Sasori's method of passing messages was incredibly discreet—an almost imperceptible chakra thread had latched onto Yagura.
The eerie sensation nearly made Yagura react on instinct, summoning his water blade to cut the thread right then and there.
"Tch."
Sensing the disturbance on the other end, Sasori quickly pressed down on his puppet's body. The reanimation process faltered for a split second before stabilizing, leaving the body locked in place.
For a brief moment, Yagura experienced the same sensation as when Chiyo controlled Sakura with her chakra puppet strings.
Once he had calmed down, Sasori maneuvered the puppet in the direction he intended.
The chakra thread remained entirely invisible to the naked eye—only through touch could Yagura feel it clinging to his back.
"No wonder Sasori couldn't see the chakra strings Chiyo used on Sakura."
With that realization, Yagura scanned the area.
No sign of that conspicuous hunchback, Hiruko.
Did he really come out in person?
Yagura remained skeptical. This man was dangerous—far too dangerous to trust with just a few words. Especially after all this time, who knew whether Sasori had changed his mind?
Still, given the looming threat of the Third Kazekage, Sasori's chakra thread didn't seem like an immediate danger.
Relaxing slightly, Yagura allowed the thread to manipulate his movements just enough to make walking easier for Sasori.
'Hah, at least he's still cautious—not completely foolish.'
Sasori scoffed internally, his fingers twitching ever so slightly under his black cloak, guiding the puppet's movements into a nearby alley.
Stopping at a manhole cover at the alley's entrance, Yagura found himself surrounded by three shadowed walls, the dim light barely illuminating the graffiti scribbled across them.
Children's doodles, carelessly scrawled.
Yagura frowned, wondering if Sasori was deliberately making things difficult for him. Was there some kind of hidden message here?
The real question was—why did Sasori assume he could read Sunagakure's coded signals?
It was wishful thinking.
Without explaining, Sasori simply released the chakra thread from Yagura's back and instead tore a small, wall-colored paper from the surface.
Yagura caught it midair.
It was a familiar sight—a Konoha Police Force citation. On the back, an address was scribbled.
Sasori's current hideout?
Or just another rooftop rendezvous for their shady business?
Yagura couldn't help but chuckle. "This feels like passing notes in class."
The kind exchanged between close friends.
Sasori ignored the remark, retracting his chakra thread. He had no patience to linger even a second longer than necessary.
He would wait.
But not for long.
After memorizing the address, Yagura clenched the citation in his hand and funneled chakra into his palm, incinerating it.
Thankfully, he had spent his first month in Konoha wandering around enough to recognize the general area of the address.
Worst case? He could just let Sasori do the chakra-thread trick again as a navigation system.
It wasn't his problem to worry about.
Yagura had a general grasp of Sasori's intentions.
A direct meeting between a Mist ninja and a Sand ninja? That was far too conspicuous.
Sasori needed time to return first.
So Yagura took his time as well, studying the children's graffiti a little longer.
'When I become Hokage, I'll be the strongest ever!'
'I got a perfect score in shuriken class today! Mom rewarded me with my favorite curry!'
'Bet me 50 ryo and I'll prove my skills!'
'Note: I only got 50 points. Failed. TAT. Shuriken throwing is too hard!'
'Above poster, I got 48! Math and physics are impossible!'
'Can anyone help me solve this? If two people, A and B, are 1500 meters apart, and the sound of a shuriken throw reaches them 3 seconds apart, given the speed of sound is 340m/s, what's the equation of the trajectory?'
Heh, he could actually solve that.
Picking up a piece of chalk from the ground, Yagura wrote 'Solution' under the question.
After that, he tossed the chalk aside, leaving it to fate whether someone would finish the equation.
His gaze drifted down the wall.
'Uchiha-kun is so cool! I'm going to be his future girlfriend!'
'I'm the friend of the above poster, here to say she's delusional!'
'You guys can fight over Uchiha-kun. Hyuga-kun is mine! He's the most handsome!'
The conversation quickly spiraled off-topic.
"Tsk tsk, Konoha kids are too mature for their age. But good taste—they're all from prestigious clans. Marry in, and they're set for life."
Shaking his head, Yagura chuckled. "At least it's better than Kirigakure. They don't have to worry about being exploited as child labor like I was. Sent out on a mission to promote the village at such a young age."
Though, to be fair, he had volunteered for this.
A seasoned worker—he had already learned how to exploit himself.
...
By his estimate, it was about time to move. If he delayed any longer, Sasori might get impatient.
Playing it safe, Yagura first returned to their inn to check in with Jinin Akebino.
Inside Konoha, the ANBU couldn't openly tail him.
Otherwise, they'd be outright admitting to other villages that he was important.
A certain three-foot-five sage once said—before heading out, always inform your guardian.
...
Arriving at Sasori's designated location, Yagura barely had time to register his surroundings before the familiar sensation of chakra threads latched onto him.
In the blink of an eye, Sasori maneuvered him into a blind spot and swapped him with a puppet double.
The fake Yagura walked off, baiting the Konoha ninja trailing behind.
Meanwhile, Yagura was tossed unceremoniously into an underground chamber.
Sasori entered moments later.
Everything had gone smoothly, though his face remained as sour as ever.
The moment they met, Sasori scowled and snapped, "Next time you let someone tail you and expect me to clean up your mess, you better try me."
"Haha, what, will I die if I do?"
Yagura shrugged, completely unfazed by the temperamental artist. Their bodies were always the most honest, after all.
The hardest part was starting something.
Once was enough.
Twice? That meant the door was wide open.
And if twice, then straight to bed—
"What are your odds?"
Under the dim light of a single, barely functional lamp, Sasori sat at his workbench, adjusting the mechanism on his puppet's arm.
"Also, get off my bed. Dirty."
Yagura obediently rolled off the mattress, casually flipping through a manga he had bought off the street.
"Hmm… fifty-fifty? Are those odds good enough for you?"
Sasori's voice carried an edge of irritation. "I'm being serious."
"So am I."
Yagura smirked. "Besides, even if I was lying, you'd still be stuck on this ship with me, wouldn't you?"
"You—"
This partnership was purely transactional.
And after this, Sasori swore he'd never work with this troublesome man again.
He had clearly lost his mind this time.
...
As Yagura leaned against the wall, staring at the ceiling, he mused, "We're up against a Kage. Predicting our odds is impossible. We're just two Jōnin."
The only way to win—was with Sasori's poison.
From his workbench, Sasori coldly slid a short blade from his puppet's palm, embedding it an inch deep into the wall.
Yagura exhaled. "So, tell me, what's your opinion of the Third Kazekage?"
"A normal person wouldn't just decide to kill their own Kage over a few words from an outsider, right?"
That Kazekage? Hah.
Sasori's expression darkened.
He had his reasons.
And his poison was ready.
"I have a plan. You'll cooperate."
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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