Chapter 647: Refusal

The Land of Rain, the City of Six Paths.

"The Ninja Sect is developing better and better. Iwa and Suna actually chose to hold the exchange meeting in the City of Six Paths—are they trying to show their support for the Ninja Sect?"

"But didn't Iwa and Suna sign a peace treaty with Konoha just a few months ago? Could war be breaking out again?"

"Who knows? When have the Five Great Shinobi Villages ever truly settled down?"

After Iwa and Suna announced the news and dispatched shinobi to the City of Six Paths, discussions of all kinds never ceased within the city.

Most people believed that Iwa and Suna were backing the Ninja Sect, thinking that the two major villages wanted to ally with the Ninja Sect to deal with Konoha and Kiri.

At first, some people thought the Ninja Sect was lacking, but on closer thought, they found the Ninja Sect was not simple.

On the surface, aside from its powerful leader, the Ninja Sect had no other outstanding features.

But upon careful thought, the deceased Hanzo, the increasingly deep cooperation with the Rain Shinobi Village, and the newly created branch of the Ninja Sect in the Land of Birds—

perhaps the number of shinobi the Ninja Sect could actually mobilize was even greater than that of a relatively strong small village like the Grass Shinobi Village.

Moreover, the Ninja Sect's powerful leader added too much value—he even defeated the Third Hokage, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the greatest achievement in the current ninja world.

Of course, speculation was just speculation.

In reality, neither the Ninja Sect nor Iwa and Suna had any intention of deep cooperation.

As for the Ninja Sect, it was simple: in Mu Yue's plan, unless the Five Great Shinobi Villages were all convinced and willing to achieve peace together, there would be nothing to discuss.

Until then, the Ninja Sect would remain neutral.

The situation with Iwa and Suna was a bit more complicated. Setting the venue for the exchange meeting in the City of Six Paths was actually to divert attention.

In fact, Iwa and Suna had already secretly dispatched shinobi to the Land of Lightning.

It was indeed a tripartite alliance, but not among Iwa, Suna, and the Ninja Sect; rather, it was among the three great villages of Iwa, Suna, and Cloud.

Compared to the Ninja Sect, which would grab a share of the pie, Iwa and Suna were more inclined toward Cloud.

During the Third Great Ninja War, they had fought each other, but now even the strongest, Konoha, was strengthening ties with its allies, so the three great villages had no choice but to temporarily set aside their past grudges.

To avoid arousing Konoha's suspicion, Iwa and Suna deliberately arranged this show.

However, Iwa and Suna fully played their part; they indeed sent many talented shinobi from their villages, and the exchange meeting captains were also fairly well-known shinobi from their villages.

After Chiyo led the team to the City of Six Paths, she dumped all the work on her deputy. She had only come to see Sasori, not to actually work.

On her first day at the Ninja Sect, Chiyo asked the Ninja Sect shinobi for information about Sasori.

To her surprise, the shinobi she asked did not even know Sasori.

Chiyo found this strange. With Sasori's abilities, how could he remain unknown in the Ninja Sect?

Still, Chiyo didn't pay it too much attention. She thought it might be because Sasori was worried that Suna would pursue the matter with the Ninja Sect, since strictly speaking, Sasori was a rogue shinobi of Suna.

So Chiyo used her status to express to the Ninja Sect's higher-ups her desire to meet with Sasori, and this time there was no problem.

After the Ninja Sect confirmed Sasori's thoughts, they quickly gave a reply and arranged a specific time.

On the day of the meeting.

Chiyo deliberately chose the casual clothes she had worn most often when Sasori was in Suna Village, tidied herself up well, and then went to the Ninja Sect's reception room.

For Chiyo, this meeting was very important. If it failed, she would lose her last blood relative.

She even considered whether to just knock Sasori unconscious and take him away, but quickly gave up on that idea.

Because she knew Sasori, she understood that this would not solve the problem. Unless she imprisoned him forever, doing so would only make things worse.

After entering the reception room, Chiyo looked at the red-haired boy who was both familiar and slightly unfamiliar, and for a moment she felt a bit dazed.

What was familiar was that Sasori's appearance had not changed much; he was still the grandson she knew.

What was unfamiliar was that Sasori, who was usually cold, was actually chatting like a friend with someone she did not know.

"Sasori, did you learn your puppetry from your grandmother?"

"Yes. What, you want to say, 'So you're the grandson of a legendary puppeteer; no wonder your puppetry is so amazing'?"

"No, but your grandmother is indeed famous. Even someone like me, who doesn't know much about puppetry, has heard of her."

"Fame is useless; do you think the enemy will spare your life just because of your teacher's reputation?"

Hearing this, Chiyo's eyes dimmed a little.

As soon as Sasori said this, Chiyo knew that today's chances of success were slim.

