Chapter 65: The Forged Scroll

After finishing his training and returning to Shindai's quarters in the Stationed Camp, he sneezed several times.

Shindai rubbed his forehead. His temperature seemed normal, so it wasn't a cold.

He rubbed his nose and muttered, "Which bastard is thinking about me? If I don't know who it is, it must be that brat Obito. Everything bad always comes back to Obito!"

...

The next day in Sunagakure.

Several ninja approached Chiyo and Ebizō, who were sitting drinking tea.

"Advisor Chiyo, Advisor Ebizō, the Third Kazekage suddenly disappeared without a trace. Do you happen to know where the Third might have gone?"

Chiyo asked with confusion, "I'm afraid I don't. Have you checked other locations?"

"We've searched everywhere in Sunagakure village, including some hidden spots, but there's no sign of the Third Kazekage at all."

Chiyo speculated, "Could the Third have left the village for somewhere else?"

Ebizō slightly frowned, "That doesn't make sense, Sister. If the Third planned to leave the village, he definitely wouldn't just disappear without saying a word."

Chiyo's expression became serious too, "The Third was still in the village yesterday. Considering his strength, even if he were attacked, there should have been signs of a struggle."

Ebizō gave instructions to the ninjas, "No matter what, we must find the Third first. It's possible he's still inside the village; maybe we missed some locations. Also, send a team of ninjas to search around the outskirts of the village! Report any discovery to us immediately."

"Yes!"

The Sand ninja began searching throughout and around Sunagakure for the Third Wind Shadow.

Noticing Chiyo's trembling hand holding her teacup, Ebizō said, "Sister?"

Chiyo put down her teacup and replied solemnly, "Ebizō, I have a really bad feeling about this. You stay here for now while I go check on Sasori!"

Before Ebizō could respond, Chiyo had already rushed out immediately.

Chiyo arrived at Sasori's house and called for him.

Her brows furrowed more tightly as she murmured, "How come Sasori isn't here either?"

Just as Chiyo was preparing to leave, something strange caught her attention on the floor beneath a shelf.

There were obvious dragging marks around the base of this shelf—clear signs of frequent movement over time.

Following these floor marks, Chiyo moved the shelf aside and discovered an underground passage.

Seeing this passage, her heart started pounding faster and faster.

With growing anxiety, Chiyo entered the underground tunnel and soon reached a secret room.

As soon as Chiyo stepped into the room, she was hit with a repulsive stench.

Though the secret chamber itself was spotless, it clashed with this terrible smell.

Because the room was not ventilated, the smell could not dissipate at all.

Chiyo's expression darkened—she was very familiar with this odor.

The stench of decaying blood.

Something definitely happened inside this room—something bad.

With a heavy heart, Chiyo walked out of the basement.

"Sister!"

Just as she stepped outside the room, Chiyo heard Ebizō calling her. Instinctively, she returned the shelf to its original position before Ebizō noticed the basement entrance.

Chiyo asked, "Ebizō, what has happened?"

Ebizō handed her a scroll. "This was found not far from the village, buried in the sand. It must have been hidden there last night. After a whole night of wind blowing, the sand covered the scroll. You can faintly see traces of blood on the surrounding sand."

Chiyo unrolled the scroll. It contained only one line:

[Uncle Kaito, I have crucial intelligence reports on Konoha that must be delivered to you in person. Please come at once to meet me outside Sunagakure.]

Seeing the message, Chiyo barely allowed herself a sigh of relief.

Regaining her composure, Chiyo frowned. "Uncle Kaito? Reporting intelligence on Konoha? Are you saying this came from the spy we placed in Konoha on The Third's orders?"

Ebizō's next words made Chiyo's heart tighten. "No, this scroll is likely forged."

Chiyo immediately asked, "Why do you think it's forged?"

Ebizō pointed at the writing. "Look at the ink here, and the smudges around it. Since the scroll was rolled up, the handwriting still appears slightly damp. This means the writing couldn't have been done more than ten hours ago.

When I opened the scroll, I noticed the damp ink had smudged together—something that only happens the first time a scroll is unrolled.

If The Third never opened this scroll, how could he know what was inside and leave Sunagakure to meet the sender?

Therefore, my conclusion is that someone wrote this after the fact and then buried it in the sand, trying to implicate our spy.

Whoever did this—who had both the opportunity and motive—and now The Third has gone missing... Sister, we need to prepare for the worst."

Chiyo thought of Sasori but simply couldn't believe her own grandson would do such a thing.

Still trusting him, Chiyo took a deep breath and told Ebizō, "Ebizō, besides The Third, Sasori is also missing."

Still, she said nothing about the basement. Despite her faith in Sasori, unease lingered deep within her.

"Sasori is also missing?"

The Third Kazekage cannot be located, and now Sasori has vanished too.

No matter how you look at it, these two disappearances must be connected.

Chiyo said anxiously, "Ebizō, Sasori would never betray Sunagakure!"

Ebizō tried calming Chiyo, "Sister, don't panic. Nobody's saying Sasori committed an act of treason. Let's first send people to search for both of them."

Chiyo said gravely, "Ebizō, let's find the Third Kazekage first. We can deal with Sasori's case later."

From the sandy ground they discovered a forged scroll. The scroll ordered the Third Kazekage to meet someone. There were bloodstains on the sand...

By any account, the Third Kazekage's situation looked dire.

Whoever managed to convince the Third Kazekage to leave Sunagakure to meet him must have been someone the Third Kazekage knew well.

Therefore, searching for both the Third Kazekage and Sasori together might lead people to link Sasori to the Kage's disappearance.

Seeing Chiyo's distress, Ebizō sighed, "Fine, let's put the matter of Sasori aside for now. We'll immediately dispatch people to search for the Third!"

Chiyo and Ebizō quickly gathered a large number of ninjas and began searching for the Third Kazekage in all directions from Sunagakure. They scoured the area nonstop for ten days.

It was impossible for the Sand ninja to locate the Third Kazekage, and eventually, they had no choice but to return empty-handed.

With the Third Kazekage missing for ten straight days, panic began to spread throughout the village.

The village leader had vanished. With tensions already rising across the ninja world, just ten days without their Kage were enough to make the atmosphere in Sunagakure unbearably tense.

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