Chapter 1028

Fortunately, this place was a desert. In his urgency, Rasa activated his Kekkei Genkai — in this desert of yellow sand, his bloodline limit was nearly everywhere he could see, the gold sand he could control forming a wall of sand that successfully blocked the wind-release ninjutsu that had been rebounded back.

"Everyone, be careful — there's something strange about this puppet." After leaving Sand Village for so many years, the Leaf Anbu that had been pursuing her had made no progress whatsoever; the enemy's intelligence on her was still stuck at the level from the year she defected. If she let her guard down…

Scorpion had never held any expectation that the puppet she left behind could hold off the Kazekage. Moreover, Chiyo could merge with them at any moment — her goal was to take Gaara away, then seize the Tailed Beast's power. Fighting these two to the death would simply not be worth it. Sensing the fluctuation of chakra behind her, she knew the Kazekage had already led his team into combat with the puppet — faster than she had imagined.

"Sensing a familiar chakra signature, I came over, and sure enough, ran into someone I know."

"Who!" Scorpion stopped at once and assumed a defensive stance. Before the other party spoke, she had not detected anyone approaching her — this was hardly a pleasant experience.

"It's you, Black Zetsu!"

The other party simply stood there, as casually as someone running into an acquaintance while out for a stroll, waving at her. However, Scorpion would absolutely never believe that Black Zetsu's appearance was merely to greet her.

Scorpion had always been extremely curious about Black Zetsu's origins — not only because of the other's unfathomably mysterious movements, but more importantly because of the other's true purpose. The first time they cooperated, the other had brought her the body she now possessed, but thinking carefully now, the other's plan was certainly mixed in there as well.

For this reason, she had been thoroughly screwed over by Black Zetsu. Strictly speaking, their cooperation had already been declared broken — the moment they met, they should be enemies who must fight to the death.

"Oh my oh my, you're running away? Is someone chasing you? Ehh… it's actually the Fourth, ah, hehehe… you've got some nerve, setting your sights on the One-Tail Jinchūriki, mm〃〃."

Black Zetsu truly hadn't expected that during the Chūnin Exams, because he feared being detected, he had only extracted part of Shukaku's living soul before letting Gaara go — and now Gaara had been targeted by Sasori of the Red Sand. This whim-driven investigation had yielded a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity; if it could be achieved, it would be of tremendous help to Mother's return.

Looking at the Scorpion before him who was on guard against him, Black Zetsu's little brain began thinking again about how to screw over this fellow who dared harbor strange thoughts toward Kasan. Suddenly, the expressions of both Black Zetsu and Scorpion shifted — clearly, the puppet Scorpion had left behind to block the Kazekage had been broken through, and the distance between the pursuers and this place was gradually shrinking. Black Zetsu could clearly sense Scorpion's aura becoming dangerous — this was simply too easy to read.

"If you don't want to be caught here, come with me… I'll take you somewhere safe." Black Zetsu extended a "friendly" hand toward Sasori of the Red Sand. As long as the two of them could make contact, she could pull Scorpion into the "Forest of All Things" along with her — then no matter how fast the Kazekage was, there was absolutely no way he could catch Scorpion.

Sensing that among those pursuing her from behind, Chiyo — someone she did not wish to face — had also joined, Scorpion hesitated briefly, then stepped forward and grasped Black Zetsu's hand. In an instant, the two sank into the ground, their chakra perfectly merging with the surrounding natural world.

"Damnable bastard!" Less than five minutes later, when the Fourth Kazekage and Chiyo arrived here, they found nothing — no matter what means of perception or scouting they used, they had lost all trace of Scorpion.

Compared to fighting the Kazekage and Chiyo, her higher priority was to digest the Tailed Beast's power. But having chosen to leave with Black Zetsu, Scorpion felt a vague, uneasy premonition stirring within her — the other party also coveted the Tailed Beast, and she had never actually fought this unfathomably mysterious fellow; she had no intelligence whatsoever on the other's strength. If the other wanted to seize the One-Tail…

Scorpion's gaze swept over Black Zetsu, shifting between light and shadow. Then, she only felt the eerie pressure on her body suddenly vanish, and before her vision blurred — when she could see her surroundings clearly again, she had already arrived in a pitch-black mountain cave.

Moving this great a distance with two people, even I feel tired.

"…'Let's talk about the topic of cooperating again.'" Black Zetsu immediately released the hand gripping Scorpion, his tone still rather weary.

Scorpion behind him, without the slightest hesitation, raised her hand and launched a sneak attack on Black Zetsu's completely unguarded back. Before the sound of the blade could arrive, the blades that tore through the air in a cross pattern struck Black Zetsu viciously. Without even managing a scream, Black Zetsu was chopped into a pile of minced meat by Scorpion's sudden strike.

"Cooperate again with you, a fellow whose mind I can't fathom? Heh, I'm not as stupid as you!" It was true that Black Zetsu had helped her escape the Kazekage's pursuit, but from the moment Sasori of the Red Sand chose to leave with Black Zetsu, she had been thinking about how to shake the other off.