Kazashiro's "Plan"

Kazashiro and his group stealthily made their way through the night, eventually stopping in an open area some distance from the port.

With Scorpion, a bloodied prisoner, the group could no longer find shelter in the town and had to camp in the wild.

After glancing at the moon high in the sky, Kazashiro gestured to Akimichi Shidou that he could put Scorpion down and he would make a resting place for the group to camp.

"Let me think... Hmm, Ice Release: Ice House!"

The enormous igloo, whose main structure is made of ice, slowly solidified, only stopping its growth after outlining the windows and doors.

The door, emitting a chilly odor, was wide open, and the visible white blast of cold air instantly brought a sense of coolness to the group.

"The ground won't be too slippery. If you're worried, you can cover the soles of your feet with Chakra, just like Water Walking."

As Kazashiro spoke, he took the lead and went into the house.

The group exchanged glances and then entered the enormous igloo.

Akimichi Shidou carefully placed the scorpion on the ice and reached out to stroke the floor of the igloo.

"I have this feeling that if I sleep in a place like this for one night, I'll start having diarrhea the next day."

Akimichi Shidou's words sounded disgusting, but to Fugutake Tonbo and Saint Simon, they expressed what they were thinking.

"This is no longer just about diarrhea; it's about whether or not I can sleep at all."

Saint Simon muttered to himself, inadvertently catching a glimpse of Scorpion's deathly pale face.

"Holy crap, Mr. Si Dong, look at that scorpion!"

They hurriedly reached out and grabbed Akimichi Shidou's sleeve. Only after being reminded by Saint Simon did they see that Scorpion, who had been thrown to the ground earlier, was now shivering from the cold and his Byakugan were rolling back.

After warming the unfortunate fellow up with Fire Style, at the group's insistence, Kazashiro used Earth Release to create a resting place for them, while he himself remained in the enormous ice house.

After the farce subsided, the group assigned shifts for the night and finally had time to rest.

As the snoring began, Scorpion, whose eyes were tightly closed, suddenly opened them. He observed his surroundings and found that Fugutake Tonbo and Saint Simon were already asleep, while Akimichi Shidou was still on night duty outside. He carefully manipulated the Chakra Threads with his fingers to untie himself.

The so-called White Death God is nothing special; the Curse Mark and seals he set up are full of flaws.

Scorpion inwardly mocked Shimura Kazashiro's incompetence.

In just a few hours, he had completely removed all the restrictions that the other party had imprinted on his body.

The rope was successfully untied. Scorpion looked again in the direction of Fugutake Tonbo and Saint Simon, and after confirming that the two showed no signs of waking up, he painfully lifted his arm, whose joint had been pierced by the Senbon needle, and gritted his teeth to pull the Senbon out.

"You despicable Shimura Kazashiro, I'll remember you."

Struggling to lean against the wall, Sasori channeled his Chakra to heal himself.

Seeing the blood hole at his joint heal at a visible speed, Scorpion finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although it was a pity that the scroll containing the Third Kazekage had been taken by Kazashiro, preserving his life was clearly the best solution in the current situation.

Scorpion inwardly lamented the state of his creation, and after confirming that Akimichi Shidou hadn't noticed what was happening, he immediately climbed out of the window of the earthen house.

The moment the scorpion disappeared, Fugutake Tonbo suddenly opened its eyes. Seeing that Saint Simon had also woken up, it immediately mouthed that it would follow.

"Hoo... Hah... Hmm, who?!"

Kazashiro, who was fast asleep, immediately opened his eyes after noticing someone approaching. He then pulled out Senbon from the ninja tool pouch on his lap and pointed it in the direction of the person.

"It's me, Captain. Scorpion has begun his operation."

Saint Simon quickly waved his hand to indicate that he was harmless, while inwardly criticizing the other person's unseemly sleeping posture.

"Mr. Si Dong and Fugutake Tonbo have already caught up. As expected of the captain, they actually thought of deliberately using a weak seal to create an opportunity for the enemy to escape, in order to find out the Uchiha's hiding place."

Saint Simon was praising Kazashiro's plan, while Kazashiro himself remained completely bewildered.

What does it mean to deliberately use a weak seal?

His own seal had received personal instruction from sealing masters like Kushina and Danzo, and he had even added an extra Curse Mark for added security. How could it be weak?

Saint Simon didn't notice Kazashiro's strange expression and continued talking animatedly.

"The captain is really smart. He noticed this when he asked Flying Bamboo Dragonfly to read the memory. There was no communication between them, which made Xie start to think of luck."

With Saint Simon's explanation, Kazashiro gradually understood the cause and effect of the matter.

In other words, not only did the two layers of protection he had painstakingly set up fail completely, but the Chunin noticed them before they even failed?

That shouldn't be the case. Pakura did quite well that time, and her Sealing Jutsu and Curse Mark were lower back then than they are now.

This is bad. Do I really have to change my name to Shimura Sunfish?

"Ahem, yes, I didn't expect you guys to have noticed too. In that case, let's follow."

Kazashiro coughed lightly and hurriedly got up from the ice, trying his best not to look at Saint Simon's worshipful gaze.

"Oh my, I didn't expect you to come out on your own. Looks like the Jonin of Konoha aren't all that great."

Just as the scorpion was darting through the jungle, a mocking voice rang out from above him.

"Jue, what brings you here?"

The scorpion stopped and looked up at the strange black and white creature.

"Well, the organization received a request for support from Fudō, but the leader is not here, so we had to send me instead."

Jue emerged from the tree branch, swaying slightly, and jumped in front of Scorpion.

"There seem to be a few pursuers behind us. Should we take them out?"

Zetsu noticed the group following Scorpion and asked for their opinion.

"With your strength, you can't handle that guy, and I don't have a suitable puppet."

Scorpion coldly sized up Jue, his tone indifferent.

"Then let's run away. I'll buy some time."

As he spoke, he summoned a new White Zetsu.

It was a strange White Zetsu with a swirling face, its body seemingly hollow.

"Put on me, Mr. Scorpion, and let me take you back to the organization. By the way, if you know what the urge to defecate is, please let me know first."

The Spiral White Zetsu opened its body and, regardless of Sasori's consent, completely enveloped him.

"Tch, do you even think you can do it?"

Sasori stood still, letting the vortex of White Zetsu envelop him, his words filled with distrust of Zetsu's strength.

"Delaying time is still possible."

Black Zetsu spoke, his tone still deliberately feigned indifference, but in his heart he was cursing Sasori to the heavens.

You (Ōtsutsuki swearing), I'm Kaguya's son! A few Uchiha curse me all they want, but you look down on me too!

"Mr. Si Dong, enemy reinforcements have arrived!"

The Fugutake Tonbo following behind the scorpion noticed something amiss ahead and hurriedly alerted Si Dong, who was standing nearby.