"This is the Land of Tools! It's quite interesting."
Entering the Land of Tools, Chao Yanqian looked around at the customs and lifestyle that were completely different from those of the Land of Fire, and was quite curious for a while.
"Where is Sasori of the Red Sand?" Uchiha Chizuru asked.
"Let's look for him!" Chao Yanqian said.
"Didn't you already find Sasori's trail?" Uchiha Chizuru asked, dissatisfied.
"Come on!" Chao Yanqian looked helplessly at Uchiha Chizuru and said, "Sasori of the Red Sand is no small character. It's not easy for my people to find him. If I want to track down Sasori specifically, how can his hiding place be that easy to locate?"
"Tch!" Uchiha Chizuru clicked her tongue and asked, "Is he in town?"
"Probably not," Chao Yanqian shook his head. "Sasori defected from Sunagakure. He wouldn't appear in town and risk drawing attention. Besides, he's a puppet master he likely established a secret base somewhere in the Land of Tools."
"That's going to be hard to find." Uchiha Chizuru first sighed, then curiously asked, "Sasori betrayed Sunagakure?"
The news of Sasori's defection had been sealed off by the elders of Sunagakure. Chiyo would not allow the outside world to know that her grandson had defected. Even within the village, only a few were aware of Sasori's betrayal.
"Let's find him!" Chao Yanqian said. "Sasori came to the Land of Tools to purchase puppet materials. If we inquire around, we should be able to dig up some news."
"Then let's split up and meet here again at eight o'clock tonight," Uchiha Chizuru said.
"Alright!" Chao Yanqian nodded in response.
After separating from Uchiha Chizuru, Chao Yanqian used the Transformation Jutsu to disguise himself as a wealthy merchant and began asking around in the city.
There are three neutral countries in the ninja world. Although these countries do not have shinobi, the major powers do not attack them.
The Land of Iron, for example, has its own samurai. These samurai have a unique way of using chakra, and their combat strength rivals that of shinobi. Due to the Land of Iron's long-standing neutrality and refusal to involve itself in ninja conflicts, all shinobi nations had agreed never to invade it.
While the Land of Craftsmen and the Land of Tools have neither shinobi nor samurai, the weapons produced there are the finest in the entire ninja world. These countries also provide raw materials that are essential to ninja equipment and puppet production.
Though the major ninja villages covet these nations, any one village taking control would draw immediate backlash from the others. As a result, peace has been maintained in these lands.
It was mentioned in the Naruto manga that Sasori once used his "Hundred Puppet Performance" technique to annihilate an entire nation. Could it be that the country he destroyed was the Land of Tools?
The country is quite small there is only one city within its borders. After searching the city for a full day, Chao Yanqian finally made some progress.
The major ninja villages all do business with the Land of Tools, but if a single person were to buy large quantities of puppet-making materials, it would definitely raise suspicion. Unfortunately, that information alone wasn't enough for Chao Yanqian it only confirmed that Sasori had indeed been here, not where he was now.
Just before eight o'clock, Chao Yanqian returned to the agreed meeting point. At this point, all he could do was hope Uchiha Chizuru had found some useful intel.
At exactly eight, Uchiha Chizuru arrived.
"Chizuru, did you find anything?" Chao Yanqian asked first.
"What about you?" Uchiha Chizuru asked back.
Chao Yanqian shrugged helplessly and sighed. "Sasori definitely came to the Land of Tools and purchased a lot of puppet materials, but there's no sign of where he's hiding."
"Hmph!" Uchiha Chizuru sneered. "With your method of information gathering, it's no wonder you came up with nothing."
"So, did you get anything useful, Chizuru?" Chao Yanqian asked.
"Fifty miles south of here he's probably there," Uchiha Chizuru said.
"How did you figure out Sasori's hiding place, chizuru?" Chao Yanqian asked, curious.
Uchiha Chizuru snorted and explained, "Sasori is a puppet master. If he's building puppets, he's going to need wood lots of it. Ordinary wood may not be combat-worthy, but it's good for testing mechanisms. Someone who's cutting down that many trees is bound to attract notice. You've got a lot to learn, kid."
"I see! Thank you for the insight, Chizuru!" Chao Yiqian said excitedly. "Now that we know where Sasori is hiding, let's go!"
"Hold on. We'll go after dawn," Uchiha Chizuru said. "Night gives puppet masters a serious advantage."
"Alright." Chao Yanqian nodded in agreement.
Chao Yanqian still knew too little about puppet masters. While he couldn't completely trust Uchiha Chizuru, their cooperation was still intact for now. It was best to heed her advice it could prove useful.
"You know," Uchiha Chizuru said as they rested, "I still can't figure out why you're looking for Sasori. If you wanted to kill him, I'd understand. But you just want me to draw out his full strength? Do you really want to see what this genius who's not much older than you is truly capable of?"
"You'll find out my reason soon enough." Chao Yanqian smiled mysteriously.
"I'm not interested," Uchiha Chizuru said. "All I care about is the Mangekyō Sharingan."
" Chizuru, how much do you know about the Mangekyō Sharingan?" Chao Yanqian asked.
"What! Are you trying to pry into the secrets of the Sharingan?" Uchiha Chizuru asked, now on guard.
"Heh, maybe I actually know more about the Sharingan than you do," Chao Yanqian said with a grin.
"Don't get cocky, brat," Uchiha Chizuru said irritably.
"Anyway, Sasori is no pushover. Don't let your guard down tomorrow," Chao Yanqian warned.
"Tch. Sasori's still just a teenager. Even if he's a genius puppet master, he lacks chakra reserves and combat experience," Uchiha Chizuru replied confidently. "Don't underestimate the Sharingan!"
"Of course I don't. It's exactly because of its power that I chose to work with you," Chao Yanqian said with a smile.
Perhaps at this point in time, Sasori had not yet reached his peak. But if he had already made the Third Kazekage into a human puppet, then even a Kage-level shinobi could fall prey to the Iron Sand techniques if caught off guard.
Still, among those who fought Sasori, Chao Yanqian was one of the least injured.
Right now, Chao Yanqian could only hope that Uchiha Chizuru's Sharingan would be able to see through all of Sasori's puppet attacks.
And of course, if Uchiha Chizuru did get poisoned by Sasori, Chao Yanqian wouldn't mind taking her eyes and bringing them to Orochimaru for credit.
Until he mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, Chao Yanqian couldn't afford to fall out with Orochimaru the consequences would be too great to bear.
The night slowly passed.