Chapter 590 Meeting Sosuke

Six Paths City, Land of Rain.

Sasori awoke from his sleep, frowning slightly as he listened to the pattering rain outside.

The continuous fine drizzle had made Sasori, who was already in a bad mood, even more irritable.

He tiptoed to the door, opened it slightly, and cautiously observed his surroundings.

After confirming that there were no suspicious Ninja monitoring him, Sasori closed the door, returned to his bed, and continued to try to refine Chakra to break the Sealing Technique within his body.

Ten minutes later, Sasori opened his eyes, his delicate face showing undisguised disappointment.

“His Sealing Technique is actually so powerful, possessing strong restrictive abilities while also being able to maintain itself continuously,” Sasori said with a deep frown.

Sōsuke’s Sealing Technique was stronger than Sasori had anticipated.

He had originally thought that with his own ability, it would only be a matter of time before he broke the seal by wearing it down, but he hadn’t expected that after more than two months, there would be no progress at all.

Sasori rubbed his tightly furrowed brows and fell into deep thought.

If he couldn’t break the seal on his body, even if he escaped from Six Paths City, he wouldn’t be able to continue seeking revenge, and it would even be difficult for him to protect himself.

If a Ninja couldn’t use Chakra, then he wasn’t a Ninja.

How could he, not being a Ninja, possibly kill Kakashi Hatake? One must know that Kakashi Hatake was not only a Ninja but also a genius Ninja.

“Could it be that I really have to wait until I’m released by the Shinobi Sect ten years later?” Sasori clenched his fists, his face full of unwillingness.

If he could successfully get his revenge in the end, Sasori could completely accept waiting ten years.

However, there was a problem now: after ten years, his success rate for revenge would drastically decrease.

Because during these ten years, Sasori couldn’t cultivate or research Puppet Technique, while Kakashi Hatake could continuously cultivate and grow stronger.

With this give and take, whether Sasori could successfully get revenge after being released by the Shinobi Sect in ten years was an unknown.

If he could definitely get revenge, let alone ten years, Sasori could even accept being imprisoned for twenty years.

But the thought that his revenge would be affected made Sasori feel incredibly irritable after only two months.

Sasori looked at the clock on the wall; it was already 6:40, ten minutes until breakfast began, and forty minutes until breakfast ended.

Usually, Sasori would go to the cafeteria at this time because going early meant he wouldn’t have to wait in a long line, and Sasori hated waiting in lines.

However, Sasori didn’t feel like moving now; he had no appetite for food, his mind was completely occupied with breaking the seal and seeking revenge.

No matter how Sasori thought or tried, he couldn’t do anything about the seal within his body.

After numerous failures, Sasori lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, lost in thought.

Knock knock.

After an unknown amount of time, the wooden door of Sasori’s room was knocked.

Sasori ignored the knocking and continued to lie on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

Bang!

Since Sasori didn’t open the door, Nagato directly pushed it open with force.

After the door opened, Nagato’s eyes quickly scanned the room, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he found that Sasori was just lying on the bed and there was no suspicious red liquid around him.

“Why aren’t you eating breakfast or going to work? Today isn’t a day off,” Nagato asked, looking quietly at Sasori.

Six Paths City didn’t support freeloaders; prisoners needed to work.

Sasori didn’t answer Nagato’s question, merely continuing to stare at the ceiling.

“You know, what you’re doing is meaningless and will only extend your sentence,” Nagato continued.

He knew Sasori wanted to leave the Shinobi Sect and get his revenge as soon as possible.

Upon hearing the words “extend your sentence,” Sasori finally moved; he turned his head to look at Nagato and eventually sat up.

“I want to see Sōsuke,” Sasori said in a deep voice, stating his demand.

Sasori was impatient but not thoughtless; he knew that resisting the Shinobi Sect would only worsen his situation.

His refusal to eat breakfast or work, besides his irritable mood, also stemmed from a desire to talk with the Shinobi Sect.

Although Sasori’s current status destined him to have an unequal position with the Shinobi Sect, Sasori possessed the unique Human Puppet Technique in the entire Ninja World.

At first, Sasori thought he could escape, which was why he had no intention of negotiating with the Shinobi Sect.

But now, Sasori found Sōsuke’s Sealing Technique to be incredibly powerful, and not making a deal would severely impact his revenge plan.

“Teacher Sōsuke isn’t someone you can just see whenever you want,” Nagato didn’t agree.

He was the only one who knew Muzuki’s identity and how busy Muzuki was, so he couldn’t actively create trouble for Muzuki.

“If you have something to say, you can tell me.”

If Sasori truly had something that necessitated contacting Muzuki, Nagato would report it to Muzuki.

“Do you have the right to restore my freedom? Or can you help me break the Sealing Technique?” Sasori asked.

