Chapter 49 "Aren't we going to stay here a few more days...?"
Even when he shot Deidara down, he wasn't this agitated. But his attitude just now was more intense than you expected. His noise made your head throb slightly. You couldn't help but rub your temples and said, "Quiet down."
Although he was emotional, Deidara was still relatively obedient. He quieted down after you said that, but his eyes were still staring at you expectantly. You said, "This is just a transaction."
And frankly, you don't think you'll die so easily. Maybe it's because you're cautious, or maybe it's because you've already died once, so you're more open-minded about life and death.
More importantly, Sasori of the Red Sand is indeed a very useful tool. If you can get him to work for you, you feel that your goal of spreading railways all over the world can be achieved ahead of schedule, so no matter how you look at it, you feel that this deal is not a loss.
Deidara knew that although you seemed easy to talk to on the surface, you were actually rarely swayed by others once you made up your mind. So he understood that his attempts to persuade you would be fruitless. Frustrated, Deidara pointed the finger at his partner, Sasori of the Red Sand. If Sasori hadn't come looking for him, this situation probably wouldn't have happened.
Sasori of the Red Sand felt Deidara's gaze and said, "Even if you keep staring at me like that, it won't make a difference. This is a mutually agreeable transaction. What's the rush for you, a third party?"
What do you mean by "third party"? Deidara's eyes widened slightly, as if he didn't understand Sasori's meaning. He said, "I was the one who met Aki first. Shouldn't you at least consider the order of arrival before you say that?"
While they were arguing, you got up and went to the next room, telling them before you left, "Let me know when you've settled your score."
After you left, Deidara and Sasori looked at each other. The tension between them eased a bit after you left. Deidara crossed his arms and said, "I'm not some third party. If we're really talking about it, Sasori, you're the third party, no... the fourth, uh, the fifth—?" He wasn't quite sure how many lovers you had, so he just started counting them off like he was counting them.
Sasori stared at his partner with a look that seemed to ask, "Are you sure you're not out of your mind?" The latter realized that he probably didn't mean much to Sasori, and his voice gradually weakened. He said, "Forget it, there's no point in arguing with you here."
"You're only realizing now that it's pointless?" Sasori's reaction remained calm throughout, while Deidara's emotions fluctuated like a rollercoaster, ultimately because he was too naive.
"If she really did encounter some accident, I wouldn't let you alter her body." He was certain of that.
"Oh, we'll see then."
It was like punching cotton; a sense of powerlessness washed over him. Deidara curled his lip, and Sasori of the Red Sand said, "You're planning to stay here forever? Hmph, what a waste of your time."
What do you mean by "indulging in frivolous pursuits and neglecting one's duties"? Deidara said, "Aki isn't that kind of person." Besides, when he was with you, he was the one being manipulated, wasn't he?
Sasori of the Red Sand stood up, pointed at Deidara with his modified mechanical finger, and said, "You've been transformed into an obedient dog under her command."
"You're just jealous of how good my relationship with her is." Deidara raised his chin, his expression even showing a hint of pride. It's hard to tell what he's so proud of. Shouldn't a normal person be furious after hearing that? But Deidara wasn't; his reaction was even one of smug satisfaction.
"It's hopeless," a thought echoed in Sasori's mind. He quickly suppressed it and said, "Fine, if you insist on thinking that way, there's nothing I can do. Hmm, just keep thinking that way."
On the other side, you are discussing with the steel mill manager how to improve the production process, ideally by adjusting the entire production line, in order to increase production efficiency.
But this isn't something that can be decided with just a few words or a few meetings. It requires many tests. Based on Sasori's suggestions, you provide the person in charge with a main direction for improvement, and then leave the rest to them. You can't do everything yourself, after all, you're paying them salaries. You can't do everything, can you? You don't want to die prematurely from overwork in this world.
The person in charge left your office with several drafts.
It has to be said that Sasori of the Red Sand is truly a treasure trove. Not only is he skilled in improving techniques, but he also has considerable expertise in poison making. Generally speaking, someone who is good at poison making will also be good at medicine making, since it is a matter of knowledge that can be applied to other areas. Therefore, you would be happy to chat with Sasori of the Red Sand.
