Chapter 22
Upon entering the Land of Wind, one is greeted by a scene of endless yellow sand.
Yuki didn't know how Sasori had made contact with the caravan, and she never expected that the caravan would actually be willing to take her and Sasori into Sunagakure.
Xue turned her head to look at Scorpion. The wind whipped up sand, almost blinding her, and she couldn't help but squint.
Suddenly, Scorpion reached out and put his straw hat over Snow's head.
"Didn't I tell you to wear one too? You just wouldn't listen." The boy, who wasn't wearing a straw hat, revealed his handsome features, his slightly drooping black eyes fixed on the snow. He was speaking words of concern, but his tone was stiff, as if he were imitating someone else.
Xue reached out and straightened her straw hat; through the veil, she couldn't see Scorpion's expression.
She reached out her other hand and took the other person's hand.
The other person's hands had thick calluses on their knuckles.
Generally speaking, when a puppeteer makes a puppet, he always has to make it by hand.
They didn't know when they would reach Sunagakure; the scorching sun hung high in the sky. Yet, the boy's hands were cool to the touch, surprisingly comfortable to hold. The two walked side-by-side, following behind the camels beside the caravan. Sasori's gaze fell on Yuki's hands—slender hands with thin calluses at the knuckles.
It took him a while to take Xue's hand back.
This is his family, his sister.
At night, the caravan rested in a shady place with water.
Sasori habitually avoided others and began practicing his chakra threads. When Yuki approached, he made no attempt to hide.
The puppeteers of Sunagakure... Yuki subconsciously thought of the puppeteer couple that Sakumo Hatake killed during the Second Shinobi World War.
"Does Xue want to learn? I can teach you," Scorpion said, his expression unchanged.
Xue shook her head: "Commoners without chakra have no way to learn these things..."
Scorpion seemed to be deep in thought. After a while, he slowly said, "If Xue wants to learn, I can help you."
Under the moonlight, on the soft sand, the black-haired boy's eyes gleamed with a strange fervor as he stared straight at her.
"But......"
“I have such a powerful older brother like Scorpion protecting me.” The black-haired, freckled girl winked playfully, naturally wrapping her arms around Scorpion’s waist from behind. She turned her head and looked at him with bright, sparkling eyes: “I don’t want to learn that. It’s enough for Scorpion to protect me.”
Protect...protect your family, protect your sister?
As Scorpion thought this, his hand unconsciously rested on the girl's right cheek. The touch was incredibly soft, unlike anything a puppet could offer, and it was warm. His gaze fell on the girl's lips, his fingertips gently caressing them.
He wondered what it would feel like to touch her lips with his own.
Her lips seemed even softer than her face; with the slightest pressure, the pale color would deepen, turning a deep crimson. Coupled with the girl's delicate features and bewildered expression, Scorpion couldn't quite understand the violent pounding of his chest. This feeling had only existed since his first murder.
“Okay. I’ll protect you, no matter what your purpose is in approaching me, I will protect you.” Scorpion lowered his head slightly, their lips touching, soft and warm.
Xue's eyes widened slightly. Before she could react, the other person had already released her and quickly said to her, "Such intimate things can only be done with me, Xue."
Scorpion frowned slightly, quickly turning his face away from Xue's expression; the tips of his ears were so red they looked like they were about to bleed.
Three days later, near dusk, they finally arrived at the entrance gate to Sunagakure.
"Why are there two more people? This doesn't match the number reported on the customs clearance documents."
The man, dressed in a Sand Village ninja uniform, held the clearance documents in his hand and looked at the woman with a scrutinizing expression.
"These are my niece and nephew. They insisted on coming along, and I couldn't refuse them." The caravan leader handed a wad of banknotes wrapped in paper to the ninja opposite him, smiling apologetically, "I'm so sorry, this is just a small token of my appreciation. I hope you won't find it offensive."
The man seemed to click his tongue slightly, but his eyes never left the caravan leader's hands. After taking the paper package, he pulled the caravan leader aside and said in a low, menacing voice, "If it weren't for the fact that we're transporting basic supplies, this wouldn't be over so easily today. You'd better not cause any trouble!"
The caravan leader bowed his head obsequiously and responded repeatedly. And so, after a series of close calls, they successfully checked into an inn in Sunagakure Village.
Ever since entering Sunagakure, Yuki has always been able to sense, consciously or unconsciously, that different people's gazes are fixed on her.
After entering the inn, Scorpion seemed to be discussing something with the caravan leader. After a while, the two separated, and Yuki was assigned to the same room as Scorpion.
However, Xue had gotten somewhat used to it. For the past two weeks, she and Scorpion had been eating and living together. If it weren't for the fact that they were disguising their identities and carrying out a mission, she would almost have thought that she and her brother were truly an orphaned sibling who depended on each other for survival.
"What's wrong? What are you thinking about?"
Yuki sat on the bed, and Sasori sat beside her, so close they could almost feel each other's breath. They wore the white robes most common in Sunagakure, clothes that provided insulation and sun protection during the day and excellent warmth at night. Sasori's gaze unconsciously fell on Yuki's lips, then down to her chest.
