What the hell is making games in the Ninja World?

Sighing, Rasa was about to share the good news with the others but found that most of the delegation was strangely not at the inn, which was quite puzzling.

Usually, because of the negotiations, Rasa would return very late, after all, the ninja world, which inherited the culture of Japan, also has the tradition of "dining and drinking with clients" as a form of socializing.

Today, after the negotiations were done, Rasa returned early to the inn, only to find everyone missing.

After asking a few people who stayed behind, Rasa learned that most of them had gone to the arcade with Sasori to play games.

Immediately, Rasa's face darkened.

Damn it, he had been working hard negotiating with Konoha, and these guys were off playing, using the delegation's activity funds! It was infuriating!

Especially Sasori, who was clearly the second-in-command of the delegation—he took a whole group to play games at public expense. It was utterly insane and completely unacceptable.

Though the Genjutsu games had been confirmed to have benefits for ninjas, Rasa had learned more about them in the past few days. 

He knew that the games at the arcade were watered down and not very useful for ninjas. They were mainly for entertainment purposes, so ninjas going there was simply a waste of money.

And if they wanted to investigate this, it would only take two or three days for the ninjas to do so. 

Yet, Sasori went there every day, spending the whole day playing, and he even brought a whole group along.

Damn it!

What was Sasori trying to do? Was he trying to drag the entire elite team of Sunagakure down with him?

For a moment, Rasa's face darkened. Over the past few days, he had been carrying a lot of pent-up frustration. Seeing what Sasori had done now made all that frustration shift onto him.

Because Rasa, the leader of the delegation, had suppressed his emotions, the atmosphere within the group grew heavy. 

The remaining members were all cautious, afraid of provoking Rasa, who was on the verge of exploding like a volcano.

Time passed, and Rasa's anger didn't lessen. In fact, it grew even worse.

The man had been constantly checking the time, waiting to see when Sasori would return with the others. 

He had even forbidden anyone from going to inform him, insisting that everyone just wait at the inn, making the others feel like they were stuck in a never-ending wait.

So, Rasa and a group of Sand Shinobi waited until after seven o'clock in the evening when Sasori finally returned, accompanied by a large group of Sand Shinobi still excited and discussing the game they had been playing, clearly reluctant to come back.

Their faces were reminiscent of those young people who linger at internet cafes or game arcades, reluctant to leave.

The moment they walked in, they saw Rasa sitting at the door with a cold expression.

Instantly, the lighthearted atmosphere evaporated. The tension in the room grew thick.

All the Sand Shinobi who had been out playing felt uneasy, their hands and feet trembling. They were reminded of the feeling they had as children when caught doing something wrong by their parents or elders, like something was off and they couldn't relax.

Only Sasori remained calm, his demeanor unchanged. He asked, "What's wrong? Rasa-san, are you sitting here to tell us something?"

His calmness directly provoked Rasa, and he could no longer hold back his anger. He stood up and shouted, "You're asking me? You have the nerve to ask me? Sasori, do you even realize what you've done? You actually took all these people to play a genjutsu game! Have you lost your mind?"

Sasori furrowed his brow slightly, his cold eyes meeting Rasa's fiery gaze. "What's the problem? I took everyone to understand the situation in the genjutsu game and conduct a thorough investigation."

Rasa snapped, "An investigation? Does it really need to be like this? What's there to investigate about a genjutsu game? A little research would have sufficed! And yet you took a whole group of people to play?"

"Sasori, don't tell me you can't see that all those genjutsu games are watered-down versions. They're of no real use to us ninjas. They're just for entertainment!"

"Do you really need to go out early and return late for an investigation like this? Do you need to take a whole group of people to investigate? What kind of joke is this? You're just wasting your time!"

"Sasori! You're neglecting your duty!"

The following was a direct shout, which made the entire room silent, as if a needle could be heard falling.

Then, Rasa seemed to realize his outburst and took several deep breaths, then said in a deep voice, "I will report this matter truthfully to Lord Kazekage. Everything will be decided by him."

After speaking, Rasa returned to his room.

The others saw this and went back to their rooms as well. Only a few people stepped forward to comfort Sasori, then returned to their rooms.

Throughout it all, Sasori remained silent. In the end, he wordlessly returned to his own room, leaving behind a comment.

"How boring..."

Yes, boring. Very boring.

Though Sasori was young, he was not foolish. In fact, he was sharp in some ways.

For example, Rasa's outburst in front of everyone was largely an act, aimed at damaging Sasori's reputation and subtly attacking him in front of the Third Kazekage.

After all, the two were competitors for the position of the Fourth Kazekage, and although Rasa hid it well, he was the one who most desperately wanted to inherit the position.

Given the opportunity, Rasa naturally didn't mind taking a shot at Sasori. Though his method wasn't particularly clever, it was more than enough for Suna, a village at a similarly low rank.

In fact, some people in the group had already noticed Rasa's intentions, but this was a matter between the two Kazekage candidates, and they, as low-ranking ninjas, were in no position to interfere, so they chose to watch quietly.

But to Sasori, this whole thing was really boring because he had never been interested in the position of Kazekage.

Silently returning to his room, Sasori quietly opened the "Survival Road" sealing scroll he had bought, preparing to play the game alone—of course, he chose the levels with mechanical puppets.

However, this time, Sasori failed to start the game. His consciousness entered a vast, endless grassland, and there was nothing around him.

Moreover, he hadn't transformed into his game character. Instead, he was in this realm in his original form.

Sasori immediately furrowed his brow and cautiously observed his surroundings. It was at this moment that a voice, synthesized with an electronic tone, echoed.

"Sasori, the genius of Sunagakure. At a young age, he has mastered an unparalleled level of puppetry and has an extreme pursuit of perfection in his craft, aspiring to make his puppetry an eternal art."

"Hmm... What a young man with dreams and ideals. So, talented boy, do you truly understand what the ultimate puppetry represents?"

Hearing this voice, Sasori suddenly turned around to see where it came from.

When he saw the speaker, he froze in place. He saw a figure made of iron standing not far away. 

This "iron man" was actually wearing an exquisitely crafted red metal armor, with a light glowing on its chest. The cold mask featured golden electronic eyes flickering.

The entire iron exterior was made up of countless fine parts, perfectly assembled into a creation that, in Sasori's eyes, was a masterpiece—a piece of black technology that puppetry from the ninja world could never compare to.

If anyone from Earth were to witness this, they would surely exclaim in awe—"Whoa, it's Iron Man!"

**********

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