Chapter 150: An Awkward Encounter

Meanwhile, in another part of Sunagakure, Ryo, with a veil covering his face, was cautiously making his way through the village.

If he had known what Temari and the others were thinking about him at this moment, he might have coughed up blood on the spot.

All of this just because Hoopa got a little too playful—and now he had somehow been labeled as a terrorist trying to tear Sunagakure apart?

"Ugh—"

Ryo sighed, feeling exasperated.

"I've only been here for three or four hours, and I've already spent most of that time as a wanted man."

This was definitely not how he imagined things would go when he arrived.

"Ryo! Ryo! There's something fun over there! Hoopa wants to go!"

Just as Ryo was lamenting his misfortune, Hoopa popped out from under his cloak, pointing excitedly in a direction.

Ryo immediately pressed Hoopa back down, his face full of bitterness.

"For the love of—can you calm down for just one moment?!"

With things as chaotic as they were, Hoopa still had the nerve to want to play around?!

Ryo was seriously regretting bringing Hoopa along.

At first, he thought Hoopa would be a powerful trump card, a safety measure in case things went south.

But instead, Hoopa had turned out to be a walking disaster.

Diancie was so much better—quiet, graceful, just like a little princess.

Suddenly—

"There! Over there! Look around!"

Several Sunagakure shinobi ran past, scanning the area as they searched for the culprit.

Ryo immediately adopted a casual, everyday demeanor, blending in like an ordinary villager.

To his relief, these shinobi were far from thorough—they ran right past him without even sparing a second glance.

"Ugh, all because of that damn thief! I was planning to hit the casino today."

"Right? My whole day off just got ruined!"

"Man, I really needed that break."

The shinobi grumbled to themselves as they hurried by.

Hearing this, Hoopa's eyes lit up.

"Casino?"

Before Ryo could react, Hoopa poked his head out again, looking curiously at the shinobi.

"Is the casino fun? Where is it? Hoopa wants to play too!"

Silence.

The shinobi froze.

Then, as they slowly turned their heads, their eyes widened in disbelief at the sight of Hoopa and Ryo.

Ryo let out a nervous chuckle.

"Uh—hey there! Good work, guys!"

Then, without missing a beat, he spun on his heel and bolted.

As he ran, his expression darkened.

"Hoopa! I swear, you little—"

"Ryo, what's an 'old six'?" Hoopa asked innocently.

"Shut up and run!"

The shinobi finally snapped out of their daze.

"That's him! That's the thief!"

"After him! Call for reinforcements!"

Ryo glanced over his shoulder and nearly facepalmed.

He was so done with this day.

How did things go so wrong, so fast?

It wasn't even like he could fight back, considering they technically weren't in the wrong.

"If I can't lose them, I might just have to use Teleport and leave."

He stole another glance behind him—

The shinobi were still hot on his tail.

Then, suddenly—

Swish—

Ryo's instincts flared.

Something was coming!

He immediately leapt into the air—

Shnk!

A barrage of sand needles shot through where he had just been standing, embedding into the ground.

"Thief spotted! We've got him!"

Kankuro stormed onto the scene, his face full of fury.

But then—he froze.

"Wait—boss?!"

His eyes widened in shock.

Then, realization hit him like a brick.

"Wait—the thief is… you?!"

Hearing Kankuro's shout of disbelief, Temari quickly rushed over.

"What are you talking about? Where's the—"

Then she saw him.

She saw Ryo.

Temari's jaw dropped.

"You've gotta be kidding me."

Ryo reached up, realizing that at some point his veil had slipped off.

Looking at their stunned expressions, he could only let out a nervous laugh.

"Uh—long time no see?"

The air was thick with awkwardness.

From behind, Baki approached with a frown.

"Kankuro, Temari—what's going on? Who is this?"

Temari hesitated.

"It's… the owner of Konoha's Pokémon House."

Even as she said it, she struggled to believe it herself.

Baki's frown deepened.

And then—Kankuro blurted out the question on everyone's mind.

"Boss… are you the thief?"

"Did you steal from our treasury?"

Ryo waved his hands frantically.

"No, no—it's a misunderstanding!"

Without hesitation, he dragged Hoopa out of his cloak.

"Hoopa was messing around and—um—accidentally opened your vault in front of everyone."

Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara all visibly flinched at the sight of Hoopa.

That tiny creature…

It had left a permanent mark on their memories.

They still remembered that overwhelming presence—the one that had nearly crushed them last time.

Even Gaara, back when he was fully transformed into Shukaku, had been left terrified.

Baki, however, wasn't convinced.

"Oh? And what about stirring discord between our villagers and shinobi? How do you explain that?"

"…What?"

Ryo blinked.

"What discord?"

Baki let out a cold laugh.

"Don't play dumb. Are you really going to pretend you didn't do it?"

Temari finally snapped out of her shock, pulling at Baki's sleeve.

"Baki-sensei, there must be a misunderstanding."

Kankuro nodded.

"Yeah! Boss wouldn't—he wouldn't do something like that!"

Even Gaara gave a small nod.

They had spent enough time around Ryo to know that if he really wanted to harm Sunagakure, he wouldn't need such underhanded methods.

But Baki remained unconvinced.

"Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?!"

"Yes, we attacked Konoha and paid the price—but now you want to sabotage us like this?"

"You think this is justice?"

Ryo's expression darkened.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"I'll admit to what I've done—but that wasn't me."

Baki snorted.

"Oh, really? Then who else could it be?"

"Are you saying we did this to ourselves?"

Ryo exhaled sharply.

"…This day just keeps getting worse."

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