"Father… Mother?"
Staring at the two figures before him, Sasori couldn't help but murmur under his breath.
He had seen these two in his dreams countless times. And yet now that they truly stood before him, he found himself momentarily at a loss.
As Sasori whispered, the man and woman whom Yuzuru had summoned slowly regained their awareness.
They first looked around in confusion, then lowered their gazes to examine their own bodies.
"Strange… Where is this? Weren't we already dead?"
"Mizuki, what's going on?"
Hearing the man's voice, the woman called Mizuki wore the same bewildered expression.
"Yuji… I don't know either."
After exchanging a brief glance, the two finally turned their attention to the three people nearby.
They first glanced at Sasori across from them, paused for a moment in surprise, then ultimately shifted their gaze away.
Next, they looked at Yuzuru, remaining silent.
But when their eyes fell on Orochimaru, their pupils suddenly contracted.
"Orochimaru?!"
They had died on the battlefield of the Second Great Ninja War. Though Orochimaru had yet to earn the title of one of the Sannin at that time, as a disciple of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, he had already begun to make a name for himself.
Now, seeing their former enemy standing right before them, Yuji and Mizuki immediately assumed defensive stances.
At this, Orochimaru licked his lips and smiled. "There's no need to be afraid. The Second Great Ninja War ended long ago. We're not enemies now."
Yuji and Mizuki froze, then asked in confusion, "The Second Great Ninja War ended? Then what about us?"
Orochimaru patiently explained, "It has been several decades since the war concluded. You were summoned from the Pure Land by Yuzuru-kun using the Impure World Reincarnation Technique."
"Several decades?"
"But your appearance…"
Yuji and Mizuki frowned, scrutinizing Orochimaru with suspicion.
Orochimaru gave a faint laugh. "I've done a bit of research into immortality. That's why I can maintain my former appearance."
"There's no need to keep testing me. I have no reason to deceive you."
After hearing his explanation, Yuji and Mizuki seemed to sense the restraints within their bodies.
Somewhere in the depths of their consciousness, they understood—if the one who had summoned them so much as willed it, they would be forced to obey.
Yuji's voice grew heavy. "You're Konoha ninja, aren't you? Why summon us?"
"If you intend to use us to force Sunagakure into concessions, or to extract secrets, I advise you not to waste your effort."
"No matter how we're tortured, we would never betray our village for our own sake."
At those words, Yuzuru smiled and shook his head.
"To say something like that… No wonder that despite being Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law, you still died on the battlefield of the Second Great Ninja War."
"But have you ever considered that besides the village, there is someone else in this world who also needed your protection?"
Hearing Yuzuru's words, Yuji and Mizuki fell into a brief daze before simultaneously turning their gazes toward Sasori behind them.
"It can't be…"
Yuji muttered.
"No… That's impossible."
"Didn't Orochimaru say several decades have passed?"
Mizuki added.
Yet no matter how much they tried to deny it, the boy standing before them bore an uncanny resemblance to Sasori.
As that possibility dawned on her, Mizuki's voice trembled. "Sasori… Is that you?"
Though they were the gentlest words, Sasori's body trembled violently.
But having long since transformed himself into a puppet, he could no longer shed tears.
After a long silence, he finally spoke in a hoarse voice.
"It's me. I've finally been able to see you again."
The moment Sasori confirmed it, Yuji and Mizuki rushed forward and tightly embraced him.
"My child… I'm so glad you're safe," Mizuki sobbed.
Yuji, more composed, frowned as he felt his son's body. "Sasori… your body…"
It was rigid—like a puppet. There was no warmth. It did not resemble that of a living person.
Sasori lowered his eyes. "I turned myself into a human puppet."
"What?!"
Yuji and Mizuki were stunned. They immediately ran their hands over his body.
No wonder he still looked like a boy even after all these years—this body had long since been converted into a puppet.
"But why… Why would you do such a thing?"
"Did Mother agree to this?"
In response, Sasori pulled out a Sunagakure forehead protector from his robes.
A deep slash was carved across its surface.
As Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law, Yuji and Mizuki understood exactly what that mark meant.
"A rogue ninja?"
"Sasori… What happened during the years after we died? Why did you become a rogue ninja of Sunagakure?"
Facing his parents, Sasori seemed like a different person. He was no longer as taciturn as before.
In an even tone, he began recounting his past.
"When you went off to fight on the battlefield, I waited alone at home, always expecting you to return."
"But what came back instead was news that you had both been killed."
"I was still young then. When I heard that sudden calamity, it felt as though I had fallen into an abyss."
"Later, I created two puppets in your likeness, often imagining that it was you keeping me company."
After speaking, Sasori took out a summoning scroll and summoned two puppets.
Though they had been crafted in his childhood—crude in workmanship, mechanisms, and combat functions—they were the two puppets he cherished most.
Seeing them, guilt appeared on Yuji and Mizuki's faces.
Sasori paid them no mind and continued.
"As I grew older, I began to display considerable talent as a puppeteer."
"But no matter how others praised me, I felt nothing."
"I poured all my focus into puppets. My sole goal was to create ever more perfect works."
"For that purpose, I secretly attacked the Third Kazekage and turned him into a human puppet."
At that, Yuji and Mizuki's eyes widened in shock.
Mizuki's voice trembled with disbelief. "Sasori… Are you saying you killed the Third Kazekage?"
Sasori nodded. "That's right."
Seeing him admit it so calmly, Yuji and Mizuki were at a loss for words.
They had lived their lives with the belief of protecting their village and safeguarding their comrades. Yet after their deaths, their own child had slain the Kazekage and become a rogue ninja.
Yuji remained silent, brows furrowed, while Mizuki asked anxiously, "After killing the Third Kazekage, the village wouldn't let you off, would they?"
"If the news were exposed… then yes."
##Discount on all novels##
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