Over the next few days, you would chat with Sasori of the Red Sand from time to time, and he wouldn't get impatient.
When you come looking for him, all he'll ask is, "Aren't you afraid Deidara will get angry?"
Hearing this, you blinked, somewhat puzzled, and said, "Although he's a bit immature, he's actually a sensible child." The implication was that he wouldn't be so ungrateful.
Sasori of the Red Sand asked you again if you had drafted a plan to improve the production line, and you said it was almost done.
If someone else saw you sitting face-to-face chatting so calmly with Sasori of the Akatsuki, they would probably be very surprised, since in other people's minds the Akatsuki members are a group of vicious and desperate criminals.
"You not only fund Kirigakure, but you also invest in Konoha and Sunagakure." Especially Sunagakure, because of its geographical location and climate, the village is not favored by other daimyo, so the annual funding allocated to it is reduced. Because of the reduced funding, the village cannot better cultivate the next generation of talents, and because there are too few excellent ninjas, the number of requests received also decreases, thus forming a vicious cycle.
Although Sasori of the Red Sand was a rogue ninja, and a rogue ninja from Sunagakure, he would occasionally keep an eye on the situation in Sunagakure. Even after he left, he still placed his own spies in the village, partly to monitor the decision-making and movements of the village's higher-ups, and partly out of some selfish motive that he himself could not admit.
However, this vicious cycle was broken after you appeared. You generously donated a large sum of money to the Sand Village, enough for the village to train the next generation of ninjas and develop its own forces.
This is why the atmosphere in Sunagakure is not as oppressive as before during this period of time, and it's all because of you.
Since you know that Sasori of the Red Sand comes from Sunagakure, you say, "Yes, I also support the village you used to live in."
"If you're asking why, it's probably because I thought it was profitable, and my investment did bring in a lot of returns. I really haven't thought about anything else." You've already anticipated the question the other person is going to ask and answered it in advance. To avoid them starting to think outside the box, you try to be as straightforward as possible.
"Then you really are a good person." Sasori's words were devoid of emotion, as if he were stating a fact. He did not deny that there were indeed some good people in this world, but kind people would one day be killed by their own kindness, and he would look forward to the day you died.
You rub your chin with your fingers and say, "I can't be considered a completely good person. I expect something in return for everything I do."
Rather than engaging in idle chatter, you're more interested in his poison-making skills, so you ask him if he has any poisons he's skilled at crafting. Sasori of the Red Sand retorts, "Whom do you want to kill?"
Why are you asking so directly? You shrug and say, "No, I was just asking."
Although Sasori's tone wasn't great, his attitude was very good. He took out a lot of reagents from his stomach. Looking at his empty abdomen, you could see that it looked like a small, temperature-controlled refrigerator.
"No way, it really has a built-in refrigerator?" You stared at his stomach curiously for a while, and Sasori asked, "What are you looking at?"
"Look at your stomach, it's empty. Is this specifically for storing medicine? How come it's completely silent?" As you speak, you bend down and listen carefully, only to find that you can't hear any sounds like a refrigerator running.
Not only does it have its own refrigerator, but it's also completely silent! Most refrigerators on the market make some noise, so his is really amazing...
"Have you heard enough?" Sasori of the Red Sand was a little impatient, but not yet angry. You looked up at him, smiled, and said, "Wow, this is amazing, isn't it a refrigerator?"
Is that all? Sasori tilted his head in surprise. What's so surprising about that? Those potions are very sensitive to external temperatures, so it's only natural that he designed a refrigerator specifically for storing them.
On the contrary, you looked surprised.
You asked, "Can I touch it?"
He knew you'd say that, so he said, "Whatever."
Anyway, you'll do it even if I refuse, so I might as well agree from the start. You reach out and touch the inside of the refrigerator. It's not too cold, probably at the refrigeration temperature. You run your fingers around inside the refrigerator and then strangely touch the slightly protruding device on his left chest.
"What is this? An energy device?" You poked it curiously, and Sasori of the Red Sand said calmly, "This is my heart."
