Chapter 590: Meeting with Mu Yue
Chapter 590: Meeting with Mu Yue
In the Rain Country, within the ninja village of Konoha, lay the Six Paths Castle.
Sasori awoke from his slumber, his brow furrowed as he listened to the pattering rain outside. The relentless drizzle only added to his already foul mood.
Sasori tiptoed to the door, cautiously opening it a crack to peer out into the surroundings. Assured that no suspicious ninjas were lurking nearby, he shut the door and returned to his bed, resuming his attempts to refine his chakra and break the seal within him.
Ten minutes later, Sasori opened his eyes, his delicate features creased with unmistakable disappointment.
"His sealing technique is incredibly powerful," Sasori muttered, his brow furrowed in frustration. "Not only does it possess a strong restraining ability, but it also persists relentlessly."
Mu Yue's sealing technique far exceeded Sasori's expectations. He had assumed that with his own capabilities, given enough time, breaking the seal would be inevitable. Yet, after more than two months, he had made absolutely no progress.
Sasori rubbed his furrowed brow, deep in thought. If he couldn't find a way to remove the seal, even if he escaped from the Six Paths Castle, he wouldn't be able to pursue his vengeance. He might even struggle to protect himself.
Without the ability to use chakra, a ninja was no longer a ninja. And how could he, powerless, hope to kill Kakashi Hatake, a ninja of exceptional talent?
"Am I truly supposed to wait until the Ninja Sect releases me in ten years?" Sasori clenched his fists, his face contorting with bitterness.
If it ultimately meant successful revenge, Sasori was willing to wait a decade. However, there was a problem—during those ten years, he wouldn't be able to cultivate or research puppet techniques, while Kakashi would continue to grow stronger through training.
In this ever-changing balance of power, whether Sasori could succeed in his revenge after being released by the Ninja Sect in ten years was highly uncertain.
If he could be certain of his revenge, Sasori would accept being imprisoned for even twenty years, not just ten. But the mere thought of his vengeance being hindered was enough to double his agitation, and it had only been two months.
Sasori's gaze fell upon the clock hanging on the wall. It was already 6:40. Breakfast would start in ten minutes and end in forty minutes.
Usually, Sasori would be on his way to the cafeteria by now, as arriving early meant avoiding the long queues, something he despised.
But today, Sasori felt no inclination to move. He had lost his appetite; his mind was consumed by thoughts of breaking the seal and exacting his revenge.
No matter how Sasori pondered and experimented, he couldn't find a way to undo the seal within him.
After countless failures, Sasori lay on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, his thoughts unknown.
Knock, knock.
After an indeterminate amount of time, the wooden door to Sasori's room was knocked upon.
Sasori ignored the sound, continuing to lie on his bed, his gaze fixed on the ceiling.
Bang!
Not receiving a response, Nagato forcefully pushed the door open.
After opening the door, Nagato's eyes swiftly scanned the room. Seeing Sasori simply lying on the bed, and perceiving no suspicious red liquid nearby, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Why aren't you eating breakfast or going to work? Today isn't a rest day," Nagato said quietly, his eyes fixed on Sasori.
The Six Paths Castle did not condone idleness; prisoners were expected to work.
Sasori remained silent, ignoring Nagato's question, his gaze still fixed on the ceiling.
"You know," Nagato continued, "what you're doing is meaningless. It will only prolong your sentence."
He was aware of Sasori's burning desire to leave the Ninja Sect and exact his revenge.
Hearing the words "prolong your sentence," Sasori finally stirred. He turned his head toward Nagato and eventually sat up.
"I want to meet Mu Yue," Sasori stated, his voice low and serious.
Impulsive though he might be, Sasori was not without a plan. He understood that resisting the Ninja Sect would only worsen his situation.
His decision to forgo breakfast and work stemmed not only from his agitated state of mind but also from a desire to initiate a dialogue with the Ninja Sect.
Although Sasori's current status placed him in an inherently unequal position with the Ninja Sect, he possessed something unique in the entire ninja world—his exceptional puppetry skills.
Initially, Sasori had believed he could escape on his own, so he hadn't considered negotiating with the Ninja Sect.
But now, having discovered the absurd strength of Mu Yue's sealing technique, he realized that not engaging in a trade would severely hinder his plans for revenge.
"Teacher Mu Yue is not someone you can meet just because you want to," Nagato replied, denying his request.
As the only person aware of Mu Yue's identity, Nagato knew how busy she was and wouldn't dare to trouble her unnecessarily.
