Chapter 112: Carrying Another Burden

“Lord Wind Shadow, please don’t be so quick to refuse. Our power surpasses your imagination. Keeping us will be far more beneficial than spending a little money,” Baimu said with a smile.

“No need,” Rōsha replied firmly. This battle had already cost him dearly; he hadn’t gained any advantage and had poured in so many supplies, all painstakingly earned by himself through gold-digging. There was simply no extra money to hire ninjas.

“Wait…” Grandma Chiyo interrupted Rōsha.

“What guidance does Elder Chiyo have?” Rōsha asked politely. After all, he was still new as the Fourth Kazekage, and some clans were not yet compliant. To secure his position, he needed the support of the two elders.

“As we discussed before, if no other variables arise, once Konoha sends reinforcements from Iwagakure, we can only admit defeat and retreat. Whether Konoha will sign a treaty without any hidden agenda afterward remains uncertain.” Grandma Chiyo sensed the confident aura of strength radiating from Baimu, as well as the unsettling chakra from his protector.

“So… Elder Chiyo believes they can break this deadlock?” Rōsha frowned.

“Why not give them a chance to prove themselves,” Grandma Chiyo nodded.

“Very well, as Elder Chiyo says. Tell me, what skills do you possess?” Rōsha felt compelled to take a gamble after Chiyo’s suggestion.

“I am a prophet priestess, able to commune with the gods and comprehend all matters of the ninja world.”

“Balance Guardian, who believes all life can be weighed in gold—pay me, and I kill.”

“Balance Saintess, skilled in healing all wounds, soothing the soul, and making deals with death.”

Baimu introduced them one by one.

“Don’t talk nonsense! I won’t do it!” Nonou wanted to shout.

“What about me? What about me?” Afei also wanted to introduce himself.

“Mascot Afei… um, a cat who can transform into a beautiful girl at night.”

“Communing with gods… comprehending all?” Grandma Chiyo suddenly appeared lost in thought, murmuring softly.

“Elder Chiyo, do you have doubts? Lord Cthulhu, the god, will provide any answer you seek,” Baimu said with a faint smile. He, of course, understood what Grandma Chiyo was pondering.

“I… I want to ask…” Grandma Chiyo’s spirit seemed distant.

“Sister! Don’t trust charlatans too much!” Ebi-zo urged. He didn’t know if gods existed in the ninja world, but those who claimed to communicate with them were either liars or madmen.

“I want to know where my grandson has gone!” Grandma Chiyo finally voiced. She missed her child deeply.

“Such a simple question. No matter life or death, as long as he remains in this world, Lord Cthulhu, all-knowing and almighty, will find him.” Baimu slowly approached Grandma Chiyo, transforming a finger into a slimy tentacle and touching her forehead.

“Elder Chiyo…” Rōsha watched the grotesque scene with concern.

“It’s alright…” Though disgusted, Grandma Chiyo’s desire to know if Sasori was alive and why he left Sunagakure was stronger. Regardless of whether this prophet priestess was genuine, she wanted to try. She was old now and did not wish to die with this doubt.

“Almighty Cthulhu, unleash your divine power and reveal the truth to this lost lamb…” Baimu’s tentacle gently touched Grandma Chiyo’s forehead.

A cold, viscous, nauseating sensation surged through her, instinctively making her want to pull away, but she endured.

“Ah~~~” Bufū clenched his legs tightly, his soul seemingly groaning as if touched by tentacles himself.

“Bastard!” Yekura muttered, seeing Bufū’s flushed face.

“Ah… my savior Cthulhu… grant your follower a hint…”

Baimu spread his arms as if embracing something.

“Transdimensional Faith!!!”

Baimu summoned his chakra to call forth the ancient sea beast god’s form. However, his chakra was insufficient, and only a massive phantom silhouette appeared in the sky.

The entire sky darkened; ripples undulated in the air as if they had descended into the abyssal depths of the sea. Countless tentacles seemed poised to break through the fabric of space and arrive in this world. A colossal shadow lurked in the deep, its true form obscured, save for a giant eye rolling left and right, scrutinizing the world.

The Sunagakure camp panicked as if a calamity had descended, alarms ringing constantly, people rushing in to report to the Wind Shadow.

After mere seconds, Baimu’s chakra was depleted. The sea beast god Nagakapolos departed, displeased, and the dark reflections of ocean water above the camp vanished, as if nothing had occurred.

Though exhausted, Baimu enjoyed watching the Sunagakure ninjas’ wide-eyed bewilderment, like ants in panic beneath a giant’s feet. This pretense was worth it.

“Well? Prophet sir…” Grandma Chiyo, a skilled medical ninja herself, felt Baimu’s pulse and immediately sensed his chakra was drained. She handed him a high-quality soldier’s ration pill.

“I’m fine… Lord Cthulhu has already given me a hint… I saw the vision. Your grandson is still alive. He transformed himself into a puppet, maintaining an immortal state. He hides in a cave in the Land of Craftsmen, repairing a scorpion-shaped puppet,” Baimu said weakly.

The Land of Craftsmen was a guess, but puppet-making required artisans. Surely Sasori didn’t craft every thread himself. Only this secluded craftsman’s land fit the description. Even if mistaken, by the time Grandma Chiyo found him, months would have passed, and Baimu would have long disappeared.

“A human puppet… he hasn’t abandoned that idea… But as long as he’s alive, that’s good. We will bring him back, no matter what form he takes.” Tears streamed down Grandma Chiyo’s face.

“To think… the world truly has prophets. My knowledge was shallow indeed,” even the strategist Ebi-zo was shaken by the scene and now fully believed Baimu.

“I have a question too…” Rōsha hesitated, his face conflicted.

He longed to inquire about his mentor, the Third Kazekage’s whereabouts but feared that if he returned, his own position as Fourth Kazekage would be jeopardized.

Baimu saw through this petty thought at once. This war was precisely to secure his position by shifting internal conflicts toward Konoha.

“Lord Wind Shadow, I know what you want to ask. While Lord Cthulhu’s divine power lingers, I will answer it,” Baimu said weakly, extending a tentacle to touch Rōsha’s forehead.

“Well?” Rōsha urged anxiously, genuinely concerned for the teacher who had personally taught him Magnet Release.

“I saw… I saw… darkness… conspiracy… poison… trap… betrayal… the Third Kazekage… was poisoned and killed by the shadow of Konoha, Danzo Shimura!!!” Baimu shouted in terror, like a mad prophet.

Nonou nearly fainted, staggering.

“Danzo Shimura… so it was you…”

“If I do not avenge this, I, Rōsha, will be no man!”