perhaps in a few years, his name will be closely watched by various villages.

After the wounded were strapped in, Ye Lan climbed onto Po Jun's back, waved to the Sand Village ninjas and Hinata and the other two, and then looked at Po Jun and said, "Let's go!"

"Oh!" Po Jun responded, spread his wings and flapped them sharply, instantly soaring into the sky. The huge dust generated by the flapping wings made the others quickly cover their mouths. The air in Sunagakure was full of dust, and Po Jun's flapping wings seemed to have created a small sandstorm.

When the dust settles, all that's left when others look up at the sky is a tiny dot.

"This speed is indeed very fast." Maki was relieved to see this situation. The injured Maki was a Jonin of Sunagakure, and one of the few ninjas in Sunagakure who knew sealing techniques. It would be a pity if he lost his life like this. Fortunately, Konoha and Sunagakure are allies now.

...

"Ah, I'm still curious about what Kakashi-sensei looks like!" Naruto was with Sasuke and Sakura. They had been on a mission near the village recently. During their last mission, they realized they hadn't seen Kakashi's real appearance yet, which made them curious, but they never got around to it.

"It's all because you're such an idiot that Kakashi saw through your disguise so easily," Sakura complained.

"That Kakashi guy..." After Kakashi finally removed his mask, there was another mask underneath. Sasuke felt that the three of them had been tricked by Kakashi.

Buzz—

A piercing sound came from the sky. The three looked up and saw a black dot in the sky. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a large bird flying at high speed.

"That's it!" Sakura pointed and said, remembering that it seemed to be Ye Lan's summoned beast.

"It's Brother Ye Lan's summoning beast! Why is he back in the village? I heard from Granny Tsunade that Brother Ye Lan was on a mission outside, right?" Naruto recognized it and couldn't help but ask.

"There must be an emergency, otherwise Ye Lan would never use a summoning beast in the village. Judging from the direction it flew... it's the hospital!" Sasuke had already figured it out, and after saying goodbye to Naruto and Sakura, he ran towards the hospital.

Upon seeing Konoha, Pojun's speed began to decrease. After all, most people in Konoha had never seen Pojun before, and he didn't want the other ninjas to misunderstand. At the gate, he greeted Izumo and Kotetsu, tossing them a scroll detailing the situation and instructing them to inform Tsunade. Without even dismounting from Pojun's back, he flew directly to the hospital.

After arriving at Dada Hospital, Po Jun landed slowly, even faster than scheduled. After flying continuously for more than ten hours, he finally arrived. Even a powerful spirit beast like Po Jun showed signs of fatigue.

Ye Lan: "Thank you for your hard work, Po Jun."

Po Jun shook its head and didn't say anything; all it wanted to do now was rest.

Upon seeing that Tsunade had arrived at the scene with Konoha's medical team, the medical team quickly untied the ropes from Kurenai and Maki on Hajun's back and carried them down.

Seeing Tsunade's serious expression, Ye Lan was about to say something when she waved her hand and said, "I'll start the surgery first. We can talk about everything after the surgery."

Chapter 36 Escape

"Brother Ye Lan!" After watching Tsunade enter the operating room, a familiar voice reached Ye Lan's ears. He turned around and saw Naruto, whom he hadn't seen for a long time.

"Naruto, long time no see. Have you learned the Rasengan yet?" Ye Lan asked, seeing that Naruto still had that carefree personality.

"I've completely mastered the Rasengan! I'll show you later!"

"Naruto! This isn't the time to talk about this!" Sakura interrupted Naruto's boasting and asked Ye Lan directly, "Brother Ye Lan, I saw your summoning beast. What happened?"

Although Sasuke, who was standing next to him, did not speak, his eyes also contained questions.

Ye Lan: "We were attacked during the mission. A red Jonin and a Sand Village Jonin were injured. I can only use a summoning beast to send them back as quickly as possible."

"An attack! I hope Kurenai-sensei's injuries aren't too serious." Sakura hadn't expected this to happen. Kurenai and the others had met her before; she was Hinata's teacher, and they had a very good impression of her.

Ye Lan: "Lady Tsunade has already entered the operating room. Now it's up to Lady Tsunade..."

Sakura and the others remained silent; there was nothing they could do now. Sasuke then asked, "Who attacked? Why would an ordinary person attack someone on a mission that Sunagakure and Konoha were carrying out together?"

Sasuke has been officially promoted to Chunin, along with Nara Shikamaru. They were the only two to become Chunin in this year's Chunin Exams. Naruto was quite unhappy when he heard the news upon his return.

"They are from the Akatsuki organization, and their target is the One-Tailed Beast inside Gaara," Ye Lan said directly to Sasuke without hiding anything.

"Is it Itachi?" Sasuke thought of Itachi, whom he had met before, upon hearing this. Itachi was a member of this organization.

"No, the other side was a puppeteer and a rogue ninja from Iwagakure. They were stronger than ordinary Jonin. I captured the rogue ninja from Iwagakure, and the other puppeteer fled as soon as he saw him."

"Where is that captured enemy now?" Sasuke was a little excited. He hadn't expected Ye Lan's mission to yield such a result. If he could get more information about the Akatsuki organization from Deidara, he would know where Itachi was.

"He is currently being held in a cell in Sunagakure. I will bring him back when I return to Sunagakure."

"Well! What are you guys talking about? I don't understand. Akatsuki and puppeteers, what happened?" Naruto scratched his head. He and Jiraiya had already set off when Itachi came to the village last time, so they had no idea about Akatsuki.

Ye Lan didn't say much. Naruto's identity was still too sensitive. As the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, he was also one of Akatsuki's targets.

...

"We already know Deidara's location." In a wasteland not far from Sunagakure, Black and White Zetsu slowly emerged from underground and spoke to a point of thin air.

The air seemed to distort, and gradually a man wearing a vortex mask appeared—it was Obito.

"Deidara is such a nuisance. If his abilities weren't still useful, I wouldn't have bothered to save him." Ever since Pain learned that Deidara had been captured by Ye Lan, he had sought him out. Obito was the most suitable person to handle the rescue.

As night fell, Maki looked at the hazy moonlight and thought that Ye Lan should have arrived in Konoha by now. He wondered if Tsunade could handle the poison. Chiyo had praised Tsunade's skills, but she was still a little worried.

Thud—