The ninjato pierced through Pakura's chest, but the blood at the wound naturally clotted, ceasing to bleed.
Pakura was astonished to discover that the wounds were wounds, her limbs were her limbs, and they did not affect each other. Carrying so many fatal injuries across her body, Pakura could still freely gather chakra and swing her arms.
A Scorch Release fireball appeared in the palm of each hand, quickly flying towards the Kiri-nin.
"Monster! That's a monster!"
Gathering Wind Release chakra, Pakura shook off the kunai covering her back. Under the gaze of the Kiri-nin, she pulled out the two ninjato that had impaled her body. She first grabbed the tip of a blade, pushed it further into her body, then pulled it out from her shoulder.
Witnessing these inhuman scenes, the Kiri-nin felt a chill of terror and fear.
Leaping onto the cliff wall, Pakura began her pursuit.
Some Kiri-nin, spurred by adrenaline, charged at Pakura. Adrenaline was a wonderful thing, sometimes granting people immense courage. Others turned and fled.
Pakura jumped onto the cliff wall. With a wave of her hand, four Scorch Release fireballs converged. The chakra grew chaotic, the scorching fireballs shot forward rapidly, then violently exploded.
For a moment, within severalA dozen meters ahead, vibrant trees turned into withered branches, and the grassland looked as if it had been scorched by a great fire. Within a few hundred meters around, the thick mist was instantly evaporated. The Kiri-nin closest to Pakura were devoured by the high-temperature heat wave, their bodies charred black.
A few minutes later, the last Kiri-nin fell.
A wave of exhaustion washed over her. Pakura collapsed. She forced herself to crawl behind a rock and hid.
Raising a hand to touch the wound on her throat, she felt it slowly healing. She tried to fight off unconsciousness; falling unconscious after severe injury meant death. But then she reconsidered—she had an immortal body. She wouldn't die even if she passed out. And so, she fell into a deep sleep.
Ten days later.
In a certain port town north of the Land of Waves, inside a spacious warehouse.
Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage, and the Third Raikage sat behind a long table in the center of the warehouse.
The iron door opened with the grating screech of sliding bolts. The Kirigakure elder, Genji, entered the warehouse with Yagura Karatachi in tow.
Genji frowned, his eyes fixed on Ōnoki and the Raikage.
Who could have imagined that a petty, ruthless schemer and a muscle-brained brute would sit together so harmoniously.
Ōnoki spoke, "Please, have a seat, Elder Genji."
"Tsuchikage, don't be so polite to me. It makes me even more uneasy."
"Hahaha!" Ōnoki laughed a few times before saying, "Was my previous impression on you really that terrible? Is it wrong to be courteous to you?"
Genji offered no reply and sat down opposite the two.
Ōnoki said, "Elder Genji, the clan heads of your village's three great clans—the Hōzuki, Kaguya, and Yotsuki—were all killed by Konoha's Fox. You must have a clear understanding of Konoha's strength.
The reason for inviting you here today is to ask Kirigakure to join the Anti-Konoha Alliance."
"Anti-Konoha Alliance?" Genji said, "I'm not interested in this alliance. The Land of Water and Kirigakure are isolated across the sea. Could Konoha really dispatch an expeditionary force to deal with us? In every great shinobi war, it's been us invading the continent's coastline. No one has ever invaded the Land of Water or Kirigakure."
Hearing Genji's refusal, Ōnoki wasn't anxious. He continued to persuade slowly, "Konoha's First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, captured all the Tailed Beasts in the shinobi world, then redistributed them to the other villages. How laughable is that?
The Four-Tails was originally in the Land of Earth, our Iwagakure's Tailed Beast. The Three-Tails was originally in the Land of Water, your Kirigakure's Tailed Beast. Genji, you're not young anymore. Have you forgotten the time Senju Hashirama went to the Land of Water to capture the Three-Tails?
If we don't unite to deal with the Fox, the Fox will become the next Senju Hashirama. Senju Hashirama was one thing; he was a man of immense moral conviction and belief.
