"What did that mean?"
Yagura's look made Araki feel uneasy. He had the distinct sense that Yagura was hiding something from him.
And it was definitely nothing good!
Just as Araki was starting to grow suspicious, Hozuki Sengetsu, who had been waiting beside him, was already becoming impatient.
"Are you going to read it or not?"
he urged.
"...I'm reading it now."
Araki came back to his senses, steadied his emotions, and unfurled the scroll in his hand.
He, Araki, had risen from an ordinary civilian to where he was today. What storms had he not weathered?
It was only an ambiguous look... How could it possibly affect him?
That was how Araki comforted himself.
A moment later...
"What? They actually want me to marry into Sunagakure?!"
Looking at what was supposedly the Third Kazekage's handwritten letter on the scroll, Araki voiced his disbelief.
"Where did they get the confidence to think Sasori alone could be traded for me?!"
The contents of this scroll were enough to leave Araki stunned for an entire year.
According to Sunagakure, in order to forge a closer partnership between Sunagakure and Kirigakure, since Sasori had been doing fairly well in Kirigakure, Kirigakure could likewise send an exchange ninja to Sunagakure.
The key point—wife included.
And for the candidate, Sunagakure had made its own recommendation—Araki was their first choice.
Araki was utterly shocked by the thought process of the Kazekage and Sunagakure's higher-ups.
Although the promise of being assigned a wife was somewhat tempting, that alone was nowhere near enough to trick him into eating sand in the desert.
Not even if they threw in another wife!
Besides, although they were friendly partners, how could Sasori's value possibly compare to his?
Was the Third Kazekage planning to plant an entire peach orchard in the desert