As the crowd dispersed, Yahiko noticed Nagato looked worried. He clapped him on the shoulder and joked, "Are you still stressing about that female shinobi who might be related to you? Don't worry about it. Once the Chunin Exams are over, we'll just snatch her away."
Konan teased, "If someone didn't know better, they'd think you were the leader of a group of bandits."
Yahiko chuckled self-deprecatingly. "In the eyes of the leader of the Land of Rain, our Akatsuki organization probably isn't much better than a bunch of bandits anyway."
Yahiko noticed Nagato was still quiet and asked, "What's wrong, Nagato?"
Nagato looked at his two friends with complicated eyes, hesitating before asking, "Did neither of you truly feel it just now?"
"Huh? Feel what?" Yahiko looked confused.
Nagato took a deep breath. "That Grass Village shinobi wasn't running away; he was killed by the Leaf shinobi... Even though he wasn't killed directly, there's no way he could have survived."
"What?" Yahiko knew Nagato's power well; he would sooner doubt himself than doubt Nagato. "Were we under a Genjutsu?"
"It wasn't a Genjutsu. Maybe... Taijutsu?" Nagato's eyes were clouded; even he wasn't sure what kind of power it was.
"Taijutsu?" Yahiko and Konan were stunned. Could Taijutsu do something like that?
Nagato took another deep breath. "It wasn't just you two—almost everyone was frozen by him, like time itself was halted. That feeling of complete isolation was terrifying."
While Yahiko and Konan hadn't felt it directly, they could sense the horror just from Nagato's description.
Yahiko quickly reacted and asked, "Did he realize you weren't affected?"
Nagato nodded. "He did."
"He didn't do anything to you, did he?" Yahiko was very anxious.
"No, he didn't. He didn't seem to care that I witnessed the scene. Maybe he just dislikes trouble and didn't want to waste time on something like this," Nagato guessed.
Yahiko was silent for a moment. "How about we just forget about this mission?"
"Why? Isn't this your dream? We can finally take a step toward peace," Nagato questioned.
"The opponent is too strong. I can't let you risk exposing your abilities," Yahiko shook his head.
"Let me try. I won't force it. I'll only use the power of my summons. If that still doesn't work, I'll immediately concede," Nagato said with sincerity.
Yahiko hesitated, then said, "Alright, fine. Maybe that person isn't as formidable as we think."
"Is that him? Setsuna Senki, the bounty target?" Kakuzu licked his dry lips. "A high difficulty. No wonder the underground exchange house is offering such a huge reward."
"To be able to tear a Fire Style prison apart with just his body—what a perfectly made body," Sasori muttered with a captivated look, staring at Setsuna. After taking in the commotion on the street, he returned home with the materials he bought from the puppet shop.
Chiyo was already at home, but Sasori walked straight to his room without greeting her, treating her like a stranger.
Chiyo sighed. "Sasori, there's something I need to talk to you about."
Sasori's tone was cold. "What is it, old hag?"
Chiyo spoke in a heavy voice. "I'll tell you a secret first. Don't panic or mention it to anyone else: The Kazekage has actually been missing for almost two months."
Sasori's expression was subtle, but Chiyo didn't notice and continued, "This news won't stay hidden for long. If word gets out, the Daimyō will likely cut our military budget again. So, we plan to use this Chunin Exam to confirm next year's budget with the Daimyō before the Kazekage's disappearance is made public."
"This requires us to put on a brilliant performance during the Chunin Exams. You know the situation in Sunagakure; the most promising Genin is only Baki, but his ability probably won't be enough to satisfy the Daimyō."
Sasori immediately understood and asked coldly, "You want me to fake an identity and participate in the Chunin Exams?"
Chiyo nodded. "I know this is difficult for you, and I won't force you if you don't want to..."
"I accept," Sasori said briefly.
"I can, at least, give Baki a powerful puppet with simple controls..." Chiyo stopped mid-sentence and looked at Sasori in disbelief. "You... you accepted?"
Sasori's voice was calm. "This Chunin Exam is going to be interesting. With Suna's current strength, encountering those two individuals will inevitably lead to a disastrous defeat."
Chiyo was shocked and quickly asked, "What inside information do you have?"
Sasori replied, "I just happened to run into a good show when I was out earlier. Among the Leaf and Stone Village candidates, there are two shinobi who make me feel a sense of danger."
"They make you feel a sense of danger?" Chiyo was genuinely surprised. Even she wasn't entirely sure how strong Sasori was, but there was no doubt that few of Suna's Jōnin could stand a chance against him.
"The Leaf shinobi is simply pure power. As for the Stone Village shinobi, he had the impulse to strike at one point, but ultimately held back. If he hadn't let his guard down in his agitated state, I wouldn't have realized that so many strong people were hiding on a single street," Sasori marvelled.
"They must be Jōnin from the Leaf and Stone Village, disguising themselves as Genin for the exam! That's utterly despicable!" Chiyo couldn't help but curse. Suna was only thinking about doing this, while those two villages were already putting it into action.
"Many people in the village know your identity. You will have to fight from within a puppet, and the puppet you operate can't even be one of your usual ones. Can you really defeat them under these constraints?" Chiyo worried.
She hadn't worried about this before. Even if Sasori fought from inside a puppet and operated a secondary puppet, dealing with Genin would surely be easy.
But now, Sasori himself said there were two troublesome opponents in the Chunin Exams. Restricting himself under these circumstances meant his chances of winning were genuinely low.
Sasori confirmed her fear. "I don't know."
"How about... we forget about it?" Chiyo gritted her teeth, deciding to let Sasori withdraw.
She worried that someone might discover that Sasori was fighting from inside a puppet. Such a scandal could cause a person to collapse, much like the despicable "White Fang of the Leaf," who chose to end his life after being universally condemned.
Sasori's voice turned even colder. "Old hag, this is my decision. Don't interfere."
Instead of getting angry, Chiyo felt relieved. "You've grown up. You know how to share the village's burden."
"Share the village's burden?" A look of sarcastic amusement played on Sasori's lips, but he didn't argue. His eyes just held a slight feverish glow. "Setsuna Senki, will your body become an Eternal Art?"