"If there's something you need, you can talk to me," Nagato offered.
Should Sasori have a matter that truly required Mu Yue's attention, Nagato would report it to her.
"Do you have the authority to restore my freedom?" Sasori asked, his voice sharp. "Or can you help me break the sealing technique?"
"No," Nagato replied succinctly.
He lacked the authority to release prisoners and was incapable of undoing Mu Yue's seal.
There was no other reason; Sasori hated Nagato.
If it weren't for Nagato injuring and capturing him, he might have already attempted a second assassination and succeeded.
To Sasori, Nagato was the number one enemy who ruined his grand plan for revenge, how could he not hate him?
"If it's truly an important matter, I'll bring it up with Teacher Souyuuki," Nagato ignored Sasori's taunt and replied calmly.
"Of course, it's an important matter. After all, it concerns the most important event in my life—revenge." Sasori emphasized.
Another reason Sasori hated Nagato was because Nagato wanted him to let go of his hatred.
Although Nagato didn't say it explicitly, Sasori could tell.
Normally, who would give a book like 'The Importance of Living in the Moment' to a prisoner they were monitoring?
Nagato hadn't experienced his pain, so how could he be qualified to advise Sasori to let go of his hatred and embrace a new life?
"The most important event...?" Nagato was slightly taken aback.
"Not only is it the most important event, but it's also the greatest meaning of my life," Sasori continued to emphasize.
Nagato opened his mouth as if to say something in response to Sasori's words, but ultimately no sound escaped his lips.
He had wanted to tell Sasori that living with such hatred would only bring him pain.
But Nagato had witnessed his own parents' deaths, understanding the pain that came with it.
Having personally experienced that agony, it was difficult for Nagato to ask someone else to let go of their hatred.
Even if it wasn't Kakashi who had killed Sasori's parents, but rather Kakashi's father.
"No objections? Then go tell Souyuuki about my request..." Sasori said, seeing that Nagato had fallen silent.
Seeing that he had left Nagato speechless, Sasori felt much better and didn't intend to continue their conversation.
"My parents... they also died at the hands of a Konoha ninja," Nagato interrupted Sasori, saying something that surprised him.
"Moreover, they died right before my eyes, trying to protect me," Nagato began to tell his story.
Bringing up this unpleasant memory, Nagato's mind involuntarily recalled that night of red and black.
It was an ordinary pitch-black rainy night.
For the Rain Country, rain was an everyday occurrence, with gloomy clouds perpetually hanging overhead.
However, for Nagato, that particular day was far from ordinary. Two Konoha ninjas had broken into their home in search of food.
At first, the situation wasn't so dire, as Nagato's parents had quickly hidden him away.
They could have quietly escaped, but Nagato accidentally knocked over a canister, alerting the Konoha ninjas, which ultimately led to his parents' deaths, their blood pooling on the floor.
Usually, if someone interrupted Sasori, he would immediately respond in kind, and if it was someone he despised, the consequences would be even more severe.
But now, Sasori found himself oddly silent.
He was confused.
Just hearing about his parents' deaths and seeing their bodies had caused him so much pain, so shouldn't Nagato, who had witnessed his parents' deaths firsthand, be even more traumatized?
Why didn't Nagato seem to hate Konoha ninjas?
"Since your parents were killed by a Konoha ninja, why are you trying to stop me from taking revenge on them?" Sasori asked, perplexed.
Even if Nagato was standing from the perspective of the Ninja Sect, he shouldn't be trying to stop Sasori if he wasn't going to help him.
"Don't you hate Konoha ninjas? They're the ones directly responsible for your parents' deaths," Sasori added.
"I hate the Konoha ninja who killed my parents, and I hate any ninja who kills innocent people in war. But I don't hate all Konoha ninjas," Nagato replied.
Before meeting Jiraiya, Nagato had indeed hated Konoha ninjas.
Konoha ninjas had killed his parents and plunged his country into war; how could he not hate them?
However, after becoming Jiraiya and Mu Yue's disciple, Nagato understood a fundamental truth—people are different.
Just because he had met some bad Konoha ninjas, it didn't mean that all of them were like that.
"So, what are you trying to say? Are you suggesting that since Kakashi Hatake wasn't the one who actually killed my parents, I shouldn't hate him?" Sasori felt like he understood Nagato.
Nagato shook his head; he didn't intend to put it that way.
Nagato shared the story of his parents' deaths not to seek sympathy but to convey to Sasori that he, too, had experienced similar pain and wasn't just spouting empty words.
