He looked at the empty space in front of him blankly. Sasori of the Red Sand couldn't help but feel a little confused for a moment.
"What's going on?"
"The two of them were in a desperate posture when they came at me. how did they retreat mid-fight?"
Seeing that his beloved puppet had been destroyed, Sasori deliberately wanted to chase down Asakura Chao Yanqian and Uchiha Chizuru. But with the base in ruins and many of his puppet materials still buried beneath the rock surface, if he chased them now, he wouldn't know when he'd have time to return and clean up the mess.
Moreover, Uchiha Chizuru's Sharingan made Sasori feel deeply wary.
He'd heard of the Uchiha clan's prowess many times, but now, having faced a Sharingan-wielder personally, Sasori had no choice but to acknowledge their strength.
In the earlier battle, nearly all of Sasori's attacks had been seen through by the Sharingan. That reality irritated him. It was as if what he treasured most what he considered unbeatable was easily dismantled by another.
"Sharingan… I remember you!" Sasori muttered in his heart. "One day, I will create a puppet that even the Sharingan cannot see through!"
"This base has been exposed. It looks like I'll have to relocate. Damn Konoha shinobi…" Sasori hissed, his hatred for Konoha deepening.
"Did Sasori chase us?" Chao Yanqian asked after they'd run through the forest for about an hour.
"No!" Uchiha Chizuru glanced behind and replied, "Seems like he's not coming. Sasori doesn't have intel on us and doesn't know whether other Konoha shinobi are nearby waiting to ambush. Since he's already defected from Sunagakure, if he's thinking rationally, he wouldn't chase us so carelessly."
"Looks like we're safe," said Chao Yanqian.
Looking down at the camera in his hand, Chao Yanqian grinned with excitement.
As long as these photos made it back, it would be enough to plunge Sunagakure into civil unrest.
At this point, most of Chao Yanqian's plan had been completed. All that remained was to deliver these photos to the village and wait for the reward.
Snap!
Uchiha Chizuru landed on a tree branch and turned back toward Chao Yanqian. "Now that your mission is complete, you can tell me how do I awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
"Of course. I always keep my word," said Chao Yanqian with a smile.
"That's good," Chizuru replied, seemingly indifferent.
"But before I tell you how to awaken it… there's one more thing," said Chao Yanqian.
"What now?" Chizuru asked, irritated.
"Do you know why Lord Orochimaru agreed to let me accompany you on this mission?" Chao Yanqian asked.
"Tch! What other reason could there be?" Uchiha Chizuru scoffed. "He wants evidence of Sasori's involvement in the assassination of the Third Kazekage."
"Don't you think that's odd?" Chao Yanqian chuckled. "If Orochimaru already knew about Sasori, he could've handled it himself. Why send us? And don't forget we were each given different missions when we left the camp. Isn't that suspicious?"
Chizuru frowned. He'd also found it strange at first, but assumed it was part of Chao Yanqian's plan and didn't give it much thought. Now, hearing it framed this way, it didn't sit right.
If the goal was simply to find Sasori, Orochimaru could have issued a single mission for both of them. Why separate tasks?
"A jōnin's instincts are sharp, as expected," Chao Yanqian smiled. "You've already figured it out, haven't you? Senior Chizuru, Orochimaru-sama gave me a secret mission. Want to know what it was?"
"What is it?" Chizuru asked warily, already sensing something off.
Staring directly at him, Chao Yanqian said, "Orochimaru-sama ordered me to extract your eyes once you were injured in the fight with Sasori."
"What?" Uchiha Chizuru was stunned. Orochimaru wanted to steal his eyes?
Was Chao Yanqian lying, or telling the truth?
"How could Orochimaru…" Chizuru muttered in disbelief.
"Of course Orochimaru covets the power of the Sharingan," Chao Yanqian said. "Though I've worked with him, I'm not fond of some of his methods. I don't intend to follow that order. If I meant to harm you, I wouldn't have retreated with you, or told you any of this."
With the plan now complete, Chao Yanqian thought, once he mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, he'd no longer need to fear Orochimaru. Even without it, if he could develop Tsunade's Yin Seal, he'd still have a degree of protection.
Originally, Chao Yanqian had followed Orochimaru to:
Gain guidance from him,
Use forbidden jutsu to grow stronger;Obtain the First Hokage's cells and Acquire the Ryūchidō (Dragon Cave) summoning contract.
But now, the first two no longer required Orochimaru. Tsunade's guidance was enough. He had already nearly mastered the third. With Orochimaru's research, he could transplant the First Hokage's cells on his own.
As for the last getting the summoning scroll from Ryūchidō Orochimaru would never hand it over willingly. So Chao Yanqian would have to steal it.
Eventually, Chao Yanqian and Orochimaru would clash. In that case, he wouldn't mind dragging Uchiha Chizuru into it to team up against Orochimaru.
"What do you want?" Chizuru asked defensively.
He didn't understand why he felt so wary of a mere chūnin, but something about Chao Yanqian felt unpredictable. Even if Chao Yanqian seemed weak now, who could say what he was hiding?
"Two of your Uchiha comrades died during missions this month, right?" Chao Yanqian went on. "It was all Orochimaru's plot. Originally, he planned to take your eyes during this operation. But I think you're more trustworthy than he is. So I've decided I'd rather keep working with you."
"How do you want to cooperate?" Chizuru asked, narrowing his eyes.