“No,” Nagato answered crisply.

He had no authority to release prisoners, nor did he have the ability to undo Muzuki’s seal.

Sasori pulled out a mocking smile, “Then what’s the use of me telling you?”

He hadn’t expected Nagato to agree; Sasori just wanted to mock Nagato.

Nothing else, Sasori hated Nagato.

If Nagato hadn’t injured and captured him, he might have already carried out a second assassination and succeeded.

To Sasori, Nagato was the number one enemy who ruined his grand revenge plan, so how could Sasori not hate Nagato?

“If it’s truly a very important matter, I will report it to Teacher Sōsuke,” Nagato ignored Sasori’s mockery and replied indifferently.

“Of course, it’s a very important matter, after all, it concerns the most important thing in my life—revenge,” Sasori emphasized.

Another reason Sasori hated Nagato was that Nagato wanted him to let go of his hatred.

Although Nagato didn’t constantly harp on it, Sasori could tell.

Who among normal people would give a prisoner they were monitoring books like “The Importance of Living in the Present”?

Nagato hadn’t experienced his pain, so how could he be qualified to persuade him to let go of hatred and embrace a new life?

“The most important matter…?” Nagato paused slightly.

“Not only is it the most important thing, but it’s also the greatest meaning of living,” Sasori continued to emphasize.

Nagato listened to Sasori’s words, opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but ultimately made no sound.

He had wanted to tell Sasori that living like that would be very painful.

But Nagato had watched his parents die before his eyes and understood the pain that the death of parents brought.

Having personally felt that pain, it was difficult for Nagato to tell others to let go of their hatred.

Even if it wasn’t Kakashi who killed Sasori’s parents, but Kakashi’s father.

“No objections? Then go tell Sōs…” Sasori, seeing Nagato fall silent, finally spoke.

Seeing Nagato speechless from his retort, Sasori felt much better and wasn’t going to waste any more words with Nagato.

“My parents also died at the hands of Konoha Ninja.”

Nagato interrupted Sasori and said something that greatly surprised Sasori.

“And, right before my eyes, they died protecting me,” Nagato began to tell his story.

Recalling this nightmare he wished not to remember, Nagato’s mind couldn’t help but replay that night interwoven with red and black.

It was an ordinary, pitch-black rainy night.

For the Land of Rain, rain was commonplace; gloomy dark clouds always hung over their heads.

But for Nagato’s life, that day was not ordinary; two Konoha Ninja broke into their home to scavenge for food.

Actually, at first, the situation wasn’t so bad, because Nagato’s parents immediately took Nagato and hid.

They could have quietly escaped, but Nagato accidentally knocked over a jar, startling the Konoha Ninja, which ultimately led to his parents being killed by the Konoha Ninja and falling in a pool of blood.

Normally, with Sasori’s temper, if he were interrupted, he would immediately retaliate in kind, and if he were interrupted by someone he disliked, the consequences would be even more severe.

But now, Sasori was surprisingly silent.

He was very confused now.

He had only heard the news of his parents’ death and seen their bodies, and it was already so painful, so shouldn’t Nagato, who witnessed his parents’ death firsthand, be even more pained?

Why didn’t Nagato seem to hate Konoha Ninja?

“Since your parents were killed by Konoha Ninja, why are you stopping me from taking revenge on Konoha Ninja?” Sasori asked in confusion.

Even from the Shinobi Sect’s standpoint, Nagato shouldn’t have acted against him, even if he didn’t help him.

“Don’t you hate Konoha Ninja? They were the murderers who directly caused your parents’ death?”

“I hate the Konoha Ninja who killed my parents, I hate any Ninja who kills innocent civilians during war, but I don’t hate all Konoha Ninja,” Nagato replied.

Before meeting Jiraiya, Nagato had hated Konoha Ninja.

Konoha Ninja had killed his parents and enveloped his country in war, so how could Nagato not hate Konoha Ninja?

After becoming a disciple of Jiraiya and Muzuki, Nagato understood a truth: people are different.

He had encountered some bad Konoha Ninja, but that didn’t mean all Konoha Ninja were like that.

“So what are you trying to say? Because Kakashi Hatake isn’t the Ninja who truly killed my parents, I can’t hate him?” Sasori felt like he understood Nagato.

Nagato shook his head; he wasn’t going to say that.

Nagato recounted his parents’ death not to gain sympathy; he just wanted to explain something to Sasori: he had also experienced similar pain and wasn’t someone who only talked big.

“I can take you to see Teacher Sōsuke, if you help me complete a mission,” Nagato suddenly said something unrelated to the previous topic.

However, Sasori didn’t care; he immediately asked, “What mission? What do I need to do?”