"It's nothing, I just feel that Sasori is too good to me. No matter what I ask for, he will agree." Xue didn't know what Sasori was really up to. She felt that her disguise skills weren't good enough to perfectly deceive a ninja who was older than her and more proficient in all aspects of ninjutsu. Could it be based on those few vague calls of "brother"? The black-haired girl hugged her legs, pressed her face against her knees, and turned her head slightly to look at Sasori: "If Sasori needs my help in anything... that would be great."
Scorpion didn't respond, but simply reached out and gently rubbed her head.
"Go to sleep early, Xue. You must be tired after traveling all day."
-
Yuki stayed in Sunagakure for a few days. During this time, besides feeling uncomfortable from the constant surveillance, the atmosphere in the village was also very strange. Almost every household stayed indoors. Since they had entered the village with a caravan, apart from a few shops that were still open, the streets were deserted and lifeless.
Something was very wrong. Yuki's gaze fell on Sasori, who was reading a book inside the house. Sasori's life here seemed perfectly at ease with this eerie atmosphere. As a Jonin of Sunagakure, Sasori had almost never left the village on his own initiative since returning with her; the two of them spent most of their time together.
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Scorpion got up and opened it.
"Before we set off to return, the caravan needs to pick up another shipment. Would you like to come along?"
The caravan leader was a woman in her thirties with a buzz cut and a long scar on her face, making her look quite frightening. However, after getting to know her, Xue discovered that she was a very generous and forthright person.
Scorpion turned to look at Yuki, who was lying on the bed reading. Yuki nodded. It would be a good opportunity to gather some intelligence along the way, so Yuki agreed. These past few days, Scorpion had followed her everywhere, almost to the toilet. Yuki felt that if it weren't for their genders, he might actually watch her take care of her needs.
They claimed to be picking up goods, but in reality, they were just taking some rare flowers and plants that only grow in Sunagakure Village from several other local flower shops that purchased goods at low prices, and then shipping them to other countries to sell at high prices.
Xue unexpectedly saw varieties of flowers not found locally at the flower shop, such as white magnolias, hydrangeas, roses, and carnations. It seemed that some special process was used to keep them in full bloom for a long time. Their vibrant colors formed a stark contrast with the endless yellow sand of Sunagakure.
"It's so beautiful!" Xue couldn't help but exclaim.
"The people of Sunagakure love flowers, but due to the geographical environment, even if these vibrant flowers bloom amidst the endless yellow sand, they will soon wither. Over time, the people of Sunagakure have developed a special technique for preserving flowers." The caravan leader explained to Xue with a smile, "They are called immortal flowers, flowers that never wither."
Snow murmured, "A flower that never fades..."
Scorpion stood beside Snow, his expression inscrutable.
It was late at night. Xue lay in bed, and Scorpion beside her seemed to be fast asleep, his chest rising and falling slightly with his breathing. She carefully lifted the blanket they shared, changed into her night clothes, and turned to make sure Scorpion was still asleep.
This is really troublesome... I need to get back to the village as soon as I finish the mission.
Xue didn't know if it was because it was late at night, or because she had been keeping a low profile these past few days, but tonight, without those shadowy surveillance eyes following her, she could move around much more easily. These past few days, she had felt very strange; why, after being here for so long, had she never seen a single high-ranking member of Sunagakure, and why the atmosphere in the entire village felt so odd.
She had a vague feeling that the Third Kazekage might be...
At that time, Yuki had already infiltrated the Kazekage Tower. She frowned slightly; the Kazekage's office was unguarded. A thought popped into her mind, and Yuki suppressed her doubts, flipping through the scrolls in the drawer. To her surprise, she found Sasori's ninja scroll.
Sasori graduated from the Ninja Academy at the age of 7, was promoted to Chunin at the age of 8, and was promoted to Jonin at the age of 10.
Task experience: 5 times for D-rank, 12 times for C-rank, 16 times for B-rank, 29 times for A-rank, and 10 times for S-rank.
Snow flipped to the end, where the conclusion read: "Skilled in puppet-type ninjutsu and poison research."
Why was this scroll placed alone on the Third Kazekage's desk? Yuki vaguely guessed what it meant.
When we met, there must have been something else inside the cave!
Just as Yuki was about to leave silently, a pair of hands suddenly appeared behind her. Because she didn't sense any strong hostility, Yuki didn't even notice. Those hands covered her mouth, and a familiar chakra fluctuation emanated from them—it was Sasori.
Outside the window, patrolling Sunagakure ninjas passed by, and Yuki held her breath.
Did Granny Chiyo's grandson really assassinate the Third Hokage and defect?
"Don't talk nonsense! The Third Kazekage was the strongest of all the Kazekage, how could he be killed by a mere puppeteer!"
"But now we can't even find the body, except that it was turned into a puppet by that Scorpion guy..."
"I heard that when Scorpion was a child, he turned his friend into a puppet..."
"That's terrifying."
Their voices gradually faded into the distance, growing softer and softer.
Scorpion released her grip, but Snow didn't turn around.
After a while, Scorpion finally spoke: "Let's go, let's go back."
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