Sasori watched Hyuga Lan use Magnet Release with such skill, and jealousy drove him nearly mad. The Magnet Release techniques Lan had just displayed were already every bit as good as the Third Kazekage's had been in life.
Neither Sasori nor Chiyo felt confident they could keep an enemy like him from escaping.
While Sasori and Chiyo racked their brains for a solution, they had no idea that Lan had already decided to retreat.
In fact, the moment he saw Sasori and Chiyo appear, Lan knew he probably wouldn't be able to take Rasa away today.
Never mind whether more people from Sunagakure would arrive as reinforcements. Sasori alone—a puppeteer and master of poison—was already a difficult opponent.
In a fight with him, the slightest lapse in attention could leave Lan poisoned and suffering the same fate as the Third Kazekage.
Losing the Third Kazekage Human Puppet wouldn't be the end of the world, but if a good subordinate like Pakura came to harm, Lan wouldn't even have anywhere to cry about it.
So, while he was still in decent shape, retreating in time was the best choice. As long as the green hills remained, there would be no shortage of firewood. As for Rasa, Lan would have plenty of chances to deal with him later.
Although Lan had decided to retreat, he didn't intend to let Rasa off so easily.
He fixed his gaze on Sasori and said,
"Sasori, if you want to get back what you're after, trade Rasa for it."
Before the other could say a word, Lan spun around. His enormous black wings snapped open behind him, whipping up a gale. Then he rose with the wind and shot straight into the sky like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Whoosh, whoosh...
Several bursts of air-piercing noise rang out overhead. After only a few breaths, Lan's silhouette had dwindled to a black speck on the horizon and vanished from sight.
Watching Lan leave so decisively, Chiyo couldn't help but feel relieved. But when she noticed Sasori's uncertain expression, her heart tightened again.
With the pressure Lan had brought now gone, the atmosphere between Sasori and Chiyo's group, who remained behind, gradually grew tense.
"Sasori, don't let that man lead you astray and keep you down this path. Give it up."
Faced with Chiyo's earnest plea, Sasori looked at her with disdain.
"How could a stubborn old fossil like you understand my convictions? Hand over Rasa if you know what's good for you. Otherwise, I'll deal with you, too."
Chiyo could never agree to Sasori's demand. Whether for the village's sake or her own, she couldn't let him take Rasa away. If she did, there would be no way to bring her grandson back.
Before long, Chiyo and Sasori were fighting as they gradually retreated.
A few days later, an announcement from Sunagakure sent shockwaves through the Ninja World.
Sunagakure had branded Pakura and Sasori as S-rank missing-nin. Anyone who killed either of them would receive a bounty of fifty million ryo.
Sunagakure had initially wanted to put a bounty on Lan as well. But since they suspected he was the Third Kazekage, publicly placing a bounty on a former Kazekage would make the village the laughingstock of the Ninja World. So they decided instead to investigate Lan in secret, without issuing a bounty.
Even so, the news was enough to astonish the entire Ninja World.
The fact that cash-strapped Sunagakure had offered such a massive bounty could only mean the two had done something that had enraged the village beyond measure.
Only after looking into the matter did the others learn that Pakura and Sasori's rebellion had cost Sunagakure many Anbu, while the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, had been poisoned and remained unconscious.
When reports that Kirigakure and Sunagakure had both suffered heavy losses due to internal problems reached Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki, Fourth Raikage A, and Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi,
the three most powerful leaders of their respective villages were incredulous. Their first thought was that Kirigakure and Sunagakure had somehow coordinated to make trouble for them. Otherwise, how could such an absurd situation have come about?
Only after their subordinates returned with even more reliable information did they realize that such a coincidence was indeed possible.
Kirigakure had suffered heavy losses to its overall strength after several kekkei genkai clans, including the Kaguya Clan and the Yuki Clan, rebelled.
Sunagakure had not only lost many Anbu elites; Pakura had also defected, and the Kazekage had been poisoned, leaving him gravely injured and unconscious.
Whether or not the two great villages made peace was no longer important. Given their current strength, they were certainly in no position to start another war.
Once Ōnoki and Fourth Raikage A realized this, they couldn't help feeling regretful. They resented the fact that the two villages' internal conflicts had broken out at such an inconvenient time.
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, on the other hand, felt deeply relieved. He couldn't help thinking that heaven truly favored Konoha.
With neither Kirigakure nor Sunagakure posing a threat, Iwagakure and Kumogakure alone weren't enough to truly threaten Konoha's survival.
Especially since less than a year had passed since the Third Shinobi World War. Everyone was eager for peace. As long as Konoha weathered the first few waves of attacks and showed Iwagakure and Kumogakure that victory was unlikely, peace talks would be their only option.
The most urgent task now was to repel the first assault that might come from Iwagakure and Kumogakure. So Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered all Konoha Ninja serving outside the village to return, and prepare for the crisis ahead.
Of course, those summoned included Hyuga Lan, who had been sent on a mission to sabotage peace talks between Kirigakure and Sunagakure.
Since Kirigakure and Sunagakure had both suffered serious losses due to internal problems, whether or not they made peace no longer affected the bigger picture.
Lan's mission could more or less be considered complete. So he received word from Hizashi telling him to return to the village as soon as possible and await orders.
Reading the message from Konoha, Lan's expression beneath his mask remained as still as a deep pool. It seemed he had anticipated this outcome long ago.
He had been deeply involved in the upheaval in Kirigakure and Sunagakure. In fact, without his influence, the two villages wouldn't have ended up in their current state.
It could be said that he had, to a great extent, guided the course of events in the Ninja World.
After awakening the Tenseigan and gaining a tremendous boost in power, Lan could easily set off a butterfly effect in this world. The events of the Ninja World he remembered might change dramatically because of his actions.
Knowing how the Ninja World's story would unfold had once been a major advantage for him as someone who had crossed into this world. But that advantage might become less and less useful in the future, and could even backfire at times.
He was now living in the real Ninja World. The people who had once existed only in anime were all living, breathing individuals to him. So from now on, he couldn't put too much faith in the original story, or he might pay dearly for it.
Lan's future plans depended on Konoha. So after receiving Hizashi's message, he began giving Pakura instructions before he left.
"Kirigakure and Sunagakure probably won't have time to pay attention to you for a while. You need to use that time to gather funds for me.
"I don't care how you do it. You must buy everything on this list as soon as possible."
As he spoke, Lan tossed a scroll to Pakura.
Pakura opened the scroll and glanced over it. It listed a number of precision laboratory instruments, all extremely expensive. Some of them were so rare that they couldn't be found at any price.
He really had given her a difficult task. But then she remembered that Lan had stepped in to help her deal with Rasa.
Although they hadn't managed to capture Rasa and avenge her, they had left him gravely wounded, which had been a satisfying blow. She owed Lan for that.
"I'll take care of it. By the way, once I've bought everything, how do I get it to you?"
Lan didn't want her to learn the location of his secret base, so he replied,
"Just let me know. I'll send someone to pick it up."
Using the power of the Tenseigan to activate the Third Kazekage Human Puppet was more than enough to handle a simple task like collecting the goods.