Can you guarantee that if the Fox captures your Three-Tails, he would return it to Kirigakure? I believe you have some understanding of Konoha's Intelligence Division Chief and know the Fox's methods."
Genji recalled the slain clan heads like Hōzuki Kyougetsu. To curry favor with Sarutobi Shinnosuke, the Fox had actually found a patch of waterless land out at sea. He used Wood Release to trap Hōzuki Kyougetsu and the others, then invited Sarutobi Shinnosuke to kill the clan heads with the Five Elements Unrivalled Attack. Shameless. Utterly shameless.
The Raikage spoke up now, "My most loyal subordinate, the Two-Tails Jinchūriki Ryūjin, was killed by Konoha's Fox using Wood Release. Wood Release is naturally suited for dealing with Tailed Beasts. If the Fox gets a taste for it and starts collecting each village's Tailed Beasts, where can you hide your Jinchūriki? Senju Hashirama could go to the Land of Water to capture the Three-Tails, to the Land of Waves to capture the Six-Tails. Can't Konoha's Fox just copy him and do it all over again?"
Genji was surprised. The Third Raikage had spoken to him at such length with such patience. This was truly rare for the Raikage. Genji felt somewhat swayed. It seemed somewhat necessary to join the Anti-Konoha Alliance.
Ōnoki struck while the iron was hot, "We have already persuaded Sunagakure's Rasa to join the Anti-Konoha Alliance. He will soon demonstrate his sincerity. Rasa wrote to me saying he would give you the Suna hero Pakura, who just defended Shapo Port. Before dealing with Konoha, our four great villages cannot fight amongst themselves. Don't you agree, Elder Genji?"
Rasa of Sunagakure sent Pakura alone to exchange a peace agreement. Genji hadn't understood why he would do that. It turns out Rasa wasn't insane; he wanted to join Ōnoki and the Raikage's alliance.is gamble had paid off.
Just then, the warehouse's iron door screeched again with the sound of grating bolts. A Kiri-nin quickly approached Genji, bent down, and whispered something.
Genji's eyes changed, his expression turning grim.
Ōnoki and the Raikage exchanged a glance, unsure what new mishap had occurred.
"Rasa's sincerity? Hmph, you've all been deceived by that boy Rasa. He has no sincerity at all," Genji said. "Rasa said he would give Pakura's life to my Kirigakure, but instead Pakura killed an entire squadron of Kiri-nin. It seems someone in this Anti-Konoha Alliance is unwilling to join."
Ōnoki thought for a moment and immediately said, "No! It's not that Rasa is unwilling to join; it's that your Kiri-nin are too weak. You must have taken the opportunity to ambush Pakura during the agreement exchange, right? Getting ambushed yet still being killed by Pakura—you can't blame that on Rasa. Admit it, Genji, your Kiri-nin are too weak. If you don't join the Anti-Konoha Alliance, and Konoha's Fox comes to your Kirigakure to capture your Tailed Beast, how will you, being so weak, resist the Fox?"
Genji's expression stiffened. Behind him, Yagura Karatachi felt his face burning with shame.
Ōnoki was still the same Ōnoki. Occasionally being reasonable was just to achieve his goals. His true self was always this difficult to deal with.
After some calculation, Genji said, "Fine. I agree to join the Anti-Konoha Alliance. Let me also introduce the man behind me, Yagura Karatachi. He will soon become the Fourth Mizukage."
Ōnoki and the Raikage both looked at the young man with a baby face behind Genji. They had long since gathered intelligence; Genji placed great importance on this youth. There were few records of Yagura Karatachi in action, so his upper limit was unknown. They only knew he had learned Genji's secret technique, the Water Mirror Technique.
Genji continued, "If we are to join the Anti-Konoha Alliance, let Karatachi serve as the overall commander for the Kiri forces. Since we are allies now, I hope you can look after the young people of my Kirigakure."
Ōnoki nodded repeatedly, saying, "It's truly gratifying to see the younger generation stepping onto the grand stage one after another. It would be even more gratifying if we could kill off all of Konoha's young talents."
***
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(End of Chapter)