Naruto: Troublesome Ninja Haruta

Chapter 19: Sasori? Sasori!

"Where the hell is it?"

Amidst the howling winds of the Land of Wind, Sasori walked steadily into the depths of the desert.

Days ago, after noticing signs of a fierce battle, he had been searching nonstop.

His return to the Land of Wind had a simple purpose—to find suitable materials to craft more puppets.

And when he heard that the battle might have involved Pakura and some unknown yet powerful ninja, his interest was immediately piqued.

After all, only excellent materials could create the perfect puppets!

But despite searching for days, he had found nothing.

He had even killed several search squads along the way, yet no reliable intel had surfaced. This was starting to frustrate him.

"I'll search a little longer. The organization doesn't have any missions for me right now, but I can't stay here too long—Sunagakure's Anbu seems to be on the move as well."

Sasori wasn't afraid of Anbu. He just found it annoying to have a bunch of fleas constantly trailing behind him.

"Looks like I need to craft a new puppet to conceal my identity a bit..."

Just as he was considering this, he suddenly noticed a squad moving through the desert ahead...

---

"Looks like you didn't get any useful intel, senpai."

Walking across the sandy terrain, Haruta glanced at Shisui's darkened expression, then turned to look at Pakura, who appeared increasingly exhausted. He chuckled.

Two days had passed.

Shisui had used plenty of genjutsu techniques on Pakura.

But the result?

Pakura truly knew nothing.

Of course, everyone had more or less expected this outcome.

If Sunagakure was planning to sell her out, there was no way they would have told her in advance.

Still, failing to extract any useful intelligence was somewhat disappointing.

"It was within expectations. You already pointed it out before."

Yuugao tilted her head, glancing at Pakura before turning to Haruta.

"Also, next time you run into trouble, let us know. Stop trying to handle everything by yourself—we're teammates."

"Yes, yes, I get it. Thanks for your concern, senpai."

Haruta grinned and nodded. Strictly speaking, their current retreat was partly his doing.

After all, he had to help Kabuto.

Kabuto had tricked his own squad into walking straight into Haruta's ambush, and he himself still needed to remain in Sunagakure for now.

Meanwhile, Haruta had to report certain matters back, meaning they couldn't stay in this location any longer.

Besides, Haruta had his own plans. It was time for him to act.

What exactly Kabuto planned to do next was unclear, but one thing was certain—his espionage skills were top-tier.

Haruta, however, also had a plan—one that involved giving his "little brother" a helping hand...

"Like, say… making things harder for Shisui?"

Haruta's gaze instinctively flicked to Shisui, who was keeping a close watch on Pakura to prevent her escape.

He had spent a lot of time thinking about how to best utilize Kabuto's talents—especially in figuring out a way to lure the Kazekage out of his office.

After much consideration, the best option seemed to be none other than Shisui himself—who, by this time, had likely already awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan!

With that power, Shisui could serve as a catalyst to force the Kazekage's hand.

Of course, just having the Mangekyō wouldn't be enough to guarantee the Kazekage's involvement.

That was where Pakura came in—she would be a bargaining chip.

Haruta's original idea was to plant a trap on Pakura, then have Shisui take action, forcing the Kazekage into negotiations.

Rasa was likely already in talks with Kirigakure, and Pakura was his bargaining chip. There was a high probability he would come for her.

And for the sake of maintaining Pakura's reputation, Rasa would probably come in secret.

That would give Haruta the perfect opportunity to pin everything on Danzo while also planting seeds of doubt in Pakura's mind.

"But now…"

Now, he wanted more.

If Kabuto stole the intelligence he needed, wouldn't that directly accelerate Pakura's suspicions?

And wouldn't this be the perfect opportunity for "Lord Danzo's" reputation to spread across Sunagakure?

"I really am Danzo's most loyal follower..."

Haruta nodded to himself.

After a brief moment of thought, he turned to Shisui.

"Captain, there's something I want to discuss with you."

"Hm?"

Shisui was momentarily surprised but quickly nodded.

"Alright. Let's talk up ahead."

He started walking forward, while Yuugao took his place watching over Pakura.

Once they had walked a fair distance—far enough that Pakura wouldn't overhear—Shisui finally asked,

"So, what's on your mind, Haruta?"

"Yeah, I've been thinking about something."

Haruta nodded. He had already formed a plan, but he needed to carefully choose his words.

After all, if he was going to make things difficult for Shisui, he needed to make sure Shisui volunteered for it himself.

"Senpai, I've been wondering—how can we maximize benefits for the village?"

"Maximize benefits for the village?"

Shisui's interest was piqued immediately.

"Let's hear it."

"It's actually quite simple."

Haruta smirked.

He knew exactly how Shisui—and the rest of the Uchiha dove faction—thought. He didn't bother hiding anything.

"I have my suspicions, but no concrete proof. However, that doesn't change one thing—whether or not the village actually wants Sunagakure to survive this crisis."

"Haruta-kun, what do you mean by that?"

Shisui's brows furrowed.

If Sunagakure collapsed, that would be bad for Konoha.

But now Haruta was making it sound like the opposite?

"I mean that Sunagakure can't be allowed to collapse—that would hurt Konoha."

Haruta sighed.

"God, he really is naive..."

"But at the same time, Sunagakure needs to pay a price.

And if they struggle against Iwagakure, isn't that better for us?

A strong Sunagakure dares to challenge Konoha.

A crippled Sunagakure? They become our ideal ally. Don't you think?"

"Uh..."

Shisui struggled to process the logic—it was a bit convoluted.

But the more he thought about it... it did make some sense?

The Third War had started because Sunagakure provoked Konoha.

And when they lost, they became Konoha's "ally."

Even then, the Hokage had never truly trusted them.

So wasn't it better to keep them weak, ensuring they never got the chance to rebel again?

"Tell me more!"

Shisui's eyes lit up.

"Finally, his little brain is catching up..."

"It's not difficult, but it'll require some effort from you, senpai..."

Haruta began carefully.

Shisui, however, didn't hesitate.

"If it's for the village, I'm willing to do it."

"Perfect."

Beneath his mask, Haruta grinned.

"If you're willing, then everything is set."

"First, we need to—huh?"

Just as he was about to continue, his gaze suddenly snapped toward the distance.

Not just him—Shisui also turned to look.

A lone figure appeared amidst the raging sandstorm.

The violent winds blurred his outline, but he walked unhurriedly toward them.

More importantly, Haruta could feel it—this guy had an incredibly dangerous chakra.

"...Who is that?"

Shisui frowned.

As the figure drew closer, Haruta's expression shifted.

A black cloak with red clouds.

Short, crimson hair billowing in the wind.

Eyes sharp and unsettling, like a predator stalking its prey.

"This guy... is it Sasori?"

Haruta murmured internally.

But then—suddenly—an idea struck him.

His eyes shone with excitement.

"Wait a minute—Sasori..."