Baki, Yashamaru, and the Sunagakure Jonin were discussing outside.
A Jonin who hadn't gone to the Shukaku Altar said, "The elders were killed by iron sand and poison, weren't they?"
No one was a fool; the tragic scene inside was right there, and Sasori hadn't tried to hide his handiwork this time.
With one look, the experienced Jonin knew how the elders had died.
The iron sand made them think of the Third Kazekage's Secret Technique, and the poison pointed to Sasori.
Things had come to this, so there was no point in hiding it anymore. They could keep it from the Genin and Chunin, but not from the Jonin.
Baki and the Anbu who had been to the Shukaku Altar revealed the truth.
The Third Kazekage hadn't gone missing; he was killed by Sasori, murdered three years ago.
After killing the Third Kazekage, Sasori turned him into a Human Puppet.
Sasori used the Third Kazekage to kill the Elder Council, and he killed the Fourth Kazekage too. Sasori was behind every atrocity.
A Jonin from the Puppet Brigade asked with a grim expression, "Was Sasori acting on Uchiha Ryou's orders?"
Baki shook his head. "Unlikely! Three years ago, Uchiha Ryou was still behaving himself and had no contact with Sasori."
"The assassination of the Third Kazekage was Sasori's solo operation."
Suddenly, many Jonin became enraged.
If Ryou had done it, they could have endured it. After all, Ryou was from the Land of Fire, a foreigner.
They couldn't control the actions of a 'foreign lord,' nor did they have the right to judge him.
Moreover, he was a top general under the Shinobi World's big boss—Madara. Even if he killed the Daimyo, they would just have to take it.
But Sasori was a Shinobi of Sunagakure. His wanted status had just been revoked yesterday. Once revoked, he wasn't a rogue Shinobi, but a Shinobi of the Village.
The foreign lord hadn't done anything wrong; instead, the harm coming from one of their own was even more chilling.
No matter how sharp an enemy's weapons are, they only wound the flesh; but betrayal and a stab in the back from a compatriot pierce straight into the softest part of the heart.
They shared the same blood and wore the same forehead protectors, yet they walked opposite paths.
A commander of the Puppet Brigade spat, "Damn it, Sasori! I knew he was a lunatic!"
An Anbu member retorted, "You don't know shit. Sasori was one of your Puppet Brigade. Your Puppet Brigade is the most cruel unit in Sunagakure."
"Maybe Sasori learned to be like this while in your Puppet Brigade."
The Puppet Brigade commander pointed at the Anbu and cursed, "What did you say? Have you Anbu ever left a single person alive?"
"When the Anbu goes on a mission, not a blade of grass remains. There is no surrender, only reincarnation."
"They say you'd pour boiling water down an anthill, split an earthworm vertically, shake an egg until the yolk scatters, and slap any stray dog that happens to walk by."
"Bullshit! Our Anbu is practically a charity organization!"
Yashamaru looked at the bickering Puppet Brigade and Anbu, not knowing what to say.
A person's tragic fate could be a tragedy of their character, or it could be a tragedy of their environment.
Growing up in such a suppressed and extreme environment like Sunagakure, if these Shinobi were placed in the civilian world, they would likely become murderous demons.
This was also why Shinobi tried to stay hidden in deep mountains and forests, avoiding contact with ordinary people.
They were a group of people walking in the darkness, doing dark deeds.
But the quarrel between the Puppet Brigade and the Anbu wasn't just a clash of tempers; it involved the factions behind them.
The Anbu was the blade of Rasa and the Elder Council, specifically working for the higher-ups.
As for the Puppet Brigade, Chiyo and Sasori had both served as its commanders.
It was after making a name for himself in the Puppet Brigade that Sasori was called Sunagakure's Genius Puppet Designer, the 'God of Puppets' like something out of ancient Greek myth.
The Puppet Brigade carried a heavy shadow of Sasori. Every member was a villain who kept company with poison and puppets; Sasori's cruelty was likely assimilated from the Puppet Brigade.
Sasori had killed the Third Kazekage, the Fourth Kazekage, and the elders of the Elder Council.
These people were the superiors of the Anbu, people to whom they owed a debt of gratitude.
If we can't deal with Sasori, can't we at least deal with your Puppet Brigade?
Seeing that the Anbu and the Puppet Brigade were about to come to blows, Baki quickly mediated, "Everyone, stop arguing. The most important thing right now is unity."
"Tomorrow is the day Konoha holds the Five Kage Summit. We must elect a new Kazekage to attend the summit."
The Anbu members and the Puppet Brigade Jonin all dropped their hostile stances.
They were all adults; they should know how to weigh the consequences of their actions.
The current environment was truly not suitable for internal strife.
Regarding the election of the Kazekage, given the situation, it seemed only Chiyo and Pakura were qualified.
An Anbu member snorted, "The Anbu supports Lady Pakura! Granny Chiyo lied to us before, saying Uchiha Ryou killed Rasa. She was planning to pin Sasori's crimes on Uchiha Ryou."
"Lady Chiyo has selfish motives!"
The Puppet Brigade commander shouted, "I think Lady Chiyo was right! If other Villages found out that Sasori killed both the Third and Fourth Kazekage, who knows how they would mock us?"
The members of the Puppet Brigade chimed in one after another.
Indeed, some things might seem light at first, but once they're out in the open, the weight becomes unbearable.
Everyone knew the truth about the Third and Fourth Kazekage now, but could it be publicized?
Two generations of the Village's Kazekage were taken out by the same person, and one of their own at that. Such a thing was a massive laughingstock; could they let outsiders know?
It was better to frame Ryou. Anyway, he was currently the number one villain under Madara.
One more debt wouldn't hurt a man already up to his neck in them.
That makes sense!
The Anbu members felt the Puppet Brigade had a point; the truth about the Third, Fourth, and the Elder Council's deaths could not be spread to everyone.
In this world, the truth is for the upper class; the middle and lower classes just need to listen to fake news and curse the 'evil' enemy forces.
Why do they need to know so much?
The people may be made to follow a path of action, but they may not be made to understand it.
As long as humans rule humans, even in a thousand years, they will still be using the same old imperial templates!
The Anbu thought this way, but they couldn't say it while arguing with the Puppet Brigade.
"Pah! You Puppet Brigade are Lady Chiyo and Sasori's unit, of course you'd speak for them."
"The Kazekage position must go to Lady Pakura, there's no room for negotiation. Besides, Lady Chiyo is already very old and isn't fit to be Kazekage."
Although Chiyo had regained her youth, the explanation given was a Secret Technique, so everyone still considered her old.
Becoming Kazekage at nearly sixty years old? Does that old bag really think she's making a selfless sacrifice?
Isn't this just an old person coming out to steal a spot from the youth?
"Bah! How can a mere Pakura be compared to Lady Chiyo, who assisted three generations of Kazekage?"
"Your words are the fallacy! Lady Chiyo assisted one generation, and a Kazekage died. Both the Third and Fourth were killed by her grandson. Can we really let Lady Chiyo become Kazekage?"
"How dare you speak of Lady Chiyo like that? Just wait until Sasori comes back; you'll definitely get what's coming to you."
Baki and Yashamaru glanced at each other, both seeing the headache in the other's eyes.
Even though they were also Anbu, given the current situation, they couldn't completely take the Anbu's side.
Without Chiyo holding things together, this Village would fall apart sooner or later.