Sasori’s purpose for not working was to see Sōsuke and reach a cooperation with the Shinobi Sect; in a sense, this was getting back on track.

“Clear out the rogue Ninja in the central Land of Rain. Given that your Chakra is sealed, you only need to do some logistical work,” Nagato explained.

The various unstable factors in the south had mostly been cleared, and next, the Shinobi Sect would carry out cleanup operations in other areas of the Land of Rain, clearing out bandits, illegal Ninja Organizations, and rampant rogue Ninja.

“Clearing out rogue Ninja, you?” Sasori couldn’t help but ask with a question mark in his mind.

Sasori was all too familiar with how terrifying Nagato’s strength was; he had not only witnessed Nagato’s shocking battle with Six Gates Might Guy but had also personally fought Nagato.

If Sasori was a genius, then Nagato was a monster, a monster that Sasori found difficult to defeat even with prior preparation.

Sasori felt it was completely unnecessary to send such a monster to deal with rogue Ninja.

Or were the rogue Ninja in the Land of Rain all incredibly strong, and the level of Six Gates Might Guy was not uncommon?

Nagato nodded.

There weren’t many Ninja in the Shinobi Sect, and some had to maintain the operation of Six Paths City and be responsible for public order in the south, so even if there was a suspicion of using a cannon to kill a mosquito, Nagato still got the mission.

“So, will you agree?” Nagato asked.

“Yes,” Sasori thought for a moment and agreed.

Nagato couldn’t possibly have any intention of killing him, because if Nagato wanted to kill him, Sasori would have died from that Shinra Tensei long ago.

During these two months in the Shinobi Sect, Nagato was the person he had the most contact with, and Sasori had some understanding of him.

Then Nagato first went to the construction team to explain the situation, and then took Sasori to the central Land of Rain to carry out the mission.

The actual mission was a bit more troublesome than Sasori had imagined.

Although the rogue Ninja didn’t have the strength of Six Gates Might Guy and were easy to deal with in a fight, to completely clear them out, they had to repeatedly travel back and forth between various villages and towns.

Often, it would take a day or two to find someone, and the battle would last less than a minute.

The battle process wasn’t much to talk about: Bansho Tenin, then Shinra Tensei, slammed into the ground, instantly defeated.

“Don’t you find it troublesome? With your strength, even if you refused this kind of mission, no one would say anything, right?” After another battle that involved two days of searching and one second of resolution, Sasori couldn’t help but say.

For an impatient person like him, this kind of mission was too much suffering.

“I have sensory abilities, which makes me more suitable than others,” Nagato replied after putting down his hand and checking the rogue Ninja’s condition.

If others were to do it, the efficiency would be even lower.

“Two Ninja-sama of the Shinobi Sect, thank you so much!” Seeing the battle end, some villagers walked up to Nagato and thanked both Nagato and Sasori.

“Yes, otherwise, who knows how much these bandits would have robbed,” the villagers expressed their gratitude to the two, chattering away.

Sasori felt nothing; he wasn’t a Shinobi Sect Ninja, so these words weren’t directed at him.

However, Sasori noticed that the usually expressionless Nagato’s lips curved slightly, and he seemed quite happy.

“Monster-like strength, and such a strange personality, satisfied with just a few praises from commoners,” Sasori thought.

“Handsome big brother, this is for you,” a little girl, holding a bracelet woven from flowers and grass, handed it to Sasori.

Sasori paused, didn’t take the bracelet, but pointed at Nagato.

“That guy is the Shinobi Sect Ninja who helped you deal with the enemy.”

“I saw it, so the bigger flower crown is for that big brother,” the little girl chuckled and pulled out a flower crown several times larger than the bracelet from behind her back.

“After all, that big brother’s contribution is greater.”

“And, arguing is bad, and you shouldn’t call your own big brother ‘that guy’,” the little girl said with a serious expression.

Sasori’s face was full of question marks; since when did Nagato become his brother?

Looking at Nagato’s red hair, a Flash of inspiration struck Sasori’s mind.

Red hair was a relatively rare hair color in the Ninja World, and combined with Nagato being taller than him, perhaps in outsiders’ eyes, they were relatives.

Sasori opened his mouth to explain, but the little girl was faster.

“Handsome big brother, I wish you an early reconciliation with your own big brother.”

With that, the little girl directly put the bracelet into Sasori’s hand, then scurried to Nagato’s side to give Nagato the flower crown.

Sasori:…

After the villagers had all left, Nagato took the initiative to speak, “I will take you to see Teacher Sōsuke later.”

Sasori’s expression returned to its usual indifference, and he nodded.

PS: Still not writing very smoothly.

But at least I managed to write it while slacking off; this counts as yesterday’s update.

Today’s update will be released around twelve to one in the morning.