When Chiyo noticed Pakura hesitating to speak—hinting that she had overheard some ninja gossiping about her, Ebizo, and Rasa—she immediately realized it couldn't be anything good.
"Come on, Pakura," Chiyo urged. "Tell me exactly what you heard!"
Pakura looked uneasy. "Lady Chiyo, I feel awkward repeating this..."
Chiyo grew serious. "They must be spreading rumors about us, right? If I went to ask them directly, they'd definitely hide things from me. But you can tell me everything—go on, Pakura!"
Pakura's expression shifted slightly, then she sighed as if making a difficult decision. She finally said, "Lady Chiyo, I only heard this secondhand, so please don't get angry… Well then, I'll say it."
"They say the Fourth Kazekage is actually your and Onoki's illegitimate child. Supposedly during the Second Great Ninja War, Ebizo offered you to Onoki, and that's how the Fourth came to be. That's also why the village selected the Fourth to become the new Kazekage after the Third vanished..."
This first sentence alone made Chiyo's face darken instantly.
She and Onoki having an affair? Bearing an illegitimate child—Rasa? How could she not know something like this?
Besides, neither she nor Onoki possessed Magnet Release, so how could Rasa have inherited it?
While Pakura spoke, she closely watched Chiyo's reaction and continued, "They also say our village declared war on Iwagakure, but later Iwagakure forgave us and cooperated with Sunagakure to attack Konoha because Onoki discovered that the Fourth was indeed your and Onoki's illegitimate child, hence the alliance."
"And… your grandson Sasori didn't just vanish—he left Sunagakure on his own. It seems he developed a technique for turning living humans into puppets… Human Puppets. The Third Kazekage's disappearance might even be connected to Sasori—he vanished around the same time."
When Pakura mentioned Sasori, Chiyo abruptly stood up from her seat, her pupils almost contracting into pinpricks, her arms trembling slightly as they leaned heavily on the table.
Seeing Chiyo's reaction, Pakura already knew the truth.
The rumor about Chiyo and Onoki having an affair, that Ebizo gave her to Onoki, and that the Fourth was their illegitimate child—these absurd claims hadn't shocked Chiyo nearly as much. Although unbelievable, they hadn't triggered intense emotions either. After all, those sounded obviously false.
But when Pakura revealed the truth behind Sasori, Chiyo reacted far more intensely than expected—that alone spoke volumes.
A deep sense of disappointment welled up in Pakura's heart.
She loved Sunagakure deeply and took pride in being its ninja.
Yet Shindai, whom she regarded as a younger brother, had always feared battle—yet still volunteered to go undercover in Konoha for the village's sake. In the end, he was abandoned by Chiyo and the others, wrongly blamed for Sasori's crimes.
Pakura exhaled softly and kept in mind what Shindai had instructed her. She refrained from doing anything unnecessary and spoke to Chiyo, "Lady Chiyo, these are obviously slanderous rumors that have greatly damaged your reputation, as well as those of Ebizō and The Fourth. Therefore, I believe we must take action to suppress these rumors!"
Chiyo resumed her seat, frowning deeply in thought.
The claims that she and Rasa were lovers or that she was having an affair with Onoki were too ridiculous to even consider. If she personally tried to clear up such matters, it would be terribly embarrassing.
Then there was the matter regarding Sasori. Chiyo suspected this might be the only one among these rumors that could possibly hold any truth.
Although others also found this rumor outrageous—Sasori was her grandson, after all, born into a noble lineage—and no one had ever even heard of a Human Puppet in their household, let alone associate such an act with him. From their perspective, this act was likely committed by that traitor who had infiltrated Konoha, making it completely unrelated to Sasori.
But Chiyo couldn't quite share that belief.
There was the memory of that room filled with blood, and the disappearance of both Sasori and the Third Kazekage happening on the same day.
Even Chiyo herself felt there might be some connection between the missing Kazekage and Sasori.
At the time, she was torn over whether to speak out about this.
However, Rasa had wanted to maximize the benefit of that useless undercover agent, provoking the village's ninja into a surge of morale fueled by hatred and anger toward the traitor. Thus, they labeled the spy as someone who helped Konoha lure away and assassinate the Third Kazekage, effectively severing any link between Sasori and the Kazekage's disappearance.
So Chiyo chose to conceal everything, partly driven by her own selfish hope that it might have been a misunderstanding about Sasori, holding onto the possibility that he might return one day. That's why she hid the fact about the bloodstained smell in Sasori's room, the timing of his disappearance coinciding with the day the Third Kazekage vanished. Instead, when later sending ninja to look for Sasori, she merely mentioned a general timeframe for his disappearance.
If among all these rumors, the one involving Sasori was true, then the person behind it must have seen Sasori. Furthermore, they likely witnessed whatever happened on the very day both Sasori and the Third Kazekage disappeared.
Who could it be?
Suddenly, Chiyo wondered if it could be related to that undercover agent.
Yet she quickly dismissed this possibility.
After all, at that time, the spy should not have been inside Sunagakure.
So it must have been someone else present within Sunagakure back then.
Also, who was spreading these rumors within the Stationed Camp?
Either enemy ninja had infiltrated unnoticed, or it was someone from within their ranks.
If it truly was an insider, chances were high it might be the same person involved in the information about Sasori.
Now Chiyo felt deeply troubled. After thinking carefully, she finally said to Pakura, "We must put an end to these rumors immediately, otherwise they may hurt our morale. Pakura, I'll entrust this task to you. It won't be appropriate for me to get directly involved."
"There's one last matter, Pakura. You must find a way to identify the person spreading rumors within the Stationed Camp. We cannot allow these outrageous rumors to continue spreading!"
Pakura nodded in agreement. "Understood, Lady Chiyo. I will gather all the ninja stationed here immediately to suppress these rumors first, then determine who is behind them."
Chiyo gave a slight nod. "Count on you, Pakura."
After Pakura left the tent, she quickly assembled all the ninja at the camp and ordered everyone to stop spreading rumors at once—anyone caught doing so would face extremely harsh punishment.
And that was it.
She couldn't very well incriminate herself, after all.
Back inside her tent, Pakura felt heavy-hearted.
At first, she had been torn—she wanted to believe Shindai, but also hoped it wasn't true, praying he might have made a mistake.
But now… after confirming the truth, she felt deeply hurt.
Because Chiyo was Pakura's idol. For her idol to have done such a thing was completely unacceptable.
And Rasa, Ebizō… These people were either the Kage or high-ranking officials, yet they treated Shindai—who had gone undercover for the village—so shamefully.
They had branded Shindai a traitor, driven him from his home, and ultimately forced him to become a Konoha ninja.
Pakura recalled what Shindai once told her: "You're just a ninja. Even if you have great fame now, you're still only a ninja—without any real power."
Her eyes dimmed slightly.
If only she could fight harder, defeat more Mist ninja, rise through the ranks, and gain real authority—then maybe she could restore Shindai's honor and give him a chance to return to Sunagakure one day…
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