"I can take you to see Teacher Souyuuki if you help me with a task," Nagato suddenly said, changing the subject.
"Sweep through the stray ninjas in the central region of the Rain Country. Since your chakra is sealed, you'll only need to handle some logistical tasks." Nagato explained.
The various unstable elements in the south had mostly been dealt with, and now the Ninja Sect would conduct a sweep of other areas in the Rain Country, eliminating bandits, rogue ninja organizations, and stray ninjas.
"Sweep the stray ninjas? You?" Sasori couldn't help but question.
Sasori was all too aware of Nagato's terrifying strength, having witnessed his shocking battle with the Six Gates Might Guy and even fought him himself.
If Sasori was a genius, then Nagato was a monster—a monster that Sasori knew he couldn't defeat even with advance preparation.
Sasori felt it was unnecessary to deploy such a monster against stray ninjas.
Unless the stray ninjas in the Rain Country were exceptionally strong, with power comparable to the Six Gates Might Guy?
Nagato nodded.
The Ninja Sect didn't have many ninjas, and some had to maintain the operations of the Six Paths Castle and ensure the southern region's security. So, despite the apparent overkill, Nagato had been assigned this task.
"So, will you agree to it?" Nagato asked.
"Sure," Sasori replied after some thought.
Nagato wouldn't have any intention of killing him, for if he did, Sasori would have perished under the Almighty Push long ago.
In the two months he had spent with the Ninja Sect, Nagato was the person he had interacted with the most, and Sasori had gained some understanding of him.
Nagato then went to inform the construction team about the situation before leading Sasori to the central region of the Rain Country to carry out their mission.
The actual task turned out to be a bit more troublesome than Sasori had imagined.
While the stray ninjas didn't possess the strength of the Six Gates Might Guy, and defeating them in battle was straightforward, thoroughly clearing them out required them to travel back and forth between various towns and villages repeatedly.
Often, they would spend a day or two searching for their targets, only to end the battle in less than a minute.
There wasn't much to say about the battles themselves; Nagato would use the All-Seeing Pull to draw their targets toward him, and then finish them off with the Almighty Push.
"Don't you find this troublesome? With your strength, even if you refused these kinds of tasks, no one would say anything, right?" Sasori couldn't help but comment after yet another two-day search that ended in a one-second battle.
For someone as impatient as Sasori, these missions were excruciating.
"I possess perception abilities, which make me more suitable for this task than others." Nagato replied, lowering his palm after checking the stray ninja's status.
If anyone else were assigned this task, the efficiency would be much lower.
"Thank you so much, Ninja Sect warriors." Seeing that the battle was over, some villagers approached Nagato and Sasori to express their gratitude.
"Yes, if not for you, these bandits would have taken who knows how much from us." The villagers showered the two ninjas with thanks.
Sasori didn't feel much, as he wasn't a Ninja Sect ninja, and their words weren't directed at him.
However, Sasori noticed that Nagato, who usually had an expressionless face, had a slight upward curve to his lips, looking rather pleased.
"What a strange personality for someone with monstrous strength. He's satisfied with just a little praise from civilians," Sasori thought.
"Handsome sir, this is for you." A little girl held out a bracelet made of flowers and grass toward Sasori.
Sasori paused, not reaching for the bracelet, but instead pointing at Nagato.
"That guy over there is the Ninja Sect warrior who helped you."
"I know, so I made an even bigger wreath for him." The little girl giggled and pulled out a wreath several times larger than the bracelet from behind her back.
"After all, he deserves more credit."
"Also, it's not good to quarrel, and you shouldn't refer to your brother as 'that guy'," the little girl said earnestly.
Sasori was full of questions. Since when was Nagato his brother?
Looking at Nagato's red hair, a realization flashed through Sasori's mind.
Red hair was a relatively rare hair color in the ninja world, and since Nagato was taller than him, perhaps outsiders would assume they were related.
Sasori opened his mouth to explain, but the little girl was faster.
"Handsome sir, I wish you and your brother a swift reconciliation."
After saying this, the little girl directly placed the bracelet into Sasori's hand and then scampered over to Nagato's side to give him the wreath.
Sasori: ...
Once the villagers had left, Nagato spoke up, "I'll take you to see Teacher Souyuuki soon."
Sasori's expression returned to its usual indifferent state, and he nodded.
PS: It's still not flowing very well.
But at least I managed to successfully procrastinate and get this written. Consider this yesterday's update.
Today's update will be posted between midnight and 1 a.m.
(End of Chapter)
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