"Let Lord Kazekage rest here..."
Pakura looked despondent.
Once upon a time, the Third Kazekage had been the elder she revered most.
"..."
Ibiki nodded, understanding perfectly.
Revealing what had happened to the Third Kazekage would only damage Sunagakure's morale.
Many Sand Ninja would surely be unable to accept the truth.
The best way to handle this was to act as though nothing had happened and they had seen nothing.
That way, the Third Kazekage could remain forever in the minds of the village's ninja as the most imposing figure he had been.
"What about Sasori?"
Ibiki glanced at the scene.
Sasori was in an even more horrible state.
The only part of his body that was probably still intact was one eyeball.
Everything else had been shattered into all kinds of mangled flesh and debris.
Oh, perhaps both feet were still intact too.
"Let's pretend nothing happened to him either."
Pakura shook her head, her tone seeming almost conciliatory.
Chiyo and Ebizo, the two advisers, were the pillars of Sunagakure.
Chiyo loved her grandson more than anyone.
Her grandson's defection had already been heartbreaking enough.
If she also learned that he had plotted against the Kazekage and ended up beaten into a lump of rotten flesh, then... whether she would still want to live would be another matter.
So.
The problem now was...
Why should Konoha care about Sunagakure's future?
Revealing these matters would benefit Konoha and bring it no harm.
"That's not necessarily true."
Pakura's gaze turned toward Hyuga Sho.
Hyuga Sho was busy scavenging the corpses.
He had found several scrolls on Sasori and planned to take them back for slow, careful study.
He also wanted to take the Third Kazekage's corpse with him.
Naturally, Pakura glared fiercely at him and stopped him from desecrating her predecessor.