"Big Brother Sasori, tell me, if Father is so powerful, why doesn't he just merge the Akatsuki Organization instead of establishing a separate Zero Organization?"
Ever since Anya had spent the entire night talking with Deidara, the guy had gotten much more comfortable calling *Sasori* "Father." Later on, he just kept saying it constantly, clearly moved by Anya's wild imagination.
The next day, he set off on his return journey carrying the One-Tail's container and one of Sasori's puppets. However, his mouth never stopped moving, continuously asking questions while his eyes darted around curiously.
That last question was already impossible to count—how many had there been?
Sasori's patience was nearly gone.
"Why don't you stop asking so many questions? Why not just make clay birds and fly instead of walking?"
Deidara grinned happily. "Big Brother Sasori, isn't this your village? I heard it took a lot of money to build it up like this. I want to take a good look around and pick out a few potential lab sites."
Sasori immediately warned, "You can pick sandy areas, but don't touch the oases."
"Don't worry," Deidara assured him.
Deidara's experiments were the exact reason he had been expelled from Iwagakure in the first place. Even after joining the Akatsuki Organization, his experiments had rarely gone smoothly.
Every time he experimented, there'd always be annoying busybodies buzzing around his ears. Though he wasn't afraid of them, they were undeniably bothersome. Now that he was finally on Big Brother Sasori's territory, he could do as he pleased.
Having worked together for so long, Sasori could read Deidara's mind like an open book. With a sigh, he said, "Forget it. I'll show you the nearest oasis. From now on, stay away from such places."
"Sure," Deidara readily agreed.
They hadn't walked far when two figures blocked their path—a man and a woman. It was Temari and Kankuro, who had come searching for Gaara.
After the Chunin Exams, they had noticed Gaara missing. They asked many people, but nobody knew where he'd gone. Some even claimed Gaara likely died buried under the desert sands.
Gaara the Sand Spirit dying under desert sands? That's nothing short of a joke. Naturally, they didn't believe it. But now, here they were, encountering Deidara and Sasori just by chance.
They immediately realized these two didn't belong to Sunagakure or have anything to do with the Chunin Exams—they were top suspects.
"Who are you people, and what business do you have in Sunagakure?" Temari assumed an attack stance, eyeing the pair warily.
Sasori scoffed coldly at Deidara, "If it wasn't for your slow pace wasting time, we wouldn't have encountered trouble. You handle this."
Deidara shrugged, "No problem, though I won't hold back—you sure you're okay if they die?"
Sasori replied indifferently, "Handle it yourself."
Seeing how the two talked casually without paying any attention to them, completely disregarding their presence, Temari couldn't hold back any longer. She unleashed a Wind Release jutsu, sending a gust sweeping toward them.
"Heh, interesting. So they're making the first move? Well then, I won't be polite anymore," Deidara said, eyes gleaming, as he hurled a clay bomb forward.
Mabui sat out in the middle of the sand sea at Sunagakure Village, her eyes blankly watching Samiu riding a motorcycle and playing around in the distance. Normally this was her favorite form of entertainment, but right now it couldn't spark even the slightest interest within her. She sighed constantly.
"What's wrong?" Anya's voice appropriately echoed beside her ear. "You look really unhappy, my little secretary."
A flash of happiness flickered across Mabui's eyes before she replied indifferently, "You've finally finished your business here in Sunagakure, huh? Now you finally have time to meet me."
"Tsk tsk," Anya teased. "The second you open your mouth, you're already spewing resentment. Who upset my little secretary? Let me beat him up for you and help vent your anger, how about that?"
Pouting, Mabui said, "Who else could it be besides you?"
"Me?" pointing at himself, Anya feigned innocence.
"Hmph!" Mabui snorted. "You're simply bad—Sasori and Kakuzu's evil is apparent on the surface, easy for ordinary people to see through immediately. You pretend to look harmless and innocent, yet deep down, you're rotten to the core."
Though scolded by Mabui, Anya didn't even dare to talk back. After all, Mabui understood Anya better than anyone else after all these years.
After letting out her pent-up frustration from the past few days, seeing Anya wearing such an obviously fake pitiful expression, Mabui still couldn't help laughing despite knowing he was just pretending.
Seeing the woman before him finally crack a smile he hadn't seen in a while, Anya relaxed.
"Can I hug you?" Mabui suddenly made a request.
Anya readily agreed. "Of course. As your boss, giving my little secretary a loving hug is perfectly fine."
So saying, Anya opened his arms and gently hugged Mabui into his embrace.
Resting her head on Anya's shoulder, Mabui made another request: "Can you send Samiu back to Kumogakure? I don't need her hanging around anymore."
"Okay."
Still readying a bunch of arguments to persuade Anya further, Mabui was utterly unprepared when Anya actually agreed immediately. She barely registered what had happened— "What did you say just now?"
"I said okay," Anya repeated.
"You just agreed like that?" Mabui asked doubtfully.
"Then what?" Anya smirked. "After following me for so many years, you rarely ever ask for anything. This time you finally made a request; of course I'll say yes."
Mabui muttered, "Samiu knows quite a bit about Organization-related intelligence from me. You aren't scared letting her return to Kumogakure like this?"
Anya replied, dead serious, "Compared to that, I'm more afraid of my little secretary being unhappy."
Mabui stiffened, instinctively tightening her embrace around Anya as she mumbled, "You always know exactly what sweet things to say to comfort me. Then I'll make a few more requests."
Anya patted her head in response, "Alright, go ahead."
"I don't want to stay at Sunagakure anymore. You've always called me your secretary, right? So then take me with you. From now on, wherever you go, I must follow." After finishing her words, Mabui felt her heartbeat quickening drastically, her eyes still lowered as she dared not meet Anya's gaze.
Anya's face darkened slightly, a complicated look flickering in her eyes. After a brief pause, she let out a soft laugh. "Heh, seems like our minds are syncing up for once. The reason I came to Sunagakure this time is to pick you up and take you to my place. You know how much of a womanizer I am—so naturally, there are now two kids at home, both still young. I heard from Sasori that you've helped him take care of Tenten before, so I'll need you to do the same for my kids."
Mabui's hopeful expression faltered, replaced by something else entirely. After a moment of silently wrestling with her thoughts, she loosened her clasped hands and met Anya's gaze with a steady smile. "Then I'll make sure to properly raise them. Can't have them growing up to be heartbreakers like you."
Anya replied with genuine gratitude. "Thanks for doing this."
Meanwhile, Samiu, who had been playing in the sand sea, noticed Anya's arrival. With a few swift leaps, she landed directly in front of the two. The moment she stopped, she locked eyes with Anya and said bluntly, "I'm coming with you."
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