Sasori of the Red Sands

Jiang Feng and the Sunagakure Council of Elders, led by Chiyo, quickly reached a consensus.

At the Chunin Exam opening ceremony two days later, Jiang Feng would, in his capacity as a Konoha ambassador, sign a series of agreements with Sunagakure. These agreements would focus on strengthening mutual understanding, watching over and helping one another, and working together in friendship to build a beautiful new ninja world—all of which sounded wonderful but were, in reality, completely useless.

The core of the agreement was merely a pledge that both villages would not initiate an attack on the other for five years. Given Jiang Feng's authority, this was all he could manage.

The specific details of the agreement would not be fully disclosed to the Sunagakure villagers.

The Kazekage's office would promote the agreement both internally and externally through "leaks from well-informed sources," convincing the ninja world that Uchiha Jiang Feng was a man of immense righteousness and that Konoha and Sunagakure were like-minded, brotherly families.

It didn't matter that the Kazekage was dead; they had the friendship of Uchiha Jiang Feng and the friendship of Konoha.

Anyone who dared to look down on Sunagakure or attempt to take advantage of the situation due to the Kazekage's death would surely face a thunderous, severe crackdown from the righteous Jiang Feng and the justice-seeking Konoha, teaching them that Sunagakure was not to be trifled with.

Whether the rest of the ninja world believed it or not didn't matter; the people of Sunagakure believed it.

With this agreement in place, Sunagakure could proceed with the transfer of power in a relatively peaceful manner. By "electing" the new Kazekage, the prospective Fourth Kazekage Rasa, they could wash away the stain on his reputation and establish the legitimacy and orthodoxy of his position.

The Kazekage's office was bright, and everyone saw hope—the hope of safely navigating this crisis. Even if they couldn't overcome it entirely, at least they had tried and done everything they could for Sunagakure.

This effort brought them peace of mind.

After a simple consultation, both sides reached a consensus that left everyone barely satisfied; it could be said that both host and guest were pleased.

Chiyo finally squeezed a relaxed smile onto her face and beckoned to Pakura, who had been listening from the sidelines: "Pakura, go brew a pot of milk tea. Let us replace wine with tea and celebrate the friendship between Sunagakure and Konoha."

The night in Sunagakure was chilly, and after much discussion, everyone really did need some hot milk tea to warm up and use the sugar to soothe their frayed nerves.

Pakura nodded reluctantly. She neither wanted to acknowledge the friendship between Konoha and Sunagakure, nor did she want to brew milk tea for Jiang Feng.

But things had reached this point, and since the elders had already made their decision, she didn't want to say anything more.

"I'll go instead."

One of the elders, seemingly sensing Pakura's reluctance, stood up to go to the adjacent lounge to brew the tea.

Pakura, lacking any initiative, stopped moving the moment she saw someone else go to brew the tea, simply standing there motionless.

Chiyo could only offer Jiang Feng an awkward but polite smile: "Women, you know, they always have a bit of a temper. Actually, Pakura is quite virtuous."

Jiang Feng returned an equally awkward but polite smile; he had long since seen through Chiyo's intentions.

Sunagakure had only just overcome the immediate crisis, yet countless problems remained unresolved: the opposition between the pro-war and pro-peace factions, Pakura's awkward status, and the fact that Sunagakure and Konoha had not established a substantive alliance...

And all these problems could be solved once and for all with the same method: selling Pakura to Konoha in a way that would satisfy both internal and external parties—for instance, through a political marriage.

Right now, Chiyo had the same idea as Hiruzen Sarutobi, and because of the Kazekage's death, the weakening of Sunagakure's strength, and the crisis they faced, she was even more enthusiastic about it than Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Marrying Pakura off to Jiang Feng, or at the very least establishing an engagement, would serve two purposes: first, it would resolve the internal dangers and opposition within Sunagakure; second, it would solidify the alliance between Sunagakure and Konoha.

Once Sunagakure truly faced a crisis, even if Konoha were to break its word and stand idly by, Jiang Feng—who was renowned throughout the ninja world as a man of impeccable integrity and the "Son-in-law of Sunagakure"—along with Pakura, the "daughter who married out," would never sit by and watch Sunagakure suffer.

With such fame and a sterling reputation, it really was a case of people scrambling to offer you a beautiful wife.

Before long, the elder returned, carrying a pot of Camel Milk Tea and a stack of tea bowls. Only then did Pakura reluctantly take the pot and bowls to pour tea for everyone.

Sweet, hot steam rose into the air. Chiyo nodded slightly; it seemed Pakura wasn't too stupid after all. Just as Chiyo was thinking this, Pakura, who had finished serving the elders and even Rasa, stopped dead when it was Jiang Feng's turn.

This was a grave diplomatic faux pas.

The expressions of the elders shifted. The elder who had brought the tea stepped forward, smiling genially as he took the pot and bowl to smooth things over. "The tea for Konoha's ambassador should naturally be poured by a Sunagakure elder."

"No need." Jiang Feng smiled, pressing his hand down on the elder's hand as he reached for the pot.

Chiyo and the other elders' expressions changed. Could it be that Jiang Feng was angered by Pakura's rudeness and now believed that Sunagakure was not sincere about wanting to be on good terms with Konoha?

Jiang Feng's smile remained unchanged. While holding down the elder's hand, his eyes instantly turned blood-red, three tomoe spinning within them as he stared fixedly at the confused-looking Sunagakure elder.

"This is the second time you've tried to poison me."

The second time?

When was the first time...

Chiyo and the other elders were stunned. Rasa reacted quickly, waving his hand to manifest dozens of flying needles using Magnet Release: Gold Dust, firing them at the elder who had been pouring the tea.

The elder no longer hid his intentions. He retreated rapidly, and with a "poof," he dispelled his Transformation Jutsu, revealing his true form.

He had short, bright red hair and delicate, handsome features. He was about the same age as Jiang Feng, and anyone who saw him would have to praise him as a beautiful youth.

"Sasori!"

Someone shouted his name.

Chiyo and Ebizo looked dazed, and all the elders were stunned. No one could fathom why Sasori of the Red Sands would appear here, nor how he dared to show his face.

Furthermore, if this elder was an impostor, where was the real one?

Could he have been murdered by Sasori of the Red Sands while making the tea? But it had only been a blink of an eye, and they were right next door—why had they not sensed a single disturbance?

Rasa used his secret technique, Third Eye, to send gold dust into the next room, then shook his head. "There is no body of Elder Masaki next door, nor are there any signs of a struggle."

"Of course there wouldn't be the corpse of that old geezer Masaki next door. I killed him and took his body before you even returned to Sunagakure."

Sasori of the Red Sands sneered. Even though he was outnumbered and being eyed covetously by the experts of Sunagakure and Jiang Feng, he remained fearless.

Was it because he was so confident that he had lost his mind?

No, it was because this was merely a Sand Clone.

Jiang Feng, Rasa, and the various Sunagakure elders pondered for a moment before quickly realizing why no one had detected Sasori's disguise: he was far too familiar with that elder.

Sasori of the Red Sands was so familiar with that elder—familiar enough to imitate his expressions and minute habits to perfection, and familiar enough to use his identity to handle interpersonal interactions for a short time without revealing any weaknesses.

Naturally, this allowed him to blend into the Council of Elders without being discovered.

He had pushed the Transformation Jutsu, a basic ninjutsu that every ninja must learn, to its theoretical limit.

Only the Harem Jutsu, which Naruto used to hard-stun Kaguya in the original story, could surpass Sasori of the Red Sands.