Chapter 149: Conspiracy?

At the entrance of Sunagakure, Baki led Temari and the others as they arrived back home.

Kankuro, seeing the familiar sight of Sunagakure's gates, couldn't help but feel excited.

"Finally! We're back!" he exclaimed.

"Alright, enough with the excitement. Let's head in first," Temari said calmly as she took the lead.

Kankuro shook his head, but didn't argue—he quickly followed behind.

They soon passed through the checkpoint, stepping into the village's main entrance.

Baki frowned slightly, noticing something odd.

"Why are there only two guards here?" he asked.

"There should be more patrols, shouldn't there?"

One of the stationed shinobi, recognizing them, quickly greeted, "Baki-sensei, you've returned!"

But then, his expression turned serious.

"Baki-sensei, you might not know yet—our village's treasury was almost robbed today."

"…What?!"

Everyone in the group turned to stare in shock.

Kankuro's face darkened with anger.

"Someone tried to rob our treasury? What's the current situation?!"

The guard quickly explained, "The robbery was discovered in time, and we managed to recover the gold. But most of our shinobi are out searching for the thief right now."

Hearing this, everyone sighed in relief.

Had the gold been completely stolen, it would have been a disaster for the village.

This was Sunagakure's lifeline—without it, they wouldn't even be able to afford basic supplies.

Baki's expression turned grim.

"Did you find the culprit? And how did this happen? Our treasury is heavily guarded."

"The thief is still on the run. But we're sure he's still inside the village, so it's only a matter of time before we catch him."

"As for how it happened… it's strange."

The guard hesitated, as if unsure how to explain.

Gaara, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.

"Explain," he said simply.

The surrounding shinobi didn't find it odd, but the two guards at the gate looked stunned.

Gaara was actually concerned about village affairs?

Baki noticed their hesitation and immediately snapped, "Speak!"

The guards snapped out of their daze and quickly continued.

"The thief used a strange golden ring from a distance, and it somehow connected to the treasury, allowing them to transport the gold away instantly."

"Many of the higher-ups suspect space-time ninjutsu, but no one is certain yet. That's why so many shinobi have been sent to track him down."

"…Space-time ninjutsu?!"

Baki's pupils shrank slightly.

"Are you sure?"

The guards shook their heads.

"We don't know for certain. But that's what we overheard."

Temari frowned, placing a hand under her chin.

"Gold ring… a direct connection… Why does that sound so familiar?"

Hearing her murmur, Baki turned to her.

"Temari, do you have any leads?"

She shook her head.

"Not really… Maybe I'm just overthinking it."

Kankuro, however, clenched his fists.

"Forget that—we need to find this guy immediately!"

"Who the hell is bold enough to steal from Sunagakure?!"

The others nodded in agreement and quickly headed deeper into the village.

Meanwhile, at the village's outskirts, two guards stood at their post.

One of them hesitated before asking, "Hey… why didn't we tell them about that strange creature?"

The other guard scoffed.

"What, that talking Pokémon?"

"Come on, it's not even human. No way it could use space-time ninjutsu."

"It has to be the thief's doing—he must be trying to mislead us into suspecting that thing."

The first guard nodded slowly.

"Yeah… maybe you're right. Whatever. Let's just focus on guarding the gate. We can't let the thief escape."

With that, both men returned to their duties, their expressions serious.

Elsewhere in the village, a tense conversation unfolded.

"Hey, did you hear? The village treasury is full of wealth, all of it taken from us commoners!"

"Seriously? The Kazekage would do something like that?"

"I'm telling you, it's true. Some people tried to take back what was theirs, and they all vanished—who knows what happened to them?"

"That's insane! Are we just supposed to accept this?!"

"Shh—quiet! There are shinobi nearby!"

Baki and the others, passing by, overheard everything.

Their expressions turned ugly.

Kankuro immediately spun around, glaring at the villagers.

"Who the hell said that?!"

"Do you want to die?!"

The two civilians froze in terror, dropping to their knees.

"It wasn't us! We only heard rumors!"

"Please, spare us!"

Kankuro's eyes narrowed.

"Rumors?"

His anger didn't subside as he loomed over them.

But before he could press further, Temari spoke up.

"Kankuro!"

Her voice was firm, and he reluctantly backed off, turning to her.

Temari sighed and looked back at the terrified civilians.

"Sorry about that," she said.

"He let his emotions get the better of him. You should leave now."

The two men exchanged fearful glances, then ran for their lives, not daring to look back.

Kankuro, however, was still fuming.

"Temari, why are you helping them?!"

"They just spread lies—we should have killed them."

Temari's eyes narrowed.

"Killed them? And if more people say the same thing, should we kill them all?"

Kankuro fell silent.

"These people have been manipulated," she continued.

"This isn't their fault."

Gaara, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke up.

"She's right," he said.

"This isn't about them. The real culprit is the thief."

Baki's expression darkened.

"That thief… he never wanted the gold."

His voice was low and dangerous.

"His real goal was to turn the village against itself—to make the shinobi and the civilians enemies."

"Damn it!" Kankuro clenched his fists.

"When we catch him, he's going to wish he was never born!"

The surrounding shinobi nodded grimly.

Whoever this thief was…

They would make sure he suffered.

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