The two black-clad figures in conical hats traveled one after the other, their forms like cranes as they wove through the sky-filling sand. Before they knew it, they had reached the depths of the Land of Wind's desert...
Late the next night, a sandstorm suddenly struck. Nagato and Sasori, who had journeyed all the way from Amegakure, decided to rest in a cave within the dunes and continue once the storm subsided.
Nagato took out the waterskin hanging at his waist, undid its clasp, and took several deep gulps.
"Ha~~~!" He let out a satisfied sound, wiped the water from the corner of his mouth, and tossed the waterskin to Sasori.
Sasori opened the "water inlet" on his left shoulder, inverted the waterskin, and fitted its mouth over the opening.
"Glug! Glug!" The water flowing into the puppet body underwent a series of conversions before being absorbed by the core of flesh in his left chest.
The same principle applied if the water was replaced with liquid food, but Sasori had a habit of not eating after noon.
Tossing the waterskin back to Nagato, Sasori said, "For a mere Hidden Sand Village, you came personally. It is about time you told me the purpose of this trip, isn't it?"
He had said nothing before setting out or during their journey because this visit to Hidden Sand Village had been a spur-of-the-moment decision Nagato made after much deliberation. He needed to carefully consider how to explain it to Sasori.
As usual, he kept him in suspense. "Why not take a guess at my purpose?"
After thinking for a moment, Sasori said logically, "Though Hidden Sand Village is one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, it is also the poorest in resources among the Five Great Nations. The only things here that