"Sasori, how have you been lately? Is there anything you're not used to in the Land of Rain?" Chiyo pulled herself together, forced a kind smile, and asked Sasori.

"It's alright. Nothing I'm not used to." Sasori turned to look at Chiyo and answered.

With his strength, how could he not have sensed Chiyo's arrival? He had said that on purpose for her to hear.

Chiyo knowing he was in the Ninja Sect did not surprise Sasori — first, because he hadn't hidden his identity there or in the Six Paths City; second, because of the puppet prosthetic arm.

However, Chiyo suddenly coming to find him was worth pondering.

After thinking carefully, Sasori felt that Chiyo probably wanted him to return to Sunagakure.

But there was no way Sasori would go back with Chiyo. He didn't blame her for his parents' deaths — it wasn't really her fault.

It was because of the Third Kazekage. Sasori had already killed the Third Kazekage and turned him into a human puppet.

In other words, Sunagakure didn't know yet. If they found out, not only would Sasori never return to Sunagakure, he would immediately become their most wanted criminal.

Without this incident, Sasori might not return; with this incident, he definitely would not.

If the truth came out, even Chiyo would be implicated because of him.

"Could you please step out for a moment? I have some personal matters to discuss with Sasori." Chiyo looked at Nagato.

Although she was Sasori's grandmother, poaching him right to his face was still too much.

"Mm." Nagato nodded and walked out of the reception room, leaving the space for the grandmother and grandson.

After Nagato left, Chiyo quickly formed hand seals to gather chakra, set up a simple small barrier, and then looked at Sasori and said:

"Sasori, come back to Sunagakure with me. Staying in the Ninja Sect will be dangerous."

"Even if you don't want to return to Sunagakure, that's fine. But don't stay in the Ninja Sect anymore. The Ninja Sect is walking toward an abyss — it's a path that cannot succeed."

Chiyo really didn't have faith in the Ninja Sect. During the Second Shinobi World War, Amegakure had already proven how difficult it was to become the sixth great ninja power.

The Ninja Sect wouldn't be facing just one major ninja village; it would face all the major ninja villages around it.

Right now, the Ninja Sect hadn't reached that critical point yet. But when it did, Chiyo had no doubt that Konoha, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure would all act together.

They might not form an alliance, but they would certainly dispatch ninja forces.

"And is there a ninja village that is completely safe?" Sasori retorted.

The profession of a ninja is itself a life-risking one.

"You know it's different," Chiyo shook her head.

The danger of doing missions as a ninja could not be equated with the danger of a great war like this.

"In my view, it's the same. Staying in the Ninja Sect is more meaningful," Sasori replied calmly.

"You know, the Ninja Sect's goal is actually peace in the ninja world, not becoming the strongest ninja force or dominating the ninja world."

"Many ninja organizations in the ninja world have that goal," Chiyo said.

"But the Ninja Sect actually acted on it," Sasori said seriously.

"Under the Ninja Sect's governance, the Land of Rain has become truly peaceful. Its internal security is even better than the Land of Wind's."

Sasori listed the changes the Ninja Sect had brought to the Land of Rain since its establishment.

"Because it's their own country," Chiyo retorted.

She didn't believe there were that many true pacifists in the world. If there really were, how could the ninja world be constantly plagued by war?

"They're doing the same thing in the Land of Birds."

"That's expansion of power."

It was precisely the Ninja Sect's actions in the Land of Birds that had put Sunagakure on alert. If left unchecked, and the Ninja Sect did the same in every small country, their strength would swell rapidly.

"Since you've said that, there's no need to continue talking. You can't convince me to return to Sunagakure, and I can't convince you to understand the Ninja Sect's uniqueness." Sasori replied with a calm expression.

During these days in the Shinobi Sect, Scorpion, as an onlooker, clearly saw what the Shinobi Sect was actually doing.

Not to mention Chiyo, even some ordinary Shinobi Sect shinobi might not understand the Shinobi Sect as well as he did.

Chiyo was silent.

She had originally thought there was some special reason Scorpion joined the Shinobi Sect; she never imagined Scorpion simply recognized the Shinobi Sect.

"Let's talk again in a couple of days, okay?" Chiyo felt they wouldn't reach any conclusion today.

"I don't think it's necessary."

"Just as company for this lonely old woman, all right?"

"I might not have the time."

Hearing Scorpion's last sentence, Chiyo felt a temporary relief in her heart, said goodbye to Scorpion, and left.

Twenty seconds after Chiyo left, Nagato finally returned to the reception room.

"What's wrong?" Nagato asked with concern.

He saw that Chiyo's expression wasn't good—it didn't seem like she'd had a pleasant conversation with a long-lost relative.

"What else could it be? If your relative were captured by some shinobi force, could you be happy?" Scorpion said.

"According to the conditions the teacher set, Scorpion, your prison term is almost up," Nagato said after a moment's thought.

