After a moment of silence, Pakura said seriously, "Let's get this straight, Temari, my training is very harsh."
Temari kowtowed and said, "Lady Pakura, I'm not afraid. Please train me with all your might! I must become stronger than Uchiha Ryou."
Pakura was somewhat happy: "Good, you have ambition. From today on, you are my disciple. I will definitely train you to be a Shinobi more powerful than Uchiha Ryou."
"Thank you, Lady Pakura!"
...
Kazekage Mansion.
After cleaning up the blood in the Elders' Conference Room, Chiyo convened a meeting of the Village's Jonin.
Tomorrow is the Five Kage Summit; they must elect the Fifth Kazekage as soon as possible to attend the summit and form the Shinobi Allied Forces.
Regarding the Fifth Kazekage, the Puppet Brigade firmly supported Chiyo.
But the Anbu disagreed; they supported Pakura, who was younger, more hot-blooded, and had no negative news so far.
The two sides began to argue.
As long as power exists and organizations exist, factions will exist.
Sunagakure isn't big, but the evil winds are strong.
They had more elders than any of the other Five Great Shinobi Villages. Because there were so many, Sasori couldn't distinguish who was in Chiyo's faction and who opposed her.
So he simply killed them all!
Konoha, the largest Shinobi Village, only had three elders, yet Sunagakure had a whole bunch?
If the upper management was like this, how fragmented must the people below be?
The Puppet Brigade belonged to the Puppet Faction, which could be traced back to the era of the Second Kazekage, Shamon. The Puppet Technique was created by the Second Kazekage.
Both Chiyo and Sasori could be considered members of the Puppet Faction.
Both the Third Kazekage and the Fourth Kazekage were Kazekage of the Ninjutsu Faction.
Pakura was also viewed by the Anbu as someone from the Ninjutsu Faction and could be supported.
Of course, they had no one else to support.
Although Gaara was highly talented, the young lord was still a child, and with the court in turmoil, it was not suitable for him to inherit the leadership.
Pakura, as a Jonin, was also summoned to watch the spectacle.
She stood with her arms crossed, expressionless.
Pakura had once pursued the position of Kazekage.
But it shouldn't be like this, being forced into it like a duck driven onto a perch.
Moreover, she was still Ryou's puppet; if she became the Kazekage, Sunagakure would become Ryou's back garden.
Looking at Chiyo's appearance, she was likely Ryou's puppet as well.
She had never heard of Chiyo having any Secret Technique to restore her youth; it was likely Ryou's rejuvenation Forbidden Jutsu.
Like herself, she had also been controlled by Ryou.
And then there were Baki and the rest of the Sunagakure Anbu.
Rasa was dead; what ability did they have to survive Ryou's Wood Golem?
Anyone who had contact with Ryou ran the risk of being parasitized by spore.
Pakura didn't want Sunagakure to become Ryou's exclusive property, but looking at the situation, once the secret was exposed, Sunagakure would immediately fall to a second-rate Shinobi Village.
She couldn't afford to gamble and could only follow Chiyo's lead, taking it one step at a time.
"Quiet!"
Chiyo roared with great vigor, and the entire conference room immediately fell silent.
Before, people only respected Chiyo for her elderly appearance, but with the aura she now exuded...
It made people wonder if Chiyo had truly returned to being twenty years old.
From the head seat, Chiyo said, "I don't want to deceive everyone. Both the Third and Fourth were killed by Sasori, and he is my grandson."
"I allowed evil to fester and personally raised a demon who has brought chaos to the world."
"Everyone, I am sorry!"
Chiyo bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle, feeling very ashamed before everyone.
"It's all my fault. I am willing to take the punishment for Sasori!"
The Anbu members quickly tried to persuade her: "Grandma, those were Sasori's own actions; they have nothing to do with Lady Chiyo."
The Anbu had their differences with Chiyo, but that didn't mean they were hostile toward her.
Sunagakure couldn't stand on Pakura's shoulders alone; Chiyo was still the backbone of Sunagakure.
The Puppet Brigade members followed suit: "Yes, Grandma, actually we're to blame too. Sasori was assimilated by the unhealthy atmosphere in the Village."
"We've neglected the ideological education of underage Shinobi too much. Konoha has the Will of Fire; I think we in Sunagakure can also create a Will of Sand."
In the original work, Konoha and Iwagakure were the ones with clear ideological education.
Konoha's Will of Fire: self-sacrifice to protect, passing on the torch, and viewing all fellow villagers as blood-related family.
Iwagakure's Will of Stone: tenacity, absolute obedience, and protecting the Village with a will as hard as rock.
As for the other three Shinobi Villages, the Hidden Cloud Village doesn't do these fancy things; successive Raikage have used their formidable strength to gain the following of their subordinates.
Sunagakure was indulgent and permissive, while Kirigakure was like raising venomous insects, making students of the same class kill each other during the Shinobi Academy graduation exam.
A few years ago, Zabuza went on a rampage alone at the graduation exam venue, clearing the map by himself.
He killed every single examinee of that year alone. Kirigakure higher-ups were shocked and subsequently abolished the mutual-killing system of the graduation exam.
The Puppet Brigade believed that Sasori's current state was due to environmental factors; he shouldn't have been allowed into the Puppet Brigade and exposed to the Village's darkness while still a minor.
After some arguing, everyone just wanted Chiyo not to shoulder all the blame; Sasori's soul was bloodthirsty.
No amount of affection could awaken his humanity.
Rather than reflecting on oneself, it was better to blame others.
Chiyo didn't agree in her heart. In her eyes, Sasori turned bad the year his parents died in battle.
Sasori can still be redeemed!
But now wasn't the time to redeem Sasori; it was time to elect a Kazekage as quickly as possible.
Chiyo said to the many Jonin, "Everyone, I'm an old woman and not fit to be the Fifth. I nominate Pakura to succeed as the Fifth Kazekage."
Everyone looked at Pakura.
Pakura stepped forward and said somewhat irritably, "Is this pushing me out to face Uchiha Madara?"
Being the Kazekage meant facing Madara directly; it was impossible to let a few Genin deal with him.
Everyone realized that becoming a Kage meant going head-to-head with Madara.
A member of the Puppet Brigade said, "Pakura, that's where you're wrong. Lady Chiyo is already so old. Would you really be willing to let her face Uchiha Madara?"
Everyone looked at Chiyo.
Chiyo was very young now, looking vibrant and even more imposing than Pakura.
"Cough, cough..."
Chiyo coughed twice and lowered her back, starting to play the part of a frail old lady.
Chiyo didn't want to be the Kazekage.
She had assisted the Third Kazekage; although she knew the work well, she had no interest in becoming the Kazekage herself.
Chiyo said very miserably, "Everyone, I'm already fifty-seven this year. Do you really want to watch an old woman like me go and risk my life against Uchiha Madara?"
Neither the Puppet Brigade nor the Anbu agreed.
"Pakura, stop pressuring Grandma!"
"Yes, Lady Chiyo is so old, yet we're pushing her out to fight Uchiha Madara. Other Villages will laugh at us."
Everyone began to denounce the inconsiderate Pakura.
Pakura's eyes met Chiyo's, and Chiyo gave her a mischievous wink.
That old fox, she's definitely younger than her now.