Sasori of the Red Sands hated the wind of Sunagakure.
Dry grains of sand mingled within it, making faint scraping sounds when they blew against the shell of a Human Puppet, ruining the absolute silence he pursued.
But today, this irritating dusty weather became his best cover.
A long-abandoned underground sand passage had once been a secret supply route during the village's early days. Now, it existed only in the memories of a few elderly people.
Chiyo was one of them, and Sasori had learned of it from her.
Like a ghost, he moved silently through the underground passage. Above him came the heavy footsteps of patrols equipped with Bolters. He was very familiar with those new weapons, but had no interest in confronting them head-on.
He had only one target.
Grandmother Chiyo.
When he emerged from the other exit of the sand passage, he was already deep within the village. Familiar streets, familiar buildings—every brick and stone overlapped with memories of his childhood.
Yet those memories stirred no emotion within him.
They were merely coordinates, guiding him toward his final destination.
Meanwhile, Sunagakure's Council of Elders was nearly at the point of slamming tables and breaking into an argument.
After all, this was already their seventh meeting of the month. They had discussed only one matter, yet still reached no conclusion.
"Gaara, look at this!"
Ebizo, Grandmother Chiyo's younger brother, slammed a thick treaty scroll onto the center of the conference table. The seals of Iwagakure and Kumogakure upon it were glaringly conspicuous.
"Iwagakure and Kumogakure's envoys have already made secret contact with us." Ebizo's voice trembled slightly with excitement. "They promised that as long as Sunagakure immediately cuts off all arms trade with Konoha and joins the anti-'Naruto hegemony' alliance..."
He took a deep breath and swept his