Yuhi Shinku frowned, puzzled. "A secret scroll? I've never heard of such a scroll in Konoha. Either he's lying, or Sunagakure received bad intelligence. Either way, we can't let our guard down. Sasori must be after something important."
"I'm not lying! I swear!" the Sunagakure ninja pleaded. "Sasori told me himself. He said the scroll was hidden near Konoha's border, and he came to find it and take it back to Sunagakure. Please, I'm telling the truth. Spare me!"
Shinku watched him coldly. After a moment, he said, "Fine. I'll spare you. But you must promise never to serve Sunagakure again, and never to take part in any operation against Konoha. Break that promise, and I'll find you and kill you, no matter where you run."
"I promise! I'll never serve Sunagakure again or do anything against Konoha!" The ninja nodded frantically, relief showing on his face. "Thank you for sparing me! I'll leave right now and never come back!"
He scrambled to his feet and fled, soon vanishing beyond the grassland.
Kawaki Aoba watched him go. "Sensei, are you really letting him leave? What if he tells Sasori about us or goes back to serving Sunagakure? That could cause trouble."
Shinku shook his head. "Don't worry, Aoba."
"We scared him badly enough. Even if he goes back, he knows what we can do. He won't dare come after us so easily."
"Besides, letting him go will show Sunagakure that Konoha ninja don't kill without mercy. It might even ease the tension between our villages."
"Most importantly, our target right now is Sasori. We can't waste time and Chakra on someone who no longer matters."
Aoba nodded. "You're right, Sensei. We need to deal with Sasori."
"He's alone now. His puppets are powerful, but together, we can beat him."
"Exactly."