A Chance Encounter in the Land of Crafts

Sasori of the Red Sands was ruthless, especially when it came to killing. Mercy meant nothing to him. Even so, he had his own code.

If he made a promise, he would do his best to keep it.

At first, he had not believed he would lose, nor had he taken Long Ye's "wager" seriously. But his defeat was beyond dispute, and he could find no reason to break their agreement.

What had begun as two people traveling together became three with Sasori's addition.

Pakura seemed wary of Sasori. She kept her guard up throughout the journey, afraid he might catch her off guard and leave her with the same miserable fate as the Third Kazekage.

She stayed vigilant herself and repeatedly warned Long Ye to watch out for him too.

"I need to go to the Land of Crafts first. I have to buy materials to repair my damaged puppets."

Sasori spoke up as they walked.

Long Ye nodded. "I was planning to find a village and ask where Bamboo Village is. The Land of Crafts trades with the major villages year-round, so it's as good a place as any."

Pakura had no objection.

The Land of Crafts was less a country than a trading hub. It had more craftsmen than anywhere else in the world, and some of the most skilled.

The ninja tools made there were sold across the other five countries and to the major ninja villages.

But the Third Shinobi World War had dealt the Land of Crafts a devastating blow.

The country had few ninja and had been entirely neutral. Even so, the war's demand for ninja tools had brought disaster down on it.

During the war, every country wanted to buy more weapons from it, but none wanted it selling weapons to