"Oh, my apologies." You apologized readily, then withdrew your hand, but your gaze remained fixed on his heart. Unlike a vibrant, beating heart, this was a cold, lifeless device.
So, is this his power source? If he's practically a puppet now and doesn't need to eat, then what's his power source? Don't tell me he's invented a perpetual motion machine! While that would have been impossible in your past life, it's not necessarily the case in this world. After all, this world has ninjas, who are incredibly powerful, and frankly, their ninjutsu doesn't really conform to the law of conservation of energy.
"Is this your heart, and your source of power? Would you die without it?" Saying it's death isn't quite accurate; perhaps it's more like falling into a deep sleep?
"That's about right." Sasori of the Red Sand let you touch his heart, his expression indifferent, as if it were just something insignificant.
After studying him for a while, you finally shifted your gaze elsewhere. You looked into his eyes and said, "Wow, that's amazing. To be able to do that."
He thought you would find it strange, or even feel a bit disgusted, but you didn't show any of those emotions. You seemed to genuinely appreciate his transformation without any other feelings involved.
This made Sasori of the Red Sand think that perhaps you could understand his art, so he said, "It seems that you are indeed different from those ordinary people."
No wonder Deidara is so infatuated with you, Sasori thought.
What are he saying that makes you cringe? You twitch the corner of your mouth and say, "It's alright, I still think of myself as just an ordinary person."
Sasori of the Red Sand handed you the potions, steer the conversation back on track, and said, "If you're interested, you can have these potions."
"Seriously? Isn't he being a bit too generous?" you say, feigning politeness. "Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"
He said "Oh," and was about to take the potions back from your hand.
Wait a minute—once something's in your hands, why would you ever return it? Catching your subtle movement, Sasori chuckled and said, "If you wanted it, why did you say such things earlier?"
"Haven't you ever heard of the etiquette of exchanging pleasantries with others?"
"No."
Sigh, you shouldn't have had too high expectations of how well these ninjas understood human relationships.
Simply put, I'm just being polite.
"Isn't that all an act?"
He really speaks sharply and directly. Oh well, considering he provided the precious medicine for free, and even offered a production line modification plan, and will work for you for free in the future, you shouldn't hold it against him.
You take the various colored potions from his hand with a clear conscience, intending to have Bai learn from them or have the pharmacist Kabuto analyze their ingredients. Your expression remains unchanged, but your mind is already racing with calculations.
You even arranged everything clearly afterward, and you said, "Thank you so much."
Sasori of the Red Sand retorted, "Is your gratitude just verbal?"
You said, "I will generously sponsor the Sand Village."
"I have nothing to do with Sunagakure."
Come on, it's still his hometown after all. Don't let his words fool you, he probably still cares a lot. Just hum in agreement and say, "Okay, that's fine then. So, what do you want?"
“Give me your hand,” he said.
You curiously reach out your hand, and his cold, puppet-like hand grasps yours. You carefully observe his palms and knuckles, which are exquisitely and nimbly made. If it weren't for the deliberate emphasis on the puppet's knuckles, these would be a pair of puppet hands that are indistinguishable from real hands.
At this moment, he is holding your hand, occasionally pinching the pads and bases of your fingers, his palm pressed against yours, as if measuring something.
Finally, she said, "Your hands are beautiful too. I wonder if the rest of your body is just as beautiful?"
You grasp his hand in return and say, "Haven't you become a puppet? So, do you still have the most basic reactions?"
Sasori of the Red Sand didn't speak, but you could subtly sense his displeasure.
Seriously? You're angry like that?
Are you really angry? You tilted your head, amused, and stared into his eyes, saying, "Are you angry?"
“If you asked me this in a joking tone, then my anger is a natural consequence.”
You said, "I can give you a lot of money."
"Do you think I'm the kind of vulgar person who can be swayed by money?" he scoffed.
People who have never experienced the hardship of being poor speak with arrogance. Anyway, you'll never be able to say something like, "Well, you must want something else."
“Yes, I do.” He paused for a few seconds before saying, “I want to know information about Konoha’s Jinchuriki. You used to live in Konoha, so you must know, right?”