Muyue's condition was that if Scorpion could help the Shinobi Sect master puppet prosthetic technology, then his sentence would be reduced by five years, and Nagato had the authority to reduce Scorpion's sentence by at most four years.

Nagato was very satisfied with Scorpion's performance and had already maxed out the sentence reduction he could apply.

Scorpion only needed to successfully teach one Shinobi Sect shinobi the puppet prosthetic technology, and then his sentence would end immediately.

"Do you think it's easy to teach that bunch of idiots puppetry?" Scorpion said discontentedly, then stood up and walked alone toward the laboratory.

Nagato looked puzzled, unable to figure out what he had just done to upset Scorpion.

Land of Lightning, western port town.

Taking advantage of the entire shinobi world's attention being focused on Six Paths City, Sand Hidden and Rock Hidden dispatched shinobi to the Land of Lightning.

To reduce the risk of exposure, they didn't even choose any of the major shinobi villages as their meeting place, instead selecting a western port in the Land of Lightning.

"The Shinobi Sect is ambitious, and Leaf and Mist have great designs—I'm afraid a new great war will come soon," Yashamaru spoke first.

While speaking, Yashamaru carefully observed the expressions of the Rock Hidden and Cloud Hidden representatives, paying special attention to the Cloud Hidden representative.

The Land of Lightning, unlike the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth, does not border the Land of Rain. Even if Rain Shinobi Village became the sixth major shinobi force, the impact on Cloud Hidden wouldn't be as great as on Rock Hidden and Sand Hidden.

Most importantly, the Shinobi Sect certainly couldn't become a true sixth major shinobi force in the short term, so Yashamaru also dragged Leaf and Mist into the discussion.

The Shinobi Sect wouldn't be able to affect Cloud Hidden for a long time, but Leaf could. Yashamaru didn't believe Cloud Hidden wasn't worried about Leaf becoming the sole dominant power and transcending into a super shinobi village.

As Yashamaru expected, the Cloud Hidden representative's expression grew somewhat unpleasant.

"That's right. At this critical moment, our three great shinobi villages must work together and not let Leaf succeed," Dodai spoke.

Cloud Hidden internally understood the Shinobi Sect's potential, but they generally believed that potential could not be realized.

If Leaf gained full assistance from Mist, even the combined efforts of their three great shinobi villages would have unpredictable results.

"Recently, our Tsuchikage personally took a risk and obtained a very important piece of intelligence," Rekiseki began, instantly quieting the meeting room.

Yashamaru and Dodai looked at Rekiseki with surprise and curiosity.

If what Rekiseki said was true, the mere fact that the Tsuchikage personally took a risk was already important intelligence.

And intelligence that required the Tsuchikage to take such a risk—what level of intelligence must that be?

"Sōsuke is actually being underestimated."

Yashamaru and Dodai looked puzzled; there were already people calling Sōsuke the strongest shinobi in the world—how could he still be underestimated?

"Sōsuke's strength far exceeds that of a Kage. To describe his power, he is another God of Shinobi," Rekiseki said seriously.

Rock Hidden had originally wanted to conceal the intelligence to trick Sand Hidden, but Sand Hidden didn't fall for it, and the situation in the shinobi world changed.

After carefully weighing the pros and cons, Iwagakure still decided to present the intelligence they had discovered about the Ninja Sect.

After all, Sunagakure hadn't been tricked yet, and Sunagakure couldn't abandon Iwagakure, a powerful ally, just because Iwagakure might potentially trick them.

"The God of Shinobi!" Dodai revealed a shocked expression.

Defeating Sarutobi Hiruzen and matching the God of Shinobi are two different concepts.

For example, the Third Raikage — some Kumogakure shinobi might think their Raikage was stronger than the Third Hokage, but absolutely no one would believe that the Third Raikage's power could rival the God of Shinobi.

Even Muyue, who shone brilliantly during the Great Ninja War, was only considered to have the potential of the God of Shinobi, not to be equal to the God of Shinobi.

Yashamaru's expression was even more interesting; besides astonishment, there was also a hint of relief.

After all, Sunagakure had recently been discussing how to deal with the Ninja Sect.

If a fight actually broke out, there was no doubt that Sunagakure could destroy the Ninja Sect, but under Sousuke's full-force retaliation, Sunagakure would definitely decline.

This was retaliation from the God of Shinobi himself.

As for the authenticity of the intelligence, Yashamaru couldn't think of a reason why Iwagakure would provide false information.

To make Sunagakure and Kumogakure temporarily set aside Konohagakure and deal with the Ninja Sect?

Sunagakure already had a conflict of interest with the Ninja Sect. As for Kumogakure, if this were false intelligence, there would be no need for Kumogakure — Sunagakure and Iwagakure could steadily send off the Ninja Sect, without a single mishap.