Sasori of the Red Sand

He steeled himself. Since escape was out of the question, he might as well end his own life. That would be better than falling into enemy hands and letting them learn the village's secrets.

He drew another Kunai and pressed it against his neck, ready to end his life.

Yuhi Shinku watched with some disappointment. If the enemy had truly fought to the bitter end, he could have tried to capture him alive. But if he was determined to die, that would put him in a difficult position.

Never mind. If he couldn't take him alive, bringing back his head would have to do.

Every village could extract information from the heads of the dead, but Konoha, with its Yamanaka Clan, was undoubtedly among the best. Its ability to glean information from the dead was arguably the finest in the entire Shinobi World.

Yuhi Shinku didn't want to risk any further complications, so he waited for the man to die before going over to cut off his head.

However, Kawaki Aoba, standing beside Yuhi Shinku, suddenly narrowed his eyes. With his Observation Haki, he sensed someone extremely dangerous—and a "familiar face," at that.

Shit, what was he doing here? This wasn't when he was supposed to show up.

Wait, could that Human Puppet be...

The Third Kazekage had died this early? Did that mean the Third Shinobi World War was about to break out?

Damn it, he'd better focus on surviving the situation in front of him. If he died here, there'd be no point worrying about the Third Shinobi World War.

In Kawaki Aoba's Observation Haki, black Iron Sand, controlled by Magnet Release, formed a spear and shot toward its target at high speed.

Pfft!

The spear pierced flesh, tearing a gaping hole in the Sand Shinobi's chest. His eyes widened, and the Kunai in his hand slipped to the ground.

It seemed he wouldn't get to die by suicide after all.

Another enemy? Wait, an attack made of Iron Sand—that was Lord Kazekage's Magnet Release! Then who was the enemy behind him?

With his last bit of life fading, the Sand Shinobi's body had gone limp. Still, he struggled to twist around and look back. Even if he was going to die, he wanted to see who was behind him.

He got his wish, but died in utter shock and disbelief.

"Human Puppet! The Third Kazekage!! Sasori of the Red Sand!!!" Yuhi Shinku named the killer for the Sand Shinobi, who had died with his eyes open.

Yuhi Shinku was also deeply shaken. The moment he saw Sasori of the Red Sand and the Third Kazekage Human Puppet, many things clicked into place. He now understood why Sunagakure had been acting so strangely lately.

When a village's Kage died, of course the village would fall into chaos.

But judging by Sasori of the Red Sand's actions, had he already become a rogue ninja? Why hadn't Sunagakure issued a bounty for him? Were they simply keeping the news under wraps, or did they have some other plan?

Oh, right. He'd almost forgotten that guy.

"Hey, you. You can see the situation now, right? If you don't want to die for nothing, tell us everything you know."

The person Yuhi Shinku called out to was the spy, who had been poisoned and was now completely helpless.

He lay off to one side and had witnessed the entire battle.

He'd watched all the Sand Shinobi die and thought he might be lucky enough to survive. But when he saw Sasori of the Red Sand and the Third Kazekage Human Puppet at his side, he nearly burst into tears.

Life's ups and downs came far too fast.

At this point, he knew there was no way he'd survive.

He'd never expected this Konoha squad to defeat the Sand Shinobi. But against Sasori of the Red Sand, only Yuhi Shinku, a Jonin, might have a chance to escape alive. Even that strange kid's chances were slim.

Taking a deep breath, he knew he couldn't hesitate any longer. His earlier scheming might have been understandable, but if he still failed to read the situation now, he'd deserve whatever death he got.

"The Third Kazekage and Sasori of the Red Sands disappeared at the same time. Sunagakure's higher-ups suspect Konoha was behind it. Things have been tense among Sunagakure's leadership lately. They're pointing the finger at Konoha, and they may be planning to start a small-scale war with us at the border."

The spy quickly relayed everything he knew. Then, looking hopefully at Yuhi Shinku, he said, "Jonin-sama, if you make it back to the village, please tell Lord Hokage that I carried out all my spy missions with complete dedication.

"And please tell Keiko and our child that their husband and father died for the village. He was a hero of Konoha."

"Understood. If I make it back, I'll pass on your words," Yuhi Shinku said heavily.

He'd already guessed that the spy's information wasn't as important anymore after seeing Sasori of the Red Sand and the Human Puppet at his side. But that didn't change the fact that the spy had spent years undercover in Sunagakure for Konoha.

He might have had his own little schemes, but his contributions couldn't be erased. Lord Hokage would surely take good care of his family.

"Enough talk. Are you ready to die?" Sasori finally spoke. After using the Human Puppet to kill the Sand Shinobi, he had done nothing until now.

He'd waited because he wanted to hear about the so-called intelligence and find out what Sunagakure had done since he left—not because he'd suddenly grown a conscience.

Now that he'd heard it, he wasn't impressed.

He felt no attachment to Sunagakure. And when it came to Konoha, the village that had killed his parents, he felt just as little.

It seemed he'd been mistaken to think that hearing bad news about Konoha would stir up any feelings in him. It must have been an illusion.

If Sunagakure wanted to go to war with Konoha, so be it. Even if it led to the Third Shinobi World War, he couldn't care less, so long as no one disturbed him.

What Sasori cared about most now was pursuing the art of eternity.

He glanced at the Sand Shinobi, who was already dead, then had the Third Kazekage Human Puppet toss him aside.

The man had been a puppeteer, so he wasn't much use to Sasori. Still, he was an Elite Jonin, so he was just qualified enough to become one of Sasori's collectibles.

Sasori turned his gaze to Yuhi Shinku. A shinobi whose main means of attack was genjutsu would be far less valuable as a Human Puppet. But he was a Jonin, after all, so Sasori would settle for making him an ordinary work of art.

"You interrupted my pursuit of the art of eternity. Your corpses will be my compensation." Sasori hadn't looked directly at any of the three, not even once. Perhaps he thought the three brats weren't even worth turning into Human Puppets.

"This is really bad. Aoba, how many more times can you use that Body Flicker Technique from earlier?" Yuhi Shinku meant Shave, one of the Six Powers used by the Navy.