Ah... that's really something. You purse your lips. It's not that you can't say it, since you've already reminded Konoha to be careful of their Jinchuriki. You shrug. "His name is Uzumaki Naruto. He has blond hair and blue eyes. He's a bit impulsive, but also very lively and cheerful. He likes to eat ramen and doesn't really like vegetables."
Halfway through your conversation, Sasori sensed something was off. He interrupted you, saying, "What are you even saying? This information is completely useless to me." Why would he want to know what the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki likes and dislikes to eat?
"You're not the kind of person who can't grasp the main point, so there's only one possibility: you said that on purpose." Sasori of the Red Sand asked directly, "Did you say that on purpose?"
You shrug, your expression slightly helpless, and say, "That's all I know about him. After all, I don't usually have any interaction with him. Since he's a human jinchūriki, the village will naturally monitor his every move strictly. How could I rashly approach him?"
That sounds reasonable, but Sasori of the Red Sand is still convinced that you are just trying to appease him.
It doesn't feel good to be treated perfunctorily. If it were someone else doing this, he would have dealt with the other person immediately. However, he glanced at your smiling eyes again.
It would be a shame to kill you directly. He couldn't be sure if he could still make you, now a puppet, show that smile if he killed you with his own hands.
So, just to be on the safe side, he didn't take action, and he wasn't even that angry inside. He said, "Next time, I won't be so easy to deal with."
Is he about to leave? You could politely say to him, "Won't you stay a few more days?"
"Are you just being polite?"
"Ah...you found out. Well, it was just a polite remark." You nodded, and Sasori of the Red Sand said, "I have other things to do, and I don't have time to waste here with you."
Those ninjas are all incredibly stubborn. You'll grunt twice to show you understand, and then wave at them.
As Sasori's figure disappeared, his partner Deidara also vanished with him. They seemed to be talking as they left, and Deidara asked, "What did you and Aki talk about just now?"
"These are things I can't tell you." Sasori's words almost made Deidara explode. The latter was completely puzzled. How long have you known Sasori? How come you already have secrets you can't tell him? Is he really a third party?
No, no, no, that kind of thing is absolutely impossible.
Deidara shook his head, banishing the thought from his mind. Sasori, standing beside him, noticed this and said with a half-smile, "She is indeed a qualified partner."
Hearing such praise made Deidara feel uneasy. He said, "She is indeed very good." This was something Sasori didn't need to explain; he already knew it.
After Sasori and Deidara left, you received another letter from Konoha. The letter was written by Shikamaru, who mentioned the current situation in Konoha. He meticulously recorded Naruto's situation, filling an entire page with information about him.
Although you told him to protect Naruto, you didn't expect him to record every little detail of Naruto's life. Upon closer inspection, you even saw the detail of Naruto silently shedding tears while holding a photo of him and you.
Well……
Should we record it even if we don't use these?
But you really didn't expect Naruto to be so sensitive? A little too sensitive, isn't he? In your impression, he's always been a carefree and easygoing person, not at all like the type to cry while holding a photo of you.
But have you ever taken a photo with him?
You thought about it carefully, and it seems... there isn't one, right?
Your memory is good. Naruto doesn't have a photo with you. That photo was taken with your whole team, including Sasuke. There were more people in the picture than just you and him; there were also Sasuke and Sakura. He just cropped the photo to make it look like a picture of the two of them.
Looking at the photo alone, it seems like you have a very close relationship with them, so you can ignore the fact that the photo is actually a picture of you and Sasuke.
People sometimes like to deceive themselves, and Naruto is no exception. Of course, he knows that Sasuke is more important to you, but... occasionally, he also imagines that he is the most important person to you. This feeling of being firmly chosen and sincerely liked is addictive.
Once you start, you'll start again. The worst outcome is that the line between reality and fantasy gradually blurs, and you slowly become immersed in the beautiful dream you've woven.
This is what Naruto is like now.
He had long realized that this was wrong, but he couldn't correct such a bad habit in a short time, and he even let his emotions continue like this.
After all, the real world is too harsh and heavy for him. He is not someone who would run away from things. He just needs some courage, and you are the source of his courage.
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